The Cop on the Cover

This was a very good episode; Im surprised to read the neg comments about it. Every cop show in history at some point did the old stand by, "Im the boss and that reporter is going to follow you for a day, we need the positive publicity!". Why others feel it is far fetched is beyond me. I especially like Henry Darrow's role. It was actually a pretty unique take on the father of the kidnapped kids angle. Even the drinking did not seem a goof to me. Maybe he just needed the right lady to invite him for a glass of the bubbly.

This is a very weak episode--mostly due to the writer's difficulty writing a three dimensional character. Jean Simmons (not the one from KISS--the actress) stars as a reporter that it just too ridiculous to be believable. In addition, there's an odd mistake that the producers or Jack Lord SHOULD have caught. Together, they make this a very weak episode.

The show begins with a kidnapping. At around the same time a couple of teens are kidnapped, McGarrett and the Governor are having a very rare disagreement. The Governor wants McGarrett to cooperate with a magazine article about him and Five-O--McGarrett wants to tell the reporter to get lost. However, the Governor pulls rank and insists McGarrett and his men cooperate...period.

When McGarrett meets the lady reporter (Simmons), he is brusque and rude. He makes it very clear that he didn't want her to interview him or his men but that he's doing it because he's been ordered to cooperate. It's really hard to like Steve here. However, through the rest of the episode, Simmons acts like an idiot--proving, at least to the writer, that dame reporters are annoying! Far from politically correct, this show missing the mark because is portrays the lady so poorly--like a third-rate Lois Lane who blunders into situations where she has no right being involved. As a result, the show just comes off as sexist and dumb. What do you think?

By the way, there was an inconsistency in this particular episode. In previous ones, Steve didn't drink alcohol--and even said a few episodes before this that he NEVER drinks. However, at the end of "The Cop on the Cover", the show ends with him sharing champagne with Simmons. Don't you think the writer and especially Jack Lord should have caught this mistake?