Thursday, April 7, 2011

Does Hawaii Five-0 Have a Case of D.E.S.?


by carol


Is Hawaii Five-0 suffering from Dwindling Episode Syndrome (D.E.S.)? 

In a recent radio interview with Hawaii Five-0 producers Peter Lenkov and Paul Zbyszewski, they addressed fan concerns about the large number of episode repeats being aired. Their response focused on network scheduling decisions. But the complaint of “too many repeats” isn’t limited to this one show.

I propose that part of this issue involves viewer perception. In the olden days, there were three networks who tacitly agreed to premiere all their programs the same week. Season finales were also synchronized.

Competition has fostered an entirely different marketplace. There are hundreds of channels available on our tv’s now, all with programming they hope will lure audiences to watch them (and their lucrative commercials). 


Although the major networks still promote the idea of a tv season with a Fall start date and a Spring end date, that is not the reality. The month of April used to be season finale time. No more. April 2011 sees the premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones and SyFy’s Sanctuary. June has the season premieres of USA’s White Collar, HBO’s True Blood, and TNT’s Leverage.

The public has already accepted the concepts of a mid-season and a summer season. Seemingly A.D.D. audiences want “new” entertainment all the time and that’s what is driving the year-round programming scramble.

And then there are the “facts” about the higher number of repeats. The original Hawaii Five-O season had 24 episodes; the new Hawaii Five-0 has 24 episodes. Other seasons ranged from 19 to 25 episodes. The original Hawaii Five-O season premieres occurred during September. Season finales usually aired during March (one was as early as February 26). The first season finale of the new Hawaii Five-0 is scheduled for May 16.

Who recognizes the guy with the hat?
Perception can control comprehension. The good old days are the good old days because that’s the way we choose to remember them. It may be hard not to compare, but let's try to stay in the now and enjoy what is in front of us.

3 comments:

  1. i can't remember that old dudes name, but din't he say 'dagnabit' or somethin like that?

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  2. I know! Thats Gabby Hayes, he used to be Roy Rogers sidekick in the old wester movies

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  3. I'll much rather watch a repeat of a favorite show than to watch something new of a stupid show. Hawaii Five-0 has got a lot packed into 41 minutes and I always pick up on something new when I watch it again. They actually give a lot of attention to detail that you don't always see, 1st time around when you try to follow the story.

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