Hawaii Five-0 viewers were very fortunate to see a three-dimensional Lt. Catherine Rollins in season three. Other than being a "personal assistant" to Steve McGarrett, Catherine, or "Cath" as Steve likes to call her, has protected McGarrett's mom (twice on record that we know of), has been seen dangling on the side of a thirteen-floor building, has kicked some FBI butt, has gone undercover for the Five-0 task unit as a roller derby queen, and even has accompanied McGarrett to North Korea and helped to bring back the body of a fallen soldier (while shooting some North Korean rebels along the way). We all saw the softer side of Cath too -- a breakfast date with Gracey, a Halloween movie date with McGarrett and some of her surfing prowess.
He ikaika wahine -- a strong woman.
It has been a good year on the set of Hawaii Five-0 for Michelle Borth. She has been successful in being more than just Alex O'Loughlin's love interest. Whether it was a 60 second screen moment or an entire 42 minute episode, Borth has demonstrated to her fans that she can deliver the role of Catherine Rollins and make her character stand on her own.
The fans applauded Peter Lenkov for promoting her to a series regular in season three. Lots of props must go out to the Five-0 writing team for transitioning Catherine to who she is today and for Michelle injecting "life" into her role. Michelle has embraced Catherine. She has complete trust in the show's writers. She now owns the role of Catherine. And no matter how much (more or less) in speaking lines she gets, Michelle delivers!
At the end of a Five-0 episode, Catherine seems to be the one woman that McGarrett needs and comes home to after an exhausting and brain-wrenching case. She brings the calm into McGarrett's life. She is the woman that makes Steve McGarrett normal. At the end of the day, Michelle Borth is Five-0′s normal too.
Michelle has physically moved herself to Hawaii to completely embrace the show and the Hawaiian lifestyle. Since moving to Oahu, she has become less guarded and has begun interacting more with the H50 fans; sometimes even more than what an appreciative fan had even expected from a TV star. In an interview, Michelle was quoted as saying, "They [the fans] have shown me so much love... more than I have ever received, at any other place I have worked before. It is really incredible the amount of support I have received so far. So why not embrace all of the love that people have to give." It is a sign that Michelle Borth has indeed embraced the true ohana spirit.
In the span of 24 episodes on the island of Oahu, there has been a "Borthvolution," which now has over 216 million viewers.
This blog first appeared at examiner.com