The reboot of legendary US cop drama Hawaii Five-0 hits our screens this week on Sky 1. The RTÉ Guide’s John Byrne reports on the show that’s already been making big waves on the other side of the Atlantic.
Now, this is fun. When it was first mooted that Hawaii Five-0 – the iconic 1960s/’70s cop drama starring Jack Lord as quiffed cop Steve McGarrett - was to be resurrected, many TV watchers feared the worst. There have been many remakes that just didn’t work.
The second comings of Bionic Woman, Reginald Perrin, Knight Rider, Twilight Zone and Get Smart were all rubbish, and that’s just for starters. Many hit shows were of their time and it’s a pretty big ask to find one that can be remodelled successfully for today’s audience.
But step up, Hawaii Five-0. Borrowing very little from the original, bar the title, a couple of names, a location and that fantastic theme tune, you’d be entitled to wonder why they bothered at all with the reboot: this Hawaii Five-0 is good enough and new enough to stand on its own merits.
Slick and spectacular, and utilising the chisel-featured, two-day stubble qualities of Alex O'Loughlin (as McGarrett) and Scott Caan (Danny Williams), it won't win any awards for originality. But it is fun, which is just as important.
It’s a welcome break for O’Loughlin, who has enjoyed little luck with show up until now.
After leaving his native Australia for Hollywood, in 2005 he auditioned for James Bond, losing out to Daniel Craig. A year later he landed the role of Detective Kevin Hiatt in cult drama The Shield, but the part only lasted seven episodes.
Then came Moonlight, his first starring role. In this quirky drama (described in industry lingo as a ‘paranormal romance’), he played Mick St John, a private investigator who was also a vampire. Lashed by the critics, it was dropped after its first season despite having the highest audience rating in its time slot.
By then, O’Loughlin had moved on to a new medical drama Three Rivers. Although the plan was for it to take over the slot vacated by ER, Three Rivers left viewers cold and failed to get past its first season.
O’Loughlin fared a lot better with his first major movie outing, last year’s The Back-up Plan. He starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in a predictable rom-com that defied its critical pasting to rake in nearly $80 million at the box-office, making it CBS Films' highest-grossing movie to date.
Now, O’Loughlin is playing Detective Steve McGarrett, a decorated naval officer-turned-cop who returns to the Hawaiian island of Oahu to investigate his father’s murder and decides to stay after the Hawaiian Governor convinces him to run a new squad of the Hawaii State Police to catch the island’s worst criminals.
McGarrett’s team is completed by fish-out-of-water New Jersey Detective ‘Danno’ Williams (Scott Caan, Ocean’s Eleven); Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim, who played Jin in Lost), a detective wrongly accused of corruption; and Kelly’s cousin Kono (Grace Park, Battlestar Galactica), a recent graduate of the police academy.
So far, it’s third time lucky for O’Loughlin, as Hawaii Five-0 has become one of Stateside’s most popular new shows since its launch last September. While Jack Lord’s original Steve McGarrett is an iconic figure to those who saw the show first time around, O’Loughlin is comfortable in his new role.
“We will stand out from the original”, he insists. “You can’t look at any television that long ago because there are so many differences already. I just think that it’s a good opportunity. We have enough in the show that pays homage to the old show, and we come at it with grace, respect and integrity, so that we can go off in a different direction and play with these characters.”
As for his character, O’Loughlin sees his version of McGarrett as “pretty dry. He spent a lot of time in the military, in close quarters. He’s the kind of guy who learned how to defend himself and his honour, and the honour of his family and friends, very quickly and very young in life.
“He understands irony and sarcasm, when a lot of people around him might not, and he gets the job done regardless of what he has to do. He’s pretty intolerant of people who see things differently but there’s something pretty lovable about him. If you’re in with him, he’ll die to protect you.”
In truth, many viewers will have no memory of the original show, beyond a familiarity with the theme tune. Despite being born just four years before the show ended back in 1980, O’Loughlin recalls seeing it as a child, and regards this updated version as any entirely different package.
“It’s not a remake”, he insists. “We’re not picking up where they left off. It’s a reboot and the characters are very different. My character, Steve McGarrett, was in the old show, but you didn’t know much about the character that Jack Lord played, whereas in the pilot of our new show, you learn a lot about my Steve McGarrett. I just did my character work based on the script that these guys wrote.”
After the traumatic experience of being the star of two axed shows (the aforementioned Moonlight and Three Rivers), O’Loughlin admits that he’s none the wiser about the vagaries of television and why some shows become hits and others tank.
“There is no science behind it”, he says. “I look at some stuff on TV and, to me, it’s terrible, but lots and lots of people watch it. I look at other stuff and, to me, it’s fantastic and no one watches it. So, I don’t know what the recipe is. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. I don’t know whether it’s seasonal, or what.”
But he is confident for the future of his current show. “I think Hawaii Five-O has so much to offer to so many different people – men and women, old and young, fans of the old show and newcomers. It’s just a cool show. I love the relationship between McGarrett and Danno, and I love what we’ve both done with the characters. The guts of the show is McGarrett and Dano, and we can always watch that. If you love two characters and what happens between them, that can develop into anything, forever.”
Five Other Reboots
Some are brill, some are bad, some are Bionic Woman.
Doctor Who
The reimagined DW is arguably TV’s greatest reboot. The original had a loyal fanbase but by the end of its run it was pure pastche. Since its return in 2005 it’s become essential viewing with Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and the current Doc Matt Smith all bringing something special to the role.
Reboot Rating: *****
Knight Rider
The show that made David Hasselhoff a star before ‘Baywatch’. ‘Knight Rider’ was a huge success in the early 1980s, but the 2008 remake – featuring Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur, the estranged son of the Hoff’s Michael Knight – never took off, despite being pretty good, actually. Talking cars are so-o-o 1980s.
Reboot Rating: ***
Bionic Woman
A big hit in the 1970s as a spin-off of The Six Million Dollar Man, the 2007 version is probably the definitive ‘how not to’ reboot an old show and make it relevant to today’s audience. It was a mess and taken out of its misery after just eight episodes.
Reboot Rating: *
Reggie Perrin
The original Rise and Fall of . . . was quirky, anarchic and a perfect fit for the late Leonard Rossiter, who was replaced in the 2009 reboot by Martin Clunes. Despite getting a second season and the latter’s obvious comedic talent, it still feels like a pretty pointless remake.
Reboot Rating: **
Upstairs Downstairs
Another example of how to get it right. Keeping the theme tune, the house and Jean Marsh’s Rose Buck from the 1970s’ show, the BBC took the story forward a couple of decades, added a new family and staff, and the three hour-long episodes were among the highlights of the 2010 Christmas TV schedules.
Reboot Rating: ****
John Byrne
