DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997              TAG: 9704090105

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Larry Bonko 

                                            LENGTH:   79 lines

CBS IS REVIVING "HAWAII FIVE-O" FOR NEXT FALL'S PRIMETIME LINEUP

AS YOU READ this, producer Stephen J. Cannell is in Honolulu, filming the pilot episode of what CBS hopes will be a wildly successful revival of ``Hawaii Five-O.''

The fabulous island scenery will still be there, as will James MacArthur as Danny ``Danno'' Williams. But don't look for rock-solid Steve McGarrett to show up and say, ``Aloha.''

And don't bet on Chin Ho or Kono showing up, either.

CBS, which intends to include ``Hawaii Five-O'' in its primetime lineup next fall unless Cannell's pilot episode is a total disaster, decided that viewers would never accept a new or different McGarrett - the unemotional head of a Hawaiian state police unit that rounded up bad guys in some of the prettiest locales on Earth.

No, said CBS spokesperson Michelle Hooper, McGarrett's character will not be on screen in the 1997 incarnation of a series that was a Top 10 show for most of its run. He'll be talked about in the pilot, but that's about it for McGarrett.

Cannell is building the new ``Hawaii Five-O'' around raspy Gary Busey, an Academy Award nominee, and Russell Wong, who lived among us for a few months in 1994 when he filmed an ``Action Pack'' syndicated miniseries, ``Vanishing Son,'' on both sides of Hampton Roads. It was about feuding brothers.

As the series opens, we'll learn that McGarrett left ``Five-O,'' entered politics and has been elected Hawaii's governor. Williams, who was McGarrett's obedient sidekick for 12 years on CBS (``Book 'em, Danno'') now heads up ``Five-O.''

Cannell's script calls for Williams to be murdered by a hit squad in an ambush that also seriously wounds McGarrett.

With McGarrett in intensive care, the lieutenant governor moves quickly to replace Williams from two candidates: Nick Irons, a no-nonsense type who heads the FBI field office in Honolulu, and Jimmy Xavier Berk, who was Williams' No. 2 man at ``Five-O.''

Busey plays Berk. Cast as Irons is Wong, a martial arts whiz.

While the McGarrett character is not likely to appear on camera, said CBS, Cannell has signed MacArthur to return briefly as Detective ``Danno.'' Jack Lord, who played McGarrett, and played him brilliantly while subduing Wo Fat and other lawless types who were bad for tourism, has been retired for years.

It was a kick to see McGarrett corral Wo Fat and other enemies without ever mussing his 'do.

The CBS profile on Irons (Wong): He's a hot-shot, by-the-book FBI man whose bureaucratic approach to law enforcement irritates the laid-back agents in Hawaii. Of Berk (Busey), CBS has this to say: He's a colorful cop who bends the rules. His rogue-cop style gets grudging respect from the other officers.

While the edges of the pilot script have yet to be smoothed out, it appears that Wong and Berk end up running ``Five-O'' together.

I don't know about that angle. I mean, is CBS telling us that it takes two cops to replace McGarrett?

Two obvious questions about the revival: Will it all be shot in Hawaii, as was the original? And will the popular, pounding theme of ``Hawaii Five-O'' be revived by Cannell?

Yes, the new series will be produced on location, said CBS. And maybe the theme will be revived. That hasn't been worked out as yet, said Hooper.

Doesn't CBS realize the theme must be part of this new series? Would the producers of the next James Bond flick dare do it without the 007 theme?

Be advised that any and all parts of Cannell's ``Hawaii Five-O'' pilot are subject to change. It is among about 100 pilots being looked at by network brass this time of year. The new fall schedules will be announced in May. If anyone knows how to put together a solid action hour, it's Cannell, an Emmy winner whose shows include ``The Rockford Files,'' ``Hunter,````Wiseguy'' and ``Silk Stalkings.''

CBS also said it is developing a sitcom for Tom Selleck, who will play the head of a New York City publishing house. And for Jean Smart of ``Designing Women,'' who's cast as a Martha Stewart-type character. Also in the works at CBS are new sitcoms for Bob Newhart ``(George and Leo'') and Bronson Pinchot (``Meego'') plus a drama in which David Caruso stars.

You remember Caruso. He's the guy who up and quit ``NYPD Blue'' when it was evolving as an ABC hit. He's about to return to primetime as a federal prosecutor named Michael Hayes.

And would you believe that CBS wants producers Bruce Paltrow and Robert Palm to do a series based on the quirky hit film ``Fargo''? Book 'em, Chief Gunderson.

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