I am a huge fan of "Hawaii 5-0", but thank heaven the episodes started to improve as this silly episode could have cancelled the series all by itself.
Mainly, we have laughable casting. I challenge you to watch this episode without laughing at the figure of Mexican born Actor Ricardo Montalban playing a Japanese character. Even with the Charlie Chan ---style makeup attempting to give him sorta Asian eyes, he's still a major joke. Personally, I even think it's an insult to Asians, as we were long past the 1930's thing of hiring WASP actors to portray Asian characters (Chan, for example).
But, insult or not, the casting is laughable indeed and makes it impossible to take the script seriously. I suspect Ricardo did the role for a free vacation in Hawaii, and the producers only had this script ready for shooting.....I mean, I can't imagine Mr. Freeman reading the script and saying, "Wow, what a great part for Ricardo Montalban!"
The one really wonderful part of the episode is the use of Henry Kaiser's Estate Home in the beautiful Portlock area of the island of Oahu (East/past Waikiki). Thank you, Hank, for letting them use your house, as the house is an absolute masterpiece of Mid- Century Modern Design. This house is thankfully still standing, and remains one of the most special--and most valuable--homes on the entire Island. (Mr. Kaiser has since died and I believe the house is now owned by a local Asian-American billionaire).
If you cant remember Montalban--unlikely.....yes, he is the guy who went on to make "Corinthian Leather" famous in his commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba. Of course, he didn't use the Asian makeup in those ads.....thankfully.
Mainly, we have laughable casting. I challenge you to watch this episode without laughing at the figure of Mexican born Actor Ricardo Montalban playing a Japanese character. Even with the Charlie Chan ---style makeup attempting to give him sorta Asian eyes, he's still a major joke. Personally, I even think it's an insult to Asians, as we were long past the 1930's thing of hiring WASP actors to portray Asian characters (Chan, for example).
But, insult or not, the casting is laughable indeed and makes it impossible to take the script seriously. I suspect Ricardo did the role for a free vacation in Hawaii, and the producers only had this script ready for shooting.....I mean, I can't imagine Mr. Freeman reading the script and saying, "Wow, what a great part for Ricardo Montalban!"
The one really wonderful part of the episode is the use of Henry Kaiser's Estate Home in the beautiful Portlock area of the island of Oahu (East/past Waikiki). Thank you, Hank, for letting them use your house, as the house is an absolute masterpiece of Mid- Century Modern Design. This house is thankfully still standing, and remains one of the most special--and most valuable--homes on the entire Island. (Mr. Kaiser has since died and I believe the house is now owned by a local Asian-American billionaire).
If you cant remember Montalban--unlikely.....yes, he is the guy who went on to make "Corinthian Leather" famous in his commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba. Of course, he didn't use the Asian makeup in those ads.....thankfully.