When season eight ended we found the Five-O task force
investigating a Russian spy ring operating out of Oahu. Naturally this then
opens up season nine with plenty of action and the loss of one recurring character
in the series. Not only that it pulls the long famous image of the original
McGarrett in a sensory deprivation tank and inserts the current Steve McGarrett
(Alex O’Loughlin) into the suit and tank. It makes for a nice homage to the
original series while employing it in the current one.
What has helped the series last nine season is what has made
so many current series work out well, a camaraderie among the cast members and
characters that allows each to have their time to shine in the spotlight. It
would have been easy to base every episode around McGarrett but by allowing
each team member to have 1 or 2 episodes focused around them allows the viewers
to get something new out of each episode.
Examples of that are things like sidekick Danny “Danno”
Williams (Scott Caan) having an episode where his daughter is involved in a car
wreck which causes him and his ex-wife to consider their situation as well as
what has transpired. Chi McBride as Capt. Lou Grover has an episode that
revolves around family, mainly the bickering that goes on between himself and
his brother. Jerry Ortega gets a few notices in here now that he’s an official
cast member, one of which finds him shot and nearly killed. Even Dennis Chun as
Sgt. Duke Lukela gets an episode about him as he’s nearly forced to retire. And
then there are Meagan Rath as Officer Tani Rey and Beulah Koale as Officer
Junior Reigns who’s attraction to one another finds them in various potential
situations where their affections might finally come out in the open.
All of these characters having their own episodes to revolve
around them solidifies their positions in the team and allows the stories to
move along without having to rely on a killer of the week theme. Stories cover
things like looking into past cases left unsolved, escorting the body of a
soldier back to Hawaii, an episode that’s shot taking place in the 30s and the
loss of long time character and McGarrett mentor Lieutenant Commander Joe White
(Terry O’Quinn) in an episode where McGarrett’s old SEAL team must deal with a
face from their past.
As the season ends the team finds themselves going to
convicted criminal and cyber hacker Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence) for
assistance. What they end up with is the discovery that he’s played them to
escape and to find a buyer for a cyber weapon up for grabs to the highest
bidder. It’s a two part episode that fills the need for action and a villain at
the same time.
To date the acting in the series has remained setting the
bar for other series to follow. There isn’t a weak link among them from the
older cast members to the young ones. Each fills a need in the team and each
brings to life characters from a page that could fall short but never does in
their hands.
The series combines not just the action that a police
procedural like this show needs but adds in the perfect touch of humor as well.
Every season the back and forth between McGarrett and Danno have provided some
of the best comedic touches seen in a drama series. I’m often stunned that the
writers of the show can come up with their banter week after week and it never
gets old.
It’s hard to believe that the show is in their ninth season
here and beginning their 10th on the air. And yet that’s the
reality, that they’ve been able to bring life to what was one of the highest
and longest running shows in history and given it new life. That series ran for
12 seasons and currently it looks like this one will match if not exceed that.
Let’s just hope they have the chance to do so.
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