Just because the proverbial spring cleaning needs to be done, doesn’t mean it is always fun, but in this case, a few rare gems have surfaced… like running across a tv guide article from 2006 mentioning both Masi Oka (currently on Hawaii Five-O) and George Takei. I remember when that plotline came out Heroes and how much I enjoyed the casting of George Takei as Hiro’s father.
Probably since the dawn of television program scheduling the infamous powers-that-be have been trying to decide how to pair television shows. Oversimplifying the problem/question, each season as they plot it out, they are trying to decide whether they want a block of shows they feel naturally fit together, where the audience for one show is an “obvious” for the next, or if they want to pair shows that are at first glance about as far from a match made in heaven as an audience member can imagine, and yet, when you get tempted by that teaser scene into staying tuned into the next show, suddenly you discover a new favorite show you might otherwise have never found on the schedule.
CBS putting NCIS back to back with NCIS: Los Angeles in previous seasons, and NCIS: New Orleans this season is a prime example of that seemingly obvious and natural fit. The hope is, if you like one NCIS show, you like all NCIS shows.
In contrast, there are many who wondered at the pairing of Blue Bloods with Hawaii Five-O. A match-up that as succeeded for several seasons now. Perhaps it is the nostalgia factor of Hawaii Five-O that leads some to also like a Tom Selleck led show. Or maybe audience members who like one cop show on an island (Hawaii) like another cop show on an island (Manhattan). Whatever the magic is (two strong family/community-centric shows?), the majority of the audience from Hawaii Five-O appears to stay where they are for another hour and follow the Reagan family as they keep New York safe in Blue Bloods.
Stalkers Maggie Q Dylan McDermott
When it comes to Wednesday nights on CBS one can not help but think that Stalker is benefiting from having been slotted in after Criminal Minds. Both shows are intense rides and with 9 seasons under their belt Criminal Minds has shown not only that they know what they are doing, but they are skilled at bringing characters in and out of the fold. New this season, Stalker follows a Threat Assessment Unit (TAU) as opposed to the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of Criminal Minds, but the characters are equally determined to protect the victims, hunt down the bad guys, and keep people safe.
In some respects, Stalker and Criminal Minds might have been placed together on the schedule as a combination of both theories… they would attract the same audience, and yet there may have been a fear that Stalker was not getting enough advance attention and promotion for the Criminal Minds audience and fan base to find the show.
If Morgan (Shemar Moore), Reed (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) from Criminal Minds were to help the TAU out on a case or two on Stalker the show might not only get a bump in the ratings, but keep those extra audience members as they discover what they have been missing out on.
Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays on CBS @ 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT
Stalker airs Wednesdays on CBS @ 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT
Criminal Minds On the Web: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/CriminalMinds
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CrimMinds_CBS
CBS Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CBSTweet
Criminal Minds Cast on Twitter:
Joe Mantegna: @JoeMantegna
Shemar Moore: @shemarmoore
Matthew Gray Gubler: @GUBLERNATION
A.J. Cook: @ajcookofficial
Kirsten Vangsness: @Vangsness
Jennifer Love Hewitt: @TheReal_jlh
Stalker On The Web:
Website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/stalker
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StalkerCBS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StalkerCBS
CBS Twitter:https://twitter.com/CBS
Stalker Cast on Twitter:
Dylan McDermott @DylanMcDermott
Maggie Q @MaggieQ
Victor Rasuk @victorrasuk
Mariana Klaveno @MarianaKlaveno
Elisabeth Röhm @ElisabethRohm
Last week’s season Premiere episode of Hawaii Five-0 had a scene early on in which Steve (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny “Danno” (Scott Caan)were in therapy — for some it may have felt contrived or awkward, but for others, those who had missed some episodes, or were first time viewers, it was actually a nicely done episode. In the course of one scene the writers established the hilarious manner in which those two characters relate to one another through bickering, and gave a very basic run down of who all is on the team.
Modern television is full of shows where the audience feels as though you have to watch the show from the very first episode to understand who people are, to know the various plot points that matter, and be able to follow along. While Hawaii Five-O did not reset by any means, they came very close to announcing for those who have not been watching all along, “this is an easy entry point, be welcome new viewers, we want you to join in the fun of watching our show.”
For those who like purely episodic shows, the episode made it clear this season is going to have some very definite arcs. Clearly there will be some serial aspects, and there are going to be some plot lines they hope you will follow from start to finish. That said, several of them look interesting. Jorge Garcia, who joined the cast as Jerry Ortega this season, was in several episodes last season, and is a fun conspiracy theorist with a potentially interesting arc for the season. While I admit to having high hopes for his character, I hope that Kamekona’s role (Taylor Wily) does not suffer, as he has been one of my favorites since the series began, and there have been a few times already when I have felt the writers were torn between those two characters when trying to decide who to give a line or scene to, making me wonder if their function on the show is a little too similar. I hope as Jerry appears more he and Kamekona will diverge more, and their separate functions as part of the Five-O family will become clearer.
The season premiere was, overall, a very strong episode, but faithful viewers seemed to be called upon to remember several details, for instance, why someone was keeping an eye on Chin-Ho (Daniel Dae Kim), a fact that finally explained, somewhat, at the very end of the episode, leading me to wonder if the season will be self-contained enough for new viewers. (Again, I hope that is the case.) Given how much effort the show went to to give new viewers a primer on the characters I believe they will continue to offer memory jogs to long-time viewers, and subtle information drops to new viewers so no one is left feeling like they missed an episode or need to go back to last season and re-watch an episode or they will be lost.
From the moment this incarnation of Hawaii Five-O hit the air it has been a strong show, with action filled scenes and intricate enough plots to keep the audience waiting through the commercial breaks to find out just where the show is going, and how the case will turn out. (There is nothing worse than a show you are so sure you’ve already solved the who-done-it of that you can flip away from it during the commercial break and feel like you will not miss a thing. This is NOT one of those shows.)
Grace Park is back with the team full time, where she belongs, and while her time abroad was acceptable and understandable for those who heard Grace Park had a baby in Vancouver and simply could not get back to Hawaii in time for shooting to begin last season, it is great to see her back on the island with the rest of the team, taking down the bad guys, helping solve the cases and fight for what is right.
Masi Oka was an excellent addition to the show, it is hard to believe he merely recurred first season, since his being a regular part of the show feels like he is where he belongs. His character, Max Bergman, is quirky and unique in a way that a lot of actors could not pull of with the charm and style that Masi brings to the character.
Lou Grover (Chi McBride) did not have a lot to do in the season premiere, and I fear many first time viewers may have been left wondering exactly why he is on the team. For them I would say ‘fear not, he will show his true value, he just needs one of those SWAT moments.’ That said, I was disappointed, and found myself wondering if with the cast increasing in size each season, and becoming more and more of an ensemble show, the writers are finding it harder and harder to keep everyone in play. It will be interesting to see how things balance out for the characters over the course of the season.
Danno and Steve are great fun to watch together, especially when they get to bickering in the car. That said, when Lou and Steve have a difference of opinions about tactics one starts to wonder just how many seconds it will be before they want to pull a gun on one another instead of the bad guy — and somehow that is just hilarious and charming. It is this dynamic that makes the show so entertaining, the fact that these people are not in perfect harmony, but work so well together because they bring vastly different perspectives to the table to get the job done, and listen to one another, work together, and will go to any length, and do anything to protect and serve.
Season Five of Hawaii Five-O airs Fridays on CBS at 9 PM / 8 C.
Official CBS Website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/hawaii_five_0/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiFive0CBS
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HawaiiFive0CBS
Instagram: HawaiiFive0CBS
CBS Tweet: https://twitter.com/CBSTweet
IMDB: Hawaii Five-O
Cast on Twitter:
Daniel Dae Kim @DanielDaeKim
Jorge Garcia @JorgeGarcia
Masi Oka @MasiOka