Starting in the late 1990s, Five-O was showing on the Family Channel in the U.S.A., using prints which were digitally cleaned up and color-corrected. This American Family Channel had nothing to do with a Canadian channel with the same name.
Thanks to a friend in California, I received a tape of two Family Channel Five-O broadcasts. This has led me to new depths of "turgid analysis" in comparing them against versions which I recorded from KVOS-TV in Bellingham, WA.
SAMURAI (#4)
All three pre-commercial "waves" are eliminated, saving a total of 15 seconds.
A new commercial break is inserted into act one, and the scene following this -- an aerial shot of Tokura's neighborhood focusing in on McGarrett's car at the end -- disappears, eliminating another 1 minute and 10 seconds.
Following the fourth commercial break (which was originally the third one), another 45 seconds is cut as the scene with McGarrett talking to a police photographer and evidence technician taking care of "Tokura's" body is removed, as well as the one following with McGarrett talking to Kono and Danno as they walk outside where we learn that Tokura never went outside the U.S. We rejoin the action as the body is brought outside and the ring slips off its finger (a crucial plot element).
In the fourth act, there is a jump from the scene where Tokura's daughter and McGarrett watch a TV broadcast of her donating a million dollars to the university to the one where Tokura enters a Japanese movie theatre. What comes between is a sequence showing the Five-O team working late, McGarrett fingering his guitar strings and Danno doing surveillance -- a total of 2 minutes and 35 seconds.
In addition to the cuts, the show is time compressed about 6% (as if it was projected at 25.5 frames per second instead of 24). Assuming an original length of 50 minutes (my KVOS broadcast is not complete, but it comes to about 48'30" with two cuts), this means with time compression, about 4 minutes and 30 seconds is saved. When added to the approximately 3 minutes lost to time compression from the whole episode in the first place, this means the total length of this episode is about 42 minutes and 30 seconds, down from the original 50.
UP TIGHT (#14)
All three commercial "waves" are retained in "Up Tight" but there are fairly lengthy cuts in the show itself. The new commercial break is in the middle of the first act, right after McGarrett talks to the mother of Eadie Hastings, who commits suicide during the teaser. Interestingly, the framing of the original KVOS broadcast is very peculiar when McGarrett talks to Sarah Hastings ... she is totally out of the frame on the right! At least the Family Channel's framing of the scene is correct.
Following this commercial, about 5 seconds is cut as Donna jumps off the diving board. The scene where she gets out of the pool and the top of her bathing suit almost slips off has been fortunately retained.
There is a cut of 3 minutes, 24 seconds at the beginning of the former second act. This consists of a scene in the Five-O office where McGarrett, Chin and Danno are discussing how difficult it will be to arrest David Stone without any evidence which is interrupted by Eadie Hastings' father. McGarrett decides to send Danno underground and the Family Channel picks up the action as Danno emerges from the surf on the beach where he meets Donna in his guise as a surfing bum.
The only other cut is at the beginning of the former fourth act, where David Stone is shown reacting to the overdose of drugs which Eadie's father forces him to take, stumbling through a low-rent part of town and a cemetery. This sequence is 1 minute and 56 seconds long. The total amount of show removed is about 5 minutes and 25 seconds. The time compression of one four-minute sequence I checked seems a bit less severe than in "Samurai" -- about 3.5% or 25 frames per second, instead of 24.
As far as the much-touted "color correction" is concerned, it looks to me like the brightness has been increased a lot. There are definite improvements seen in greens like the color of lawns, for example. As well, McGarrett's suit in this episode changes from grey to blue which could cause some major problems with us "continuity freaks." The color of other items in the main title -- such as the bullets in the revolver and the ocean -- is much better than before.
I later received yet more Family Channel broadcasts of episodes from the ninth and tenth seasons.
ELEGY IN A RAIN FOREST (#206)
There were three major cuts, each just over a minute in length:
At the beginning McGarrett is on a boat, Chin meets him at the dock
McGarrett meets with the cops at the foot of the mountains.
After Lucien is seen wondering which way to go through the forest, there is a scene with Karen and David which is cut out
As well, the teaser (30 seconds) is cut, as is about 3 seconds from when Chin and Duke arrive at the junkyard. (This last shot shows the license plate of the car owned by Beau Van Den Ecker's character.)
DEALER'S CHOICE -- BLACKMAIL (#207)
There is a massive cut (almost 4 minutes) at the beginning of Act Two -- Victor Palua dispatches his head man Sammy Crane to Las Vegas, McGarrett discusses the crime scene with Danno and Duke, officer Sandy Welles arrives in the Five-O office, her brother arrives at home, and McGarrett discusses interviewing the female witnesses with Sandy.
BLOOD MONEY IS HARD TO WASH (#210)
A terrible hatchet job.
The first commercial comes during a scene in the Five-O office. After the commercial is over, there are about another 5 seconds in the Five-O office, then the scene switches to Jovanko's hotel room!! There is another commercial in the middle of a scene in the fourth act, and the second act doesn't even end properly (the 2:30 cut mentioned below).
There is about 1 minute cut out when Jovanko leaves Hawaii (Duke phones McGarrett to confirm this) and arrives in San Francisco, met by his brother at the airport. There is a very long section (about 2:30) chopped out when Jovanko returns to Hawaii and the punk Augie spends considerable time checking out McGarrett's movements. The other cut, about 15 seconds, is at the beginning of act four, when the ambulance attendants, firemen, and stretcher bearers are running into the Iolani Palace.
The "revamped" color in this episode was pretty crappy too. I was using a not so hot SLP copy from a Philadephia station to splice in the missing parts, but even its color was better than the Family Channel!
UP THE REBELS (#215)
The chopping in this show was unbelievably bad.
Most of it happened in Act One.
After the soldiers are knocked out with the gas, there is a brief scene in the Five-O office after the governor phones to tell about the hijacking of explosives where Foley pays off the people who grabbed the munitions -- about 25 seconds cut.
Later, Foley drives up to co-conspirator Ryan's house. As he gets out of his truck and starts walking towards Ryan, the scene fades out and there is a commercial ... talk about stupid! What is chopped here is a shot of a jet landing, the introduction to the two major characters (!!!), played by Stephen Boyd and Elayne Helivell, and a scene where Chin Ho is investigating. This omission consists of about two and a half minutes.
Another scene where Ryan, holed up in a motel, calls Foley, who is interrupted by the arrival of Costigan to check the explosives is cut -- approximately 45 seconds.
Finally, in the fourth act, after McGarrett talks to Costigan, the scenes of Duke following the priest are chopped (another 50 seconds or so).
THE COP ON THE COVER (#217)
In this show what is removed is the entire "relationship" between McGarrett and the pain-in-the-ass reporter Terri O'Brien. 2:10 is chopped in act one when the two of them are driving together in a car, during which O'Brien probes into McGarrett's life, and in act three, the entire restaurant scene between the two is removed where she bugs McGarrett about the seemingly sexist attitudes at Five-O.
THE FRIENDS OF JOEY KALIMA (#218)
Only one cut in this episode (but the version I was comparing it to was very bad) -- in act 3, after McGarrett talks to Charlie, the lab babe, there is 2:35 cut which shows the guys jackhammering up into the bank, then a lengthy scene with McGarrett at Kalima's place where Joey's wife freaks after McGarrett suggests Joey might be connected with the murder of Teo, the informer.
DEEP COVER (#223)
Much as I hate to admit it, the cuts in this show were fairly intelligent and didn't detract from the plot.
The first, 1:25, was when "Michael," the double, was being transported to the hospital after getting the bends.
The second, 1:30, was when the trainees are in an exercise using some kind of swimming pool in the second act.
The third, 1:03, was in another training exercise when the officers were being showered with water (this was what looked like the last exercise they were having, judging by their cheers at the end).
EAST WIND - ILL WIND (#225)
Beginning of act two -- McGarrett's conversation with Jonathan Kaye is cut, 1:00
Middle of act two -- Colby drives up to his house in his sports car, 0:30
Beginning of act three -- ambulance fetches Charley, McGarrett talks to doctor, 0:30
Middle of act three -- After McG leaves manicure, her reaction, she leaves, Duke follows her through the hotel, 1:00