Pilot Review: Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
Premiered September 20 at 10pm

I’ve never seen the original series on which this one is based, so this review won’t address any comparisons. Instead, I’d like to acknowledge right off the bat that this is a perfect enjoyable, action-packed cop show with a fun cast. Whether it needs to be on TV is another matter, but let’s stick with the positives for the moment. Alex O’Loughlin was awesome as a cop on “The Shield” before he tried his hand at two CBS shows, “Moonlight” and “Three Rivers.” Now, he’s finally found another role that suits him, and he’s an able lead for this show. Scott Caan’s wit and dry humor works great opposite O’Loughlin’s sterner attitude, and his taunting of his prisoner towards the end of the episode was especially amusing and should be indicative of much entertainment to come. Daniel Dae Kim isn’t quite as cool as he was as English-speaking Jin on the final two seasons of “Lost,” but he’ll do just fine. Grace Park got some good seductive training from “The Cleaner” and will do well with her combat skills learned from “Battlestar Galactica,” and it’s good to have a woman on the team to help ensure there’s not too much testosterone (though she’s one tough chick, it appears). The casting of William Sadler as Steve’s dad, James Marsters as the first episode villain, and Jean Smart as the governor indicate that the casting people behind this show know what they’re doing. If anything, this show goes a little overboard with the action, and my only comment would be that it seems much better suited as a time slot companion to “NCIS: Los Angeles” on Tuesdays rather than following all of the Monday night comedies (“The Good Wife” would probably fit better on Mondays, truth be told). I’m not sure this show has the potential to be great, but it sure will be fun. I may not keep watching simply because there’s other stuff on the same night, but we’ll see.

How will it work as a series? This was the requisite formation of the team episode, and they already managed to cram a lot of action into the back half of the pilot. Therefore, this should have no trouble being a thrill ride from here on out, and the four main characters offer up more than enough potential material for back stories, so this show shouldn’t have any trouble churning out villains and showcasing heroes for quite some time.
How long will it last? Given the success of the shows in the CBS “CSI” franchise, I’d bet a long time. Ratings for the pilot were strong, and unlike most other shows these days, it’s the kind of series where viewers can tune in at any time without feeling left out. I predict a renewal right around the corner for this show.

Pilot grade: B+