What is up with the terrible guest stars on CBS? I am starting to wonder if someone in the music industry decided to blackmail a CBS executive. Last Monday, HIMYM paid host to a pretty pop star with WAY too much foundation. Last weekend, CSI:NY included Ne-Yo as a smooth, gold-hearted assassin with poor acting skills. This week CSI has “Biever” (my version of “Bieber Fever”). Last night, post-’90s former-pop star pseudo-power couple Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo desecrated my favorite child, Hawaii Five-0. Although I considered myself a lucky girl when Julia agreed to switch weeks with me, when I saw the UTTER AWESOMENESS of last week (and the guest stars for this week) my mood changed.
This week’s episode focused on a group of wealthy college-aged teenagers kidnapped from a party cruise for ransom. While the episode featured the typical Hawaii Five-O goodness, I found myself surprised by the older, original version of Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron. Admittedly, I initially hoped the pirates might continuously pistol-whip the two; but I felt surprised when they did not utterly suck.
Don’t get me wrong, Vanessa and Nick are CLEARLY not professional actors. All the same, the female Nick Lachey did a good job portraying a frightened stowaway (even if she seemed taxed when the script called for tears). When Nick appeared as the fiancé, I remembered thinking if these two aren’t pirates, then I’ll find myself utterly bored by their characters, because, really, Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo playing an engaged couple? Seriously?
My other reason for slightly disliking the Vanessa and Nick guest star surrounds Hawaii Five-0’s typical avoidance of guest star publicity. When they won the People’s Choice Award, they didn’t broadcast it, they put it in a subtitle. Whenever Masi Oka, Kevin Sorbo, D.L. Hughley, or Kelly Hu guest starred they typically served as Easter eggs. If you watched the show, you caught them. If you didn’t, you missed them. In fact, in that tradition, Ray Wise proved the true guest star for this week. However, I’m so accustomed to his playing evil, I didn’t believe his concerned parent character until the final scene’s emotional fragility. At that moment, I thought, sorry Nick and Vanessa, but that is how acting with real guest stars is done.
I have nothing else critical to say regarding this week’s episode as I enjoyed everything including the improved team interaction. Although it maintains the McGarrett-Danno relationship (which seemingly goes beyond the typical flirtatious bromantic, homoerotic levels to straight up marriage), it now more thoroughly balances the team-up of all four with their individual partner breakdowns. I hope they continue to maintain that. Additionally, although I consistently comment on it, I am continuously impressed by the show’s cinematic quality and the crayola-rich saturation.
Other things I loved:
Quotes:
“Come on. What is the matter with you? You need help. I will pay for it.” – Danno to McGarrett after blowing up a shop
“At least you didn’t call me your father.” – Chin Ho to the bartender who refused to card him
Clacked by An Nicholson 
on Feb 15, 2011 @ 12:37 EST5EDT
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