Hawaii Five-0 Complete Series DVD Review

 
Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been a huge fan of the 2010 reboot of Hawaii Five-0. I’ve loved Alex O’Laughlin since I first saw him in Moonlight (of which I mourn to this day!), and the rest of the cast quickly grew on me. I’m not sure there was a single character I hated watching, and to me, that says a lot. So I was bummed when the series ended, but I jumped at the chance to grab the complete series on DVD. If you didn’t see the show when it was on, now’s your chance.

The aformentioned O’Laughlin played Steve McGarrett, a former Navy SEAL who becomes the head of the governor’s new law enforcement group (named, not coincidentally, the Hawaii Five-0 Task Force) after his father, a retired detective from the Honolulu Police Force, was killed. He was joined by Danny Williams (Scott Caan), a detective who transferred from New Jersey to Hawaii when his ex-wife moved there with their daughter; Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim), a former detective on the Honolulu Police Force; Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park), Chin Ho’s cousin who was about to graduate from the police academy and join the HPD. It was a great group. The series added several other characters throughout its run, including Adam Noshimuri (Ian Anthony Dale), Dr. Max Bergman (Masi Oka), Lou Grover (Chi McBride), Jerry Ortega (Jorge Garcia), Tani Rey (Meaghan Rath), Junior Reigns (Beulah Koale), Kamekona (Taylor Wily), Sgt. Duke Lukela (Dennis Chun), Dr. Noelani Cunha (Kimee Balmilero), Quinn Liu (Katrina Law), & Catherine Rollins (Michelle Borth). Over the course of the ten seasons, there were plenty of amazing guest stars as well, such as Mark Dacascos as enemy numero uno Wo Fat, Christine Lahti as Steve’s mother and Terry O’Quinn as his mentor, Carol Burnette, Melanie Griffith, & Randy Couture among so many others.

But the characters were only part of what made the series so great for me. Hawaii is a beautiful state, and the show did a great job showing some fantastic scenery as well as parts of the state that most people don’t get to see, such as the middle of the forests. And if you’re a fan of police procedurals, this one is top-notch in my opinion. The case-of-the-week was always fun, and there’s plenty of action in every episode. (Alex O’Laughlin did almost all of his own stunts, which is crazy!) The show did a great job of balancing the action/case-of-the-week/long storyline arcs and the personal lives of the characters, from Steve and Catherine’s relationship & Steve and Danny’s partnership to Danny’s relationship with his kids and ex-wife & Steve and his mom.

For the DVD set, you get all 10 seasons/240 episodes plus extras spread across 61 discs (which is crazy, right??), and they come in two cases: Seasons 1-4 in one, while Seasons 5-10 are in a larger second case. There are over 20 hours of bonus material, including audio commentary, deleted scenes (which are always a blast to watch!), ten “Shorelines” features that highlight each season’s overall plot points and character developments, behind-the-scenes looks at some of the major action and stunt sequences (like I said, O’Laughlin did a lot of his own stunts!), interviews with the cast/crew/producers, gag reels (which are always my favorite), and plenty more.

All in all, this is well worth the price if you’re a fan of the series or want to start watching! The show’s been off the air almost a year now, but thankfully I’m lucky enough to be able to watch it anytime I want. I highly recommend you join me! Get it here.