Hawaii Five-0 didn’t see a big increase in it’s rating from the crossover with it’s CBS sister-show, but the Aloha Boys certainly brought viewers with them when they visited NCIS: Los Angeles.
Here’s the secret to preventing ratings decline during May sweeps: Crossovers!
Tuesday night’s NCIS: Los Angeles received a boost by cross-breeding with Hawaii Five-0, the second hour of a two-part stunt that started on Monday night. NCIS: LA delivered 15 million viewers and a 3.0 rating in the adult demo, up 25 percent from its last airing. Plus, the show nearly tied NBC’s The Voice results show (8.9 million, 3.1) as the night’s top-rated series along with NCIS (17.2 million, 3.0 — and not needing any crossovers to kick butt, thank you very much).
As for everybody else– hey, look something shiny!
Some notables: Fox’s Glee (2.4) was down 11 percent, ABC’s Cougar Town (1.3) was down 13 percent, Private Practice (2.1) was down 5 percent, NBC’s Biggest Loser (2.1) finale was up a tick from last week. The CW’s L.A. Complex (0.3) was unchanged for Week 2.
I was on the verge…
…of naming this recap as “Things We Learned About Hawaii and Los Angeles from Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS:LA”, but that would have been just a little too wordy. But as everyone already knows, this past Monday and Tuesday saw the much anticipated crossover event between Five-0 and NCIS:LA. I elected to hold off on recapping “Pā Make Loa” until I saw “Touch of Death” last night, because it would give me a lot of material to compare the two shows.
Photo CBS
When I first heard the news of this, the inner adolescent nerd in me squee’ed in delight, much like I did whenever Marvel’s Wolverine made a guest appearance in The Incredible Hulk, or whenever Superman made an appearance in a Batman comic. Acknowledgement that separate worlds of each show can actually intersect in the same network universe does nothing but to dramatically increase the shows’ watchability. We pretty much know how the characters within each show operate, but how would they interact with characters from another show with an entirely different dynamic?
Ironically, team dynamics between the NCIS:LA team and the Hawaii Five-0 team are not much different. There’s banter, character struggles, and well, more banter. Watching a bunch of alpha males trying to sort out who the top dog was made for great TV. Seeing Special Agent Hanna (LL Cool J) and Detective Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) go at it with Danny made me forget that Steve was gone for a minute. But only for a minute.
I’m still not quite used to the fact that Steve isn’t there. How different would these two episodes be had Alex been able to film these episodes? Who would be bantering with whom? All things considered, I think the writers did a great job of adjusting to the change and centered the entertaining dialog between Danny, Hanna and Deeks.
Speaking of Danny, did anyone notice the subtle difference Scott Caan played Danny between the two episodes? Danny was dour and brooding at the opening of Five-0, trying to make more sense out of the Champ box clues (I thought he was pissed ’cause his checkbook wasn’t balancing). And that mood continued to the very end. In Los Angeles, we saw the same smarty pants Danny who we know and love, but like season one, he was a fish out of water in Los Angeles, evidenced by his uncomfortable moments with Hetty. I think Scott delivered better in NCIS:LA.
A pox on both their houses
Which story did I enjoy more? I loved the Five-0 story because it was fast, it had a natural progression, and the case came to somewhat of a close with Comescu’s death. The NCIS:LA episode had a slight edge in that the viewer knew what the danger was, and because of that there was a greater sense of excitement and urgency as the team had to track down the rogue doctors. I think NCIS:LA had a slight edge in the banter department as well. Despite how funny Kamekona’s scene with Hanna, and Hann’s backseat driving remarks to Danny, I’m still laughing at Deeks submission to Danny in the smack talking contest and I’m still dreaming of Kensi’s armpits. Yeah, I said it. Kensi’s armpits.
Photo CBS
Now while I thought our great state of Hawaii was doing pretty well in the crime fighting department with Five-0′s fancy office, a locker full of guns, and the super awesome Magic Table, I had to catch my breath in order to behold NCIS:LA’s Magic Frickin’ Wall! My God that thing was huge. Do they have their Super Bowl parties in there too? How magical is that wall? I’m wondering because at the slightest flick of Kono’s wrist, images fly up from the table to the monitor a few feet away. How big a gesticulation does someone need in order to move images across the Magic Frickin’ Wall? What if someone sneezes in front of the Magic Frickin’ Wall? Does the whole thing reboot? Or does the image get transmitted to a TV screen halfway down the block? Advantage: NCIS:LA.
Rounding it out, I’m glad we got to see Kamekona (Taylor Wily) and Charlie Fong (Brian Yang) supporting the team. I loved Grace Park on the sniper rifle, covering her teammates’ back. Daniel Dae Kim played it perfectly in both episodes, especially in Los Angeles, as the seasoned vet in a new town. He also really loosened up when he teased Kono about her mysterious caller. As in the previous Five-0 episode, I’m loving the interaction with Danny and Chin and found it interesting that the both of them laid plans to make sure their loved ones would be ok had an outbreak started. Final shout out to local Devon Nekoba who reprised his role as TSA Agent Myers.
Did I miss something?
Like a lot of other Five-0 fans who confessed on twitter, I don’t think I’ve watched more than a couple of episodes of NCIS:LA. Having said that, I had no idea how far and how deep the Dracul Comescu/Agent Callen blood feud went. From what little I gathered about Callen’s family being a targeted by Comescu, I imagine it was a pretty significant part of Callen’s past. So when Callen finally cornered Comescu at the International Marketplace, I was expecting some grand dialog about vengeance, justice or something brilliant…but all we got was a bunch of yelling and three shots to Comescu’s chest. Now in the grand scheme of things, Comescu was just the small pox salesman, but Callen didn’t even get an Ahnold-esque finishing phrase. Even if he got out “I am Special Agent Callen. You killed my Father, now prepare to die,” I would have been satisfied! So I’ll maintain that the scene, and even Craig Robert Young were tragically underutilized. The only reason I could think of is that the pace of the story needed to keep going.
In all, I enjoyed both episodes, and the final handshakes at the end of NCIS:LA hopefully hints to more crossover episodes.
Things We Learned About Hawaii From Hawaii Five-0, Episode 221, “Pā Make Loa”,
1) Sand Island, known as “Quarantine Island” in the nineteenth century really was a detention point for travelers thought to be sick or carrying infectious diseases. It was later an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. Now, it’s an industrial area with an adjacent state park.
2) After watching NCIS:LA, didn’t you miss the verdant mountains and azure waters of Hawaii? Advantage: Hawaii Five-0.
Did you notice…
Callen, Hanna, Chin Ho and Danny ran around Honolulu, then Los Angeles in the same clothes, crawling with smallpox cooties for at least 48 hours? Eew.
Who the heck called Kono on the phone? Was it Fonger? This is an interesting twist so late into the season.
All the ProActiv cream and soap in the world won’t clear up the first victim’s complexion.
Based on this video from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, I think it’s fair to say that Scott Caan is a much better cuddler than Pauly D. I think we know who really won the game.
Viewers of Hawaii Five-0 know that Detective Danny Williams does appreciate an attractive woman, and based on the teaser from TVLine, it sounds like our boy has a little fun inside the headquarters of NCIS Los Angeles on Tuesday’s crossover episode.
From Matt’s Inside Line
NCIS: Los Angeles | In the two-night crossover event kicking off this Monday on Hawaii Five-0 and concluding Tuesday on NCIS: LA, Callen and Sam will collaborate on a case with Five-0 task force members Danny and Chin Ho (played by Scott Caan and Daniel Dae Kim) – but don’t be surprised if Kensi also gets in on the action. And then some. “There’s definitely a lot of banter between everyone, and a little flirtation here and there — maybe even creating a little jealousy on behalf of Deeks,” NCIS: LA‘s Daniela Ruah tells me. Since Chin Ho is newly re-wed, shall we assume that it’s Danny who takes a shine to Ms. Blye’s considerable assets?
A reminder to all fans of Daniel Dae Kim and Hawaii Five-0, that the actor will be hitting a couple of talk shows next week. On Tuesday, May 1st, Daniel wll visit the set of Live! With Kelly, and then late night Wednesday, (Thursday a.m.) stops in to chat with Jimmy Fallon on NBC.
Oh, and if you’re not a regular viewer of NCIS Los Angeles, don’t forget to tune in on Tuesday to see Daniel as Chin Ho Kelly, and Scott Caan as Danno, when they pay a visit to LaLa Land.
UPDATE: Thanks to @jazzsuare for the heads-up that Scott Caan is to appear on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Tuesday May 1st. Hopefully, Ellen and Live! With Kelly aren’t in the same time slot in your area!
Romanian mobster Dracul Comescu is on the loose in Hawaii, bringing together two crime-fighting teams. It doesn’t sound like Danny had to twist any arms to convince the NCIS Los Angeles boys to make the trip to paradise.
If you’re anything like me, you may find that you forget a few details during the course of a television season. Or perhaps you suffer from short-term memory loss? Or maybe just missed an episode or two of Hawaii Five-0? Well, luckily for us, CBS has recapped the season up to this point. So, strap yourself in, update your memory banks, and get ready for Monday!
I’m not going to lie to you. Without McGarrett in this episode, I wasn’t quite as excited to see it as I initially was. Also, I’m not a fan of the NCIS franchise, so for me that was already two strikes against this episode. There’s no chance for a McG-Danno cargument, and certainly no bromance. And the greatest tragedy of all is that we can’t have a shirtless Steve scene without Steve. So, you get the picture; one sad camper here. Well, based on the extended promo, I’ve found my reason to watch, and his name is “Danno.” Our fish-out-of-water had finally found his ohana in Hawaii, but now must join forces with the NCIS:LA team. Luckily for us, this new group includes characters who are bound to test our Jersey Boy’s patience, including another Navy Seal with his own ideas about how to pilot a car. With a new crew, we once again find Danny a bit off-balance, and that’s always fun to behold. Appointment made, 10 p.m. April 30th, CBS!
Look for: Craig Robert Young as Dracul Comescu, and local boy Devon Nekoba returns as TSA agent Meyers. Oh, and a couple of guys you may have heard of show up; LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell are their names, I think.
“Pā Make Loa” - Crossover episode
“Pā Make Loa*” – Five-0 and the NCIS: Los Angeles task force team up in Hawaii when there’s a suspect on the loose who is threatening to release a deadly virus into the population, on HAWAII FIVE-0, in the first episode of a two night crossover event with NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Monday, April 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. The conclusion will be broadcast on NCIS: LOS ANGELES Tuesday, May 1 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). From “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Chris O’Donnell guest stars as Special Agent G. Callen and LL COOL J guest stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna.
Just as we are preparing a sigh of relief that our Big Kahuna will soon return to the fold, Hawaii Five-0 executive producer Peter Lenkov, threatens, er, promises to throw our team’s universe into disarray once more.
You’d think a McGarrett-Wo Fat showdown is in the cards, right? Well, it is, but it takes place in the penultimate episode — and the fallout looms large over the finale, during which Five-0 goes on a manhunt after one of its own is killed. Meanwhile, Joe White (Terry O’Quinn) returns to take McGarrett to the real Shelburne and Danny must make a painful choice between his work and his daughter. With Kono and Chin Ho also dealing with personal matters, it’s safe to say that not everyone’s head is in the game. “Last year we split the team up; this year we brought them back together, made them better than ever,” executive producer Peter Lenkov says. “And then in the finale, when they need each other the most — they are not there for each other.”
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