US TV

In the US: Mondays, 10/9c, CBS
In the UK: Bravo in October (assuming it’s still around by then)

I don’t know about you, but I have hazy memories of the original Hawaii Five-O. Steve McGarrett with a quiff, a bloke called Danno, it was all set on Hawaii, it had a cool theme tune and a cool title sequence, and it was about the police. I suspect I’m not uncommon in this regard, so before anyone starts complaining about sacrilege, just ask yourself exactly how well you remember the original.

There are other reasons to complain, so why let yourself be an open target like that?

This time, as well as a very slight renaming – Five-O is now Five-0 – we have an entirely new plot that still homages the original. Navy intelligence officer (and terrorist hunter) Steve McGarrett – Alex O’Loughlin, whom you might remember from Moonlight and probably won’t remember from Three Rivers – decides to return home to Hawaii when terrorists strike close to home. When offered the chance by Hawaii’s governor to run a special police unit that’s above law, he hesitates a bit, before assembling a motley team of crime fighters, including an old quarterback friend of his (Daniel Dae Kim from Lost), his cousin (Grace Park from BSG and The Border) and a New Jersey cop (Scott Caan from Ocean’s 11) who’s transferred over so he can be closer to his daughter.

His name’s Danno. Hmm. That rings a bell.

Continue reading “Review: Hawaii Five-0 1×1”