Double Trouble for Alex

Hawaii Five-0’s red-carpet Season Six premiere did not go off without a hitch as in previous years.  In fact, it was only by God’s grace that the premiere happened at all.  As Executive Producer Peter Lenkov confirmed to an eager crowd, God answered prayers and held back the rain, which had been drenching Oahu for days and, at premier time, appeared to be everywhere except Waikiki.  It was a beautiful night on the beach as press awaited celebrity arrivals.

Evolving Characters

And most of the Five-0 cast walked the carpet, as did a motley crew of pirates (which you’ll understand once you see the premiere).  There were no real surprises in the premiere, no real theme for the season.  Lenkov revealed, “Some stuff has leaked out that I know you’ll see tonight.  McGarrett’s gonna talk about getting engaged to Catherine.”  He went on to add, “Some things are evolving for the characters.”  And what does Season Six hold?  He promised, “just a lot of growth for the characters, a lot of new developments.”  Even though it’s been six years, Lenkov continues to look forward to coming to the Island.  He still goes back and forth one week a month between his home in L.A. and Honolulu.  “It’s my favorite time of the month,” he said.

Trouble in Paradise

Still, the earlier rain seemed to foreshadow a trouble in paradise theme for the event.

And trouble seems to follow Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) and Kono (Grace Park), who both made appearances on the carpet this year,  In the characteristic motion picture-esque quality that no one displays quite like Five-0, the Noshimuri marriage began, as was probably expected, with a bang, as you’ll see in the Season Six premiere.  Having previously interviewed Dale for Mortal Kombat for mytakeontv, I simply asked what he admires most about Adam.  Forthright with his answer, he said, “What do I admire the most about Adam?  His conviction to be a good and honest man to Kono.”

New Love Interest for McGarrett

Did I say there’s trouble in paradise?  It continues to run a thread throughout the season with the introduction of a new possible love interest for McGarrett (in spite of his potential engagement).  New actress in town is Sarah Carter, fresh from Falling Skies.  After telling her that I was a fan of the TNT original drama, I went on to ask how her role as Maggie prepared her to play Lynn Downey in Five-0.  She revealed, “Actually, it did.  They’re definitely looking for the strong woman behind the strong man.  And this episode that we’re filming now (around Episode Seven) is the first date gone awry.  We’re stranded on an island and we’re being attacked.  So I end up with a gun in my hand, and I’m running through the woods – this is a jungle.  Lynn Downey is a little more afraid than Maggie – but it doesn’t stop her from jumping in the waterfall.  It doesn’t stop her from wrapping a piece of shirt around a head wound and going for it anyway.  So he gets to kind of fall in love with that tough side and she gets to fall in love with all of his Navy Seal tricks – that he’s a real hero.  It’s funny, you know, the Hal/Maggie relationship is kind of similar – two people checking each other out and looking for that trust.  But this is in one episode that they completely build it.”  Carter is both charming and delightful, very approachable and down to earth.  May she never change.

Video Debut

Just prior to the screening of Season Six’s first episode, John Ondrasik took to the stage to debut his new video for “All for One,” the song he wrote  last year for Hawaii Five-0’s 100^th episode.  You might say it was a night of double premieres.  He teased a bit about the future of his songwriting with Five-0, “We’re not sure.  I can’t break any secrets.  I would love to do another song, maybe we’re talking about scoring an episode.  But I’m just happy to have one song in such an iconic show, and the Hawaii Five-0 folks are such great people – and to have a song in their 100^th episode and debut it tonight, first time ever live, can’t find a better place than this, right?”

Other cast walking the red carpet included Dennis Chun, Jorge Garcia, Teilor Grubbs, Al Harrington, Daniel Dae Kim, Alex O’Loughlin, and Taylor Wily.  Adding to the mounting reel troubles reported in paradise was the real-life rumor that, despite soaring ratings in the Asian market, if American ratings continue to plunge, this may very well be Five-0’s final season.

Hawaii Five-0, Season Six, premieres on CBS Friday, September 25 at 9 P.M.