'Five-0' hijacks ratings, and it's about time!
By Wayne Harada
In a tightly-scripted Monday show (Dec. 5) that featured kids kidnapped in a school bus due to a cocaine drug deal gone awry, CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” posted its best ratings during its sophomore season, hijacking ABC’s “Castle” in the process.
And about time. The show had been missing the bus since September.
In preliminary Nielsen ratings numbers, the “Five-0” episode dubbed “Pahele” attracted 10.756 million viewers and posted a commanding 3.0/8 rating-share in the 18-49 demographics, compared to “Castle’s” 8.046 million audience and a 2.0/5 rating-share in the desired demos.
The “Five-0” rating was up two-tenths, or 7 per cent, compared to its last original episode two weeks ago (last Monday’s was a rerun).
This is refreshing news for diehard fans, who’ve watched faithfully, only to see the numbers stall and dip and pretty much run out of gas.
Some things stood out:
• The governor (Richard T. Jones) doesn’t appear to be an appealing politico; much too stern, much too rigid; not people-friendly.
• Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) is doing more take-charge posturing, commandeering the rescue of the kids with the flair of a true leader. Hey, scripters -- good job!
• Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park) finally is back on track as a valid, contributing member of “Five-0,” notably in her interrogation scene.
• Joe (Terry O’Quinn) is not the loyalist/pal we all think; something’s amiss, as you suspect in the final scene.
• Is the Shelburne issue one that is part of a future story arc?
Any thoughts?
Show and Tell Hawai'i
December 6th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Wayne,
I think the Shelburne issue is definitely part of a future arc, and I yearn, no, I LUST (grin) for Wo Fat to finally get his! It makes me grind my teeth that he is just able to sashay his way out of every tight spot! At least make the creep spend some time in the slammer (where he might get his face re-arranged by an inmate who doesn't take to him? heehee) I wouldn't mind if he escaped from that later, but his luck (?) is just too good to be true. Do you agree?
Anyway, I LOVE the show. I hope it lasts as long as the original series, maybe longer!
December 7th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
My friends and I think the show has gone off the track. The Kono undercover story didn't work for us. The big-eyed girl working for Wo Fat was a stretch, but now it looks like they are going to replicate that with the Terry O'Quinn character? Even if that turns out to be a red herring, it is lame.
But probably the story which was "most junk," was the side trip to Korea. Totally unplausable! There is supposed to be some sort of "rebel band" operating on the border between North and South Korea? Wot? And Jimmy Buffet had no trouble flying his helicopter a "couple of clicks" over the border?
That story line might work for Southeast Asia. Maybe on the Burma border or in Northeast Thailand where there are genuine frontiers and rebellious minority groups. But not the DMZ which, depite its name, may be one of the MOST militarized areas in the world. Any "rebels" in either North or South Korea would be dead shortly after holding their first get-together. And using the overgrowth of Kualoa Ranch could not pass for vegetation near the Korean border either. Given all these problems with situating the story in Korea, why DIDN'T they just shift the story to SE Asia? It HURT to see the show be so DUMB!
One more complaint. Stop having the crew sweep through houses with their guns drawn and yelling "Clear" in every gawl durn episode. Tired already. And they are over-using the Five-O dungeon-lit interrogation room. This is almost like how Jack Bauer would be shooting someone in the knee ever other episode in order to get them to talk. But "24" didn't stall out until the final season. Five-O is only in their second season, yet it is getting repetitive.
Just so I am not only complaining, the show I liked the best was the one with Mark Cunningham as a surf promoter. They worked in tensions over over-development, homelessness and the Black Shorts Hui all into one episode! Even if the "Fast Eddie" guy should not have been drinking "Blue Hawaii's" in that Hilton Bar.
Still, the lead characters are likable enough
December 10th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Beginning to look a lot like the Mainland. Makes many people who live here now, home sick.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
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