Hawaii Five-0 Articles & Buzz

• The New York Times wrote a lengthy article about CBS’s extensive marketing campaign for Hawaii Five-0. The extra love that CBS is showering on the show is a result of its being aired during the network’s best drama time slot and the campaign’s focus on the theme song is of course a no-brainer, as Morton Stevens’ composition is the most recognized TV tune in history. An interesting excerpt:
  

  “Hawaii Five-0” is among 25 series with fall premieres for the 2010-11 season. Marc Berman, television analyst for the trade publication Mediaweek, gives it odds of 3-1 for survival, with 1-1 the best and 10-1 the longest shot. By contrast, he gives a new show at 10 p.m. Monday on NBC, “The Chase,” survival odds of 8-1.

  And “Hawaii Five-0” is scoring well in data compiled by Zeta Interactive, a digital agency in New York, which monitors online media like blogs, message boards and Twitter through mining technology it calls Zeta Buzz.

  The show is in the top 10 in both the volume and the positive tone of comments, said Al DiGuido, chief executive at Zeta Interactive. The most common words among positive comments are “remake,” “curious” and “ ’70s,” he added, and the most common words among negative comments are “fail,” “not as good,” and “doom” or “doomed.”

  That indicates those who are down on the show “feel it won’t live up to the standards of the original,” Mr. DiGuido said. With a rating of 82 percent positive and 18 percent negative, “Hawaii Five-0” lags behind the leading new series, he added, which is “Lone Star,” from Fox Broadcasting, with a rating of 94 percent positive and 6 percent negative.

  Also check out MediaBuyerPlanner’s related article: “2010 Fall Season Preview: ‘Hawaii Five-0′ Nabs Buzz, Big Marketing Blitz”

• Seattle likes Hawaii Five-0 it appears, because no less than 47% of Seattle consumers who participated in Comcast’s recent survey say that they are the most excited about our show! Walter Neary writes in The Examiner:
  

  I’m not surprised people want to see Hawaii Five-O, but the numbers surprised me. By many percentage points, Hawaii Five-O is the most-anticipated Fall program.

• TV Squad, on the other hand, is wondering whether the hype for Hawaii Five-0 has turned potential viewers off. It’s a legitimate question, but unfortunately their credibility is spoiled by the possible reasons they cite:
  • 1. It’s too much
  • 2. The promos are too cute
  • 3. The promos are too retro

  It’s also interesting how they word the first option in the poll at the bottom of the article: “Yes, I’m not going to watch the premiere.” I think a lot of people misread that one, because I don’t believe for a minute that the majority of respondents are not interested in seeing the pilot. (They’re just not good at reading sneakily phrased poll questions… )

• TV by the Numbers sees Hawaii Five-0 winning the time slot battle against Castle and The TV Addict thinks its Hawaii Five-0 that will have to concede defeat. Read and judge for yourself, but don’t dwell on it too long. I just don’t think it’s going to be an issue.
• The Los Angeles Times posted a great article about Brian Tyler and his creative efforts on behalf of the Hawaii Five-0 theme song:

“The theme is so iconic. It’s one of the few themes that cant be separated from the original show it came from. The others that come to mind are ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘Twilight Zone,’ ” he said. “It was instrumental to stay close to the original and not go too out of the box, and into the computer and synthesize it. I didn’t want to go into it anyway that would make light of it.”

• Another write-up by Mike Gordon for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser – although it’s not wholly about Hawaii Five-0, but rather about the enormous boost the series and other TV and film productions are giving the local economy this year, the show gets its fair share of attention in the article that starts off with, well, a bang:
  

  No one seemed to notice the gunfire inside Pacific Rim Bank. Even when two dozen panicky people rushed out onto the plaza at Restaurant Row, heads barely turned.

  But when Alex O’Loughlin, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park stepped up to save the day in this scene from the new “Hawaii Five-0″ — each in a bulletproof vest, their handguns drawn and wearing fresh makeup — cell phone cameras took aim.

  They’re the state’s newest heroes.

  As fan favorites of the re-imagined police drama, the actors are helping to drive the state’s film and TV industry to a record-setting year, one that could see as much as $347 million in production spending, according to state estimates. That’s up more than 50 percent from the $229 million in 2007, the previous record year.
  [...]

• The AP article “Among Fall’s TV Frosh, 10 New Shows Worth Sampling” is all over the internet and that’s excellent as it’s full of praise for Hawaii Five-0:
  

  “Hawaii Five-O” (CBS; premieres Sept. 20). From the opening titles with the timeless rocking theme to the nickname “Danno,” this new version of the 1970s original is a miracle of souped-up, loving restoration. Alex O’Loughlin plays simmering Steve McGarrett, who’s got a score to settle with some very bad people. The governor of Hawaii gives him carte blanche to set up a justice team, which includes kvetching New Jersey transplant Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan), as well as Chin Ho Kelly (“Lost” alumnus Daniel Dae Kim) and his sexy, two-fisted sister, Kono (Grace Park). The pilot is a fast-paced, eye-popping, modern-day homage. Be there! Aloha!

• More articles you may want to check out: Esquire – Chattanooga Times Free Press – Today – MSN Entertainment – Boston.com

Hawaii Five-0 Updates

• Until the show premieres on September 20, lucky passengers on Hawaiian Airlines’ transpacific flights can enjoy the Hawaii Five-0 pilot episode on the in-flight video program! As part of the agreement between the carrier and CBS, in return a Hawaiian Airlines aircraft is shown in the opening credits of each episode of the show. Read more at Hawaii Magazine.
• Two more great billboards were photographed in LA – one huge one plastered against the building at 9000 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood and the other at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Check them out at Daily Billboard!
• You can view a picture of cast posters in New York City on Flickr.
• Thanks to Peter Lenkov we know that the production is currently focusing on episode 105 in which Kevin Sorbo is guest starring!
• Two local promos with the theme song aired by CBS4 in Gainesville, Florida were posted on YouTube: video 1 – video 2.
• The Paley Center recently issued a press release for the Fall 2010 TV Preview Parties and Hawaii Five-0 is definitely not included in the schedule.
• Myxer has a great widget for the H50 ringtone that you can embed on your blog or social networking site!
• Don’t forget to tune into CBS on Monday, Sept. 6 for the primetime fall preview show at 8:30-9:00PM, ET/PT for a sneak peek of Hawaii Five-0!
• Monday’s episode of Inside Edition will run a segment on Hawaii Five-0, so please check your listings for tomorrow. Thanks to Pinkiepie for the heads-up!
• Here are some H50 pictures that surfaced on Twitter recently (#2 comes with an Aussie alert): pic 1 – pic 2 – pic 3 – pic 4
• And some set location photos posted on Facebook by Hawaiian Escapades.
• Grace Park made Buddy TV’s list of 25 Sexiest Women of the New Fall Season (actually, she’s their #1 )
• And here’s a short interview that TV Guide had with the handsome Daniel Dae Kim, who was looking very suave indeed at the Emmys.

Other Updates

• Scott Caan was sighted in LA recently; presumably he was back on the mainland to attend the opening of an exhibition that includes his photographs at Canvas Boutique & Gallery in Malibu. You can view some of his photos on Canvas Art Talk (the first four black & white images are his, starting with Brad Pitt).