Past the pilot and heading into the meat of the series, "Hawaii Five-0"'s newest episode starred several prime Oahu locations, including one of our favorites: The
Hilton Hawaiian Village, which we've built out in 3D. I'm still bemused by the disconnect of the guns-ablaze violence against the tropical backdrop of our peaceful islands, which more typically experience violence in the natural world at the hands of
Madam Pele... but again, we're going with the Hollywood flow. And Hawaii does look beautiful!
And now, with disbelief permanently suspended, let's go flying! Have a look, scene-spotters, and fill me in on what's missing:
• Quick-shot intro scenes included kids jumping off the Kapahulu Groin. Lots of sweeping views of Waikiki tonight. (
See Waikiki Beach in 3D »)
Photo: 3DHawaii.com ...
•
ABOVE: There was also a quick shot of the Halona Blowhole on the east side (
see it in 3D »).
Photo: NOAA via Creative Commons.•
ABOVE RIGHT: And a quick shot of the Duke Kahanamoku Statue at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, seen here during Duke's OceanFest in August.
Photo: 3DHawaii.com. (
See it in 3D »)
• The car carrying the cybersecurity expert drove past Aloha Tower (
see it in 3D »).
Photo: Kanu101 via Creative Commons.
• ABOVE: The car crash and abduction happened between the Hilton Hawaiian Village's great lagoon (in lower frame of photo) and the parking lot of the
Ala Wai Boat Harbor. They later pulled one of the bad guys from the roof of the Rainbow Tower
. Photo: Hilton Hawaiian Village.Hilton Hawaiian Village in 3D »• RIGHT: Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim, looking good) rides his hog around the golden-canopied Hilton Hawaiian Village shops at the heart of the resort.
Photo: Mario Perez, CBS.Hilton Hawaiian Village Shops in 3D »• The 5-0 squad goes to Hickam Air Force Base to learn more about the kidnappers. (It's a bit of a gimme, they said they were going there.)
• We returned to Aina Haina, a neighborhood in East Honolulu, where McGarrett's father's home is. When McGarrett went for a swim offshore, the distinctive outline of Koko Head and
Koko Crater were in the background. The neighborhood was
mistakenly ID'ed last week as Lanikai; local blogger and scene spotter Ryan Ozawa's dad lives down the street from the home, the
Bayer Estate, a historic home available for events. (More on Ryan below...)
• Danno (Scott Caan) picked up his daughter from Manoa Elementary School.
• We had another view of Aliiolani Hale and the King Kamehameha Statue, as noted in
last week's blog. It's playing the role of headquarters for the 5-0 unit.
Photo: Gordon Joly via Creative Commons• McGarrett and Danno went to Kaaawa Valley to pick up a cybersecurity expert of their own, but that's another gimme: It appeared as a tagline in the scene. There was a sweeping coastal view of beautiful
Kaneohe Bay (above) on the way.
• When Kono and the security expert's son are kidnapped, they're driving through
Waimanalo — you can see them pass the makai (ocean) side of
Olomana. (Does anybody want to guess where that house was they were staying at with the baddie blonde Serbian? And did anyone notice how much bigger Grace Park's stunt double is than her? When those ladies started fighting and crashed through the bamboo fence into the pool area, I thought Grace was replaced with a linebacker.)
• The Hawaii Five-0 unit moves in on the kidnappers at
Dillingham Airfield on the North Shore. But it's another gimme: McGarrett announced they were heading there.
Photo: Neil Jacobs, CBS.
Scene-spotting map mashup
As the series continues, we'll add filming spots to this Google Map. Who knows? You might want to turn it into your own Oahu trip someday.
Danno quips
While the plot lines continue to be unusual, I'm glad for the breezy one-liners they're giving to Danno (nicely delivered by Caan) as a counterpoint to the serious McGarrett character. Examples:
- "This is not Guantanamo!"
- "Thank you, Inspector Obvious."
- "You just put a blip in the Matrix."
Keep it up, Danno!
Postscript
The "Hawaii Five-0" series has spawned a new community here in the Islands.
Ryan Ozawa, known in Hawaii for his popular "Lost" series blog that had global reach, played off a tongue-in-cheek moment in last week's pilot when McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly recognized each other at the USS Missouri mooring because they played football together at Kukui High School.
Of course, there is no Kukui High School, and the name drew chuckles from the local viewing audience — it was just a corny name. Well, now there IS a Kukui High School. Ozawa created a
website (and
Twitter and
Facebook page) for the fictional school, complete with back story of a terrible fire in which the school's administrative records were destroyed with an open call to alumni to send in a yearbook post, and a post about two KHS alums being appointed to an elite new police squad. Ozawa teamed with local designer
Valentino Valdez to craft a mascot (natch, the Kukui Nut – the call at games is "Go Nuts!") and the site now offers a logo shop. You'll have a laugh, and enjoy a window onto how locals with a sense of humor view the series. It made the local CBS news last night, let's see if it becomes the new Dharma Initiative!
Now does anyone want to weigh in on "Braddahs Private Security?" The laughs keep coming.
