O.T.: Taking Out Surfer Thugs

Those of you with a keen eye will notice that the Hawaiian shirt I was wearing today (Friday) was the exact same design as that worn by the ruthless "Jeff" (played by Simon Baker, bio and over-sized picture here) in the series premiere of "Smith" on CBS.

It's the second time that I've accidentally obtained a "famous" Hawaiian Shirt (see also the Magnum purple Jungle Bird shirt). This particular shirt is made by Pineapple Connection, who doesn't have a website but you can find their shirts sold by other stores. I don't remember where I bought this particular one and I couldn't find it online. If you didn't see the show, you can see a screen capture here.

Here's the setup in the show: Jeff was surfing in Hawaii when he was approached by some thugs on the beach, who informed him that it was a private beach and he couldn't surf there. He apologized and sauntered to his Jeep, at which time he donned the Hawaiian shirt, setup a high powered rifle in the woods near the beach, and took out both thugs.

Not that I have any similar plans... but it was a good intro for the show, which is about this group of high-stakes criminals that, when they aren't robbing a museum or major bank, might be the guy in the office down the hall from you. As a Quaker [JessePedia], of course, I can't condone violence in the real world, but this is all good fun in the name of grown-up entertainment.

The important thing is that the show is unique, at least for CBS. To quote from SouthFlorida.com:

Jeff's character specifically is not going unnoticed by other bloggers. PopMatters says:

Perhaps the most usual crook of the bunch, Jeff (Simon Baker) first appears surfing in Hawaii, so supple and pretty that his rugged narcissism seems almost an afterthought. But, as he shows later in his dealings with Tom (advising him to steer clear of Annie ("Don’t do it again, man. She’s trouble, you know she is"), he’s sensible and focused as well, cold-hearted and sure he’s right. The fact that he’s a methodical, painfully confident hitman only makes his pathology make sense: when he kicks a one-night stand’s cat off a bed, then brings it home with him, his complications turn both more specific and more disturbing.

"Smith" has a 6.4 rating and odds are 150:1 for cancellation on BrilliantButCancelled.com, so this show just might stick around.