I have to say that this is one of the most intelligent, mature discussions of what's going on with H50 that I've read in a very long time. I hope you don't mind that I add my thoughts.
I too am disappointed with the way the show has turned. Season 1 had such a different feel. I love the bromance and that's what made the show what it was in the beginning. I understand that a show needs to grow, but the road 5-0 has taken now is so far off from what it was, I find it difficult to reconcile the two.
Danny Williams was a hard nosed, jaded, east coast detective who knew his stuff in S1; 87 collars in Jersey if I remember. How Steve has eclipsed him in Cop 101 in four seasons baffles me. Most of Danny's suppositions around the smart table are usually wrong and Steve gets it right. How does that happen? You are right, he's pretty much become comic relief as opposed to the smart cop that he once was. I miss that guy.
I didn't mind Catherine, thought that the way the relationship was developing at first worked. But now, it seems that PL has pushed the fast forward button and everything about their relationship is coming fast and furious. That's too much too soon for me, if it had slowly developed over time it would be (a) more believable and (b) not having that 'shoved down our throats' feeling that I'm experiencing now. That relationship feels like the 'driving force' at the moment. And that's not what drew me to the show. It was Steve and Danny - two guys who got thrown together by circumstance and found that they were the best things that happened to the other; they taught each other and balanced each other through word and deed.
I'm a big Scott fan and enjoy his work - I feel terrible that his talent has been cast aside for what we've seeing now. When the show started, he got the Golden Globe nod and it seemed to me that after that , the character was watered down. Personally, I don't think they wanted the Danny character to eclipse McGarrett so they put him in bed with Rachel at the end of S1(which shocked everyone - after all, Danny was the 'moral compass' - what happened?) and after that, the deconstruction of the Jersey detective began.
I still watch, but not with the passion I had before; it makes me sad to think what could've been.
The essence of the show for me in S1 - and what hooked me - was the Steve/Danny partnership. If you'd asked me in S1 what the show was about, I'd have said "Two guys who found themselves partners fighting crime". From S2 onwards that has changed, and now Danny seems no more important than Chin or Kono. For me, the focus of the show changed :(
What saddens me most is that it *is* possible to add new characters and relieve the load on the core actors without losing the key partnership - for me, Person of Interest has done that in spades, and I wish Peter Lenkov had taken a lesson from the POI showrunner.
The bottom line is that the writers of 5-0 are lazy and not very talented. They simply don't know how to handle a multiple cast member show. I believe also that Steve McGarrett is the wet dream of every male writer on the show and they want him to be the unquestioned hero. Sure the others can have the occasional brief moment in the sun but ultimately it's all about Steve - even though the show didn't start that way.
It's funny you should say that about Scott and the Golden Globe nomination because I've been saying this for three years. When Scott got nominated I think TPTB at CBS freaked out because they wanted the show to be a star vehicle for Alex and Scott was (briefly) getting more attention. I think they've deliberately watered down Danny's part and focused more of the show on Steve to put the spotlight back on Alex. It must be insulting as hell for an actor of Scott's caliber.
I couldn't agree with you more - that's definitely what it seems like to me as well. This was Alex's third attempt with CBS and they were really looking for him to break out with H50. So I bet it was a big surprise to the TPTB when it was Scott who broke out first. And I'd imagine that they weren't happy with that development and took care of it as soon as they could.
However, I think the writers have gone over the top to make Steve this amazing superhero; but then again, we shouldn't be that surprised seeing that PL's background comes from writing comic books. BTW, does anyone know if the Orci Brothers still have any input with the show or is PL running the whole shebang now? If it's only him, then the road this show has gone down makes even more sense to me.
That's another thing I worry about. The MASH curse. The Trapper was the chest cutter then Alan Alda was so popular that they gave all that stuff to Hawkeye. And Wayne Rogers left after 4 seasons... It ended up being amazing still but I just couldn't handle 5-0 if this happened.
I too am disappointed with the way the show has turned. Season 1 had such a different feel. I love the bromance and that's what made the show what it was in the beginning. I understand that a show needs to grow, but the road 5-0 has taken now is so far off from what it was, I find it difficult to reconcile the two.
Danny Williams was a hard nosed, jaded, east coast detective who knew his stuff in S1; 87 collars in Jersey if I remember. How Steve has eclipsed him in Cop 101 in four seasons baffles me. Most of Danny's suppositions around the smart table are usually wrong and Steve gets it right. How does that happen? You are right, he's pretty much become comic relief as opposed to the smart cop that he once was. I miss that guy.
I didn't mind Catherine, thought that the way the relationship was developing at first worked. But now, it seems that PL has pushed the fast forward button and everything about their relationship is coming fast and furious. That's too much too soon for me, if it had slowly developed over time it would be (a) more believable and (b) not having that 'shoved down our throats' feeling that I'm experiencing now. That relationship feels like the 'driving force' at the moment. And that's not what drew me to the show. It was Steve and Danny - two guys who got thrown together by circumstance and found that they were the best things that happened to the other; they taught each other and balanced each other through word and deed.
I'm a big Scott fan and enjoy his work - I feel terrible that his talent has been cast aside for what we've seeing now. When the show started, he got the Golden Globe nod and it seemed to me that after that , the character was watered down. Personally, I don't think they wanted the Danny character to eclipse McGarrett so they put him in bed with Rachel at the end of S1(which shocked everyone - after all, Danny was the 'moral compass' - what happened?) and after that, the deconstruction of the Jersey detective began.
I still watch, but not with the passion I had before; it makes me sad to think what could've been.
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What saddens me most is that it *is* possible to add new characters and relieve the load on the core actors without losing the key partnership - for me, Person of Interest has done that in spades, and I wish Peter Lenkov had taken a lesson from the POI showrunner.
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However, I think the writers have gone over the top to make Steve this amazing superhero; but then again, we shouldn't be that surprised seeing that PL's background comes from writing comic books. BTW, does anyone know if the Orci Brothers still have any input with the show or is PL running the whole shebang now? If it's only him, then the road this show has gone down makes even more sense to me.
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