NCIS: Hawai'i

I'm three episodes in and I'm trying to get into this show but just can't. Nothing about it is NCIS except the name. It has Hawaii Five-0 written all over it, except they dropped the original cast and brought in a weaker group with no personalities. I don't buy Vanessa Lachey as a competent or intimidating commander or agent for a moment. She's like an ex-supermodel who got tired of making Hallmark Christmas rom-coms (which is where she should have stayed) and wanted to try a more dramatic action role. It isn't working. When she isn't reading lines with her monotone delivery, she's standing around looking as if she's fighting to stay awake (I know how she feels). So far, the cases are pretty mediocre too. I'll give it a couple more episodes (don't ask me why) and then I'm out if it doesn't pick up. I'll just go watch NCIS and H5-0 reruns.

What made the original NCIS so great in the beginning was the PLOT. Twists, turns, suspense , intrigue and great acting. What you find here is none of that. The characters are so flat and childlike that you wonder how they ever made it to be anything other than baggers at a local supermarket, because actual NCIS agents would hopefully have more common sense and intellect... There is mostly filler in this show...endless chase scenes, gun violence, running after people, that finally you realize there is no plot. Nothing substantial or believable or watchable really. Bring back intellect into these supposed crime thriller shows or just stop making them.

Bad casting, bad plot and feels more like a cheap private detective show. The cast members look and act like those who didn't make the casting for other shows based in Hawaii. Prognosis - not good!

I wanted to like this show but I was disappointed.

What I liked - 1) a minority female lead and 2) the diversity of the cast - people looked like locals.

What I didn't like - 1) the acting was stiff and unimpressive 2) the story line seemed disjointed 3) the writers tried to introduce too much too soon.

I'll give it a few more episodes and hope it gets better.

I tuned in because I'm a huge Hawaii buff! I loved Hawaii Five-O! I like Magnum quite a bit. This show didn't gel at all. They didn't even show a lot of Hawaiian landmarks or scenery to make it worth it. It's supposed to be in Pearl Harbor, I believe which I would have been great to really feature. None of the characters has any chemistry, romantic or otherwise. The acting was passable at best. I would have given this a lower score but like I said, I love the state of Hawaii!