Hawaii Five-O, Past and Present

Hearken back with me, if you will, to a warm late September day in 1968. I was 17 years old then and just beginning my senior year in high school. As an indifferent student but an avid TV watcher, I would spend most of my evenings in front of our brand new, state-of-the-art Magnavox console color television set watching shows like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, and The Wild, Wild West.

On this particular evening, I was set to watch the premiere of a brand new cop show: Hawaii Five-O, starring Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong, and Zulu. It was a show I had been anticipating ever since the new line-up of 1968-69 TV shows had been announced the previous spring. Hawaii Five-O held great promise for me, because it was filmed entirely in on location in Hawaii, and I was sure there would be, in addition to well written episodes, lots of beautiful, bikini-clad young women for me to admire in every scene.

Hawaii Five-O did not disappoint! That pilot episode, a made-for-TV movie entitled "Cocoon," quickly established the series' concept and introduced its main characters. For those not familiar with the original show, Hawaii Five-O follows the exploits of a four-man team of investigators led by Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), a former Naval Intelligence officer who is hired by, and reports directly to Hawaii's Governor Paul Jameson (played by Richard Denning in a recurring role). McGarrett's team consists of: Danny "Danno" Williams (James MacArthur); Chin Ho Kelly (played by Kam Fong, a native Hawaiian actor and 18-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department) and Kono Kalakaua (played by Zulu, also a native Hawaiian actor.)

For 12 years - beginning as I entered my senior year of high school in 1968; through my four years of college; and ending during the fourth year of my Air Force career in 1980 - Steve McGarrett and his team of investigators worked to solve the worst crimes that were perpetrated on the islands of Hawaii. Murder, terrorism, espionage, organized crime, and high profile felonies detrimental to Hawaii's tourist industry fell under the purview of the Five-O team, which always seemed able to solve their cases within the 50-minute run time of each episode.

Hawaii Five-O is actually very well written, with most episodes containing taut story lines that feature some aspect of Hawaii's unique culture and magnificent scenery. It's a show not without some significant weaknesses, however. The acting is frequently wooden, especially by actors Kam Fong and Zulu, who had almost no previous acting experience. Portrayals of hippies, swingers, and other members of the late 1960s "counterculture" were most often ludicrous stereotypes. But the show's strengths far outweighed its weaknesses; its story lines were not afraid to tackle many of the hot-button issues of the day, including racism, prison reform, tensions between Hawaii's native and white populations, the Vietnam War, the hippie counterculture, and drugs. In the end, Hawaii Five-O set a record as the longest running cop show in TV history, a record that wasn't broken until 2003 when Law and Order entered its 13^th season.

Fast forward now to September 20, 2010, exactly 42 years to the day that the original Hawaii Five-O premiered. On this night an all-new version of Hawaii Five-0 (note the number zero replaces the letter "O" in the title) premiered on CBS. I had been waiting in somewhat less than eager anticipation for that inaugural episode. I say "less than eager anticipation" because I've developed a healthy skepticism over the years for the quality of TV shows and movies that are remakes of older, "classic" shows. I've found that remakes have usually proven themselves to be poor and ultimately unsuccessful imitators of their forebears, and I figured this remake of Hawaii Five-O would probably be no different. As the "all-new" Hawaii Five-0 began, I was all set to give it a begrudging benefit of the doubt... but not much more.

As it turned out, the "rebooted" Hawaii Five-0 is a most worthy successor to its venerable forerunner! The new Hawaii Five-0 is based on Leonard Freeman's original concept, and the "reboot" retains many links to the old show. The story still centers on a four-person special team of investigators under the leadership of Steve McGarrett, (now played by Alex O'Loughlin). As in the previous show, McGarrett is a former Navy SEAL who's been hired by Hawaii's governor Pat Jameson (played by Jean Smart) to tackle the toughest and most high-profile criminal cases in Hawaii "with no strings attached." McGarrett is once again ably assisted by Danny Williams, Chin Ho Kelly, and Kona "Kono" Kalakaua. Together, these four make up the new "Five-0" special investigations unit of the Hawaii State Police.

All four of the lead characters in Hawaii Five-0 are much more fully developed and complex than were the characters in the original show. Steve McGarrett is now the son of Jack McGarrett, a former Honolulu police officer who is murdered by terrorists. Danny Williams (played by Scott Caan) is a transplanted New Jersey cop who follows his remarried ex-wife and young daughter to Hawaii so that he can maintain a close relationship with his daughter. Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim, formerly of Lost) now has a past to live down; he's been forced to end his career with the Honolulu Police Department after he's wrongfully accused of accepting a bribe. And Kona "Kono" Kalakaua (Grace Park) is now a beautiful young female rookie cop who's also a champion surfer.

As of this writing, six episodes of the new Hawaii Five-0 have been broadcast on CBS, and one thing is abundantly clear: this ain't your daddy's Hawaii Five-O! In fact, it is much better in many respects. For one thing, the acting is uniformly superb. The new Steve McGarrett is no longer the straight-laced, buttoned-down "top cop" with perfectly coiffed hair and an immaculately tailored suit. Instead, he's a modern day "action hero," dressed in cargo pants, pullover shirts, and athletic shoes, who has plenty of "attitude" to spare. There's an especially strong chemistry that's readily apparent between Alex O'Laughlin's "Steve McGarrett" and Scott Caan's "Danny Williams." These characters' relationship can best be described as a contentious "bromance," with many of the same humorous overtones that exist between Agents Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee on NCIS. The scripts are marvelously written; most often they are a near-perfect combination of character-driven crime drama á la NCIS with generous dollops of technology-driven police procedural thrown in for good measure.

MY VERDICT: The original Hawaii Five-O is still a great police drama, even though it has not aged particularly well. (It's been overtaken by four decades' worth of changes in American culture and technology.) The new Hawaii Five-0 takes the very best that its predecessor had to offer - an original concept, excellent story lines, and Hawaii's magnificent scenery - and transforms them all into a 21^st century viewing delight. A sure-fire winner - highly recommended!

Seasons 1 through 9 of the original Hawaii Five-O have been released on DVD (Region 1 encoded).

The new Hawaii Five-0 airs on CBS on Monday nights from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET

SOURCES:

Hawaii Five-O DVD Season 1 Special Feature: "Emme's Island Moments: Memories of Hawaii Five-O"

Hawaii Five-O - Wikipedia article

Hawaii Five-0 - Recaps at CBS.com

Personal Viewing Experience