+++Warning, my review contains spoilers from season three but no major season four giveaways.+++
The 24-episode fourth season of Hawaii Five-0 aired during the 2013/2014 TV season. Season four picks up immediately after the events that ended season three, with the ambush in Wo-Fat's cell. Of course, Steve makes it out and manages to arrest one of the gunmen. This eventually leads to a standoff with a group called NLM, who take hostages at the Palace to secure the release of the gunman. The story also ties directly to Kono and Adam's storyline in which they are hiding out in Japan. Obviously, the team is reunited, and then the story-of-the-week procedural aspect starts to play out again. This season sees a couple of notable additions to the cast. First, Chi McBride (from Pushing Daises) joins the cast as Lou Grover, a former Chicago cop who joins the Hawaii SWAT team and clashes with Five-0. He is initially a recurring character but gets upped to a series regular partway through the season. Also, Jorge Garcia (from Lost) joins the cast as a local conspiracy theorist named Jerry, who acts as a consultant for the team. This season does not really have a huge cliffhanger the way seasons two and three do, but it is more of a storyline transition.
Unfortunately, from season four onward, the season sets were only released on DVD despite the first three seasons being released on Blu-Ray. For those who follow the physical media market well know, physical disc sales, (especially Blu-Ray sales) for TV series sets have always been notoriously bad, so around 2013-2014, all but the most popular shows or special effect heavy shows were no longer released on Blu-Ray and either just did not get a physical media release, or was just released on DVD. While the show still does look good, especially when played on a Blu-Ray or 4k player that will upscale the video, it is a step down from true HD. Fortunately, this was released at a time when they were still including a significant amount of extras on the disc sets. The DVD set is a six-disc set with extras, including commentary tracks on select episodes, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a featurette on Chi McBride's character, deleted scenes, and a gag reel, among others.
Overall, the show continues to be good. The large ensemble cast is juggled well, but clearly, Steve and Danny are the two main characters, and Alex O'Laughlin and Scott Caan have great chemistry. The guest cast this season is good as well, with Henry Ian Cusick (from Lost), Nick Jonas, Terry O'Quinn, Robert Knepper (from Prison Break), Michael Madsen, and Melanie Griffith, among others making appearances. Some good episodes focus on Danny and Grace's relationship, as well as involving Lou's family. If you have been a fan of the show for the first few seasons, it is definitely worth watching.
The 24-episode fourth season of Hawaii Five-0 aired during the 2013/2014 TV season. Season four picks up immediately after the events that ended season three, with the ambush in Wo-Fat's cell. Of course, Steve makes it out and manages to arrest one of the gunmen. This eventually leads to a standoff with a group called NLM, who take hostages at the Palace to secure the release of the gunman. The story also ties directly to Kono and Adam's storyline in which they are hiding out in Japan. Obviously, the team is reunited, and then the story-of-the-week procedural aspect starts to play out again. This season sees a couple of notable additions to the cast. First, Chi McBride (from Pushing Daises) joins the cast as Lou Grover, a former Chicago cop who joins the Hawaii SWAT team and clashes with Five-0. He is initially a recurring character but gets upped to a series regular partway through the season. Also, Jorge Garcia (from Lost) joins the cast as a local conspiracy theorist named Jerry, who acts as a consultant for the team. This season does not really have a huge cliffhanger the way seasons two and three do, but it is more of a storyline transition.
Unfortunately, from season four onward, the season sets were only released on DVD despite the first three seasons being released on Blu-Ray. For those who follow the physical media market well know, physical disc sales, (especially Blu-Ray sales) for TV series sets have always been notoriously bad, so around 2013-2014, all but the most popular shows or special effect heavy shows were no longer released on Blu-Ray and either just did not get a physical media release, or was just released on DVD. While the show still does look good, especially when played on a Blu-Ray or 4k player that will upscale the video, it is a step down from true HD. Fortunately, this was released at a time when they were still including a significant amount of extras on the disc sets. The DVD set is a six-disc set with extras, including commentary tracks on select episodes, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a featurette on Chi McBride's character, deleted scenes, and a gag reel, among others.
Overall, the show continues to be good. The large ensemble cast is juggled well, but clearly, Steve and Danny are the two main characters, and Alex O'Laughlin and Scott Caan have great chemistry. The guest cast this season is good as well, with Henry Ian Cusick (from Lost), Nick Jonas, Terry O'Quinn, Robert Knepper (from Prison Break), Michael Madsen, and Melanie Griffith, among others making appearances. Some good episodes focus on Danny and Grace's relationship, as well as involving Lou's family. If you have been a fan of the show for the first few seasons, it is definitely worth watching.
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