By Stu Robinson,

In the past, I’ve observed that episodes of CBS’s new Hawaii Five-O come in two varieties: those devoted to revealing the back stories of Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and the three other main characters; and those that simply serve up a crime for them to solve. But Episodes 16 & 17 made me realize that I might have painted that with too broad a brush.

Two observations:

• Among those that focus on a crime du jour, there are two sub-genres that I call “procedural” and “pursuit.” In the former, the protagonists – and the viewers – have a mystery to solve. In the latter, the threat is clear and it’s a race against time.
• Some episodes blend the various genres and sub-genres. The main plot may be a mystery while the secondary plot advances one of the back stories.

That is the case with Episode 16, in which McGarrett, Chin Ho and Kono engage in a pursuit while Danno splits off to deal with a situation involving his daughter and ex-wife.

The story starts with a bang – literally. Federal witness Julie Adelman (Mariana Klaveno) is on the run in the jungle after her U.S. marshal protector is gunned down by assassins posing as Honolulu police officers. This prompts ex-Navy SEAL McGarrett to go all Rambo as he and Chin Ho plunge into the jungle to rescue the witness and take down the killers. The clock is ticking; Julie must testify later in the day or the case involving her will be dismissed. They find her before the assassins, and McGarret orders Chin Ho to escort her to the courthouse while he continues the hunt. By the end of the journey, Chin Ho and Julie are exchanging smoldering glances, but it’s already been established that she is headed for the witness-protection program. (Maybe she’ll pop up on USA Network’s In Plain Sight.) Back at Five-O headquarters, Kono attempts to identify the “cleaner,” a sort-of insurance assassin tasked with killing the target and the other hit men if the initial attempt fails.

Meanwhile, Danno is concerned about his daughter, Grace, and ex, Rachel, after their vehicle is carjacked. When the car, normally driven by Rachel’s husband, Stan, is recovered within an hour without any of its contents taken, Danno becomes suspicious. When he takes Grace and Rachel home and finds their mansion ransacked, again with nothing taken, Danno is convinced that Stan has gotten himself into trouble and is being sent a message. Rachel thinks Danno just has it in for Grace’s stepfather. We finally meet “the Stan” and get a glimpse into the stepfamily dynamic when Danno picks him up at the airport for heart-to-heart chat. Turn out Stan has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle, which Danno resolves in an overly simplified manner.

The plots intersect only once. McGarrett has disabled one of assassins with a jungle booby trap and is about to perform field surgery on the guy when he receives a phone update from Danno and improbably stops to counsel his partner about anger management before Danno confronts Stan.

While Episode 16 was generally a pursuit episode, Episode 17 was more procedural. After a group of partying college students is kidnapped from a tourist catamaran, the team must identify the pirates and rescue the hostages. This premise not only enables the cameras to appreciate buff young adults in swimwear but also opens the way for buff, young guest stars – in this case Nick Lachey and fiancée Vanessa Minnillo.

When the hostages’ parents arrive on the island, the most troublesome is portrayed by the incomparable Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, Reaper). That’s an opportunity for a possible red herring, as viewers are likely to assume he’s the bad guy because of his previous roles. It’s also an opportunity for product placement, as McGarrett orders his team to “set up a holding area at the Hilton.”

But the episode does give viewers a chance to figure things out at home. I admit, my own suspicions were confirmed at the conclusion.

Final Thoughts

• Expect the stunt casting and the storyline involving Danno and his ex to continue. Previews for tonight’s Episode 17 show comedian Dane Cook, playing Danno’s brother, at a restaurant sharing stories with Danno, Rachel and their daughter, Grace.
• The Feb. 18, 2011, issue of USA Today included a lengthy feature story on Hawaii Five-O that discussed the show’s ratings success and how it has moved beyond the original series by delving into the characters’ back stories. It also cites the writers’ use of humor, particularly in the car bickering between McGarrett and Danno, which the crew have dubbed “carguments.”

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

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I’ve fallen rather behind both in my television viewing and in my blogging, so I thought I’d catch up with a few things today, seeing as I don’t have access to HBO this weekend and can’t watch True Blood until tomorrow, at the earliest.

First up: Reaper.

I did so love this show.

I’ve said about 8 gazillion times how perfectly cast Ray Wise was as Satan, so I’ll try to keep that to a minimum today.

But I absolutely am going to miss seeing him with those piercing blue eyes, impeccably combed hair and blinding white smile, making mischief in people’s lives now that Reaper‘s off the air.

Like most of the shows I watch these days, I caught up with most of Season 2 in marathon viewings on my DVR. Over three, maybe four nights, I watched the entire season and enjoyed it as much as ever.

Ben’s relationship with Nina the demon was terribly sweet, on both their parts. Satan’s other son Morgan was a lot more like dear old dad, but man did he have no work ethic. Whatever you might be able to say of Beelzebub, he sure does work for a living. And he does appreciate Sam’s ability and drive to get the job done. Which, of course, is ironic considering he’s been a slacker his entire life and works as a clerk in some nameless conglomerate.

And how could we forget Sock’s stint as Wrenchy Bench, culiminating in him beating the crap out of his rival, who turns out to be an old woman? Ah, good times.

The whole storyline of Sam’s dad being undead (yet not a zombie, dammit!) and living in a freezer in their garage was, admittedly, rather odd. And Sock’s storyline of lust and love with his stepsister was … OK, it was downright weird and justalittlebit icky, though I can’t truly say why.

The dead end of Sam being able to get out of hell when Satan recaptures the one soul who managed to get out of his deal with the devil, then Sam’s dad going to the 8th circle and then Gladys (wait, why the hell didn’t they use her a lot more this season? That chick is FUNNY.) helping to translate and the demon who managed to make his way back to heaven having mistranslated it and then breaking Sam’s hand so he can’t win his bet with the very vain Satan. Sorry, it made me a little dizzy. Those sorts of storyline are always a little troublesome, as they would spell the end of a series if they ever came true.

But the series came to an end anyhow, sadly, though the very last few minutes made me scratch my head and say out loud, “WTF?” Except that I didn’t use the initials. I said the three words.

When Steve’s wings come out and he ascends to heaven, but first bringing a whole angel light show, I really didn’t know what to think. Was that really how they wanted to end it? Did they have something in mind? WHAT WERE THEY DOING? WTF????

Still, sad to see the show go. I totally enjoyed it and laughed out loud at least a couple times each episode.

OK, then we have Kings:

I still get angry when I think about the show’s cancellation. It’s a fascinating look at power and what it takes to be in power and Ian McShane could read a phone book and I’d be enthralled (I know I’ve said that previously, but it’s still true).

It’s only gotten more interesting as it’s gone on. We know that the king and his queen aren’t quite the happy couple they appear to be. The royal brother-in-law is a bad guy, mostly, but not totally. The princess is one of those do-gooder types, but seems to truly have her heart in what she does. The prince is actually gay, but he can’t be if he wants to be king, which he does more than anything else on the entire planet it seems.

And then we have our David, who somehow, just somehow, always manages to make the right decision, even in the midst of making the wrong decision. His belief in what he does and says is so pervasive and overwhelming that no one can really disagree with him, even when they totally disagree with him.

He is also the one anointed, it seems, by God to follow in the king’s footsteps. A footsoldier who managed to work his way up to the highest office in the land. And why? Because of the butterflies.

OK, I’ll admit, the butterflies are a bit … weird. Except that they are also a metaphor for transformation.

So what might have happened if Kings had continued?

I can’t even imagine that it wouldn’t have continued to be utterly enthralling. See my comment about McShane, above. And all the characters have so many layers, that it could have been so many things to so many people: a period piece on the price of power, an allegory for David & Goliath, a nighttime soap. A little bit for everyone.

Instead, NBC canned it and is giving us 5 primetime hours a week of Jay Leno, 3 of one of the Law & Orders, 2 of The Biggest Loser and a fourth season of Heroes, which is TOTALLY past its prime.

Sigh. At least there’s still The Office and 30 Rock on Thursdays, but c’mon, NBC.

And then there’s Harper’s Island:

I put it on my “to watch” list solely on the pedigree: It came from the good folks who brought us Jericho, and that made me want to give it a chance.

You know what? It was a heckuva lot of fun, lots of thrills and chills and suspense. The music was great, the casting well-done (virtually all new folks, only a couple of faces I even recognized, including Harry Hamlin – who, by the way, has aged quite a lot since LA Law).

I’m not sure what they would have done had it been renewed; my understanding was that it might have been another locale with a different backstory, but then I’m not sure how it would have still been called Harper’s Island.

But various Jericho folks have shows on the fall schedule: Human Target, written by Jon Steinberg, and The Forgotten, starring my favorite deputy, Bob Stephenson. The Jericho team is far too talented to be left behind for long, and each new show they create will have a built-in audience to start. Not every showrunner can boast that.

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Got the bad news this a.m. that Life on Mars has been canceled by ABC.

I’ve said before that the show’s totally worth watching just for Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli. I wish more people had given it a shot.

The good news, Variety says, is that ABC is going to air the show’s entire run, which entails 5 more episodes, so the show gets to wrap up properly. Site io9 says it will wrap up the rest of the series online, but I’m not clear on where that info comes from, now having read the Variety article (the link in my first sentence).

At least I’m getting back one of my other all-time favorite television characters tonight: Ray Wise as Satan in Reaper.

In fact, one of my all-time favorite quotes (not just TV quotes, just quotes, period) emanated from his lips:

You’re just upset because you’re realizing the weakness of your species: The most untrustworthy and unreliable creatures on this earth. Except for bears.

He paused, ever so slightyl, before that last bit, and I guffawed when he said it.

Thank you, Ray Wise, for bringing a little laughter into my life each week. You are the BEST SATAN EVER.

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