Book It?

I watched the new Hawaii Five-0.  I never saw the original so I had no expectations.  It's mostly another shoot 'em up, with regular stops for overheated, even reckless, action.  The two leads both got shot in the pilot.  Too much more of that and I don't think they'll make it to the end of the season.

The basic plot is a former Navy SEAL (Alex O'Loughlin) forms a task force to fight the toughest criminals in Hawaii at the behest of the Governor (Jean Smart). His investigation has him mix it up with a detective (Scott Caan) on the same case.  They take an immediate dislike to each other.  I find this kind of thing grating. Assuming I keep watching, I hope they move beyond it.

If you couldn't guess, they don't go by the book.  They prefer to trample peoples' rights, which is okay since they're the good guys.

The SEAL, unfortunately, is searching for his father's killer (assuming his father is dead--since he's played by a name actor, we'll have to see about that).  That kind of mission is a drag on any show.

Two locals, played by Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, add a lot of appeal to the cast.  Kim, formerly of Lost, is a cop accused of being on the take.  No one trusts him, except O'Loughlin, who has ties.  Park, formerly of Battlestar Galactica, is Kim's cousin (so no romance there, I guess), and an ass-kicking cop/surfer.  I also hear Masi Oka, formerly of Heroes, will play the coroner in future episodes.

The best thing is they didn't mess too much with one of the great theme songs ever.  They shortened it, but all themes are shorter theses day.  They also screwed up the harmony a bit, but it still works.