Hawaii Five-O

My husband and I are not real TV people. Well, he is, but it's all about ice-road truckers, and Do It Yourself, and This Old House, and Dirty Jobs (I'm definitely using Mike Rowe as a hero in a future book) I never get to watch television, at least not like a normal person. I have to buy the DVD ten years later. I watched all the Gilmore Girls, a season at time, well after the show ended. Even now, I get my doses of NCIS, Bones, and CSI in out of order, years old, segments.

But, we both were looking forward to the new Hawaii Five-O and actually planned to watch it, made time that is. One of the things we do as a couple is late at night we watch old DVD's. Our favorite is Adam 12. We watch a lot of Dragnet, too. So, you can imagine how we felt about a real prime time drama meeting our critiera.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

I so wanted to enjoy it. I was wary about the characters. I thought in carrying on a tradition that worked, they should use more Hawaiians. But, like Ann Rice, I've been wrong before, so although my husband and I discussed it, we were willing to give it a chance.

Tonight we may watch it, but we're not looking forward to it like we were.

And I've thought about it. See, television already has primetime kick-butt police high dramas that supply gore, extreme witt (the kind that comes from the mouth and not the brain), and the ultimate bad guys. What television doesn't have is a police show that goes back to what the old Hawaii Five-O had. Good detective work, mostly by the book, with a leader who relied on his team and his gut and who did it while commanding respect. (I'm wrong. There were some episodes of Law and Order that did.)

Watching the two main characters, McGarritt and Danno, physically fight each other, verbally abuse each other, and solving a intense crime much too easily - didn't work for me.

In the end, Danno (Caan) had more soul than McGarrett, although his not liking Hawaii seemed like a desperate ploy to throw in an unnecessary conflict. McGarrett (O'Loughlin) came across a bit too bullying. I'd rather see real leadership.

As for the two supporting characters. Chin Ho Kelly comes with a reasonable motivation for joining the team. But, Kono seems to join for no reason other than I need to prove I'm kick butt and a girl. Come on, guys, give her a real reason to join.