Wo Fat is the name of a fictional villain in the long-running CBS series Hawaii Five-O. On the show, Wo Fat is the arch-nemesis of Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), the head of Hawaii's (fictional) state police force. The character appeared in eleven episodes of Hawaii Five-O including the TV-movie pilot and the final episode. Two of his appearances were in two-part episodes and three were two-hour specials later re-edited into two-parters for reruns. The character evolved from beginning as a master spy for the Red Chinese, later into an extremist Chinese agent working with a hawkish Chinese general. The general opposed peace discussions with the United States in the early 1970s. By the end of the series, Wo Fat had become an international super-criminal out for his own interests. In the last episode, Wo Fat is finally arrested and jailed. However, in the final shot, he smiles and craftily produces a file hidden in his shoe. It remains a perpetual cliffhanger.
Wo Fat was portrayed by actor Khigh Dheigh (born Kenneth Dickerson) who, despite looking sufficiently Asian for the role, was actually of mixed Anglo, Egyptian, and Sudanese ancestry.
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Evolution of Wo Fat's role with the Chinese government [link]
In the first two-and-a-half years of the show's existence, Wo Fat made six appearances. In Hawaii Five-O: Cocoon (September 20, 1968), the series pilot, Wo Fat, as a Chinese spy, uses sensory deprivation to crack the most loyal U.S. intelligence agents to give up top secret information. In Forty Feet High and It Kills! (October 8, 1969), A Bullet for McGarrett (October 29, 1969), And a Time to Die... (September 16, 1970), F.O.B. Honolulu: Part 1 (January 27, 1971), F.O.B. Honolulu: Part 2 (February 3, 1971), The Ninety-Second War: Part 1 (January 18, 1972), The Ninety-Second War: Part 2 (January 25, 1972), and The Jinn Who Clears the Way (October 10, 1972), Wo Fat continues his position as a top Chinese intelligence agent in the Pacific, whose duties include running Chinese spy missions in Hawaii.
By the episode, titled "Presenting... in the Center Ring... Murder" (December 10, 1974), Wo Fat is working for a hawkish government faction in China, and attempts to assassinate a Chinese government foreign minister, who represents the more peace-oriented leadership in China at the time.
In Murder - Eyes Only (September 12, 1975), Wo Fat returns to his more traditional role as an intelligence operative attempting to obtain the coordinates for a downed American military satellite in the Pacific through a mole in U.S. Naval Intelligence.
However, by Nine Dragons (September 30, 1976), Wo Fat is depicted as the head of the Chinese mafia, who is attempting to cause a conflict between the U.S. and China through a mass killing in China from American developed nerve gas, stolen from Hawaii, which would allow him to regain power in the Chinese government.
In his final appearance and the series finale (Woe to Wo Fat (April 5, 1980)), Wo Fat is presented as completely unaffiliated with the Chinese government, operating on a remote island, developing a solar weapon for the highest bidder.
The evolution of Wo Fat's role for the Chinese government is presumably due to President Richard Nixon's visit to China in February 1972 and his talks with Mao Zedong that led to a period of détente between the two nations, his appearances after the historic event became far more sporadic: just five episodes in eight years.
Name origin [link]
Leonard Freeman, the producer of the series, took the name for the character from the now-defunct Wo Fat restaurant in Honolulu's Chinatown. The Wo Fat Building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Influence of original Wo Fat character on other television shows [link]
Wo Fat's influence continued beyond the Hawaii Five-O series itself. For instance, several seasons of the 1990s police drama Homicide: Life on the Street featured a recurring drug lord named Luther Mahoney whose gang always seemed to escape the blame for the murders they caused. In the DVD commentary for that series, producers explained that Mahoney was largely based on Wo Fat, and then adapted to the gritty Baltimore setting of their series.
Episodes featuring Wo Fat (original series) [link]
- Hawaii Five-O: Cocoon (September 20, 1968) (TV-movie pilot, re-edited into two-parter "Cocoon" for series reruns)
- Forty Feet High and It Kills! (October 8, 1969)
- A Bullet for McGarrett (October 29, 1969)
- And a Time to Die... (September 16, 1970)
- F.O.B. Honolulu: Part 1 (January 27, 1971)
- F.O.B. Honolulu: Part 2 (February 3, 1971)
- The Ninety-Second War: Part 1 (January 18, 1972)
- The Ninety-Second War: Part 2 (January 25, 1972)
- The Jinn Who Clears the Way (October 10, 1972)
- Presenting... in the Center Ring... Murder (December 10, 1974)
- Murder - Eyes Only (September 12, 1975) (two-hour special, two-parter in reruns)
- Nine Dragons (September 30, 1976) (two-hour special, two-parter in reruns)
- Woe to Wo Fat (April 5, 1980)
[edit] Hawaii Five-0 (2010–present)
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On November 2, 2010, CBS announced that Mark Dacascos had been cast to fill the role of Wo Fat in the 2010 remake of Hawaii Five-0.[1] Wo Fat debuted in episode twelve ("Hana 'a'a Makehewa"), which aired on December 13, 2010. Wo first appeared when he was interrogating villain Victor Hesse (James Marsters), who had murdered Steve McGarrett's (Alex O'Loughlin) father Jack (William Sadler) in the pilot episode. In episode thirteen ("Ke Kinohi") Wo is shown playing golf with the Honolulu Yakuza's crime boss Hiro Noshimuri when Steve McGarrett confronts Hiro and his brother Koji about stealing evidence concerning the car bomb murder of his mother. After the arrest of Hiro Noshimuri for arranging the theft, it is suggested that Wo Fat is a person of some importance, as he is being chauffeured around in a golf cart. In the latter half of season one, it is revealed that Wo Fat was the one calling the shots for McGarrett's father's murder. In the first season finale, Wo Fat kills the Governor (Jean Smart) and then frames McGarrett for it. We later learn that the Governor was working for Wo Fat. In season 2 episode 1, he orders Victor Hesse to kill McGarrett to prevent him from investigating further. In the end of the episode, he kills Victor Hesse and gets into a car driven by ex-CIA analyst Jenna Kaye. At the end of the second episode of the second season, she leaves to follow-up on a lead that her fiancé, whom she claimed had been killed by Wo Fat, might in fact be alive. In the middle of season 2 episode 6, he appears at Commander White's residence and fights Commander White at his residence. Wo Fat then escapes. He next appears in episode 10, where he tricks Jenna Kaye to bring McGarrett to him in exchange for her fiancé. Jenna Kaye is then killed by Wo Fat to tie up loose ends. Five-0 eventually come to McGarrett's rescue, and Wo Fat disappears in the commotion. He came back in episode 22, it started with him in Osaka, Japan. McGarrett captured him & placed him in the plane to go back to Hawaii but instead the plane crashed in Japan because they were Japanese Yakuza which think that he & McGarrett killed Hiro Noshimuri, the Japanese Leader & Adam’s father. McGarrett notice his nemesis is not on the plane and he searched for him. Finally he fights McGarrett until he was beat to sleep. He & McGarrett are forced to work as a team to find more Japanese Yakuza, once they did they want them dead. Wo Fat said, he killed Hiro Noshimuri then McGarrett killed the Japanese Yakuza and cuffed Wo Fat in the Chopper to get to Hawaii. On their way back he notice Adam was working for the Japanese Yakuza the whole time. Japanese Yakuza and Adam are arrested. Wo Fat is arrested by McGarrett and last seen is McGarrett walking him to his Prison Cage & McGarrett told Wo Fat that prison is the place he will die. McGarrett lock him and leaves Correctional with Wo Fat half smile at him.
Episodes featuring Wo Fat (2010 remake) [link]
- Hana 'a'a Makehewa - Season 1, Episode 12 (December 13, 2010)
- Ke Kinohi - Season 1, Episode 13 (January 3, 2011)
- Ne Me'e Laua Na Paio - Season 1, Episode 19 (March 21, 2011)
- Oia'i'o - Season 1, Episode 24 (May 16, 2011)
- Haʻiʻole - Season 2, Episode 1 (September 19, 2011)
- Ka Hakaka Maikai - Season 2, Episode 6 (October 24, 2011)
- Kiʻilua - Season 2, Episode 10 (November 21, 2011)
- Ua Hopu - Season 2, Episode 22 (May 7, 2012)
References [link]
- ^ "`‘Dancing’ Iron Chef Chairman Mark Dacascos to Guest Star!". CBS. 2 November 2010. https://www.cbs.com/forum/posts/list/137228.page. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
External links [link]
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https://wn.com/Wo_Fat
Podcasts:
Wo Fat
ALBUMS
- The Conjuring released: 2014
- Cyclopean Riffs released: 2013
- The Black Code released: 2012
- Noche del Chupacabra released: 2011
- Psychedelonaut released: 2009
- The Gathering Dark released: 2006
