By Stu Robinson,

I’m beginning to warm up to CBS’ new Hawaii Five-O just as lead character Steve McGarrett, played by Alex O’Loughlin, warms up on screen.

In Episode 3, we learn more about McGarrett’s life on Oahu before he left to become a Navy Seal. We also see the character lighten up a bit, showing more empathy for crime victims and colleagues. Meanwhile, his team must forestall a brewing gang war. Along the way, there is gambling, football and flirting.

The issue of work vs. family remained a key theme this week. Scott Caan’s Danno worries about losing visitation with his young daughter when his ex-wife alleges that violence “follows” the cop. Danno believes the opposite — that his police work is making the world safer for his little girl. Meanwhile, Daniel Dae Kim’s Chin Ho deals with relatives estranged because they believe old allegations that he was on the take while a Honolulu cop.

Chin Ho certainly carries some heavy baggage. And perhaps that’s why his character hasn’t evolved as quickly as McGarrett. While DDK does actually smile in the opening scene, he’s back to his icy glare the rest of the episode.

Again, I urge viewers not to sweat the details, such as safe driving or civil liberties. Just sit back and enjoy the fast-paced stories, attractive visuals and snappy dialogue. That appears to be a successful formula. CBS reports that Episode 3 drew 12.24 million viewers and won its time slot. In addition, Hawaii Five-O is “the most DVR’d new show,” according to Washington Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes.

I find the DVR essential to viewing Hawaii Five-O for two reasons:

• the fast-moving action scenes often display choppy editing; and
• the sound in the background is a bit too loud relative to the content-rich dialogue.

This makes it tough to catch all of the audio and visual plot cues without “rewinding” a couple of times.

Finally, while Hawaii Five-O certainly has made a name for itself in the ratings, McGarrett’s team remained unnamed until this week. Yes, viewers finally get the origin story for “Five-O,” and it fits nicely into both the episode and the series’ ongoing plot arc.

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Stu Robinson, a college friend of the TV Tyrant, is a writer, editor, media-relations specialist and social-media guy based in Phoenix.