I liked it, but it clearly was not "Hawaii Five-O". While a few of the story elements were carry-overs from the original show (such as the names of the central characters), so much of the show was new and very, very different. Here are a few of the differences:
1. There's some back story about McGarrett's father and some evil mercenary terrorist baddie. The father was never mentioned in the original show and you assume this baddie is a replacement for McGarrett's nemesis, Wo Fat. I assume since relations have improved between China and the US since the original show debuted they decided to excise Fat from the new show--and that probably will be a shame--Wo Fat was cool (sort of like Ming the Merciless and a spy put together!).
2. The show is now ACTION, ACTION, ACTION and snappy quips--none of which were true in the original. In fact, "Hawaii Five-O" (1968) was rarely an action show despite being a police series.
3. In the new show, you must assume that the Bill of Rights have been repealed, as McGarrett and his men routinely ignore the Constitution--something Jack Lord and his men NEVER would have done. Beating up a witness, not bothering to get a search warrant and the like seem to be quite okay with the new McGarrett!
4. Sexy, sexy, sexy seems to be the theme in the new show. Gone are fat Kono (he's now a sexy and entirely too thin young lady), old Chin Ho (he's now young and hot) and the clean-shaven professional look is gone. It's like "Miami Vice" more than "Five-O".
Overall, it's still WAY too early to pass any judgment on the new show. Based ONLY ON THIS PREMIER EPISODE, I would say that the new show is very exciting and cool but also a bit shallow and dumb (it's all action and 'cerebral' is not a term anyone would use for it). In a mindless sort of way, I liked it--but its spirit and mood is nothing like the original. Aside from names and locations, it's all new. Very, very new.
By the way, to be fair, I should point out that the pilot for the original show ("Cocoon") was very, very atypical for the series as well and was more action-oriented. It featured McGarrett working with the CIA and battling international Communism! And, it had a sensory deprivation tank and machine guns!
1. There's some back story about McGarrett's father and some evil mercenary terrorist baddie. The father was never mentioned in the original show and you assume this baddie is a replacement for McGarrett's nemesis, Wo Fat. I assume since relations have improved between China and the US since the original show debuted they decided to excise Fat from the new show--and that probably will be a shame--Wo Fat was cool (sort of like Ming the Merciless and a spy put together!).
2. The show is now ACTION, ACTION, ACTION and snappy quips--none of which were true in the original. In fact, "Hawaii Five-O" (1968) was rarely an action show despite being a police series.
3. In the new show, you must assume that the Bill of Rights have been repealed, as McGarrett and his men routinely ignore the Constitution--something Jack Lord and his men NEVER would have done. Beating up a witness, not bothering to get a search warrant and the like seem to be quite okay with the new McGarrett!
4. Sexy, sexy, sexy seems to be the theme in the new show. Gone are fat Kono (he's now a sexy and entirely too thin young lady), old Chin Ho (he's now young and hot) and the clean-shaven professional look is gone. It's like "Miami Vice" more than "Five-O".
Overall, it's still WAY too early to pass any judgment on the new show. Based ONLY ON THIS PREMIER EPISODE, I would say that the new show is very exciting and cool but also a bit shallow and dumb (it's all action and 'cerebral' is not a term anyone would use for it). In a mindless sort of way, I liked it--but its spirit and mood is nothing like the original. Aside from names and locations, it's all new. Very, very new.
By the way, to be fair, I should point out that the pilot for the original show ("Cocoon") was very, very atypical for the series as well and was more action-oriented. It featured McGarrett working with the CIA and battling international Communism! And, it had a sensory deprivation tank and machine guns!