Classic H50 does not fare well in this book of reviews

[Todd]

Yeah I don't understand how Five-O is supposed to be "right wing". If anything, the show was more left than right, with some episodes featuring pro-environmental or anti-gun messaging.

Truthfully, it was just a police procedural show with the twist of an on-location Hawaiian setting. Politics typically didn't play into it.

The mostly apolitical nature of the show was best shown in the episode "Mother's Deadly Helper". McGarrett said something which remains correct 50 years later -- "Right or left, the lunatic fringe is ready to take things into its own hands, that's one thing they share in common."

While the villain in this show is a fanatical, uneducated right winger, McGarrett is also shown having disdain for a liberal talk show host named Freddy Dryden (played by Casey Kasem), who had apparently unfairly criticized him and Five-O before.

The writers were careful to show unsavory characters from both political sides in this one.

Presumably the author believes McGarrett is a right wing authoritarian because the modern left believes the police are the enemy of the people.

In short, the review is incredibly stupid.

[John Chergi]

Great topic and conversation. I think McGarrett is definitely the head and leader of Hawaii Five-O. In several episodes, he dishes out assignments to Chin, Duke, Kono etc. McGarrett is determined and serious fighting crime but can lighten the mood or smile with the HFO team. It's not just McGarrett solving everything though. He will enlist his detectives in solving the cases. EX: Journey Out Of Limbo. McGarrett gathers the team to figure out what could have fit in the empty bunker Danno noticed. Also, in A Study In Rage, McGarrett and the team analyze the dead psychiatrist's painting for possible clues or meanings. I've never thought of Hawaii Five-O as a right wing show. I think To Kill Or Be Killed can be seen as an anti-war type episode. One son an officer commits suicide from the experiences and horror in the Vietnam War. Another son refuses to be inducted into the service. He probably most likely will go to jail. Other episodes like Diary Of A Gun, it shows the trouble and damage a handgun can do over a series of hours. That would be an anti-gun episode. I never believed McGarrett as a right wing or left wing character. He's an intelligent and hard-working leader of HFO trying to solve cases. McGarrett was a NAVY officer and the leader of HFO. He still is a Reserve Officer later in the show. Both the military and police are seen as "right." You might remember that McGarrett in "Not That Much Different" investigates to find Julian's killer even though the Peace Group doesn't make it easy for him. He also backs his men in difficult circumstances like Chin in Cry, Lie and Danno in Pig In A Blanket. McGarrett is seen as an honorable man and even when he is under attack or framed...It doesn't stand up and McG is exonerated. JC