All right, remakes are typically dreadful. The "Miami Vice" remake? I rest my case. If something is a hit once, it's hard to recapture that lightning. The tv show, "Miami Vice" was very of-its-time which is to say the 1980s. The 2008 movie remake was merely a cop movie- and not a particularly great one at that.
I'm especially sensitive about people messing with icons from my childhood. Did anyone actually go see the 2008 remake of the 1960's cartoon, "Speed Racer?" Gimme a break- was it any good? Wait, I don't even want to know.
Now along comes a new "Hawaii Five-O." Oh dear. It should be called, "Hawaii Five-Oh No."
The original tv series ran from 1968 through (unbelievably) 1980! It starred the steely-eyed, square-jawed Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, the no-nonsense head of that elite detective unit. It was uber-cool because it was set (and actually filmed!) in Hawaii. And it had the coolest opening credits ever, with a dizzying, quick-cut editing style that predated MTV by thirteen years. And it had the coolest theme song ever, recorded by The Ventures, a '60s surf-music group. Look.
It doesn't get more awesome than that. The new "Hawaii Five-O"...or should I say the new-new "Hawaii Five-O" (I'll get to that in a moment) sticks closely to that formula. Here are the new opening credits.
To me, the new credits are fun, and bode well for the series. I love how they use the same locations in the old and the new. We see an aerial shot of an apartment building- we're closing in on the top-floor apartment. Standing there on the balcony is Steve McGarrett. For the new version, they found the exact same apartment building. Both versions zoom in on the statue of Lady Columbia at the Punchbowl Cemetary. Heh, it's almost a shot-for-shot remake. But it's only 30-seconds long! The original was 60-seconds. Let's hope they flesh that intro out and make it longer.
They must like the "Hawaii Five-O" concept over there at CBS. Eighteen years after the original show went off the air, it was tried again in 1998. In this version, (are you sitting down?) Gary Busey was to play Steve McGarrett. The show was not "picked up" as they say, perhaps because Gary Busey was to play Steve McGarrett. But CBS went so far as to shoot some opening credits, which I bring you here courtesy of the wonderful Tube of You.
They're not calling the new-new "Hawaii Five-O" a remake. Nope, it's a "reboot" of the original. And hey, I guess if they can do it with "Star Trek" they can do it with "Hawaii Five-O." We'll have to wait and see how good or bad it is. Let's hope for the best.
Here's a preview that CBS is running on their website for the new-new show coming this Fall. Want a chuckle? Watch the clip all the way to the end. Looks interesting.
I hope it's a departure from all the dark "CSI" and cop shows that already litter the airwaves. And yeah, I'm excited about it. I guess I'm a tv geek.
5 comments:
I liked the new Speed Racer movie!
I think back on watching the original Hawaii Five-O with my parents with a smile. We would say "Book him, Dan-o" in unison. Will they be able to replicate it? Not a chance. But maybe it won't be awful.
Michael, I couldn't bring myself to go see "Speed Racer." Some things you just don't want messed with.
Bob, I doubt they'll be able to replicate the original. And with the exception of the opening credits, nor are they trying to. You know, aside from being set in Hawaii, the original "Hawaii Five-0" was a fairly typical cop show.
I have to admit that I liked the "reboot" of "Star Trek." So I'm hopeful that the new "Hawaii Five-0" actually will be different and striking and good, and not just another cop show but set in Hawaii. I just hope I'm not expecting too much.
I am really looking forward to missing the new "A-Team" movie. They took an awful series and "rebooted" it into a movie. Using the remakes suck theory, the rebooted A Team is destined to be a bomb.
Capt., the "A-Team" movie really doesn't have much promise, does it? But who knows- could it possibly be WORSE than the original tv series?
I guess it points out the fact that Hollywood is running out of ideas for movies if they keep giving us crappy retreads like this. Can you imagine a new "Muppet Movie"...with the two old guys in the balcony played by Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, whose voice part would be provided by Harvey Fierstein (like we could tell them apart?). Miss Piggy is no longer a pig, and Big Bird isn't...a bird or big. Or yellow. I think such a movie would cause people's heads to explode.
Although...I have to say I *did* like the Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones "The Fugitive" almost as much as David Janssen's original tv series.
But it makes me wonder- what's next, a movie version of "I Love Lucy?" Heyyyyy, come to think of it...you know what, I can almost see Kathy Griffin in that role!
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