It’s A Blast From The Past, Danno
I don’t watch much television these days. Correction. I don’t watch much network television. HBO, Showtime, Starz, FX, USA Network are my go-to channels for smart, fresh content. As for the so-called big boys, like NBC and ABC, I avoid them at all costs. I mean how many cop, lawyer and medical dramas can you jam into one primetime lineup? Not to mention the glut of awful cookie-cutter sitcoms. In short, I find most network programming unwatchable.
I grew up with Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, Miami Vice and The A-Team. By today’s standards, these would be classified as old school action shows. They weren’t permeated with a bunch of forensic mumbo-jumbo and stuffy lab techs. They were all about kicking ass and blowing sh*t up; bruises and bullets; hot chicks and fast cars. That’s my kind of entertainment.
It was my fondness for ’70s/’80s cop shows that made me check out the Hawaii Five-0 reboot on CBS last night. I used to watch reruns of the original during my college days. Awesome theme music, gritty violence, Jack Lord’s hair, the series had it all. As is such, it seemed ripe for a remake. Despite an impressive cast, including Daniel Dae Kim from Lost and Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica, I was still skeptical about the 2010 incarnation.
After taking in the pilot episode, my assessment is so far, so good. Alex O’Loughlin is solid in the Steve McGarrett role. Scott Caan provides suitable comic relief. And the aforementioned Park isn’t shy about putting her tight body on display. Plus, the picturesque Hawaiian scenery always manages to brighten my mood.
Other things I liked: Danno’s Mustang, a guy was crushed by a semi, another guy took an ash tray to the face, and Grace Park punching a dude while wearing a bikini. Nice. Things I didn’t like: the lame Huey helicopters in the opening scene, the divorced cop cliche and James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) being grossly under-utilized as the terrorist villain.
Overall, I’d call it a good start. I’ll definitely keep watching in hopes that it doesn’t decline in the storytelling department. It’s not easy to script episodic television for the big nets. Writers are crippled creatively due to content restraints. However, the 10pm time slot will allow for certain boundaries to be skirted. As long as they keep the badass, fun and sexy quotients high, it should be a winner. Maybe not a ratings winner, but a winner nonetheless.
