‘Hawaii Five-0’ season 4 gives fans opportunity to create episode; great move, or ratings ploy?

With all of their various twists and turns, we are quickly learning one thing from “Hawaii Five-0“: This is a show that really wants to get people to check out their new episodes on Friday nights. They have already tried to book some big-name guest stars, and the next course of action is trying to find a way to give viewers the opportunity to literally control almost everything that happens on an upcoming episode.

Thanks to this, the Fan-Built “Five-0” is born. Basically, CBS posted on their official site a list of things that fans can be voting on over the next several months, including story notes, props, music, and even the eventual title of the hour. By the time all of this is done, there will be an episode airing during the May sweeps that is the result of fans working together to create something unique.

Based on the options, this could end up being completely ridiculous, because we could have the murder of an astronaut at a volcano, with most of the action taking place at a high school reunion. At a certain point, it’s almost like playing “Clue,” but with a lot more money and people’s jobs on the line. Is this a ratings ploy that in some way undercuts the writers’ own creativity? Definitely, but it’s a smart one. When you’re twelve years old you love to read those “choose your own adventure” books where you try and figure out the best way to tell a proper tale. This is just an extension of that for adults, and who knows? Maybe the writers end up finding some demented joy in trying to piece together a story from viewers that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on paper.

While we imagine that this episode will get ratings, they still have to keep the numbers up before getting to this point. In the end, we imagine that the show is going to be able to do that better than the rest of their programming. “Hawaii Five-0” has its fans and not only that, but it will get a good share of DVR viewing as it always has.

What do you think about the idea, and do you mind that this entire idea just seems like a bit of cheesy fan service? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! Meanwhile, click here if you want to see a little bit more of anything and everything related to the show.

Photo: CBS