Hawaii 5-0: Ki'ilua

Usually I don't review specific episodes of shows but this was the one episode I was actually on set for. I don't know if this will become a regular thing considering usually I just like watching the stories and don't really like coming up with words about the stories. I think I'm just pretty lazy.

(SPOILERS)

The geeking out:

So so so! I was there when they were filming! I got to see all the principal actors and meet Mark Dacascos. And Alex O'Loughlin talked AT me...not really TO me. Or he was just talking to himself about Milkduds in which case, then he's...sort of crazy.

I went with the military trucks and jeeps you see in the episode because the museum I volunteer with loans them out to the production company.

I made friends with all the stunt guys and the North Korean rebel soldier guys. They were all extremely nice. Whenever they were behind the camera they would come talk with me and we all ate lunch together all the time. Especially since I'm Korean and they were all supposed to be Korean, we just bonded over being Asian.

The dude who was speaking Korean was actually Korean which is good and he did really well considering he had never acted before in his life. He called me "little one" because dude, did you see how tall he was? At least a foot and a half taller then me. And he had to do a stunt where he rifle butt's Alex O'Loughlin in the face and I was there when the Stunt Director was giving him pointers on how to do it. He said to not be anxious or else the nervous energy would propel him more forward than what was comfortable for the actor and he would really hit Alex O'Loughlin in the face. Haha. Poor guy, he was so nervous he couldn't even think properly.

Mark Dacascos is the nicest man ever. Seriously. I spoke with him for like an hour about bugs and Iron Chef and martial arts and Dancing with the Stars. I did some weird arm movements and he teased me about it. He wanted to invite me to a party along with this stunt guy named Darryl but I don't live in LA. I was like darn. He said that he doesn't really get to act that much in Hawaii 5-0 other than a lot of looking mysterious and menacing. Or a lot of escaping. Haha. He also said that he tries to think of a different style of martial arts for every character he plays. It's true, he doesn't have that many dialogue scenes but at least the show will keep him on for a while. He escapes again! Haha.

Alex O'Loughlin talked to me...or at least at me...about Milkduds. Because he had never had any before. And was asking one of the Prop guys what a milkdud consisted of. The prop guy answered, "Caramel covered with a layer of extremely delicate chocolate (put in italics for the most sarcastic effect)." And Alex replies, "The chocolate is extremely delicate," through a mouthful of Milkduds. And then he turns to me because I've been watching this hilarious exchange and goes, "Milkduds, you should try them," and grabs another box, cocks his head at me and then goes off to set up the next shot. The whole time, I don't know what's going on in my mind but I'm like SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT. But doesn't happen. The next time he talked at me is when he tried throwing something into the trashcan and missed and yelled out, "THAT F***ING SUCKS," really loudly and then glanced and me and says, "Oops, shouldn't say that."

Terry O'Quinn is also extremely nice. And he talked to me! About if the scene was wrapped and I was like Oh uh I don't know? And he was like Oh okay, and then apologized for putting me on the spot. !!! He's also kind of odd. When everyone else was lounging in the tent for "cast members only," he dragged his chair out to the edge of the field which looked at the Kualoa mountains with his guitar and strummed for the entire break. Which is actually a refreshing change from everyone else who are glued to their phones every time they're on break.

Lauren German and Scott Caan seem like they have a thing going on. They had a mini-tickle fight in the middle of a scene set up. It was very odd and it was intense enough for them to end up on the ground which was kind of gross considering there were cow patties everywhere.

I saw the helo take off and land which was really cool. To see a Huey make those kind of maneuvers which are actually very difficult.

I had to hear them say "Don't get married. Just find a woman you really hate and BUY HER A HOUSE," like five million times and hear the fake laughter every time afterward. After the 20th time, it's just not that funny.

The guy who was playing Jenna's dead fiancee had to walk around with makeup that made him look like a corpse for at least 2 days. He didn't have a name, the PA's and AD's just called him "The Dead Guy". One time I was in the van that take everyone everywhere and over the radio one of the AD's goes, "Uh, The Dead Guy wants to go back to base camp," and I cracked up.

I know the guy who drove the jeep onscreen. He's an actual transportation guy who drives the vans that the cast and crew take to get to location. His name is Andy.

I got to intern with the lighting guys one day. That was pretty fun for a while. They take these heavy duty golf carts called "gators" everywhere.

The gunshots were blanks shot from real guns meaning the sound was FREAKING LOUD. And the actors have a grand ol' time with them. They get as giddy as schoolboys really. And do the AD's have to scream FIRE IN THE HOLE every time the actors hold the gun? I get all ready to close my ears and then it's actually another 5-10 minutes before they actually shoot the gun.

The scenes where they're in the covered trucks and the trucks are driving along was never shot with the trucks actually driving. Instead the truck was stationary and some huge guy was on the side of it trying to push it and jumping up and down on it to make it look like it was moving. Sometimes the director said the pushing was too uniform so they would have to do the scene all over again to make the bounces look more random. At one time there were three different guys on the cab of the truck to make it move.

The scene where they film Wo Fat in the cab of the truck and he's looking at the bridge explode was filmed in a stationary truck with people with tree branches running past the light to look like shadows for when the truck was supposed to be "moving". Watching them was like watching a very weird game of ring around the rosey or duck duck goose, or maybe some sort of ritual dance.

Scott's dog is so cute. Her name is Dot and she just roamed around set. Scott Caan IS his character like when Dot was chewing at some grass and he turns to her and goes "Dot, why'd you gotta eat everything huh?"

I wish I had gotten photos but I'm a chicken and never ask.

The Good:

Larissa Oleynik's acting in this one. She was so good. I think I always think of her as that teenager in "10 Things I Hate About You" or "Alex Mack" so I never really realize how great she is as an actress but she's amazing in this one. I always liked her character so I'm really sad that she won't be with the show anymore. Lauren German doesn't really compare. Her acting is kind of wooden. I already wrote a post about this. I think some of her redeeming moments though was the Halloween episode and the one afterward where she and Max seem to have a really strong bond. That's pretty cute.

The premise was interesting. I liked the North Korean setting. I mean I'm Korean so the way they place Koreans into any plot for any show is always interesting to me. And the Korean sounded pretty good, they must have gotten actual Koreans to say the lines. Other than Alex O'Loughlin's "Okay, okay" in Korean...that was pretty bad. But he had just learned it like five minutes before and asked that one Korean dude, Andy I think his name was, about how to say it. Oh wait, he had to say "Do you wanna die?" in Korean as well...which wasn't that great and I didn't understand what he said until I heard it like a third time and then I was like Oh. But oh well, he's not Korean so I understand.

I like the twist that Jenna Kaye was with Wo Fat. I thought that it was smart to bring that in. It was character development, made her interesting and brought in a well crafted scene of confrontation between McGarrett and Kaye.

The cinematography was beautiful and the color grading. They always make Hawaii look way more pretty than it usually is. Only when the sun is shining and the skies are really blue does Hawaii look that way. And of course, since Hawaii was being substituted for Korea, they make Korea look pretty good as well, just by default.

I like how they dealt with Kaye's death. It was quick and startling and just shows how brutal Wo Fat can be. He's not a good guy and he discards people once they run out of use.

The Eh:

Alex O'Loughlin, I love ya but your acting needs some work. Not all of it but when you're supposed to be all secretive with Kaye at Kualoa Beach Park doesn't mean that you have to look around every 3 seconds. It's kind of distracting when you do that. Be a little more subtle, dear.

Korea is not that pretty and I don't think we have red dirt. Or palm trees. The only palm trees we have is in Jeju Island which is not anywhere where they're supposed to be. I also think they flew over some pineapple plantations. We don't have any of that in Korea. At all. And why did they fly out over the ocean? Are they going back to South Korea that way? If that's the case they should have made it more clear instead of making it look like they were gonna go fly to Japan in a Huey.

Lori Westin's character, I still don't like that much. Like why did she hug Steve at the end? It was so unnecessary other than to tell the audience SHE CARES but she's not even that much of a touchy-feely person. Keep her consistent people!

This episode was pretty good. At least considering I got to watch it being filmed. I love behind the scenes stuff.

Blonde vs. Blonde

Two of my favorite shows have added new characters to their line ups. Morgan Brody, a plucky young CSI from LA joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab and a Lori Westin, the leggy NSA (?) Agent who joins the Five-0 team. Both are obviously additions to up the male viewership of their respective shows but both are used in different ways. Well, different way really. One is a full fledged character and the other one is only placed in the show to be a potential love interest for a main character and to attrach more male eyes.

Morgan Brody, the CSI audiences met last season in LA, is the estranged daughter of Ecklie, the sometimes misguided leader of the LV Crime Lab. She's plucky (There's that word again), feisty and altogether up for anything. She's a charming addition to the team. A little annoying sometimes, like in the recent episode where she was dumb enough to say she'll place the altogether very injured and very crazy victim into custody on her phone right in front of the guy who was regaining full consciousness and letting his hand fall near her gun. Now I know she probably didn't think he was going to go full Rambo on her but that doesn't mean she shouldn't have been on her guard at all times. Really, it was partly her fault that everyone ended up dying. But that doesn't mean it wasn't acted well. Elisabeth Hanois gives her character a cheerfulness and a gung-ho attitude that makes her not...painful to watch. And her whole character arc with a bit of flirting with Nick and a bit of competition (her side) and flirting (his side) with Greg gives the show a little bit more of a personal touch in a show that is notoriously known for keeping characters' private lives under wraps until the very last moment (CoughSaraGrissomCOUGH). The character centric episode was alright, seemed a little forced at trying to get the audience to like her (practically begging for the audience to like her, please like her) but overall well acted and just a little heartbreaking. Especially at the end when Morgan loses it because of her stressful day. She walks away from everyone, keeping up a strong facade until far enough away to let her emotions catch up. You gotta respect that.

Lori Westin on the other hand is a mystery. A one-note mystery. She's introduced as a blonde-haired object of flirtation for the strong-armed macho man that is Steve McGarrett. She's in a nice blouse and pencil skirt for her meeting with the acting Governor and she looks like she would break in half let alone be able to hold a gun. The Governor assigns her to the team and McGarrett puts up a hissy fit and so on and so forth until she's working in the same blouse and pencil skirt and one wonders if she just didn't have enough time to change or if that's just how she's gonna be for the rest of the season. Running after a suspect in heels is even worse and then one sighs because it seem like it will be. But the place where the writers' ask us to suspend the most disbelief is when she disarms the man that has a shotgun on her. Really? Really? She's half the size of that guy and you're telling me that her arm strength is enough to disarm him. Sometimes I feel like that with Kono too, where the suspension of disbelief is just too much. I can understand if she kicked the guy, women's legs are usually stronger but with her arms? No way unless she's got some Kung Fu moves that I don't know about. Unless her arms are the size of my cousins and she can bench press more than a hundred pounds will I believe it. Or maybe she just has wiry muscles? (More like...no muscles....) When will TV shows pick actual actors that look like they can do what they do on camera? Not just stunt work but someone who actually looks like they can punch you out? Why does she have to be so stick thin? The actress in Captain America said in an interview that she tried to look like she could actually pick up a gun and shoot it, that she wanted to have the physique of someone who could throw a punch and the bad guy would stay down. That's the kind of body type these women need to have to make it believable.

And so the episodes go on and she's believe it or not really hard to pin down. As an audience member, you're not quite sure if you even like her. She's not very friendly or cheerful, not charming, doesn't have an interesting backstory like Jenna, not an overeager rookie or a witty drawling veteran. And then the ahah moment comes when one realizes, she's just there to look pretty. There's no need for the writers' to be consistent with her because she can be whatever they need her to be. It's not a complexity of character, it's more like a lack of character. They don't know what to do with her. She's stoic and distant in one episode, witty and smirking in another, and then, the most out of character, gossipy and flustered. Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she shouldn't be given something more substantial. I don't know what angers me more, the fact that she's just placed as eye candy or the fact that she's not a minority.

Which brings me to another point. Why are both these new characters blond and white? Can't people from other ethnic backgrounds be love interests too? I guess the majority of people are white, oh wait...it's not the FREAKING 18TH CENTURY. America's got a lot more diverse if anyone hasn't noticed. How come the other ethnic groups aren't really being shown in TV land? Most title characters are white. Most more ethnic characters are relegated to the asian mob, the hokey sidekick, the real sidekick or just second best. The only mainstream movies I know where the main characters are not pale white is the Harold and Kumar series. Is it really that hard to get other races as main characters? Yes, yes it is.

Take John Cho for instance. He's a great actor, diverse, versitile, funny, dramatic, he's been around since '97 with 67 titles to his name and yet only recently has he been in the spotlight. Now, people might say things like, oh but that's just the business, a lot of actors have that if not more. And that's true, it partly is the business of being an actor but he's had to be "Parking Valet" or the "Sales House Man #1" in more mainstream stuff. Or be in comedies where he might get an actual name or in some indie movie about a specific culture where he'll actually get a name. Even now being the more household name he is for Star Trek and FlashForward, he's still not getting more title parts. Which again, might just be the business but compare his acting chops to Channing Tatum and I'll ask again, which is more fair? (GI Joe was a horrible movie and no one can convince me otherwise.)

Now one could say, Sandra Oh made it. She's been in more substantial movies than American Pie and Harold and Kumar and she's in a hit TV Show. Which is true, but that's only one out of, what, more than 2 billion Asians (and that's just counting India and China's populations) in the whole world? Sort of a sad statistic I would think.

We need to do something about it. And I think people are. Websites like youtube and tumblr make it easy for budding filmmakers to post videos and gain popularity. Wong Fu Productions comes immediately into mind. People from all ethnic backgrounds (even "white" people), joined together to express their outrage at the casting announcements for The Last Airbender. Hopefully we can get to the point where anyone, no matter what color their skin, or what race they're from or their ethnic background, will be able to be as popular as the next person based on what really matters, talent.

It's nice to see Asian people in the spotlight for once. Hopefully it'll keep going.