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azziriaI've been giving some thought as why I (and probably not just me) didn't 'buy in' to the characters of Lori and Catherine, and why they didn't become a valued part of the show for me.
I've seen differences of opinion (for both characters) about whether or not the characters were well-written and had chemistry with the rest of the cast, and in particular Steve. For my part, I think not, but I am aware that although my opinion feels objective to me, it is inevitably coloured by how I feel about the character.
The big thing for me is that they never made me *care* about either of them.
For me, the brilliance of the Pilot was that in one episode they introduced four characters and gave them a reason for being there and for joining 5-0, a reason that made me identify with them and care about what happened to them. Steve, clearly damaged, burying his father and driven by the need for revenge; Danny, a father who had given up home and family to follow his daughter and estranged wife and be there for his little girl; Chin, exiled from the job he loved by false accusations of dishonesty and working as a 'rubber gun'; and Kono, denied her career as the golden girl of surfing by her injury, trying to make her way and make a difference in a profession where she would face prejudice due to her cousin's supposed dishonesty. I felt like I *knew* these people, and I was rooting for things to work out for them.
Cut to Lori. It was never really explained why she came to Hawaii, other than to work as the Governor's liaison. Why did she leave family and friends to work so far away? Was she running from something? We got a failed attempt at marriage hinted at later, but we never really got a feel for why she ended up in Hawaii. The writers didn't make me care about her as an individual, and that made it much, much harder to ignore the poor writing and wooden acting. (And who knows, maybe it would have helped Lauren to do better with the character if she'd had more character to work with?)
And then there was Catherine. We know *why* she was in Hawaii, fair enough. But once again the writers didn't make me care about her. She left the Navy, but I never got a strong sense of why she was driven to do so - she'd seemed very happy up to that point. I needed more - was she frustrated because she'd been blocked from promotion? Did she suddenly feel her biological clock ticking and wanted to try and get Steve to settle down? What was driving her? What were her flaws? I didn't care about her, and so once again I couldn't ignore the poor writing.
Both of these characters were such a wasted opportunity, in my opinion. They could have been so good, and really added something to the show. But being a strong character (male or female) is about more than just looking good with a gun and being able to do kick-ass kung fu moves. For me, it's about being someone I can get invested in. And, sadly, that didn't happen with either Lori or Catherine.
I've seen differences of opinion (for both characters) about whether or not the characters were well-written and had chemistry with the rest of the cast, and in particular Steve. For my part, I think not, but I am aware that although my opinion feels objective to me, it is inevitably coloured by how I feel about the character.
The big thing for me is that they never made me *care* about either of them.
For me, the brilliance of the Pilot was that in one episode they introduced four characters and gave them a reason for being there and for joining 5-0, a reason that made me identify with them and care about what happened to them. Steve, clearly damaged, burying his father and driven by the need for revenge; Danny, a father who had given up home and family to follow his daughter and estranged wife and be there for his little girl; Chin, exiled from the job he loved by false accusations of dishonesty and working as a 'rubber gun'; and Kono, denied her career as the golden girl of surfing by her injury, trying to make her way and make a difference in a profession where she would face prejudice due to her cousin's supposed dishonesty. I felt like I *knew* these people, and I was rooting for things to work out for them.
Cut to Lori. It was never really explained why she came to Hawaii, other than to work as the Governor's liaison. Why did she leave family and friends to work so far away? Was she running from something? We got a failed attempt at marriage hinted at later, but we never really got a feel for why she ended up in Hawaii. The writers didn't make me care about her as an individual, and that made it much, much harder to ignore the poor writing and wooden acting. (And who knows, maybe it would have helped Lauren to do better with the character if she'd had more character to work with?)
And then there was Catherine. We know *why* she was in Hawaii, fair enough. But once again the writers didn't make me care about her. She left the Navy, but I never got a strong sense of why she was driven to do so - she'd seemed very happy up to that point. I needed more - was she frustrated because she'd been blocked from promotion? Did she suddenly feel her biological clock ticking and wanted to try and get Steve to settle down? What was driving her? What were her flaws? I didn't care about her, and so once again I couldn't ignore the poor writing.
Both of these characters were such a wasted opportunity, in my opinion. They could have been so good, and really added something to the show. But being a strong character (male or female) is about more than just looking good with a gun and being able to do kick-ass kung fu moves. For me, it's about being someone I can get invested in. And, sadly, that didn't happen with either Lori or Catherine.
