Hawaiian Eye

We have the Decades over the air broadcast channel in our area. They do a marathon each weekend of some past TV show. Most I don't care that much about, but this weekend it was Hawaiian Eye, which I had never heard of or seen. Watched about a quarter of the entire 4 year series over the weekend. What a treat! Let me list the positives....

1. High quality B&W recording! That helps a lot for a TV show this old.

2. A-list actors or ones that would be A-list.

3. Connie Stevens singing a number in a club most episodes I watched. Never paid much attention to her before but she is actually very good and the song selection is not bad.

4. Even though its heavy on the closed studio production it has some real shots of Hawaii and that is always great in an old vid. Historical documents and all.

5. The show and writing aren't bad for the time period. Kinda of a precursor to other shows of this nature and Hawaii, (ie., Hawaii 5 O)

So unbelievably great treat and all for free over the air broadcast. Sorry if you don't have the Decades over the air broadcast in your area. You are really missing it for free!

This was the debut of the brash confidence that made Robert Conrad such a great choice for the James West role in the "Wild Wild West" TV series. The first time you saw the "unique gadgets" and level of action fighting in a TV series that transferred back and forth between both rugged and refined western settings. Conrad's "James West" character bolstered by fellow agent "Artemus Gordon" displays that same type of confident attitude portrayal that made Clint Eastwood famous in his cult Westerns. The Hawaiian Eye cast was young & vibrant with Connie Stevens displaying her trademark girlish sexuality that became evident in her films and in real life. Conrad, handsome and muscular would probably have also been a good choice for the Eastwood type westerns.

I was sad to see no one commented on this long ago staple of my television introduction. I saw this show mostly in re-runs, but was always a fan of the genre. This type of detective show was copied alot, only the location changed. There was SURFSIDE 6, 77 SUNSET STRIP, to name 2. The Hawaiian location made this one special. I remember fondly the sexy, young Connie Stevens playing the nightclub singer, Cricket. She was the one to see at the Boom Boom Room. The wise-cracking, local cab driver played by Poncie Ponce helped fill out the show. There was something for everyone. And I still remember the theme song clearly. It would be nice to see again....

Before Hawaii Five-0... before Magnum P.I., there was... Hawaiian Eye!

The stars really did surf during the forward credits (I think)! I thought that was so cool! I was only around 5 when this show appeared.

What I remember about the show is, Tracy Steele had a really cool name and a pencil thin mustache. I loved pencil-thin mustaches back then. Paladin (Richard Boone) in "Have Gun Will Travel" had one too. I always thought, "When I grow up, I'm going to grow a pencil-thin mustache like those guys. But, I never did.

Tom Lopaka. By his name, were we being asked to believe pretty boy, Robert Conrad, was Hawaiian? Puh-LEEZE! There's a link on a website called Whirlygig that offers a portion of the episode called "The Comics." It guest stars Mary Tyler Moore. In it, Tracy Steele has arranged for Lopaka to be asked to the stage in a nightclub they are enjoying for the evening, to sing a song. With a little coaxing, Lopaka goes to the stage and sings the cheesiest lounge lizard style song called, "I Want You, Pretty Baby." Holy cow, is it hokey! Was that really Robert Conrad's voice or was it a dub-in?

All that aside, this was a fun detective show. I remember thinking Cricket Blake was pretty cute! Connie Stevens became an early sixties blonde female icon in this series.

The series made us think of Hawaii and its tropical enticements. The theme song still haunts my memory.

Ah, TV was a much simpler place back then. They didn't have gimmicks like car chases or explosions, and the plots were fairly transparent by today's standards, but it still holds up well as solid entertainment. Only one thing - the idea of an exotic Hawaiian location was nice, but we all know that not one foot of film was shot there, right? All done on the Warner Bros. sets in Burbank.....still, it paved the way for H-50 a few years down the road! Aloha