The theme song is the same, and the setting is still as inviting as ever. But the new Hawaii Five-0 series that will debut on CBS this Fall on Monday nights hopes to bring back fans of the original series, as well as use island hospitality and charm to tempt a new audience. Longtime fans the original, which ran from 1968-1980, may be hesitant for a remake. However, Battlestar Galactica fans can share how their concerns were quickly calmed with an impressive (and successful) modern take.
“People ask what the pitfalls are in doing a remake of something,” showrunner Peter Lenkov shared. “The first one is not being respectful to the original material. We were all really passionate about that original show and understood what made that original show work and knew going in not to throw things out that did work.”
Version 2.0 features four members of an elite task force to tackle high stakes crime in the Aloha State. The Pilot introduces audiences to Steve McGarrett (Steve McGarrett), a detective and former US Navy lieutenant who returns to Hawaii to investigate his father’s murder and is persuaded by the state government to head a new team where there is no red tape or rules to follow in solving the state’s biggest crimes. McGarrett recruits Danny “Danno” Williams, an ex-New Jersey cop, Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim), an ex-Honolulu cop, and Chin Ho’s cousin, Kona Kalakaua (Grace Park). Len Wiseman (Underworld) is directing the Pilot, and Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman are head writers.
Many unsuccessful remakes rely on too much nostalgia and not enough new relevant ground to make it interesting to today’s time. The series, set in contemporary Hawaii, and the shows’ creators vow to be current and meaningful given its importance in the world today and attracting individuals of all sorts and businesses. The Honolulu Police Department was consulted on crimes unique to Hawaii and Orci and Kurtzman both spoke about how the island will be a fifth character.
“One of the shows we did grow up on was Miami Vice,” Kurtzman said. “Miami was such a huge character on that show. It looks like paradise but there’s this underside to it. When you look at Hawaii Five-0 now and what that original show had a similar bent. In fact I think Miami Vice borrowed that from the original Hawaii Five-O.”
“You hear in the Pilot that Hawaii is a gateway to the US (from the East) and a gateway out to the world from our direction,” added Orci. “Our president is from there so it’s a perfect storm of Hawaii being relevant as an important hub internationally rather than just being American stories. It gives it an international flavor as well.”
The diversity in cast is another draw. Park and Kim are two of the four major roles giving the Asian-American demographic more primetime lead characters, a group that’s been highly under-represented in network television. Seeing them in skimpy Hawaiian attire is not so bad either.
“I think it’s great that people think of it that way,” Kim said. “On a larger scale, it’s fantastic. Anytime there’s more diversity in what people think is sexy, I’m all for it. It’s different flavors for everyone.”
It’s also different opportunities for everyone involved. Lenkov used to be a part of recently-ended 24, Orci and Kurtzman have never written real world police procedurals, Kim and Park were on highly successful shows that also ended within the last year.
For Wiseman, television is a switch from his usually large-budgeted films. He agreed that nostalgia can take viewers to a point but what he thinks sets it apart and makes it unique are the central characters. “It’s not so procedural, that the main thing is all about the plot,” said Wiseman. “That’s a fun element of it, and I love figuring a mystery out, but ultimately it’s going to be more about the characters and their relationships.
“It’s not the murder next door,” Lenkov added. “There are a lot of shows that do that really well but what we wanted to do was bigger stakes with the perspective that everyone on the task force comes to this group with a different experience.”
Wiseman summed up the hook by saying, “The whole purpose of 5-0 is that they operate outside of the norm. It will be different, because the whole purpose of putting them together even, is a work outside the law, occupying the gray area.”
One thing that isn’t gray is how the show is being presented. This is an action-packed show, with a high-budgeted Pilot that sets up the structure of the close-ended procedural. Lenkov explained that every episode will have three pieces to it.
“The “A” crime story, which for the most part will be solved. Sometimes bad guys get away; this is a very real show so we don’t always wrap it up in a nice, neat bow. There’s a “B” story which is a character piece, and “C” story arc that plays over the entire season that will open up a new mystery for a potential season two.”
“The action, the pace, tonally that’s our goal is to relive that pilot, which I think we’re doing successfully. We have some big episodes coming up with a lot of action. We learned a lot about doing action on a TV budget through the course of the pilot. The pilot was expensive, but not astronomical. We learned a lot of tricks making this thing.”
The high level of action has forced Park to train and prepare for a heightened level of physicality. “I’m used to the guns, I honestly love the smell of gunpowder now. I think they should put that in cologne.” Park joked. “Getting used to stunts is a little different. Pretending to take hits is one thing, totally getting padded up and wrestling, throwing punches and combos, diving into the pool, choking people–that’s a whole other game. Usually there are things on fire around you. I’ve tweaked my shoulder, hurt my neck, this is not as easy as it looks.”
As with any cult television show, both Park and Kim hope to bring along with them that loyal audience. Both admit that the police procedural is a change of pace for them and Hawaii Five-0 is a far cry from fighting cylons in space or a headache-inducing sci-fi genre-bending show. Both actors shared what it is about Hawaii Five-0 that they believe will be appealing to fans of Lost and Battlestar Galactica.
“Despite the fact this is a more self-contained kind of show, episode to episode,” Kim teased. “There are going to be some long-standing character arcs that are going to develop over time. Like my character on Lost, Jin Kwon, (Detective) Chin Ho has a conflicted past, he has secrets he doesn’t want to let out and you’re going to see how he deals with them over the season.”
“We’re not in outer space,” said Park. “It’s not going to be as heavy in terms of character development or being lost in another world, but you will have the action and this great character dynamic. You do have a comedy element, so it’s its own thing, and it does it really well.”
“If you watch the Pilot, I think you’ll get a good sense of whether or not this is your flavor or not. Whether or not people knew Lost or Battlestar, or even the old Hawaii Five-0, this is going to be of interest to them.”
Park warned, “The only clone I have on this show is a stunt double.”
