Book’em, Dano

stevemcgVariety reports that Warner Brothers has snagged the rights to do a feature film version of Hawaii 5-0.

This is not the first time studios have tried to revive the classic TV series… dozens of feature scripts based on the series have died in development over the years. But before going the feature route, CBS quietly enlisted Stephen J. Cannell and former network president Kim LeMasters to steer a TV revival. A one-hour pilot was shot, with Gary Busey and Russell Wong splitting the McGarrett role…and with several old regulars from the original series making cameo appearances (including James McArthur as Danny Williams, now Governor of Hawaii, and Kam Fong’s Chin Ho character, who was killed off in the last season of the show).

The unsold pilot was dreadful and mercifully never aired…though bootleg copies have been circulating among 5-0 fans for years.

3 thoughts on “Book’em, Dano”

  1. All I have to hear is that theme song and I’m ready. May be it is a good thing that all revivals have died. I’m not too happy with any of the movies made on any of the series.

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  2. Years ago I read a profile of Oscar-winner Cameron Crowe. He told the reporter that the night before he’d had an incredibly detailed dream about how to do a Hawaii Five-O movie — and that in the dream, the movie was great. Somebody at Warners should give Crowe a call.

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  3. There have been a couple good feature film adaptations of TV shows…
    STAR TREK
    POLICE SQUAD
    MAVERICK
    THE BRADY BUNCH
    THE ADDAMS FAMILY
    GUNN (based on PETER GUNN)
    THE UNTOUCHABLES (though it could be argued that was based on the book, not the series).
    Some that were okay:
    MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
    STARSKY AND HUTCH
    CHARLIES ANGELS
    LOST IN SPACE
    SCOOBY DOO
    Some that sucked:
    FLINTSTONES
    WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
    AVENGERS
    McHALES NAVY
    I SPY
    MOD SQUAD
    SGT. BILKO
    CAR 54
    MY FAVORITE MARTIAN
    SWAT
    WILD WILD WEST
    THUNDERBIRDS

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