Things We Learned About Hawaii From Hawaii Five-0, Episode 11, “Palekaiko”

Boardshorts, yes! Photo: Neil Jacobs, CBS

Yes, it really is this beautiful

Hands down, this was the most beautifully shot episode.  The cinematographers, viedographers, lighting experts, directors and everyone else who fills the screen visually should give themselves a huge pat on the back for making Hawaii as beautiful as it does on screen.  I loved the long shot of McGarrett and Chin Ho walking back to the pick up truck with Chinaman’s Hat island in the background (wait, what?  McGarrett shirtless?  I didn’t notice); also the long shot of McG walking down the peninsula to give Erica the bad news about her husband.  Even when a serial killer goes over the edge of the green and lush Nu’uanu Pali, it’s a beautiful sight to behold.    Greens and blues do for Hawaii Five-0 as yellow does for CSI Miami.  The blues of the ocean were so rich in the underwater scenes with the turtles.  The colors are so vivid, a 64 Crayola Crayon box wouldn’t do the show justice (and there’s a *lot* of colors in that box). If this doesn’t make you want to come to Hawaii, go vacation in Jersey. 😉

The story advances

The overall story arc finally advances with McG telling Chin about the Champ box, the photos and the key.  On screen, McG explains that he’d come to a dead end on his own investigation, and finally seeks his help.  Chin gives McG the news of his mother’s suspicious death…  Conspicuously missing is Taryn Manning… As TV Guide reported earlier, many of her scenes were cut out in order to advance the back story of the McGarretts.  Chin in another scene mentions where he and “Malia” were supposed to go on their honeymoon…if you’ve been tracking the blog you know who this is!

Strong acting continues

Alex O’Loughlin shined in this episode, showing more emotional dynamic in McG.  McG steps up and gives Erica the bad news about her husband, and the ensuing dialog in the car about how they had to cope with that part of the job was a nice break from the banter.  Of course after sharing a deep moment, these manly men put their guards back up and resort to the radio…to listen to Dr. Hook, Sexy Eyes…?

Haven’t we been here before?

Ok, so Ben Linus (ABC’s Lost) spends *how many* episodes looking for Jacob’s cabin?  McG and Danno find it in like 10 minutes.  Come to find out Jacob just sits around all day long and shoots up morphine.

I love my wife?

Scene:  Kahala Hotel, at the shoreline.
McG looks over to Danno, tells him solemnly, “I’ll do it.”  He makes the long, slow walk down the peninsula to Erica who’s staring into the ocean, wondering where her husband is.  McG knows the fate of her husband, and without dialog that we can hear, he breaks the grim news to her.  Words aren’t needed for us…McG’s compassionate expressions and Erica’s recoil is enough to communicate to us the shock and disbelief that washes over her.  She sobs uncontrollably, and in despair she throws her arms up in a futile gesture of defense against the bad news.  She resists McG’s comforting embraces and pulls back even more.

“OH MY GOD HOLD HIM, NOW’S YOUR CHANCE!!!”, my wife yelled at Erica through the TV.

I love my wife.  My wife loves, well, McGarrett.

And now, Things We Learn About Hawaii From Hawaii Five-0, Episode 11, “Palekaiko”

1)  Hunting and fishing are past times that many people here enjoy.  Lots of boar on Oahu.  Deer and goat on Maui, Molokai and the Big Island.  Tourists running around in the woods are a lot harder to find.

2)  We wear board shorts.  There is a *huge* difference between board short and swim trunks.  Board shorts is what we men in Hawaii wear.  They sit low at the waist, and stop right above the knee.  We definitely do *not* wear swim trunks.  Swim trunks is what you wear to the Wet N Wild Water Park in Minnesota.  I’m talking about shorts with an elastic waist band, and the built in mesh underwear I call manties.  Manties are made probably from the remnants left over from the Frederick’s of Hollywood fishnet stocking factory in India.  They’re uncomfortable, they chafe, and it just plain isn’t right.   So guys on the mainland, check your swim shorts.  In Hawaii, we have an expression “hang loose”, and with board shorts, we definitely do.

Swim trunks, with complimentary manties, NO!

Did you notice…?

Palekaiko translates to “paradise”, ironic since Hawaii was anything but paradise for the hapless honeymooners.

All aboard the SS Kahala Hotel!  The interior shots of the cruise ship were shot at the Kahala Hotel.  If you notice in the main “lobby” of the ship, the far background is a painted mural of  the ship’s top deck and a smoke stack.  The “people” in the background don’t move an inch!

The final standoff happens at the Pali Lookout, at the end of Nu’uanu Valley overlooking Kane’ohe.  Matinsky wasn’t the only one to go over the edge:  King Kamehameha’s army pushed King Kalanikupule’s army off the 1000 foot cliff, sending hundreds to their deaths in an epic battle in 1795.  It really is that windy up there.  Don’t stand near the edge.

I’ve just realized that the Camaro must have a magical ability to signal all stoplights ahead of them green, because they’re almost never stopped at an intersection, unless some hot chicks are scoping them out.