Hawaii Five-0 Remake

Hawaii Five-0 Remake

Hollywood doesn't call them remakes--they euphemize 'em as "reboots" these days. But with this fall's new version of the CBS classic, Hawaii Five-0 is trying to stay as authentic as possible with a raft of new Fords on screen--and at least one old one.

CBS may be the only place you'll see a Mercury on TV this year. Ford decided earlier this summer to pull the plug on the brand, leaving it with just a short run of 2011 Mercury Mariner crossovers and 2011 Milan sedans to sell before it starts taking the steely logo down from its paired Lincoln showrooms. The Mercury presence in the new version of the show won't include those cars, though. As in the past, Ford is sending some cars CBS' way--but they'll pointedly be Ford-brand vehicles.

The old Five-0 ran from 1968 to 1980, making it one of TV's longest-running dramas before it was nudged aside by Law & Order. The cars were Ford Motor Company rolling stock, from a 1972 Ford Mustang GT to the Marquis Brougham that matched Jack Lord's hair in color and angularity, and a slew of Ford LTDs in police and other guises.

In the new show, Alex O'Loughlin plays Lord's character Steve McGarrett. Lost veteran Daniel Dae Kim is the new Chin Ho Kelly, and Scott Caan gets to be Detective Danny "Danno" Williams. McGarrett's classic Mercury Brougham returns--but now, Danno drives a 2011 Mustang GT 5.0. The crew is recast as a counter-terrorism team that gets to conduct "24"-style missions from the paradise of Oahu. From what we can see in the CBS trailer, there are many explosions.

Along with McGarrett's Merc, CBS is wisely hanging on to one of the most memorable theme songs in TV history. They'll use a 30-second version of the catchy, kitschy theme in opening sequence as a part of each week's show. (An aside: you can win a surfboard if you upload your version of the theme song to the CBS Hawaii Five-0 website.)

Since it's Friday, we're giving you the chance to break out your watusi. Just try to sit still through the old opening credits--and tell us what you think of old versus new Five-0 from the clips, in the comments section below.

[Wall Street Journal; YouTube]