Shane Victorino Makes a Hawaii Five-0 Appearance

An actor, a comedian and a baseball player are slated to appear in Hawaii Five-0 soon. Guess which one viewers in Hawai‘i are most excited about? OK, maybe you need to know a little more about them.

The actor is Ed Asner, a SEVEN-time Emmy winner. Asner played a TV newsroom boss in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and starred in Lou Grant. He has appeared recently on Royal Pains and played Warren Buffet in the HBO movie Too Big to Fail. Pretty cool, yeah? Wait 'til you hear what's next.

A packed shoreline at last year's Sunset on the Beach. Hawai‘i can't get enough of Hawai‘i Five-0.

Asner was a guest star in the original Hawaii Five-0 in 1975. He played a "rising world class smuggler" named August March, according to TV Guide. In the new series, he plays the same character after spending 30 years behind bars. He returns when the Five-0 team asks for his help on a smuggling case. Some of the video from the original series will be included in the new episode, a first for the show. TV Guide quotes executive producer Peter Lenkov: "There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series." As a total H50 geek, this excites me to no end.

Just in case you still care … the comedian is Dennis Miller, of Saturday Night Live fame. Miller is now a radio personality and will play a retired talk show DJ on Hawaii Five-0. He has tired of his live of leisure and starts up a self-financed pirate radio show in Hawai‘i. As a former radio newsie and SNL fan, that part cracks me up. I can see his abrasive, surly self causing ripples in Paradise. Also, Miller at some point was a Monday Night Football announcer, so that should combine comedy, television, radio and sports, right?

Just for fun, let's just consider the third contender. Shane Victorino is an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies. He has a shelf full of sports awards, but few acting credentials. But wait – he's FROM HAWAI‘I. His nicknames are "The Flyin' Hawaiian" and "The Pineapple Express." He's the son of a Maui County councilman and an Eagle Scout. He lives in Las Vegas in the off-season, referred to here as the "Ninth Island" for its popularity with Hawai'i residents. He is of Portuguese, Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese decent – yep, he's from the islands. Ding, ding, ding – yes, ladies and gentlemen we have a winner.

I think every locality roots for its sons and daughters. Hawai‘i is a remote place in the Pacific, so the pride in a successful child of the islands is even more profound. Hawai‘i also really love sports. So it's not even a close call. We might miss the Asner episode or catch it online the next day. Miller could come or go. But Victornio? There will be a line at the poke counter getting snacks for viewing his performance live. 

Postedy by Cindy Scheopner Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Entry Filed under: Hawaii Five-O

January 20th, 2012