This is a 2010 reboot of the Jack Lord-helmed series that ran from 1968 to 1980. The 24-episode first season aired during the 2010/2011 TV season. It starred Alex O'Laoughlin, Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim, and Scott Caan in the main roles. The supporting and recurring cast included Taylor Wily, Dennis Chun, Teilor Grubbs, Taryn Manning, Will Yun Lee, Michelle Borth, Masi Oka, and Mark Dacasos (among others).
In this version, Commander Steve McGarrett, played by Alex O'Loughlin, is an ex-Navy Seal who returns to Hawaii to track down a terrorist who killed his father, Officer John McGarrett (played by William Sadler). He is tasked by the Governor of Hawaii to form a new task force with legal immunity to take down the criminal underworld of Oʻahu. McGarrett enlists Honolulu newcomer Danny Williams (played by Scott Caan), a divorced detective who moved from New Jersey to be closer to his daughter; Chin Ho Kelly (Played by Lost's Daniel Dae Kim) who is a disgraced police officer and a protege of McGarrett's father; and Kono Kalakaua (played by Battlestar Galactica's Gras Park) who is Chin Ho's cousin, a former surfer and soon-to-be Police Academy graduate.
The series is mostly a case-of-the-week procedural that does have some serial threads that span throughout the season. Those mainly involve the character of Victor Hesse (played by Buffy's James Marsters) and a former Chinese government agent turned criminal, Wo-Fat, played by Mark Dacascos. The series also had a strong recurring cast, including Taryn Manning as Steve's sister, Mary Ann McGarrett, Jean Smart as Governor Pat Jameson, Taylor Wily as Kamekona Tupuola, Will Yun Lee as Sang Min Sooh (who is a criminal who sometimes acts as an informant for Five-0, Michelle Borth as Lieutenant Catherine Rollins a love interest for Steve who helps on cases from time to time, and Masi Oka (from the series Heroes) as Dr. Max Bergman, Chief Medical Examiner. Some of those characters would have larger roles in later seasons, and others would be reduced. The season ends on a major cliffhanger going into season two with the fates of multiple characters hanging in limbo.
The Blu-Ray set is a six-disc set that has the episodes and extras spread across the discs. The show looks and sounds great in HD. The visuals of Hawaii are awesome, and the handful of special effects that are used in the show look great. The extras include several making-of featurettes titled "Shore Lines: The Story of Season 1," "Grace Park's Hawaiian Tour," "Legacy" (which compares the reboot with the original series), "Picture Perfect: The Making of the Pilot," "Re-scoring the Theme Song", "Inside Comic-Con," (which has a portion of the Comic-Con panel), and "Inside the Box" (which refers to a toolbox figuring prominently in the season's story arc). Also included are deleted scenes, a gag reel, CBS launch promos, and cast and crew audio commentaries on two episodes. So, there is a good amount of material for people who like watching the bonus content.
Overall, the series is a good police procedural. It has a good blend of action and drama, with a strong theme of family. O'Loughlin and Caan are great in their roles as McGarrett and "Dano" who bicker like an old married couple. O'Loughlin does a ton of his own stunts (which led to a back injury that would plague him throughout the run of the series) and does a great job as the series lead. The writers do a great job developing the characters and getting the audience to care about them, which is critical to the success of a series like this. They also do a good job paying homage to, but not being a carbon copy of, the original series. So, if you are a fan of police procedurals, this is definitely a good one to check out.
The series is mostly a case-of-the-week procedural that does have some serial threads that span throughout the season. Those mainly involve the character of Victor Hesse (played by Buffy's James Marsters) and a former Chinese government agent turned criminal, Wo-Fat, played by Mark Dacascos. The series also had a strong recurring cast, including Taryn Manning as Steve's sister, Mary Ann McGarrett, Jean Smart as Governor Pat Jameson, Taylor Wily as Kamekona Tupuola, Will Yun Lee as Sang Min Sooh (who is a criminal who sometimes acts as an informant for Five-0, Michelle Borth as Lieutenant Catherine Rollins a love interest for Steve who helps on cases from time to time, and Masi Oka (from the series Heroes) as Dr. Max Bergman, Chief Medical Examiner. Some of those characters would have larger roles in later seasons, and others would be reduced. The season ends on a major cliffhanger going into season two with the fates of multiple characters hanging in limbo.
The Blu-Ray set is a six-disc set that has the episodes and extras spread across the discs. The show looks and sounds great in HD. The visuals of Hawaii are awesome, and the handful of special effects that are used in the show look great. The extras include several making-of featurettes titled "Shore Lines: The Story of Season 1," "Grace Park's Hawaiian Tour," "Legacy" (which compares the reboot with the original series), "Picture Perfect: The Making of the Pilot," "Re-scoring the Theme Song", "Inside Comic-Con," (which has a portion of the Comic-Con panel), and "Inside the Box" (which refers to a toolbox figuring prominently in the season's story arc). Also included are deleted scenes, a gag reel, CBS launch promos, and cast and crew audio commentaries on two episodes. So, there is a good amount of material for people who like watching the bonus content.
Overall, the series is a good police procedural. It has a good blend of action and drama, with a strong theme of family. O'Loughlin and Caan are great in their roles as McGarrett and "Dano" who bicker like an old married couple. O'Loughlin does a ton of his own stunts (which led to a back injury that would plague him throughout the run of the series) and does a great job as the series lead. The writers do a great job developing the characters and getting the audience to care about them, which is critical to the success of a series like this. They also do a good job paying homage to, but not being a carbon copy of, the original series. So, if you are a fan of police procedurals, this is definitely a good one to check out.
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