Welcome to Re-make Mondays, a weekly feature that takes a look at a remake/reboot currently being touted to hungry cinema/TV audiences. I’ll feature the remake, and also what footage or content I can from the original, and then leave the helpless victim for you all to tear apart or cuddle up to in the comments. So, let’s get started.

Long before Law and Order and the hydra-like CSI franchise, there was another brand of American police procedural that was a little lighter in tone, and tended to focus a lot more on the physical assets of the cast than the semantic aspects of a good forty minute whodunnit. This was the genre the original Hawaii Five-O, and even in syndication today, after running in the States for twelve seasons between 1968 and 1980, it remains very popular.

The original McGarrett and Williams, portrayed by Jack Lord and James MacArthur for 12 seasons.

The show is best remembered for it’s theme tune, and for the audacity of its setting. Being based on Hawaii offered plenty of opportunities for scantily-clad damsels for Detectives McGarrett and Williams to save from an assortment of tropical troubles. Back then, the best line was always the McGarrett’s to Williams, once the kidnap plot/drug ring/whale hustlers/heiress blackmailers had been foiled, and were in custody: “Book ’em, Danno”.

Here’s the opening credits with the iconic theme tune

In 2010, police and law enforcement procedurals were the top form of scripted entertainment in America – with shows like NCIS, the CSI family, and Law and Order family regularly topping the ratings. CBS decided to finally capitalise on the long-bandied about re-make of Hawaii Five-O, which itself was a regular favourite on assorted channels showing syndicated classic shows.

The idea to reboot the show had been around since the mid-1990s, and in 2008, a script was passed around Hollywood with an eye to seriously reviving the series. In 2010, CBS picked up the rebooted version, starring Alex O’ Loughlin and Scott Caan as McGarrett and Williams, with the pilot written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzmann, who had gathered great acclaim with their work on Lost, Fringe and the rebooted Star Trek movie.

Here’s the trailer for the rebooted Hawaii Five-0:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNqcmJnycsE

My Verdict: Though it took a little time to find love from the critics, the rebooted Hawaii Five-0 was an instant hit with audiences, and sailed high in the ratings through its first season and into the second currently screening in the States. It’s got all the beaches, babes and bad guys going for it that were the real draw of the original, but the real stars of this new version are O’Loughlin and Caan as McGarrett and Danno respectively, and particularly the fiery, funny onscreen chemistry they bring to their partnership. Their regular bouncing off each other, and the playful way they toy with viewers’ expectations of their professional partnership, really make this a worthy reboot. It’s bright and brassy enough to please the purists, and tongue in cheek enough to appeal to the new generation of police procedural enthusiasts. Definitely one to dive in to.