Hawaii Five-0--My Thoughts on Season 1

Title: Hawaii Five-0--Season 1
Starring: Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park
Airs on: CBS
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) is a decorated Navy SEAL, but right now, he's just looking for answers. You are bound to have them when you have an ultimatum from a criminal's brother who states that if you do not let his brother go, he will kill your father, Jack McGarrett, a highly decorated and respected police officer...you get in an ambush which kills said brother and as a result, your father is brutally murdered. To top it off, you hear it go down on the phone. It's any wonder that upon returning home to Hawaii for his father's funeral, the thought of catching the man who killed his father was at the forefront of Steve's mind.



The governor of Hawaii (Jean Smart) gives Commander McGarrett one sweet deal: he can head up his own task force, with full immunity and mean, to not only track down his father's murderer but also rid the island of Oahu of its criminal underground. Who wouldn't jump at that? Well, Steve doesn't initially.....until he realizes that there is much more to his father's murder than even Steve thought. He knows that by taking the Governor's offer, he can do things that he would otherwise be unable to do. His investigating immediately puts him at odd with Detective Danny Williams (Scott Caan), the Honolulu police detective in charge of investigating the murder. They have two vastly different personalities that clash like oil and water. However, Danny's abilities as a cop appeal to Steve and he puts him on the task force. McGarrett also puts Chin Ho Kelley (Daniel Dae Kim), a disgraced, former cop (and protege of Jack McGarrett) and Kono Kamakaua (Grace Park), who is a rookie cop....and Chin's cousin) also on the team. It's a powerful force that Hawaii's bad guys will have to reckon with. Five-0 has just been born.
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I have never been one to like reboots. They can go either one of two ways--really good or really bad--and they usually go the latter. Why mess with a good thing? I also come from a family that appreciates originals; we even watch black and white movies if that gives you any indication. So for the longest time, I turned my head away from CBS's reboot of "Hawaii Five-0." I have seen the original series with Jack Lord and James MacArthur on numerous occasions; I even have the iconic theme song in my ring tone folder. I didn't understand why a series that had gone strong for twelve seasons needed to be redone.

I'm not going to lie about what made me change my mind. It was documented on my "Three Rivers" post that I had discovered Alex O'Loughlin (much to my happiness) and I wanted to watch anything I could get my hands on of his.....within reason. Doesn't it make sense that I would give his TV show a try? I will be upfront and honest with you. The first season was ten times BETTER than the original series! I'm willing to eat my words as I definitely didn't think that would be the case.

Personally, the best part of the series lies in the actors and in the characters that they bring to the screen. Alex O'Loughlin is perfect as the "tough as nails, searching for answers, won't always go by the book" type of guy. Seriously, throughout the entire series, I wondered if there was anything he couldn't do! And when he wears his Navy dress blues, I swoon BIG TIME =) Scott Caan as level-headed Danny is the perfect counter balance to the crazy Steve. Danny doesn't want to be in Hawaii; his only reason for doing so is his daughter now lives there. He hates not looking professional so he wears a tie wherever he goes.....like I said, he is totally the opposite of Steve McGarrett and that is why the pairing works so well. All great pairings in television are because they have complementing differences. I know that in the original, the relationship between McGarrett and Williams was more or less mentor/student. I just happen to love the "bromance" angle that develops so much more. Having Daniel Dae Kim play a character in which we aren't sure if he is a dirty cop--and we want to know--was a brilliant, yet gutsy move on behalf of the writers and producers. It was also gutsy to have Kono be played by a woman. I hated that move....before I watched...and now, I am totally a fan. Grace Park adds a feminine touch to the team, yet she isn't a simpering wallflower. She goes toe to toe with the guys. And I must say, I love that she isn't a bombshell. The series isn't suffering from the lack of overt sexuality (although if you did push me, I would promote a McGarrett/Kono pairing....but I'm just dreaming I know.) I love that the ultimate villain of the series is played by Mark Dascascos who is "The Chairman" on "Iron Chef America." This foodie finds that super cool and super weird at the same time. I mean, he's the guy who goes "a la cuisine" in the most bizarre, overly dramatic tone of voice. I'm used to that; I now have to get used to him as a big time baddie!

The show could be classified as a serial in the loosest sense. Plot lines like the elder McGarrett's murder, Danny's family issues, Chin's problems, Steve's family discoveries, among others, all have a role in some form or other throughout the entire season. I like that; I want to be emotionally invested in characters or else I won't bother. The original, well, didn't connect with me in the way that these episodes have. These characters connect with each other like ohana (which is Hawaiian for family, just so you know) and with you, the viewer. And I'm going to tell you, I was surprised with the lack of sexual elements present. One episode has a scene, a few comments are made in various episodes....that's pretty much it. You do have to deal with bikinis (and in one episode, the women are, well, quite busty) but your female main star is tiny so you never see cleavage with her....that's a big win in my book.

However, several signs of the old series remain. You've got the theme song which I still say is super cool. It's filmed in Hawaii (and now, I want to go to Hawaii more than ever and say I go around film time and say I manage to bump into Alex O'Loughlin....I would be quite happy =)) Yet the biggest thing I was happy to see crossover from the original series is the catchphrase over there on the right. Yep. "Book 'Em Danno" is such a staple for "Hawaii Five-0". It's universally known and for this story, I love to see how it came to be. I didn't see it coming and it was definitely a fun, lighthearted moment in the show.

As you can undoubtedly see, I positively love this show. It left me at SUCH a cliffhanger, but CBS just aired the season 2 premiere this Saturday, so you had better believe that I watched it! Now to just get caught up.......oh well. It won't happen before Season 3 airs in September, but I am still tuning in regardless and even though I have heard Season 2 is weaker than this fantastic order of episodes. After all, what else are spoiler blogs and random episodes on cbs.com for than to give me a heads up on what's to come? =) So I now have "Castle" and "Hawaii Five-0", two of my favorite shows, on at the same time.

Mondays just go even better!