HAWAII FIVE-O 2010 Overview
Hey, everyone.
It's my pleasure to introduce you guys to one of my favorite shows: Hawaii Five-0.
This overview will cover the new series, not the old one. The show is a reboot of a previous TV series, which oddmonster will be covering for us this month.
BASIC PREMISE:
An ex-Navy SEAL with a fraught past, a loudmouth Jersey cop in self-inflicted exile, an ex-surfing champion turned rookie cop and the gift shop security guard at the "Arizona" monument band together to form an elite Hawaiian crime-fighting task force.
Left to Right : Kono, Chin, Steve & Danny
THE SHOW :
In the pilot, Steve McGarrett's father died, and a small special state task force was created by the Governor of Hawaii to investigate his death as well as major crimes throughout the state. To get Steve to accept the job of leading said task force, the Governor promised him full immunity and means, which is why Five-O bypasses the normal chain of command and reports directly to the Governor's office. The series usually covers a case per episode, but there are also several season long story arcs.
The main one is related to Steve McGarrett's family past and the show's mysterious villain Wo Fat. It started out in the pilot, when terrorist and arms dealer Hesse murders Steve's father while Steve gets to listen to it on the phone, leading Steve to return to Hawaii to find Hesse. When Steve finally caught Hesse, we discover that Hesse is taking orders from someone: Wo Fat, a Chinese spook turned criminal mastermind with very high-level ties to the Yakuza. Steve then finds out that his mother didn't die in a car accident, she was killed by a car bomb meant for his father who was getting too close in one of his investigations. Steve's father left everything he had about that investigation in a toolbox, which was later stolen from Steve's home. Lately, someone began to mail items from the box back to Steve one by one.
CHARACTERS :
- Lieutenant Commander Steve "Smooth Dog" McGarrett, USNR : a former Navy SEAL, he left to join FIVE-O to find Hesse and find out why his father was murdered. For a lean mean killing machine, he's unusually mellow and cheerful. He surfs, occasionally lazes around, and likes to take the time to stop and smell the hibiscuses (not roses, as the Hawaiian approach is always best as far as he's concerned.) When it's time to kick ass, however, all bets are off. He has a vague notion that there is such a thing as police procedure, but he's not all that interested in hearing about it, causing no end of frustration to his partner in the process, what with dangling uncooperative criminals off buildings or throwing them into shark cages until they talk. Full immunity and means, bitches! Steve has those and you can suck it.
Finally (and this is very important), Steve has some of the sluttiest, gayest ink ever seen on prime time, which include a lizard around one nipple, sunbeams around the other, and an enormous tramp stamp shaped like an arrow pointing at his (admittedly spectacular) ass. I swear I'm not making this up. There are pictures here. (Sadly, the slutty arrow has been reshaped recently because the actor added to it. In the words of one of my friends "I kind of like how it wraps around his hipbones, but I miss the giant arrow. Not that Danny needs the roadmap for where he's going, but yeah.")
- Danny "Danno" Williams: every no good husband has an angry harrassed fishwife, and in Steve's case that's Danny, Steve's partner, who'll gladly complain about everything under the Hawaiian sun, since he's the token haole ("mainlander"). Danny's originally from New Jersey, but when his wife divorced him and took his kid all the way to Hawaii, he followed, because he'd sooner lose everything else in his life that not have his daughter, Grace, even if it's only every other week-end. Unlike McGarett the crimefighting ninja, Danny is actually a cop, so he doesn't need gunfights, brawls, explosions and car chases to validate him professionally. In fact, much to Steve's confusion, Danny feels that a job done without those things was done better. He's got family drama like everybody else on the show, but as loud as Danny is, things on that end are a lot quieter.
- Chin Ho Kelly: Chin was once a cop - the protege of Steve's father in fact - but left under a cloud of suspicion about his being a dirty cop, which caused a huge rift with his family. In fact, his cousin Kono is the only relative that he still talks to. Steve talks him into coming back to law enforcement and it turns out to be the best idea since Chin seemingly knows a lot of people on the islands. As the season progresses, we find out that Chin was innocent, but was too loyal not to take the fall when he found out who was actually responsible. He's quiet and charming, but formidable when he has to act. He also happens to drive a Harley, and looks drool-worthy doing it.
- Kono Kalakaua: Kono was a surfing superstar until a knee injury forced her to retire, and she decided to become a cop. She's fresh out of the academy, and she may be "the girl" on that team, but you don't want to risk asking her to fetch your coffee, because she's girly and adorable right until the elbow strike slams into the side of your jaw and sends your teeth flying. Like a baby duckling, the team's rookie seems to have imprinted on Steve as her cop role model, much to Danny's dismay.
- Grace Williams: Grace is Danny's 9 y.o. daughter. She's a little too cute to be real at times, but fandom likes her anyway, because she clearly adores her Dad and her Step-Steve (she hasn't called him that on the show yet, but the way things have been going, she will soon).
- Rachel: Danny's ex-wife. At first, only an ominous malevolent off-screen presence. Then we met her, and while she's not everyone's cup of tea, she's not the dragonlady everyone imagined either. Lately, there's been a noticeable thaw in her relationship with Danny.
- Mary McGarrett: Steve's sister. They're not close, but growing closer. She was a bit of a wild child, and remains a handful, but Steve is the only family she has left and beneath the awkwardness and sibling arguments, there's genuine love.
- Kamekona: The only character on the show who probably doesn't have a secret past as a swimsuit model, moutain-like Kamekona's as cheerfully entrepreneurial as a Star Trek Ferengi. He's kind of hilarious and sweet (and a little shady, so the guys occasionally go to him for information).
-Max Bergman: Max is the medical examiner and he's ... quirky. But like all quirky TV characters, he's a genius at his job.
-The Governor: Governor of Hawaii Pat Jameson is the one who made Five-O happen. She pops up here and there and she seems to find being around Steve comforting even if the shit he pulls would make most everyone have a heart attack. But she promised that she'd have his back and she has yet to fail him. She may or may not have had something romantic going on with John McGarrett. They were at the very least friends.
E.T.A.: The first season finale? It changed everything! *highlight for shocking spoilers* The Governor was secretly Wo Fat's ally! And then Wo Fat killed her and pinned it on Steve! Kamekona sells shaved ice and black market weapons! Kono gets blamed for the stolen ten million dollars! Danny's leaving and Rachel's preggo! The H5O fandom wails and gnashes its teeth!
FANDOM:
The show is only in its first season, but the fandom is thriving, because between the numerous flyover views of the Islands, which basically amount to Hawaiian scenery porn, and the many endearing characters with their complicated and interesting personal lives, and the endless fanservice (Steve McGarrett's approach to problem-solving? Step 1 - Take Shirt Off), how could a fan possibly resist?
I've read several pairings in that fandom over the year, but the overwhelming majority of the fanfics are Steve/Danny, not that you can blame the fans, since both actors are smoking hot, have great chemistry, and canon has such things as the guys referring to each other as "babe", Danny signing a giant "I <3 U!" at Steve, and during one memorable hostage situation, an old guy telling Steve that now is not the time to bicker with his wife (guess who Steve was on the phone with).
Here on LJ, we have a gajillion comms among which:
hawaiifive_0_tv for general discussion of the show
h50_fic for fan fiction
hawaii5_o_news for the fandom newsletter
h50_rec_room for Hawaii Five-0 Recs
h50_flashfic for flash fiction
h50_iconage for icons
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the InterWebs we have:
The official site of the show
AO3 for all your fanfic needs
It's my pleasure to introduce you guys to one of my favorite shows: Hawaii Five-0.
This overview will cover the new series, not the old one. The show is a reboot of a previous TV series, which oddmonster will be covering for us this month.
BASIC PREMISE:
An ex-Navy SEAL with a fraught past, a loudmouth Jersey cop in self-inflicted exile, an ex-surfing champion turned rookie cop and the gift shop security guard at the "Arizona" monument band together to form an elite Hawaiian crime-fighting task force.
Left to Right : Kono, Chin, Steve & Danny
THE SHOW :
In the pilot, Steve McGarrett's father died, and a small special state task force was created by the Governor of Hawaii to investigate his death as well as major crimes throughout the state. To get Steve to accept the job of leading said task force, the Governor promised him full immunity and means, which is why Five-O bypasses the normal chain of command and reports directly to the Governor's office. The series usually covers a case per episode, but there are also several season long story arcs.
The main one is related to Steve McGarrett's family past and the show's mysterious villain Wo Fat. It started out in the pilot, when terrorist and arms dealer Hesse murders Steve's father while Steve gets to listen to it on the phone, leading Steve to return to Hawaii to find Hesse. When Steve finally caught Hesse, we discover that Hesse is taking orders from someone: Wo Fat, a Chinese spook turned criminal mastermind with very high-level ties to the Yakuza. Steve then finds out that his mother didn't die in a car accident, she was killed by a car bomb meant for his father who was getting too close in one of his investigations. Steve's father left everything he had about that investigation in a toolbox, which was later stolen from Steve's home. Lately, someone began to mail items from the box back to Steve one by one.
CHARACTERS :
- Lieutenant Commander Steve "Smooth Dog" McGarrett, USNR : a former Navy SEAL, he left to join FIVE-O to find Hesse and find out why his father was murdered. For a lean mean killing machine, he's unusually mellow and cheerful. He surfs, occasionally lazes around, and likes to take the time to stop and smell the hibiscuses (not roses, as the Hawaiian approach is always best as far as he's concerned.) When it's time to kick ass, however, all bets are off. He has a vague notion that there is such a thing as police procedure, but he's not all that interested in hearing about it, causing no end of frustration to his partner in the process, what with dangling uncooperative criminals off buildings or throwing them into shark cages until they talk. Full immunity and means, bitches! Steve has those and you can suck it.
Finally (and this is very important), Steve has some of the sluttiest, gayest ink ever seen on prime time, which include a lizard around one nipple, sunbeams around the other, and an enormous tramp stamp shaped like an arrow pointing at his (admittedly spectacular) ass. I swear I'm not making this up. There are pictures here. (Sadly, the slutty arrow has been reshaped recently because the actor added to it. In the words of one of my friends "I kind of like how it wraps around his hipbones, but I miss the giant arrow. Not that Danny needs the roadmap for where he's going, but yeah.")
- Danny "Danno" Williams: every no good husband has an angry harrassed fishwife, and in Steve's case that's Danny, Steve's partner, who'll gladly complain about everything under the Hawaiian sun, since he's the token haole ("mainlander"). Danny's originally from New Jersey, but when his wife divorced him and took his kid all the way to Hawaii, he followed, because he'd sooner lose everything else in his life that not have his daughter, Grace, even if it's only every other week-end. Unlike McGarett the crimefighting ninja, Danny is actually a cop, so he doesn't need gunfights, brawls, explosions and car chases to validate him professionally. In fact, much to Steve's confusion, Danny feels that a job done without those things was done better. He's got family drama like everybody else on the show, but as loud as Danny is, things on that end are a lot quieter.
- Chin Ho Kelly: Chin was once a cop - the protege of Steve's father in fact - but left under a cloud of suspicion about his being a dirty cop, which caused a huge rift with his family. In fact, his cousin Kono is the only relative that he still talks to. Steve talks him into coming back to law enforcement and it turns out to be the best idea since Chin seemingly knows a lot of people on the islands. As the season progresses, we find out that Chin was innocent, but was too loyal not to take the fall when he found out who was actually responsible. He's quiet and charming, but formidable when he has to act. He also happens to drive a Harley, and looks drool-worthy doing it.
- Kono Kalakaua: Kono was a surfing superstar until a knee injury forced her to retire, and she decided to become a cop. She's fresh out of the academy, and she may be "the girl" on that team, but you don't want to risk asking her to fetch your coffee, because she's girly and adorable right until the elbow strike slams into the side of your jaw and sends your teeth flying. Like a baby duckling, the team's rookie seems to have imprinted on Steve as her cop role model, much to Danny's dismay.
- Grace Williams: Grace is Danny's 9 y.o. daughter. She's a little too cute to be real at times, but fandom likes her anyway, because she clearly adores her Dad and her Step-Steve (she hasn't called him that on the show yet, but the way things have been going, she will soon).
- Rachel: Danny's ex-wife. At first, only an ominous malevolent off-screen presence. Then we met her, and while she's not everyone's cup of tea, she's not the dragonlady everyone imagined either. Lately, there's been a noticeable thaw in her relationship with Danny.
- Mary McGarrett: Steve's sister. They're not close, but growing closer. She was a bit of a wild child, and remains a handful, but Steve is the only family she has left and beneath the awkwardness and sibling arguments, there's genuine love.
- Kamekona: The only character on the show who probably doesn't have a secret past as a swimsuit model, moutain-like Kamekona's as cheerfully entrepreneurial as a Star Trek Ferengi. He's kind of hilarious and sweet (and a little shady, so the guys occasionally go to him for information).
-Max Bergman: Max is the medical examiner and he's ... quirky. But like all quirky TV characters, he's a genius at his job.
-The Governor: Governor of Hawaii Pat Jameson is the one who made Five-O happen. She pops up here and there and she seems to find being around Steve comforting even if the shit he pulls would make most everyone have a heart attack. But she promised that she'd have his back and she has yet to fail him. She may or may not have had something romantic going on with John McGarrett. They were at the very least friends.
E.T.A.: The first season finale? It changed everything! *highlight for shocking spoilers* The Governor was secretly Wo Fat's ally! And then Wo Fat killed her and pinned it on Steve! Kamekona sells shaved ice and black market weapons! Kono gets blamed for the stolen ten million dollars! Danny's leaving and Rachel's preggo! The H5O fandom wails and gnashes its teeth!
FANDOM:
The show is only in its first season, but the fandom is thriving, because between the numerous flyover views of the Islands, which basically amount to Hawaiian scenery porn, and the many endearing characters with their complicated and interesting personal lives, and the endless fanservice (Steve McGarrett's approach to problem-solving? Step 1 - Take Shirt Off), how could a fan possibly resist?
I've read several pairings in that fandom over the year, but the overwhelming majority of the fanfics are Steve/Danny, not that you can blame the fans, since both actors are smoking hot, have great chemistry, and canon has such things as the guys referring to each other as "babe", Danny signing a giant "I <3 U!" at Steve, and during one memorable hostage situation, an old guy telling Steve that now is not the time to bicker with his wife (guess who Steve was on the phone with).
Here on LJ, we have a gajillion comms among which:
hawaiifive_0_tv for general discussion of the show
h50_fic for fan fiction
hawaii5_o_news for the fandom newsletter
h50_rec_room for Hawaii Five-0 Recs
h50_flashfic for flash fiction
h50_iconage for icons
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the InterWebs we have:
The official site of the show
AO3 for all your fanfic needs