Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O (1968)

148 mistakes

(9 votes)

The Second Shot - S3-E3

Audio problem: Probably due to poor sound pick-up outdoors so near the ocean, much of the dialogue on the beach house patio is noticeably overdubbed. The sound is often out of sync with the actors' lips. (00:39:00)

Jean G

The Face of the Dragon - S1-E17

Factual error: Two deaths by bubonic plague, spread by casual human contact, have Five-O scrambling to prevent an epidemic on Oahu. But the disease isn't spread this way (its vector is fleas on infected rats). And since the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s, bubonic plague has been imminently curable, so there was no need for panic, other than, of course, to make the episode more dramatic. (00:18:00)

Jean G

Show generally

Audio problem: Throughout series: "Hawaii Five-O's" favorite sound effect was squealing tires, and the effect was nearly always added whether McGarrett's big black Mercury actually "peeled out" or pulled away at a normal speed. More than once, the tire squeal sounded when the car was sitting on beach sand. Nice trick - if you could do it. But alas, you can't "burn rubber" on a beach.

Jean G

Season 10 generally

Factual error: 10-4 "The Friends of Joey Kalima": Guest star John Rubinstein (son of classical pianist Artur Rubinstein) guest stars as Joey - but his name is misspelled in the end credits as "Rubenstein."

Jean G

Forty Feet High and It Kills! - S2-E3

Revealing mistake: McGarrett and Victoria watch surfers from the beach. Thanks to the insertion of stock footage, they "see" surfers riding huge 6-foot waves. But in the shots of the actual locale behind them, the ocean is virtually flat. (00:09:30)

Jean G

Death with Father - S6-E19

Revealing mistake: The teaser contains footage of a stunt-gone-wrong. The getaway truck smashes into a mock-up police cruiser that has been secured with a chain to pull it back out of the shot. The chain breaks, and is visible trailing from the bumper as the fake cruiser starts an unplanned roll down the hill. (It went on to collide with and damage two real HPD patrol cars rented for the production).

Jean G

Full Fathom Five - S1-E3

Revealing mistake: McGarrett's office is on the 2nd floor. Yet the photo backdrops outside his windows in this episode show us a ground-level view of grass, streets and a building. This boo-boo vanishes in subsequent episodes, replaced with the more likely views of balconies, palm trees and blue sky. (00:08:00)

Jean G

Full Fathom Five - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: There's much too abrupt a transition between Reese falling into the water and his body suddenly being back on the dock. As there's no time lapse implied at all, he seems to reappear on shore by magic. At least a brief shot of the body being fished out of the water might have helped. (00:49:40)

Jean G

Show generally

Deliberate mistake: Throughout series: Five-O was said to be Hawaii's state police force, and was shown headquartered in the Iolani Palace. For decades, tourists were disappointed to learn that in reality, Hawaii had no state police, and that the palace was a state museum, not a state police station.

Jean G

Beautiful Screamer - S3-E12

Revealing mistake: When Sally is driving the blue station wagon full of singing kids, several light reflections on the side of the car never move at all, revealing that it's really a stationary mock-up sitting on a soundstage. (00:42:30)

Jean G

The Box - S1-E18

Continuity mistake: During the stand-off, Big Chicken is standing several inches to McGarrett's left, on the other side of a seam in the concrete wall. When the shot cuts to a closer angle, Chicken is instantly close enough to touch shoulders with McGarrett, and is now blocking the concrete seam. (00:25:30)

Jean G

Run, Johnny, Run - S2-E17

Factual error: Tommy races past the outside of two of Five-O's office windows before climbing in through a third. Unless he can fly, this is impossible: McGarrett's office is on the second floor, and its windows have balconies that are not connected to each other. (00:10:15)

Jean G

Season 10 generally

Factual error: 10-13 "The Big Aloha": McGarrett compliments Palahana on his surfing skills with the line, "Nice ride." But the ocean behind them in the shot is virtually flat. With no waves, Palahana's supposed "nice ride" is impossible.

Jean G

More quotes from Hawaii Five-O

Trivia: Danno was played by Tim O'Kelley in the 5-0 pilot. But a NY test audience told CBS they didn't buy him as a serious cop because he was too much of a "smart-cracking, Jimmy-Olsen-type gee-whiz kid." Leonard Freeman took the criticism to heart, and recast the part with James MacArthur for the series.

Jean G

More trivia for Hawaii Five-O

Answer: He was fired. He never really appreciated his character. He felt Kono was portrayed as a big dumb Hawaiian and that the stereotype was racist. He also felt underutilized. He was fired after a heated argument with the show's publicist regarding his character. It seems there's not much details given regarding the incident or the firing, so it's seems possible he upset the show's producers as well.

Bishop73

No he said something derogatory about one of the Jewish producers that's why he was fired.

Answer: He was asked to speak at a local organization event but the producer insisted that Jack Lord be also there. It was an event in honor of Hawaiians and that set him off. He used a derogatory name for the Jewish producer and that pretty much ended his stint on the show.

More questions & answers from Hawaii Five-O

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.