Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Hawaii Five-0 is an often-violent cop show -- and a more intense remake of the classic TV series -- that focuses on an elite unit of crime fighters who are tasked with bringing down the worst elements of Hawaii's underground, with very little in the way of rules or regulations (or regards to civil rights) to get in their way. There's a lot of shooting first and asking questions later -- though not everyone survives the shooting part. Expect lots of gunfights, often using automatic weapons, and some deaths. As the series has progressed, it's grown more violent, and more likely to focus on murder than other crimes. Viewers will see car accidents, scantily clad women in jeopardy, serial killers, dead bodies, violence that causes blood to splatter everywhere, and so on. There are also autopsies with bloody, gory dead bodies on a table, and graphic photos of their injuries displayed above. Beach scenes are often an excuse for the camera to leer at women in bikinis. Other than the name, the location, and -- of course -- the theme music, there's little connection between this series (which, like most contemporary crime shows, also includes some drinking, language, and skimpy outfits) and the original.
Sexual
Content
Plenty of women in bikinis. An undercover officer must take off her dress, ostensibly to prove she isn't carrying a wire, but the bad guys take the opportunity to leer at her in her underwear. Unmarried adults talk about sex and seduction, and kiss before the camera cuts away and implied sex takes place offscreen. The camera sometimes pans slowly up the bodies of female victims as they beg for mercy or scream in terror.
Violence
Well-trained commandos frequently take on equally well-trained terrorists and criminal gangs using automatic weapons, attack helicopters, and some intense martial arts moves. Lots of gun battles, and people are shot and some die (albeit generally quickly and fairly bloodlessly). There is also sexually tinged violence: A woman in a tight, short Halloween costume is chained to a workbench begging a killer to let her go; he ignores her pleas and begins doing something terrible to her face that splatters him with blood. There are dead bodies shown, bloody and mauled.
Language
Words include "fricking" and "son of a bitch."
Social
Behavior
The show is about fighting/stopping crime, but the characters don't like following regulations: The Hawaii Five-0 unit was formed to take out the worst criminal elements, apparently without regard for due process or constitutional rights. Search warrants are unnecessary, and when in doubt, the characters shoot first and ask questions later (that is, if the suspects survive).
Consumerism
The characters often use iPhones and iPads, and the show promotes the U.S. Navy enthusiastically, with characters often making statements like serving in the Navy was a father's "duty to his country."
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Characters often relax with beers at the end of the day, though they are careful to avoid alcohol when on duty.
