HAWAII FIVE-0 (2010-) (SEASON 1 AND 2)
Starring
Daniel Dae Kim – Chin Ho Kelly
Alex O’Loughlin – Steve McGarrett
Grace Park – Kono Kalakaua
Scott Caan – Danny ‘Danno’ Williams
Masi Oka – Dr. Max Bergman
Taylor Wily – Kamekona
Review
With all of the action, romance, ‘bro-mance’, comedy, amazing actors,and great shots, you just cannot like this show, you have to LOVE it. Hawaii Five-0, based off the 1968 Hawaii Five-O, is the new tv detective drama. It has everything which a tv show must have now a days to stay afloat. But the added bonus is that it is set in Hawaii (thus the title) and the luscious shots of the Hawaiian islands really add to the effect.
After a commercial segment, it will usually start with the camera panning over the island, showing people surfing, or just showing different parts of he island and since it is filmed in HD, you really feel like you are there. The shots are amazing and each episode you don’t know what to expect. Some times they will be by the water, other times they will be in the grassy jungle, and other time they will be in the city or the small towns. There is a lot of variety as to where each episode is shot.
I find that the acting is really great in this show. The fight scenes are realistic (many hours of training), the deaths are realistic and the actors really portray how they feel when certain things happen. They also have a great cast of characters all of whom, in my opinion, work together really well and act like a team. You sometimes see tv shows where the cast doesn’t seem to blend, but this show, they are really close, on and off the set (or so I can tell from the interviews with the cast).
I really like how they have Grace Park as part of the team. It is nice to see a woman there kicking some real butt. She knows how to fire a gun, is good with computers, is smart, and knows how to be part of the team and really is good at dealing with people when they go bad🙂. When time comes, she can really throw a punch or negotiate and stall time to save those around her.
Alex O’Loughlin plays Steve McGarrett who is a naval intelligence officer. He has a strong will and will stop at nothing to get the killer of his father and solve the mysteries surrounding his mother and fathers death. He has an unethical way of dealing with people by hanging them off a building, or throwing them into a shark cage. They may not be by the book, but it does have an effect and it gets the answers which are needed. This then pools over to Danny.
Danny, or Danno as his daughter likes to call him, is played by Scott Caan. Danny is the go by the books person but after a while Steves methods start rubbing off on him. He decides to tie a guy to the front of the car and go for a ‘little’ drive. This then sparks a conversation of how Danny would not let Steve do anything like that. Thus this new type of relationship kind of begins. Danny has a daughter Grace and wants to do everything to protect her but wants to be able to go and see her and stay alive. He is divorced but still has a amiable relationship with his ex, Rachel.
Daniel Dae Kim plays Chin Ho Kelly. Chin had some issues with the police that he had taken some money, which he claimed he had not. Even though he had some rough patches he was always trusted by the team and did everything which he could to help out and protect his cousin Kono.
There are many threads through this tv show. Some are about Chin and Kono and their family, some of it is about Danny and his family issues, but it all started with Steve and his father, the mystery and the name ‘Shelburn’ runs through most of the tv show.
The team is like a small family and they protect each other every step of the way.
The story line is really interesting and each season ends with a question or with a huge cliff hanger. Season 2, which just finished, ended with a HUGE cliff hanger and I am flipping out as one of the characters life is in jeopardy.
So go out to your local library and get season one and we have to wait for Season 2 to come out on DVD in September and Season 3 will begin on tv then as well.
This really is an amazing show and a definite watch.
Enjoy.