Post #607194 by JOHN-O on Sun, Sep 18, 2011 8:18 AM

You got it Chuckster, if any TV show could claim to be Tiki it was "Hawaiian Eye".

Look there's even a Tiki…

:)

It's interesting that the show's run paralleled the peak Tiki years of 1958-1963. Also the fact that it was filmed primarily on Hollywood sets made it as authentically inauthentic as mainland Tiki-style.

But… since this is a thread that points out that being from Hawaii doesn't automatically make you Tiki, let's consider Hawaii Five-0. That series was filmed entirely on location there.

OK, I know I'm probably in the minority here but IMHO, Hawaii Five-O is NOT "Tiki". Its plot lines of communist spies, crime syndicates, and urban crime more typical to cities like Chicago, runs completely contrary to Tiki's idealized vision of exotic paradise. And a "square John" like Steve McGarrett, you'd never catch him inside a Tiki bar unless he was shutting it down due to liquor license violations.

Actually in many ways, I think Magnum P.I. is much closer in spirit to Tiki's sense of fun, but it did run during the bad old devolution days of the 1980's (in other words, NOTHING from the 80's can be considered Tiki, Ha Ha).

Sorry Steve McGarrett and Thomas Magnum, the closest you guys ever got to being Tiki was to (inappropriately) be turned into Tiki mugs…

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2011-09-18 09:16 ]