Sharks jeopardizing 'Five-0' so it's time to sound the alarm
By Wayne Harada
The Monday (Oct.8) “Hawaii Five-0” episode is perilous for Steve McGarrett and Danno Williams; entitled “Lana I Ka Moana (Adrift),” the two are sailing and their boat is hijacked.
So they’re dumped into the vast ocean, with a leaky inflatable, and you betcha, they’re shark bait.
Out there. Alone. Swimming for their life.
McG and Danno still have a cargument, but it's in a teeny and sinking lifeboat, and they need desparate help.
Is this third show of season three — and the floundering principals in a bad situation — a mirror of the fate of “Five-0,” afloat without a safety net or a lifeline?
Which brings up the seemingly minimal promotion by the network, which once regarded “Five-0” as the No. 1 new show of the (first) season.
As disappointing ratings have shoved the Island show to the No. 3 slot in its Monday schedule (9 p.m. here, 10 p.m. Mainland), isn’t a lifeline to refloat the series in order.
Wassup?
So far this year, the CBS promos newbies like “Elementary” and “Partners.” That’s the role of the network, after all. It boosted “Five-0” two years ago.
And curiously, on a Time-Warner Cable spot focusing on new and hit CBS shows for on-demand viewing, “Five-0” is not part of that promotional service even if it’s one of the series available for later viewing.
You see Michael Chiklis and Dennis Quaid from “Vegas,” Michael Urie from “Partners.” And there's Tom Selleck of "Blue Bloods," too, which premiered the same year of "Five-0's" debut.
Inadvertent snub of “Five-0”? Or have folks fallen out of love with us?
This may be irrelevant, but this kind of misstep could be a contributing reason why "Five-0" is on the glide. Perhaps the shark content — "Jaws," anyone? — will goose up viewership. Or not.
The competish is tougher this year, with NBC's "Revolution" and ABC's "Castle" attracting more dedicated viewers, so clearly, there needs to be something the network can do rekindle interest. Yes, upgrade scripts would be one issue; remember, there’s still rampant clutter with new characters and new and old story arcs taking away focus on the principal “Five-0” crew: McG, Danno, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua.
“Five-0” could use a booster shot to cure the ills; it remains a popular show, even if it’s overshadowed by the prevailing drama powerhouses CBS dramas, "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles."
The NCIS franchise is not walking on thin ice, with the original with Mark Harmon the No. 1 TV drama; the spinoff with Chris O’Donnell and L.L. Cool J is No. 2. And likely to hold up all season.
Without some quick changes, “Five-0” and its cast and crew could be in jeopardy; and, no I don’t mean Alex Trebek’s game show. There is an off-air reality at stake; how much longer will the wait continue before some kind of action is taken.
If you’re a loyal viewer, you might inquire and seek answers about the “Five-0” dilemma at the CBS website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/hawaii_five_0/
Or for starters, share your opinions here. ...
Show and Tell Hawai'i
October 8th, 2012 at 8:30 am
I have only watched "Five-O" a few times. The most recent time,a couple weeks ago, featured a lengthy machine gun battle outdoors in an urban environment. Bullets spraying all over the place, with people, stores, traffic. Very little of beautiful Hawaii. A lot of dank, criminal activity with unpleasant characters. Who cast Caan? Is a greasy creep likeable?
Probably Hawaii tourism saw some benefit from the old "Five-0." With paltry viewer numbers and a grimy, edgy, dangerous depiction of Hawaii, who needs this crap?
October 8th, 2012 at 8:48 am
Totally love the show, disappointed to say the least about the few promo's but as of last week #H50 had moved into 2nd place with the all important demo group. I think CBS is determined to stick with H50 just like they do The Good Wife. Overseas markets and TNT syndication deal should keep it on the air that what all the pundits are saying. I worry about the fan base leaving but the show is good, it's different and one could say it's ahead of it's time.
October 8th, 2012 at 9:07 am
Darn Wayne, I don't know what's happening but I've agreed with you too often in the past couple of weeks.
; ) I really hope this episode isn't an accurate metaphor for the show but everyone who has followed Hawaii Five-0 since the beginning is mystified by the way CBS seems to relegate it to step-child status. In addition to the exclusion you pointed out, CBS digital billboards featuring the new and returning shows in L.A. and New York have omitted Five-0! I'm becoming more and more concerned that CBS just doesn't care if this show sinks or swims.
I always thought the point of promoting a show was to bring in more viewers. Instead, once they've gone beyond their freshman year, CBS builds up the shows that are receiving the highest ratings and ignores the rest. I realize that I'm no advertising expert, but this seems counter-productive to me. Everyone says not to worry about Five-0 being cancelled because of the syndication deal with TNT, but I'm feeling less and less secure about that. Or maybe the show will last four seasons but CBS just lets it circle the drain until then.
After the poor ratings of the first episode this year,I noticed a concerted effort by the writers and producer to engage fans on twitter more often, but it lasted about two days. And the people they tweeted with are already loyal fans, so while it was nice for them, it does nothing to improve ratings. Hawaii Five-0 needs the power of the network behind it. Come on CBS, show us you care about this show!
October 8th, 2012 at 10:11 am
What's to keep the show's stars from doing more to promote their show? HNN, ET Canada, and GQ events don't reach too many mainlanders. Scott did a late night interview but the others haven't done much and they all have three months hiatus. Maybe CBS does need to do more and didn't anticipate such a poor showing to date, but if the stars want to keep their jobs maybe they could do a bit more. As far as the demo going up to 2nd place, please also note they lost a few total viewers to below 8M. And, of those 8M, probably 1/8 are Hawaiians.
October 8th, 2012 at 10:37 am
I believe Terry hit the nail on the head - CBS just don't care if the show sinks or swims. Why? Waaaay too expensive to produce. Shows like this kill themselves off. Flashy stunts, big name guest stars, the show initially does well so everyone gets pay increases, eventually costing more and more each year until it is unsustainable to the network.
October 8th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
I will be watching tonight as much as I can. Saw the previews. Interesting. Going to be dialogue intensive...I think. That's tough to write and keep people interested. We are gonna see what the writers are made of tonight.
It would be funny if a shark jumped over the raft...get it? Jumped the sha...ah, nevermind.
October 8th, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Agree with Jacques about the show being expensive, but did anyone notice AOL had a paycut this year? Heard it was $5K per episode cut, after getting a raise after S1. I don't think that's common when a show is only beginning its third year, so there must've already been some discussion about belt-tightening. Now, what on god's green earth are the producers doing bringing Tom Arnold onto the show? I'm sure he's pretty cheap, tho.