Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

'Hawaii Five-0' - 'Pilot': Book 'em, Danno... again

What did everybody think of the cop show remake?

By Alan Sepinwall Monday, Sep 20, 2010 11:00 PM

Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan in "Hawaii Five-0."

Credit: CBS

Over the weekend, I gave my thoughts on CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" remake, which wasn't deep but was a pretty well-executed pilot. Now that it's aired, what did you think of it?

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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debbie

Was Danno's ring tone from "Psycho" :)

That was fun...I'll watch it again.
September 20, 2010 at 11:14PM EST Reply to Comment
cadfile

CBS promoted the crap out of the show... WOW... and I thought the promotion for "The Event" was annoying.. lol

It did have the same feel as the old show but also used updated technology.

I thought the end was rushed so the "hey we need a name.." scene wasn't as satisfying as I wanted but other than that it was decent.
September 20, 2010 at 11:14PM EST Reply to Comment
Not too much to think about beyond: They're cute; Hawaii's pretty. But I'll stick around for a while. I like the chemistry between O'Loughlin and Caan. Though I was sad to see James Marsters in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him kind of role when he's played pretty memorable ones in the past.
September 20, 2010 at 11:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- Loretta Yeah, I was totally rooting for him to recur. Was sad to see him shot at the end.
  September 21, 2010 at 12:29AM EST
- LisaM James Marsters was in it? Who did he play?
  September 21, 2010 at 11:58AM EST
amanners

I watched "Chuck," "House," "The Event," and "Five-0" tonight, and other than the Chuck premiere, this was my second favorite of the bunch (especially after that convoluted mess of a show "The Event"). Kept me engaged throughout, and I really appreciated the nods to the original.
September 20, 2010 at 11:24PM EST Reply to Comment
alamble

Will James Marsters ever get to use his regular speaking voice in anything? Damn, that accent was annoying.

"I hate him. I hate him so much." Right there witcha, Danno. O'Loughlin wasn't bad as McGarrett, he just played him as an arrogant douchebag for the entire first half hour of the show. I cheered when Danno clocked him after the shootout.
September 20, 2010 at 11:24PM EST Reply to Comment
A nice change of pace from the medical, CSI & military dramas.
Great job with the mix of "Five-0" history, locales, character chemistry & Grace Park to boot!!

September 20, 2010 at 11:29PM EST Reply to Comment
HydraEclipse

I thought it was really entertaining, but the last time I planned to keep watch a non-serialized cheery action cop show was NCIS:LA, and I only made it through 3 episodes before life got to busy to make the effort.
September 20, 2010 at 11:43PM EST Reply to Comment
stevehbk

Loved it! Especially the peek under the cover to show the front end of the '74 Mercury Marquis Brougham. Great show. I like O'Laughlin more than you and thought he set Caan up brilliantly (much like E does Engourage). Caan is the perfect supporting actor. I think this show was cast well and produced exceptionally. If the plots get better, it'll be a huge hit. I'm planning on watching episode 2, for sure. Oh, btw Alan, I liked this better than Lone Star. I'm usually right in line with your tastes/opinions, but not this time.
September 20, 2010 at 11:56PM EST Reply to Comment
lannes314

Not a bad pilot. Nothing close to last night's "Boardwalk Empire" premiere, but as far as procedurals go it worked, and I'll probably watch again.
September 21, 2010 at 12:50AM EST Reply to Comment
paullu

It's the first time I've seen him so I didn't know whether Alan we being hard on him or what, but...Alex O'Loughlin is a terrible actor.

Had to be said.
September 21, 2010 at 1:27AM EST Reply to Comment
Anthony Foglia

You're definitely right that Scott Caan makes Alex O'Loughlin appear somewhat entertaining. Also interesting, this seems to be the only buddy cop show/movie I can remember when the goofier, more entertaining partner is more by-the-book and cautious than quieter, blander partner. I wonder if this is something that will change as the series goes on.

Very good, but I'm not a big fan of cop shows. This might make the nothing else is on, and I want to watch something level. (I imagine I'll catch a lot of episodes in a few years on lazy weekend afternoons.)
September 21, 2010 at 3:02AM EST Reply to Comment
RD

Scott Caan is the only reason I'll stick with this show. (Wait, I lied. Grace Park is worth watching too).
I didn't find anything original to the plot. First time seeing O'Loughlin and he's a horrible actor. And as a big LOST fan I was excited to see Kim on screen. But, for some reason, his acting didn't seem as strong as it was on LOST.
September 21, 2010 at 3:39AM EST Reply to Comment
warrior rabbit

Does anyone ever address their cousin as 'Cousin'? It was already established that she was his cousin, so when she trotted up yelling, 'Cousin!' I just thought it was awkward and awful. Just one of many small things that irritated me, but it is a pilot and pilots are always a bit clunky. I'll give it a few episodes and see...
September 21, 2010 at 3:42AM EST Reply to Comment
- kawika " Does anyone ever address their cousin as 'Cousin'? It was already established that she was his cousin, so when she trotted up yelling, 'Cousin!' "
  
  If anything, it should have been cuz' instead of cousin (i.e. Sup cuz'!). There's a couple other nuances that irked me, such as the local guy at the shave ice stand asking "You speak bird?" (using bird instead of pidgin').
  
  This is going to be one of the challenges for the writers of the show: incorporating the local culture/dialect so that someone not familiar can understand things, yet not make it seem so...awkward when the lines are delivered. It's been a while since i've seen one of the original episodes so it would be hard to compare to how they did it.
  September 21, 2010 at 4:46PM EST
- Ben Yes. I call some of my cousins (only of the opposite sex, interestingly), "cousin." It didn't strike me as that awkward.
  September 21, 2010 at 11:19PM EST
Tyroc

I also haven't watched a non-serialized cop show in years (decades?) so found it fun for at least one episode. The buddy banter was entertaining but they'll need to flesh out the cousins quite a bit. I'll give it one more. (Which will then tie it for the amount of episodes I've watched of Law & Order, or CSI.)
September 21, 2010 at 4:39AM EST Reply to Comment
I'll stick with this for now because the pilot was entertaining, and the cast pretty good. (Don't believe I've ever seen O'Loughlin in anything, but I thought he did a serviceable job here. Not lovable, but not unlikable either.)

There'll have to be some sort of serialized element though, for me to keep up with it on a weekly basis and in the long run. Anybody know if it'll be straight procedural, or if there is a larger story at work?

September 21, 2010 at 7:41AM EST Reply to Comment
Morgan

Castle was better
September 21, 2010 at 8:33AM EST Reply to Comment
I liked it. It's not LOST, but for what it is, it is very entertaining. Well cast. Loved when Scotty Caan punched Alex O'Laughlin out. That was full on funny
September 21, 2010 at 10:19AM EST Reply to Comment
Robin

I liked it for what it is. It's not deep, it's not complicated, but it's fun and I'd probably watch Daniel Dae Kim in just about anything. It felt like a call-back to the 80's cop shows even more than the original 5-0. The person I watched it with compared it to the pilot of Miami Vice, without Tubbs.

My only "problem" with it - I couldn't stop seeing Athena during that undercover scene. It will take a while for me to get used to Grace Park in any other role.
September 21, 2010 at 10:54AM EST Reply to Comment
delacourte

It was entertaining and funny in some spots. I like a good action show ,just for fun. I've never seen Mr. O'Loughlin in any of his previous roles so I'll have to keep watching to see whether he gets flat out annoying,but so far,so good.
September 21, 2010 at 12:56PM EST Reply to Comment
Kujo

Finally, another drama I can watch on CBS' since "The Unit" was canceled.

Fun pilot. Likable cast, good chemistry. CBS may have a hit on their hands.

September 21, 2010 at 1:03PM EST Reply to Comment
Liz

That was probably the most fun I've had watching a broadcast network show in a while. Nothing extraordinarily deep here, but that's not necessarily what I'm looking for with Hawaii Five-0. Definitely going on the DVR list. Scott Caan was entertaining, and it was good to see Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park again, as I'm a fan of their previous work.
September 21, 2010 at 1:11PM EST Reply to Comment
Jacob

I thought it was a lot of fun. These days, it's usually the overarching ... er, arc that keeps me engaged in shows, I have to admit, but this seemed opposite. I don't really care that much about the corruption in HPD, but keep Caan stealing scenes and Grace Park in scanty attire, and I'll stick around.
September 21, 2010 at 4:17PM EST Reply to Comment
MZ

It was fun enough. Well shot, good locations and so on. But, really, someone is actually writing this stuff? The stuff between Jean Smart and O'Laughlin about him being the best? Calling your cousin "cousin"? A cop talking to other cops and saying "He's a confidential informant"?

Yikes
September 21, 2010 at 4:46PM EST Reply to Comment
rcgiff

I've never seen Alex O'Laughlin in anything before, but he is really not a good actor. It's like all he did was walk around sucking up any fun that Scott Caan managed to inject into the run-of-the-mill script. The pilot was fun but it's not a series I'm going to be watching regularly, if at all. (Well, maybe I'll watch it just long enough to catch the theme song.)

Also, is it possible that O'Laughlin and Keanu Reeves are related? Or at least built by the same factory that produces stoic-square-jawed-action-hero-robots?
September 21, 2010 at 4:49PM EST Reply to Comment
- Sean I haven't seen Alex O'Laughlin in much either, but I'm willing to cut him some slack given the script called for his character to hear his father get shot by a bad guy he's been chasing for apparently a long time.
  
  If he's a little wooden for the pilot, it's somewhat understandable given everything the McGarrett character is going through (losing his prisoner (and all the other cops/agents) in the shootout, his father being murdered, finding out about a mole in the HPD, etc. If that stiffness continues into the rest of the season, then yes, he's not that great of an actor. But I'll give him a break here.
  September 21, 2010 at 5:37PM EST
habsfan

I am a BIG fan of the original.

The best thing I saw in this pilot was the give and take between O'Loughlin and Caan.

Danno has great personality, which was lacking in the original, probably because Lord and/or the creator of the original didn't want anyone but McGarrett to show much emotion. Lord had all the big scenes and there was no better cop than that stone-faced guy.

But why did the plot so quickly play out? Why not let it string out for 1/2 a season or the entire season as a subplot?

In my opinion, the producers need to have good writing that put out intriguing and clever plots that make you think a little.

As in the Movies, I don't like just adrenalin-rush action, I like a good story. Probably why I loved "Lost" so much.

September 21, 2010 at 7:59PM EST Reply to Comment
JWIII

Scott Cann is great in this as he is in Entourage.

My biggest issue is Alex O'Loughlin. I can't stand his acting.

The opening sequences was laughable. The camera work is too similar to other cbs shows.
September 22, 2010 at 12:35PM EST Reply to Comment
kirkaracha

They seem pretty casual about the mole in the police department who identified Grace Park.
September 23, 2010 at 4:31PM EST Reply to Comment

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debbie Was Danno's ring tone from "Psycho" :) That was fun...I'll watch it again.

Not too much to think about beyond: They're cute; Hawaii's pretty. But I'll stick around for a while. I like the chemistry between O'Loughlin and Caan. Though I was sad to see James Marsters in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him kind of role when he's played pretty memorable ones in the past.

Loretta Yeah, I was totally rooting for him to recur. Was sad to see him shot at the end.

LisaM James Marsters was in it? Who did he play?

amanners I watched "Chuck," "House," "The Event," and "Five-0" tonight, and other than the Chuck premiere, this was my second favorite of the bunch (especially after that convoluted mess of a show "The Event"). Kept me engaged throughout, and I really appreciated the nods to the original.

A nice change of pace from the medical, CSI & military dramas.Great job with the mix of "Five-0" history, locales, character chemistry & Grace Park to boot!!

HydraEclipse I thought it was really entertaining, but the last time I planned to keep watch a non-serialized cheery action cop show was NCIS:LA, and I only made it through 3 episodes before life got to busy to make the effort.

lannes314 Not a bad pilot. Nothing close to last night's "Boardwalk Empire" premiere, but as far as procedurals go it worked, and I'll probably watch again.

paullu It's the first time I've seen him so I didn't know whether Alan we being hard on him or what, but...Alex O'Loughlin is a terrible actor.Had to be said.

Ben Yes. I call some of my cousins (only of the opposite sex, interestingly), "cousin." It didn't strike me as that awkward.

Morgan Castle was better

I liked it. It's not LOST, but for what it is, it is very entertaining. Well cast. Loved when Scotty Caan punched Alex O'Laughlin out. That was full on funny

delacourte It was entertaining and funny in some spots. I like a good action show ,just for fun. I've never seen Mr. O'Loughlin in any of his previous roles so I'll have to keep watching to see whether he gets flat out annoying,but so far,so good.

Kujo Finally, another drama I can watch on CBS' since "The Unit" was canceled. Fun pilot. Likable cast, good chemistry. CBS may have a hit on their hands.

MZ It was fun enough. Well shot, good locations and so on. But, really, someone is actually writing this stuff? The stuff between Jean Smart and O'Laughlin about him being the best? Calling your cousin "cousin"? A cop talking to other cops and saying "He's a confidential informant"?Yikes

JWIII Scott Cann is great in this as he is in Entourage. My biggest issue is Alex O'Loughlin. I can't stand his acting. The opening sequences was laughable. The camera work is too similar to other cbs shows.

kirkaracha They seem pretty casual about the mole in the police department who identified Grace Park.

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debbie

Was Danno's ring tone from "Psycho" :)

That was fun...I'll watch it again.

amanners

I watched "Chuck," "House," "The Event," and "Five-0" tonight, and other than the Chuck premiere, this was my second favorite of the bunch (especially after that convoluted mess of a show "The Event"). Kept me engaged throughout, and I really appreciated the nods to the original.

A nice change of pace from the medical, CSI & military dramas.
Great job with the mix of "Five-0" history, locales, character chemistry & Grace Park to boot!!

HydraEclipse

I thought it was really entertaining, but the last time I planned to keep watch a non-serialized cheery action cop show was NCIS:LA, and I only made it through 3 episodes before life got to busy to make the effort.

lannes314

Not a bad pilot. Nothing close to last night's "Boardwalk Empire" premiere, but as far as procedurals go it worked, and I'll probably watch again.

paullu

It's the first time I've seen him so I didn't know whether Alan we being hard on him or what, but...Alex O'Loughlin is a terrible actor.

Had to be said.

Morgan

Castle was better

delacourte

It was entertaining and funny in some spots. I like a good action show ,just for fun. I've never seen Mr. O'Loughlin in any of his previous roles so I'll have to keep watching to see whether he gets flat out annoying,but so far,so good.

Kujo

Finally, another drama I can watch on CBS' since "The Unit" was canceled.

Fun pilot. Likable cast, good chemistry. CBS may have a hit on their hands.

MZ

It was fun enough. Well shot, good locations and so on. But, really, someone is actually writing this stuff? The stuff between Jean Smart and O'Laughlin about him being the best? Calling your cousin "cousin"? A cop talking to other cops and saying "He's a confidential informant"?

Yikes

JWIII

Scott Cann is great in this as he is in Entourage.

My biggest issue is Alex O'Loughlin. I can't stand his acting.

The opening sequences was laughable. The camera work is too similar to other cbs shows.

kirkaracha

They seem pretty casual about the mole in the police department who identified Grace Park.

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