I saw the first half hour of one of the episodes and was disappointed with what I saw. I'm going to give it a few more tries, but I'm not holding out any hope.
As a fan of the first H5O, one of the things I noticed was that most of the shots were indoor shots. And, to me at least, very few (if any)outdoor shots where you saw BOTH the actors AND the Hawaiian scenery together. The car scenes I saw were shot from above, a technique that can be duplicated in any Hollywood back lot. An interior shot showing a beach background could EASILY have been a green screen shot. The original H5O was at LEAST 90% shot in Hawaii (including the interiors). That was one factor that added to the richness of the show. Here, I see gorgeous stock footage of Waikiki locations, but I don't remember any where the actors are in the scenery. So, to me, I can't shake the suspicion that the show is filmed mostly in Hollywood with outdoor scenery thrown in for good measure. At least in the old show you would see McGarrett having a conversation, interviewing someone, etc. at a recognizable Hawaiian location. There used to be a HUGE number of outdoor shots. I didn't see many in the episode I perused.
Also the executive producer said: "The characters in "Hawaii Five-0" will be more three-dimensional than during the series' first run, with their own troubled histories, unpredictable family ties and personal mistakes...". Say again? The show was never about the personal lives of the characters, unless it connected to a crime that was being investigated.
And why was the first episode I watched one of female victimization? Yes I realize that occurs in the real world, but I'm tired of Hollywood using this tired plot device so very frequently.
And having McGarret resorting to torture techniques is way out of character. He would NOT have done that....even to Wo Fat (who WOULD have).
I think this rendition of Hawaii Five-O is a cookie-cutter of previous New York based police dramas with a few Hawaiian references scattered about. I think it's lazy and sloppy writing with little TRUE originality.
As for the opening credit music, I'll actually give that a 7...BUT I could tell that it was shortened, and was mostly electronic. Does it REALLY cost that much to hire a real orchestra for a television series?
In the end, as my subject line says, I feel that this show is NOT Hawaii Five-O. It has some of the same structure but it does not resemble the original, nor does it have the same charisma as the original did (except toward the end when the original series became unwatchable), and is not as intriguing a show as the original was. I will try to watch it a few more times, but I'm afraid the "taste" is going to be bittersweet.
As a fan of the first H5O, one of the things I noticed was that most of the shots were indoor shots. And, to me at least, very few (if any)outdoor shots where you saw BOTH the actors AND the Hawaiian scenery together. The car scenes I saw were shot from above, a technique that can be duplicated in any Hollywood back lot. An interior shot showing a beach background could EASILY have been a green screen shot. The original H5O was at LEAST 90% shot in Hawaii (including the interiors). That was one factor that added to the richness of the show. Here, I see gorgeous stock footage of Waikiki locations, but I don't remember any where the actors are in the scenery. So, to me, I can't shake the suspicion that the show is filmed mostly in Hollywood with outdoor scenery thrown in for good measure. At least in the old show you would see McGarrett having a conversation, interviewing someone, etc. at a recognizable Hawaiian location. There used to be a HUGE number of outdoor shots. I didn't see many in the episode I perused.
Also the executive producer said: "The characters in "Hawaii Five-0" will be more three-dimensional than during the series' first run, with their own troubled histories, unpredictable family ties and personal mistakes...". Say again? The show was never about the personal lives of the characters, unless it connected to a crime that was being investigated.
And why was the first episode I watched one of female victimization? Yes I realize that occurs in the real world, but I'm tired of Hollywood using this tired plot device so very frequently.
And having McGarret resorting to torture techniques is way out of character. He would NOT have done that....even to Wo Fat (who WOULD have).
I think this rendition of Hawaii Five-O is a cookie-cutter of previous New York based police dramas with a few Hawaiian references scattered about. I think it's lazy and sloppy writing with little TRUE originality.
As for the opening credit music, I'll actually give that a 7...BUT I could tell that it was shortened, and was mostly electronic. Does it REALLY cost that much to hire a real orchestra for a television series?
In the end, as my subject line says, I feel that this show is NOT Hawaii Five-O. It has some of the same structure but it does not resemble the original, nor does it have the same charisma as the original did (except toward the end when the original series became unwatchable), and is not as intriguing a show as the original was. I will try to watch it a few more times, but I'm afraid the "taste" is going to be bittersweet.