(photoBy Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55864614)
It starts off with a quick look. They move on to the teasing phase and you think hey, this one looks promising. The excitement builds over a period of weeks, sometimes months, with snippets of what is to come showing up here and there. And the day arrives when you finally get to meet and wow!
Little by little you learn all about their personal and work lives, their hopes and dreams and before too long you realize how much a part of your life they have become. You look forward to your weekly meet up until one day, when you least expect it, things come to an end. Sometimes you see it coming, and sometimes without a warning they are just gone.
Over a period of 10 years and 240 episodes, I had the chance to hang out with Steve, Danny and the rest of the Hawaii 5-0 gang as they took down the "bad guys". I cheered for the characters, enjoyed the beautiful scenery while occassionally cringing and gasping at the unexpected plot twists, witnessed the romances and cried a tear or two when characters left or were "killed off".
The 2 hour season finale of Hawaii 5-O had me a bit more emotional over the ending of a TV show than normal. A feeling most people might think was irrational or even silly. You might wonder why the ending of a police drama series might cause this reaction?
For me, Hawaii 5-0 is not just another TV show that had ended its run. It 's the show that will always hold a very special place in my memories.
It was one of, if not my dad's all time favorite TV show. From the first run series in the late 60s to the last episode we watched before his passing, 5-O was always the one we most looked forward to each week. I have years of fond memories sitting next to dad enjoying the adventures of the original 5-0 team. Many conversations during his later years included the fact that TV shows were not what they used to be in the good old days but Hawaii 5-0 was always brought up as the one he measured the rest against.
The new show in 2010 gave dad and I yet another chance to bond over and compare the old and the new. Our phone calls or visits would often lead to him grumbling about how Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan couldn't hold a candle to Jack Lord and James MacArthur, yet talking about each week's episode would end with a smile on his tired face and a sparkle in his eyes. His last year living at my house continued the tradition of watching the Friday night episodes over bowls of ice cream.
As you can imagine, the ending did not just mean I have to find a new show to watch. It also means I had to say good bye to old friends and yet another connection to my dad. For now I will save the last episode on my DVR to be rewatched as a tribute to my Dad.