*Extras not reviewed*

Premise:

Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) is on the hunt for his father's killer when the Governor of Hawaii gives him the chance to run his own task force, Five-0. The team protects the island from crime whilst trying to unlock the mystery surrounding Jack McGarrett's murder.

Reboot of the classic TV show which ran from 1968-1980.

Written and produced by Peter M. Lenkov (CSI: NY), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Alias).

Review:

I've never actually seen an episode of the original Hawaii Five-0, all I know of it is the theme tune, so I can't compare this shiny new version to how it was originally done. But I have seen enough crime shows to know that the first season of Hawaii Five-0 is entertaining but hardly groundbreaking. As the show is driven by two of the brains behind Alias and Fringe, I was kind of expecting something more than a run of the mill procedural.

Set in Hawaii the show is filled with many breathtaking views of the island, it's a great advert for the island as a holiday spot, except for all the murder and whatnot of course. The bright and breezy look of the show is akin to the way CSI: Miami is shot.

There are four main characters in Hawaii Five-0, the lead being Commander Steve McGarrett played by Alex O'Loughlin (The Back-up Plan). McGarrett was a Navy Intelligence officer meaning he can do anything action related that the writers need him to do. The role doesn't exactly require much deep acting from O'Loughlin but he handles what he is given well. It's pretty much all action and witty comebacks from McGarrett.

Playing McGarrett's right hand man Detective Danny Williams is Scott Caan (Ocean's Eleven). When watching Hawaii Five-0 I can't help but watch Caan's hands. No I don't have a hand fetish but the man cannot speak without moving his hands, it is so irritating and distracting I have no idea what he is saying half the time. The more uptight of the main duo, Williams is more normal than McGarrett's action man.

Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) is disgraced police officer Chin Ho Kelly. Daniel Dae Kim has seemingly been on a million TV shows so his face will probably be familiar to you. In the majority of episodes he isn't given much to do other than play with the fancy computer equipment they have. Shame as I have always enjoyed his performances, hopefully his role will grow with the show.

Kelly's cousin Kono Kalakaua is played by Grace Park (Battlestar Gallactica). Much like with Daniel Dae Kim's character, Park is given the role of background research most of the time. Park gets most to do when the writers require her to go undercover as a woman in a short skirt, other than that her role is not massive.

The show is mainly focused on the relationship between McGarrett and Williams thus other characters can get a little sidelined at times, which is a shame as I think giving the supporting characters more to do would make the show stronger. But the buddy cop formula is popular so I imagine many people will enjoy this aspect of the show. All the actors appear to get on well together which definitely makes the show more compelling.

Hawaii Five-0 is a light drama, I personally don't find the humour they put into it that funny most of the time. It's not that I don't like comedy-dramas but I think it's a hard thing to do well especially in this procedural format. Castle is probably my favourite of this type of show but I do prefer straight up dramas as a rule, each to their own though.

The show definitely improves as it goes through its 24 episode first season run. The storylines are pretty average fare nothing really exciting but it will pass the time nicely. I was surprised Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos) wasn't a bigger part of the season, I thought he would pop up more often. Given that he is McGarrett's major nemesis; I don't think he is that scary or intimidating at all. Maybe he will be more of a threat as the series continues.

Hawaii Five-0 isn't the best crime show on television but it is entertaining and I do think it can improve over its second season. I wouldn't buy the DVD as I probably wouldn't rewatch the episodes again and again but I would recommend catching it if it's repeated on Sky or renting/downloading it as it is a fun show.

Extras:

Gag reel
Audio commentaries
Deleted scenes
The story of season 1
Legacy
Promos

Cast:

Alex O'Loughlin - Steve McGarrett
Scott Caan - Danny 'Danno' Williams
Daniel Dae Kim - Chin Ho Kelly
Grace Park - Kono Kalakaua
Taylor Wily - Kamekona
Mark Dacascos - Wo Fat

Also posted on ciao under the username shabbating.