Hawaii Five-0: TiVo 'Em, Danno!

     CW, take note. This is how you remake a classic television show. I was too young to have watched the original (it ended three years before I was born), but I loved the pilot of the new Hawaii Five-0 last night. Yes, the remake has a 0 instead of an O in its title, which seems weird to me. However, that was the only thing that appeared to be out of place.

     I dislike cop shows as a general rule, and procedurals as well. Hawaii Five-0 is probably both, and so may soon get boring and worthless. I suspect that will not be the case, though, because of just how right this first episode was. Not only do we get to see the beautiful island state every week, but CBS (which also aired the original show) brought together a terrific cast of four talented actors, and that may be what sets this series apart from other recent updates.

     The new Hawaii Five-0 is not a sequel to the original series, but rather a reboot, featuring the same characters played by new actors. Steve McGarrett, the leader of the squad, is played by Alex O'Loughlin. This was a bit of a surprise, since O'Loughlin has very recently starred in two short-lived shows for CBS: the mediocre Moonlight and the terrible Three Rivers. Neither made it to a full-length season, but gladly, the network is taking a chance on the actor again. Third time's a charm, right? Danno is now Scott Caan of Entourage and the Ocean's movies. Daniel Dae Kim, who recently completed the Hawaii-filmed Lost, takes on the role of Chin Ho Kelly. Finally, Grace Park plays Kona Kalakaua, as she is apparently the go-to girl when a series is remade and the producers want to change a heavyset male part into that of an attractive female (she did the exact same thing for Battlestar Galactica).

     Each one of those four leads have magnetic chemistry. Add to that the legendary Jean Smart (Samantha Who?, 24, Designing Women) as the governor who sets up the task force, and there are the makings for a real television classic that breaks the standard cop show mold. Despite the familiar situations, there wasn't a thing ho-hum about the pilot. It has charm and amusement that no other crime show on the air matches. Plus, it retains the original theme song. And, if you need another reason to watch, the pilot guest starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters.

     Tune into the new Hawaii Five-0 Monday nights at 10pm on CBS.

Article first published as Hawaii 5-0: TiVo 'Em, Danno! on Blogcritics.