3 ways that Hawaii Five-0 was better than the original series

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HAWAII FIVE-0: “Ihea ‘oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana?” — When a list of undercover CIA agents is stolen, Steve and Five-0 enlist the help of Magnum (Jay Hernandez), Higgins (Perdita Weeks), Rick (Zachary Knighton) and TC (Stephen Hill) to get it back and protect national security. Also, Higgins gives Tani some personal advice, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, Jan. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L to R: Alex O’Loughlin as Steve McGarrett, Katrina Law as Quinn Liu, Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, and Meaghan Rath as Tani Rey. Photo: Karen Neal/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (“Ihea ‘oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana?” is Hawaiian for “Where were you when the rain was pouring?”) /

3. Crossovers and other fun tidbits

Crossovers are becoming a larger and larger part of modern TV, and the 2010 Hawaii Five-0 has gotten to do that multiple times. There have been three crossover events involving the series, and all with different shows: NCIS: Los Angeles (in 2012), MacGyver (in 2017), and Magnum P.I. (earlier this year). That wouldn’t have happened before, just because it wasn’t something that was talked about as much a few decades ago.

In fact, Jack Lord wasn’t even interested in potential crossovers. When Magnum, P.I. premiered in 1980 and established that it was in the same fictional universe as Five-0, the Magnum producers wanted Lord to reprise his role as Steve McGarrett in an episode. Lord turned them down, which was understandable considering that he had retired from acting by then.

It’s a totally different TV world now. Another example? The current Five-0 also ditched Steve’s habit of wearing dark suits almost all the time, despite chasing criminals through the Hawaii heat. O’Loughlin’s version of Steve dresses much more appropriately for the islands. (They do share the exact same car, however, which is very cool; the car is just said to have originally belonged to Steve’s father John, played by William Sadler, to explain the chronology.)

These aren’t failings of the original series necessarily—they’re reflections of how far the medium of television has evolved. This show had more to play with than its predecessor and the benefit of hindsight, and it became a better series because of those additional resources. If there’s ever a third Hawaii Five-0 in 2030 or something like that, it’ll probably be done differently, too. Maybe CBS can put one in development now?

Next. Prodigal Son adds new twist to its mystery. dark

The Hawaii Five-0 series finale airs Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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