Waitress (2007) stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a waitress at Joe’s Diner who is married to the abusive Earl (Jeremy Sisto). She is also a “pie genius” who invents pies with unusual names that reflect her emotions and the events of her everyday life (like the Bad Baby Pie and the I Hate My Husband Pie), and she hopes to enter a local pie contest with a prize of $25, 000.00 so she can run away from her husband and start over.

The film also stars Nathan Fillion as Dr. Pomatter, Jenna’s doctor, Adrienne Shelly and Cheryl Hines as Jenna’s fellow waitresses Dawn and Becky, and Andy Griffith as Joe, the diner owner.

The film also addresses how scared women are about having a baby, about experiencing change that is both amazing and overwhelming, something that not a lot of people publicly address. Below is a video of director and writer Adrienne Shelly talking about her inspiration for writing the film.

A really good action movie is one that has good writing, or at least wit. I still love Die Hard because John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) is more clever than he is cocky. He is inventive, funny, and smart, a scrappy hero, one who scrapes by with whatever is around him at the time. You know, an elevator shaft, a rolling desk chair, and a duffel bag full of C-4. In the end he is down to duct tape and two bullets. And he’s smart with them. 

This wit and inventiveness is why I liked Silverado so much, although Silverado holds an even more important place in my Movies I Love to Watch List. Because in addition to wit and creativity and great dialogue (“I got there just short of too late”), Silverado thrives on its ensemble. They bond, they work together, and that bond is forged out of who they are and strengthens them to be who they are on behalf of other people. I’m not sure I would call it a film – it is a piece of art, not Art. But it’s wonderful. Also, good shoot-outs and fights and show-downs and such.

Enter Nathan Fillion’s work as Mal in Firefly and Serenity. The acting in Silverado is very good, but Fillion is able to communicate a character who is both very flawed and very good in the midst of a strong ensemble. In fact, his character is the lifeblood of the ensemble. Mal is the captain of the ship. He is responsible for the life of the crew and their survival. It is the good in Mal that will always choose thriving when it’s an option, not mere survival. He is world-weary, he is always on the run, always about to make the big score when some needy person inserts himself or herself into his life and compels his action with their vulnerability. He is a reluctant hero. It doesn’t come naturally to him. He always chooses it.

And Mal chooses for home, all the time. He opts for family made out of the folks who come into his orbit. Nathan Fillion can make a move with his eyes, a slight clench of his jaws, a swift movement of his arm and you see deep into Mal’s complexity: his hurt, his loss, his desperation, his longing, his boldness, his buoyancy. He writes with his acting. He was handed great dialogue (“Here’s you and me, on the raggedy edge,” and “I’ve staked my crew’s life on the theory that you’re a person, actual and whole”), but he brought it to life and pointed us to a story with his skill.

Fillion does the same thing in Castle, a relatively new series on ABC. He plays Richard Castle, a famous playboy-type author of mystery novels. Nathan Fillion drops away and you see Richard, who is flawed and good like Mal but a completely different person. There is great creation of characters in this series, and a really nice focus on dynamics that really matter. Barely any mention at all that the detective in charge of the team that Castle ends up shadowing is a woman: it is taken for granted that this works, that a woman can be in charge and delegate, and it is taken for granted that the men who work for her are happy to be there and respect her authority and competence. 

As you start the series you wonder how an immature cad like Castle can have such a mature teenage daughter and a healthy bond of love with a mother whose charm glues together narcissism and sagacity. And then you start seeing exactly why: that as immature as he is, he is also that mature. The two characteristics coexist. The whole of the character makes sense. Fillion is handed a great character who is jovial, fresh, irrepressibly curious and mischievous, smart as anything, and very hard working (scenes with his daughter often begin as she walks into his study – his screen saver is a phrase that keeps moving across the screen, reading “you should be writing”). Fillion shows his acting chops by doing a character different from Mal with the same set of acting skills, a character that is actual and whole, a real person you can recognize, even though this person has a lot more money than most of us. And lots of toys. Fillion writes the story of a mature and immature man, full of flaws, full of goodness, not  Mal. (And if you want to check out the extent of his abilities, take a gander at the recent Emmy winner Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.)

Writing is, in the end, all about truth, whether it’s fiction or not, whether it’s character portrayal or essays. Poetry is about truth. History is about truth. Even though our eyes can see now only in part, it is the fact that we can read many different parts that expands our vision of the world and ourselves. The writers behind these shows and movies tell something truthful: about true nobility in gritty life, or bravery that exists alongside fear, or love, or joy. Because Nathan Fillion can write so well, that is, create a story and tell it with his acting and crafting of character, he is able to portray some truthfulness about what it means to write and what it means to be a writer.

Richard Castle is a truthful writer, and therefore a truthful person. Ok, now, he may fib a little, but his curiosity and desire for learning drive him to inquire and to seek truth. He shadows this detective team and is always open to learning from them, always. He wants to know who they are, how they talk, what they actually do as police. And at the end of the first season, his desire to understand leads him to risk a relationship that has become dear, because to reveal the truth he has discovered means he loves enough to lose her.

For us writers, it’s helpful to see a character like this. I have no illusions that if only I model myself after him I will have the same great NYC apartment or endless toys, making a bajillion dollars. But the pattern of the writing life that he follows is the same pattern most writers follow. He works hard, daily. He seeks knowledge and understanding. He sees writing as a way of life, and allows his literary seeking of truth to form his character. He tends to family, has a “job” in addition to his writing, has to see to keeping his editors happy. Change the NYC high style apartment set to our corner brick house in downtown Madison, change the job from shadowing detectives to pastoral ministry, and really, it’s not much different at all. That’s why it’s encouraging to see Castle in his writing life: writing is a life, and it’s not a narcissistic one if it’s going to be a truthful life.

I don’t know about you guys, but when I’m home I instantly go into vacation-mode! I’ve been eating out, shopping, and being all sorts of lazy…

I ended up going out to dinner with two of my best friends last night at the Cheesecake Factory and had two glasses of wine– something I almost never do! I rarely drink as it is, but if I do, I almost always keep it to one glass. I woke up this morning with a killer headache, so I skipped my morning run.   I ended up taking a couple of ibuprofen, then slept-in for another 45 minutes. Lesson learned!!!!

This morning I was NOT in the mood for breakfast. I think my lack of exercise and the heavy dinner I had last night (Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese pizza– yum!!) overloaded my digestive system. So I took it easy and decided to just stick to black coffee for a while:

From a cute local coffee shop near my office.

Can I just say, I love working in my office!! I love being around my co-workers and the all the social interaction that comes with an office setting. I wish I could be in my office all the time, but I’m very lucky that my boss is kind enough to let me work long-distance in Los Angeles. I would miss my husband more than I miss my office.

Lunch today was NOT the healthiest… I waited until 1:30 pm today to eat, and when I finally got to Panera for lunch, they were out of the black bean soup I was craving!! Dang it!!!!   I ended up using that as an excuse to get broccoli cheddar soup instead… bad me. Paired with a tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat, it made a very tasty lunch, but I know it was a little heavy on the calories…

This always happens to me when I’m on vacation! I come here with the best of intentions to eat healthy and stay on track with my good habits, but something always happens that gives me an excuse to get off track– and I end up splurging for a whole week! Since I’m here for over a week, I’m determined NOT to fall into that pattern again. I’ve been there too many times, and my pants are already a little tight from Thanksgiving weekend! There’s not much room for more splurging!

So, tomorrow is a new day and I plan on getting it off on the right foot by getting in my morning run! I’m charging my ipod and going to bed early, so I’ll have no excuse for not getting outside!! I might even fall asleep in my running tights! It’s getting chilly here, so if I’m already warm in my running tights, I have a better chance of going.

Now I’m going to sit back and enjoy watching Castle… I have a bit of a crush on Nathan Fillion!

Yep… that’s me with Nathan Fillion!! I was too big of a wimp to go talk to him all by myself, so I dragged my friend Heidi with me! He’s super-cute in person.

Alright, I’m off to enjoy him on the small-screen now….

In the meantime: Check out this Glo-Bar giveaway on The Healthy Diary!

]]> http://range.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/castle-one-mans-treasure-s02e10-abc/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:50:58 +0000 range http://range.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/castle-one-mans-treasure-s02e10-abc/

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series named Castle, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favors a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination.

Warning: spoilers ahead

The show centers around a novelist who is brought in to help deal with a string of murders which seem to be taken from the pages of his novels. At the same time, Castle has hit massive writer’s block after killing off the hero of his mystery book franchise, Derek Storm. Through Beckett, he is able to write once again.

Halfway between a drama and a romantic comedy, Castle is a fun show to watch. The characters play around a lot, making the viewer wonder when or if they will ever get together. It didn’t take Castle long to find out what makes Beckett tick. He uses clues and his imagination deftly.

ABC has started to release chapters of Richard Castle’s new book Heat Wave on its website. They are up to chapter 8 and I haven’t started yet, but it’s a pretty cool tie-in to the show.

* * * * *

Alexis is spending some time volunteering at the precinct. Castle and Beckett are on a new case. The victim had more than one wife. Well, actually, one wife and one fiancée. The question is who killed him?

* * * * *

A girl discovers a body in a garbage chute. Alexis is going to spend a day with Beckett, volunteering. The dead dude’s name is Sam Parker. He was shot and shoved head first down the chute. He’s from New Haven. It turns out that the vic had a wife and a fiancée.

The fiancée knew him as Jake Holland. She met him about 6 months ago when he changed firms. He was passed over for a promotion at another place. Both women have soft alibis, so they need to check up.

Alexis looks pretty professional and lets Beckett know that even if her father is a handful, she isn’t. She’s inventorying some unclaimed stuff found at crime scenes.

The wife’s brother found out what Sam was doing. He left him a threatening message. The brother says that he owed him money. He borrowed $20K. He didn’t pay anything back. He’s got an alibi. Apparently Sam was making less money at his new job then his old one. Why did he accept the new job?

They question the new boss. He says that he believed everything that Parker told. Every single reference that he gave is disconnected now. He went to some pretty serious lengths to get this job. They don’t know why yet.

The fiancée says that she recognized Helen Parker in front of his apartment a few weeks ago. She was staring at her in a creepy fashion. They question the wife. She denies going there. Helen says that they got a lot of hang-ups. She also had their number because she called her about the funeral details, and about some stuff that she gave Parker that she wants back. Helen isn’t giving anything back.

Sam was abandoning a sinking ship. The old company was going down the drain. The CEOs were rivals. The dummy phone lines are all registered to his old company. He was planted as a corporate spy. It has something to do with the way they recycle battery sludge. The old company can’t compete. Sarah Reed was an engineer on the team that came up with the idea, so Sam was romancing her to get the details. Sam was sending secret emails from a secret hidden account to someone. These were chemical formulas. He sent these to the CEO of the old company. The CEO offered Sam $1 million to get the research from the other company. A couple of months ago, the CEO cut him loose because Sam had brought back other formula, but they were never complete. He got an email from her the night he died. He gives some BS story, but Beckett infers that Sam must have told him that he got the real formula. The company didn’t have the money to pay him, so the CEO killed him. He wants to talk with his lawyer.

There was a catfight between Sarah and Helen. She went to Helen’s place to get her grandfather’s fountain pen back. Sam went to a doctor’s office every week. He gave Sarah a cover story, but went to a bunch of different addresses.

One of the addresses turns out to be another ID of Sarah Reed. Her real name is Lauren Branston. She worked for other companies with new identities. The boss hired her to get in Sam’s way. She was a specialist in corporate espionage. Lance was feeding Sam partial formulas, which kept Connecticut Recycle running in circles. Sam made her. He found her house in Long Island. He played along not to arouse suspicion. She killed him. She’s got an alibi for the night.

It leads them back to the pen or the thing that she was looking for in Sam’s study. Castle finds something in the shredder. It turns out that NY Recycle was just switching labels and dumping the sludge in the ocean. There was no secret way of recycling. Lance killed him.

The EPA is shutting down NY Recycle. Alexis tracked down the woman who the photos she found belonged to thanks to her dad. She looked into retired detectives and traced the daughter of a murder victim. Beckett is impressed and Castle is proud.

* * * * *

Relevant posts

• Castle S01E01
• Castle S01E02
• Castle S01E03
• Castle S01E04
• Castle S01E05
• Castle S02E01
• Castle S02E02
• Castle S02E03
• Castle S02E04
• Castle S02E05
• Castle S02E06
• Castle S02E07
• Castle S02E08
• Castle S02E09

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series named Castle, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favors a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination.

Warning: spoilers ahead

The show centers around a novelist who is brought in to help deal with a string of murders which seem to be taken from the pages of his novels. At the same time, Castle has hit massive writer’s block after killing off the hero of his mystery book franchise, Derek Storm. Through Beckett, he is able to write once again.

Halfway between a drama and a romantic comedy, Castle is a fun show to watch. The characters play around a lot, making the viewer wonder when or if they will ever get together. It didn’t take Castle long to find out what makes Beckett tick. He uses clues and his imagination deftly.

ABC has started to release chapters of Richard Castle’s new book Heat Wave on its website. They are up to chapter 8 and I haven’t started yet, but it’s a pretty cool tie-in to the show.

* * * * *

A dead ADA leads the team to investigate a prostitution racket, which actually involved the ADA, much to everyone’s surprise.

* * * * *

Some dude is thrown off a building. Castle hears Alexis talking to someone on the phone about him freaking out. She doesn’t tell him what it is. The victim is Jack Buckley, an ADA. He’s the lawyer that every cop wanted to try their case. He’s got an ex-wife and two hot assistants. One of them has got laser green eyes. Some guy was brought in by a cop named Frank Curtis. He was in a shouting match with Buckley. They trace Knox, the dude in question. He was at an AA meeting and has got Reverend Danny Miller as an alibi.

Some guy was hanging around Buckley’s place. His name is Norman Jessup. His conviction was overturned and he was released two weeks ago. Buckley was preparing to retry him. They find Jessup in a bar fight. Castle takes one on the face. Buckley made a mystery trip. Jessup was following him around. He says that Buckley met some Asian dude and had a screaming match.

On the way there, Alexis calls Beckett. She needs her advice and wants to meet up. The guy is Buckley’s ex-brother-in-law. He says that he was attacked two nights ago. He was told to give Jack a message to back off from Danton. He was being blackmailed for liking call girls. Danton is their pimp. They have Paul call the number. One of Buckley’s assistants arrives. She’s the call girl. She says that Jack was her client for over a year. She was going through law school by being an escort. When Jack found out, he offered her a paid internship to get out. She says that she doesn’t know who Danton is. There is a firewall between her and Danton.

Castle tries to find out about Alexis’ secret. He’s not having much luck. Beckett isn’t talking either. She’s kind of liking it.

They find out that Danton is Dantonelli and is currently serving time in prison. He doesn’t know who the new Danton is. They find out that Buckley was Danton. He offered Dantonelli 13 years off in exchange for his client list. They think that someone was trying to take over from Buckley.

They go back to see Scarlett. The new Danton used to work for Buckley in order to keep the business in line. She kept lying to them. His name was John Knox, the dude that Buckley had dragged in and had a shouting match.

Castle surmises that Buckley found Knox through his connections to the legal system. Knox is a criminal who was able to stay out of jail.

Castle finds a beat up Scarlett at his place. She says that Knox killed Buckley. She tells him that the Reverend is a client. Knox is blackmailing him to give his alibi.

The next day, Castle finds out that a man checked out Scarlett right after she was checked in by him. They had Knox under surveillance, but he somehow slipped away during the night. Castle gets a frantic call from Scarlett. She has been abducted by Knox. They arrive in time to see Scarlett shooting Knox.

It looks to me like Scarlett was the new Danton, not Knox. The reason why is because it looks too picture perfect.

Knox couldn’t have beaten up Scarlett because he was being followed by the cops. Scarlett was in on it from the start. She was in Buckley’s office to man the phone on the escort service. She was running the show and trying to take it away from Buckley. They catch her running her service.

Alexis tells Castle that her school is starting an exchange program in France. She was thinking of applying to it. She decided not to because his birthday was coming up. Alexis tells him that she’s thinking of applying to Oxford.

* * * * *

Relevant posts

• Castle S01E01
• Castle S01E02
• Castle S01E03
• Castle S01E04
• Castle S01E05
• Castle S02E01
• Castle S02E02
• Castle S02E03
• Castle S02E04
• Castle S02E05
• Castle S02E06
• Castle S02E07
• Castle S02E08

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series which premiered last Monday, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favours a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination. Molly C. Quinn plays Alexis, Rick Castle’s 15-year old daughter. I don’t really know how old she is, but she’s a striking looking young lady. She reminds me of my wife, who’s a redhead as well. So I have a bit of a weakness for them.

Warning: spoilers ahead

The show centers around a novelist who is brought in to help deal with a string of murders which seem to be taken from the pages of his novels. At the same time, Castle has hit massive writer’s block after killing off the hero of his mystery book franchise, Derek Storm. Through Beckett, he is able to write once again.

Halfway between a drama and a romantic comedy, Castle is a fun show to watch. The characters play around a lot, making the viewer wonder when or if they will ever get together. It didn’t take Castle long to find out what makes Beckett tick. He uses clues and his imagination deftly.

ABC has started to release chapters of Richard Castle’s new book Heat Wave on its website. They are up to chapter 8 and I haven’t started yet, but it’s a pretty cool tie-in to the show.

* * * * *

A dead bike courier leads them to a convoluted case. Beckett and Castle are in full form.

* * * * *

A bike courier gets nailed by a car. Beckett calls Castle. They’ve got a case. The courier’s bag was stolen. The package was sent by a known terror suspect. The captain calls a full tactical company. Some bozo at the courier company wrote down the name wrong.

They break down the door of the apartment where the package came from and find an old lady named Niederman. She doesn’t know what was in the package. The company wrote down the name wrong. Her favorite nephew gave her the package 10 years ago. Brady called this morning to send it to Montgomery. He was the one that sent him to jail. Brady got shanked in prison this morning. Montgomery wants to investigate his wife. The bike messenger’s sister arrives at the station. Beckett informs her about her brother’s death.

They hear the dead man’s phone calls to his aunt and wife. He warned his wife and son to leave the house. Brady was the model prisoner. Montgomery thinks that it was hit.

They managed to trace the wife and the son. Her husband got $7,000 every month for taking the fall. She says that the package contained his insurance policy, which exonerated him in some fashion. The payments started being late and short. That’s when Brady decided to messenger the package. This amounts to almost a million over the last 10 years. Someone was also monitoring his phone calls. This means that someone at the prison is involved. Beckett and Castle want to investigate the original murder, the one that Brady took the fall for. The ME found something strange in the autopsy report from 10 years ago. Brady lied about killing her and what he killed her with. He wants to exhume the body.

The captain talked with Olivia’s friend. Olivia is the girl that Brady apparently confessed to killing. She came to a club 10 years ago and had a heated argument with Jeff Delahunt. He’s got a multi-million dollar trust fund. He’s got an alibi. He was arrested with some cousins that night. He shows them a photo of the Wellesley’s. That night, Olivia went to the Pearson Club. They were having some kind of Wellesley family party. She had a heated argument with someone. Delahunt points them in the right direction of the Wellesley’s, all of whom wore the same getup for that night, dictated by their family matriarch.

They trace him thanks to Olivia’s friend. They find Trent Wellesley. He says that he had seen his uncle with her before. They ask Winston for his alibi. He hasn’t got one. He makes hasty exit. Castle thinks that he was having an affair with Olivia, but that’s not enough for motive.

Olivia’s aunt says that Winston Wellesley paid for her funeral. She also approves the exhumation order. Montgomery was able to find the prison guard roster.

Blake Wellesley is running for senator and comes to see Montgomery. He wants to create interference, but Montgomery isn’t having any of it. Castle approves of how he rebuffs the senator.

It turns out that the coffin is empty. Someone removed her body at one point. The mortuary must have switched the body out at some point. Castle remembers that these high-end coffins had a little drawer in them. They see a photo of Edna Debiasse. She worked for one of the Wellesley’s campaigns in 1978. She was Olivia’s mom.

During the campaign, Casper had his sons Winston and Blake ran his campaign office. They must have crossed paths. Winston was lying once again. Olivia found out that her father was a Wellesley. He is her father. He was on the verge of telling everyone when she died. He is surprised that her body was missing. Esposito and Ryan found out that Winston was with a lover that night named Stanley.

They have the prison guard. He’s been depositing large amounts of money into his account.

It’s highly unlikely that Winston is the father. They question Blake again. He slept with Edna in 1978. Winston lets it slip that his mother was involved. They talk with her. She says that Olivia came to see her. She gave him Winston as her father. She took care of killing her.

Frank Davis is the one who killed them. He was the family fixer. Frank couldn’t make the payments when the matriarch lost her faculties.

* * * * *

Relevant posts

• Castle S01E01
• Castle S01E02
• Castle S01E03
• Castle S01E04
• Castle S01E05
• Castle S02E01
• Castle S02E02
• Castle S02E03
• Castle S02E04
• Castle S02E05
• Castle S02E06
• Castle S02E07

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series which premiered last Monday, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favours a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination. Molly C. Quinn plays Alexis, Rick Castle’s 15-year old daughter. I don’t really know how old she is, but she’s a striking looking young lady. She reminds me of my wife, who’s a redhead as well. So I have a bit of a weakness for them.

Warning: spoilers ahead

The show centers around a novelist who is brought in to help deal with a string of murders which seem to be taken from the pages of his novels. At the same time, Castle has hit massive writer’s block after killing off the hero of his mystery book franchise, Derek Storm. Through Beckett, he is able to write once again.

Halfway between a drama and a romantic comedy, Castle is a fun show to watch. The characters play around a lot, making the viewer wonder when or if they will ever get together. It didn’t take Castle long to find out what makes Beckett tick. He uses clues and his imagination deftly.

ABC has started to release chapters of Richard Castle’s new book Heat Wave on its website. They are up to chapter 8 and I haven’t started yet, but it’s a pretty cool tie-in to the show.

* * * * *

Strangely enough, Alexis puts her dad onto the case of a rocker that she admires. Apparently she was found dead.

* * * * *

Castle is playing Rock Band to Billy Idol. Alex mentions that a rocker Hayley, their front woman, was found dead. She saw this on Gawker. They found Hayley Blue. She was killed off-site and then staged. The song that is playing is Here Kitty, Kitty by Blue Pill. The killer hung her body from a fire escape. Beckett and Castle come back to the precinct. Alexis is there. She mentions that Hayley went to rehab 3 months ago. Ryan finds out that Hayley’s body was postured the same way as in the song. Alexis says that Hayley wrote this song about an obsessed fan. They find out that she had a restraining order against her stalker. The stalker is Franco Marquez. She filed a dozen complaints against him before filing a restraining order. Beckett finds it refreshing to see Castle act like a father. She’s used to him acting like a 12-year old.

The Bushes paid for Hayley’s rehab. She then moved into their home. They were her producers. Last Monday, she disappeared. Her stuff was gone as well. They figured that she relapsed. They say that something spooked her. Her sister Sky is also high on dope.

Ryan and Esposito report that Marquez is trying to pull a runner by going upstate. They find him disguised as a Hayley trying to get out. He heard Zack Metzger shouting at her last night. He threatened to kill her. During her last set, her new songs pointed to the fact that Hayley knew that she was going to die. At least, that’s Franco’s interpretation. Hayley went to the 20^th precinct to speak with a detective, but skipped out before she could talk with one.

They question Metzger. He’s got an alibi. She found out that Blue Pill was trying to audition her replacement. She got a cease and desist order against them. Sky arrives at the morgue. She’s drunk and has blue hair, just like Hayley. She’s got a knife and a bottle of whiskey. She gives them to Beckett. Hayley found her and told her that she could come back and be a team. But Sky had to clean up. Sky says that Hayley was with Tony, Sky’s dealer. She was using again. She handed Tony a bunch of cash.

Hayley wasn’t using. Tony says that Hayley wanted a gun. He sold her one. They found gunpowder residue on Hayley’s hands.

When Castle comes home, Alexis says that Hayley’s lyrics must have been allegorically. In tarot, death isn’t just death, it can also mean change. On the bb, it turns out that Sky Blue is stepping into Hayley’s shoes with The Blue Pill. John McGinnis was her old manager. Alexis says that in an interview, Hayley implied that McGinnis got her hooked on dope. He’s got the most to gain from The Blue Pill getting back together. Hayley owned the band name. They don’t have anything on him and McGinnis’ alibi is flimsy. He called Zack the day before Hayley died. They go back to see Zack. They hear some fighting when they arrive. They find Sky with a cut lip arguing with Zack. Zack’s alibi isn’t iron-clad. He took breaks during his gig. He had enough time to go and kill Hayley. McGinnis had a plan. He wanted Zack to grease Sky’s wheels. He wanted Zack to give Sky dope and talk with Hayley to try and get the band name back. He saw her the night that she died. He says that she was at a coffee house. The phone rang and she freaked. She hit ignore and it kept ringing. The caller ID said that it was death calling. The lyrics and the call lead them back to the Bushes. Beckett tells Sky that Hayley was clean. Ryan says that Bree Bush’s credit card receipts put her near the murder scene. She bought the lipstick that was used on Hayley’s face. She also lied about where she was.

They talk with Bush. She offered her dope for her to stay to finish the record. She was invested heavily into Hayley’s new record. Her company would go down with it. Castle finds that some of the paneling in the studio is new. Castle finds a bullet hole. Bush is lying again.

They take the Bushes in. Her husband pleads with her. Bree is going to do 20 years for this, because she isn’t pleading out. This makes Castle think. Beckett and Castle go back to see Sky. They left her at Zack’s. She is suffering from withdrawal symptoms. She’s trying to get clean.

When Castle says goodnight to Alexis, he realizes that Hayley wrote a song after she left the Bushes. She is telling them who killed her. Castle calls Beckett. They release Bree. They make the Bushes listen to the song. The song implies that Ian Bush raped her. Bree told Ian about arguing with Hayley. Bree took a sleeping pill. He took Bree’s phone and texted Hayley. He pretended to be Bree and he killed her. Ian says that she seduced him.

They found gunpowder residue on Ian’s coat, the same that came from Hayley’s gun.

They all go to a remembrance ceremony where Sky sings with The Blue Pill.

* * * * *

Relevant posts

• Castle S01E01
• Castle S01E02
• Castle S01E03
• Castle S01E04
• Castle S01E05
• Castle S02E01
• Castle S02E02
• Castle S02E03
• Castle S02E04
• Castle S02E05
• Castle S02E06

its never time to move on….

OK, OK. You can have a show that runs for more than one season

(Nathan Fillion)

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: Jassen via Advanced Lol Builder

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JUBAL ANDERSON EARLY: 1816 – 1894

VIRGINIA  LAWYER and GENERAL

This will be first in a series of “Lessons” about great – and not so great – generals who served in the Confederate Army. Some were handsome and noble and rode a horse with more royal bearing than a European king. Others were little more than scalawags and renegades who went to war to serve their own interests. 

Jubal Early was the heroic sort of general. Smart, quick and possessed of the finest military education available at the time, he could have served on either side of the conflict. Being a Virginan, he chose to fight for the Confederacy.

Oh! I forgot to tell you! There WILL be a quiz over ALL the generals – so you people in the back row need to listen and take notes.

The quiz is scheduled for early January and will be a large part of your grade.

Back to Jubal A. Early. He was of high character and made an imposing figure as he led soldiers into battle. He is still remembered, admired and honored today. Anyone would be proud to claim him as an ancestor. Right? Of course. And so it is with a young Canadian actor who lives and works in the United States. No, I don’t know how General Early’s DNA made it to Edmonton, Alberta, but as I’ve indicated- Jubal Early was a resourceful man.

Can you spot a resemblance between General Early and actor Nathan Fillion, who was born in Edmonton in 1971?

Study the next two photos closely.

 Jubal Early disguised himself as a farmer in order to escape to Mexico in 1865. Nathan Fillion diguised himself as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in oder to command the spaceship SERENITY in the FIREFLY TV series.

Hold on to your notes and be ready for the January Quiz!

 Having recently discovered Castle I couldn’t resist posting to cure for the Monday blues.

Enjoy.

Soundtracks, we all have our favorites and some of us refuse to acknowledge their existence all together. I, on the other hand, have a good relationship with soundtracks, depending on the movie/television show/web series it comes from. These are pretty good choices that I just happen to own, interested? Read on.

#A – Girl Interrupted.My first glimpse into WILCO, a lovely little band that may see a bit on the pretentious side but really have some amazing songs. One of those bands that make you love every song, sound, word, vibe. They start off this semi-depressing group of misfit songs that work well with the movie of the same description. Title works fantastic with the motif of this album, “How to Fight Loneliness”, this first glimpse was not the end of my relationship with Wilco, they are still alive in my soul to this day. This album also has one of the greatest bands and one of my favorite songs from them, Jefferson Airplane with “Comin’ Back to Me”, such a beautiful song, really beautiful is the one perfect word to explain this song, and most of their music as a whole. Other artists include, Aretha Franklin, The Band, The Mamas & The Papas. Take a listen why don’t you?

#B – The Craft.

Witches who just so happen to be a bunch of bitches, makes for a great soundtrack, well its more of a sentimental one for me with a couple good songs that make me reminiscent of the first viewing of the movie. Great pop song with Letters to Cleo’s “Dangerous Type” and some heavy grungy hate music with Sponge’s “All This and Nothing” and a surprisingly good song by Our Lady Peace with “Tomorrow Never Knows”, (you can tell I’m obviously not their #1 fan). A not so good cover of a Harry Nilsson song, Tripping Daisy’s “Jump into the Fire”, I’d rather” they have put the original but they never asked my opinion on the subject. Some other good jams, like Spacehog’s ”Horror” & Love Spit Love’s “How Soon Is Now”, but the gem is Matthew Sweet’s “Dark Secrets” which made me want to own it to begin with, it pleases the ear gods for sure.

#C – Jawbreaker

Yes, pranks that turn deadly mixed with pretty girls who look nothing like the regular high school student, proves great for a rockin’ soundtrack. (Plus, Julie Benz, a young vampire on BTVS, classic). Songs to get you pumped and sent back into the 90’s like a whirlwind. I’ll start of with the favorites, The Friggs ”Bad Word for a Good Thing”, those Frigg girls can belt and rock, plus rock while never becoming famous, some hardcore girl power going on with that song. The icing on the cake? Imperial Teen’s “Yoo Hoo”, again the reason I even wanted the album in the first place, an amazing jam with the most intoxicating sound, voice is prime on this one. Ending it out with one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard in my life, The Transisters “Flow”, its beautiful and sad and painful, if I ever needed to be heartbroken with a theme song, this is it. Having a bad breakup? Lost a person close to you? Listen UP.

#D – The Wedding Singer

Get ready for some 80’s! This soundtrack has the “good shit” from the 1980’s, and its a double disc-er! Unfortunately I only have one half the album but that’s alright by me.  The half I have has bands like, Billy Idol, David Bowie, New Order, Musical Youth, Elvis Costello, The Thompson Twins, The Police, Culture Club, The Psychedelic Furs, and so on. If your in an 80’s mood, then stick the sucker in and enjoy your weird flashback that ensues.

yeah, tricked you. I know its not a song, but Buscemi rocks.

#E – Garden State.

We’ve got some good ones on here folks. Of course their is the “what lead me to own it” song, which we’ll begin with. Frou Frou’s ”Let Go”, a very graceful sound and is a basic recap of the movie itself. Jump in, what are you waiting for? Date Natalie Portman, Zach Braff, just DO IT! But any who, next up is another great jam, that I didn’t come in contact until long after I had the Cd, but when a friend of mine did it in a talent show, another song full of beauty, Bonnie Somerville’s “Winding Road”, pretty voice meets pretty sound, good good. The entire beginning of this Cd gets me in a crazy odd mood, I used to listen to it on my Ipod walking through the halls of high school, very surreal. First, Cold Play’s “Don’t Panic”, and No, I am not a cold play fan or freak, its the only song I dig, so get over it. Following it, is The Shins with “Caring is Creepy”, great sound, goes right through to the bone. And after that? Zero 7’s “In the Waiting Line”, one of the other songs I am in love with on this soundtrack, a main reason you might as well just go out and get it right now.

#F – Once More With Feeling – BTVS

A musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer belongs on this list, if not dominating it. Joss Whedon, the entity himself, wrote the songs, music, all of it. Which would be good reason for me to love it so, and I do. Its addictive to the highest extent. These actors, just people, who yes, famous, but normal; not singers, (well not all of them, James Marsters, Amber Benson, & Tony Head), just people, made beautiful music together. I probably listen to it at lease a couple times a week. I don’t think I would have the power to actually say out loud, or type, my favorite song from this album. I’ll just go through most of them for you to decide.

So, we start with Buffy complaining shes lost her mojo for her job, we can all sing a long as the demons agree with her and she diss’s the gentleman in distress.

Then you’ve got a group jam with the gang, which turns ugly with Anya, the demon, yelling about bunnies, and ending with a who-even-gives-a-crap attitude brought along by sad-sap Buffy.

A song about Mustard being removed from clothing.

A lesbian love song between the 2 most believable, non-skanked-out-for-the-sake-of-MALES-everywhere lesbians on television ever, and probably will always be. You just gotta love Willow & Tara, for ever, and ever, and so on.

Then we have the couple, demon and construction worker, Anya & Xander, talking about the things they can’t stand about each other that they could never say out loud, without song of course, which leads towards the end with Anya “dancing crazy!”. You have to love a song  that has a line about penis diseases, classy.

One of great writers of the show finds herself singing about a ticket she’s getting for parking in front of a hydrant, which has become one of my favorites to sing in the car.

Then the addictive song of Spike, the whiny love ridden fool song, he even admits he’d be Buffy’s slave, talk about being whipped. Just let him rest in peace, Buffy. Just let him be buried and go get Angel to sooth the pain. Sorry…

Next, a snippet of dawn’s voice before she gets kidnapped, pretty voice while its lasts.

Pretty Ballet instrumental leads to the dancing demon, Sweet, singing out with his great deep man singing voice trying to hit on 15 year old Dawn, Hawt.

A big hit in my car sing-a-long, the Giles song, sad but upbeat and lovely, he doesn’t want to leave Buffy, but needs to, sweet slow-mo scene with some kick-ass dodging of sharp things while pulling off some gymnastic moves, go SMG.

Here we have 2 songs emerge which is a high on the list for me, putting together the two amazing voices of Tony Head and Amber Benson, wonderful actors and brilliant singers. Such a beautiful addition to the already amazing track listing.

Up next, everyone joins in while wanting to walk through the fire, another great song, with some awesome lines, “things are turning out so dark”, “No, I’ll save her then I’ll kill her!” &  “I think this line mostly filer”. The best part is when the scooby gang chimes in and does their little part, is the slayer too far gone to care?

Then us listeners get something to sing about, a glittering world, and a dancing almost-to-her-death Buffy ending with dropping the heaven bombshell.

And to help finish it off, sweet rubs it in all our faces that things didn’t quite go our way with the whole dancing thing, that lead to the death thing, and the “aw we all have so many secrets!” thing.

Ending with the cast leaving confused, not knowing where to go from there. And a big sloppy wet one from Buffy & Spike, which I wish i could scrub from my brain.

If you’ve never see the episode, watch it. If you’ve never heard the soundtrack, listen to it. You’ll have to track it down like I did, since the boyfriend and I bought the only 2 copies in our area. Plus, if your REALLY lucky, like me, you’ll get to take a trip to Indianapolis and watch actors act out the episode, sing the songs, and dance the dances, an amazing experience, especially on the night before Halloween.

#G – Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog

How shocking, right? Another Joss choice, you get my love yet? Do you? Do You? Well you’ll figure it out eventually. Now, this sound track is Uh-Maze-Ing, seriously. NPH (For the less hip folks, Neil Patrick Harris) really shows us the talent that Doogie never really did, he sings, and he sings well. Fantastically well to be exact. He’s a villain looking for his big villainy break, to belong to the big-bad’s club, that’s of course ran by a horse, derr. Then we have the love interest, with a killer voice, no other than the beautiful Felicia Day, (who if you don’t watch the guild, START, I’ll explain more later), the helpless-helping-homeless-home-giving goddess that the villain is head-over-heels in love with. But in walks the bad guy, wait no, the GOOD guy. He just happens to be a prick, with a picture of a hammer on his chest. But he is played by no other than the mystical, magical, stud-man-guy Nathan Fillion. The guy crushes of the world surround this guy, which makes it easy for your Felicia, “Penny”, to fall for instead. (sad). So with this comes amazingly catchy songs that, yet AGAIN, Whedon is responsible for, also making it a family affair adding brothers and a sister-in-law. This is another Cd that is found being played in my car multiple times within a week. You’ve GOT to get this soundtrack, like now, LEAVE, GO!

#H – Pick of Destiny

Okay, Tenacious D is the best band EVER. Maybe this statement is not something you would agree with, and if it isn’t, stop lying. Seriously you know the truth, they probably ARE the greatest band EVER, why you ask? Because they have it ALL. What other band can use curse words like poetry, I mean really, “Mother Fucker” never sounded so good. If you haven’t had the chance to gander at the power that is the D, its time my friends. My passion for the D is forever deep, I was hooked the first time I heard them, saw them, and inevitably fell for them. “The Pick Of Destiny” is a movie and an album, and both are glorious. Watching Jack Black and Kyle Gas for 93 minutes straight has to be an experience, and sir, it was. But, the soundtrack that came along? GODLIKE, truly amazing music, which is not surprising from this duo. Another album i could not possibly begin the misery of deciding the best song on it, so you will have to venture out on your own and taste the taste that is TENACIOUS D.

be blown away by Rage Cage & Jables, KG & JB.

#I – Nashville

Great movie, wonderful soundtrack. Robert Altman is an amazing director and he did an amazing job on all the movies I’ve seen of his. They always have crazy relationships, and madness masked in innocence and he didn’t shy away from that with this one. Country singers, singing and crawling in drama filled situations; if you get a chance make sure to check this one out, i have a feeling you’ll be pleased if your in anyway cool, or hip, or happenin’ in the way I am. So rent it, steal it, borrow it, either way watch it, and make sure you listen to the songs you hear, it won’t be hard. I’ve leave you with a video of my favorite song from the movie that happens to be a great part of the film. Watch and aw.

So that’s it for now, I might come back and surprise you with more amazing songs that go with amazing movies/tv shows/web series, or I wont, don’t hold your breath. I leave you with a thought… Come back and see me, I mean read me, sometime.

sas

The Movie Overdose attempts to contain the apocalypse with a review of Roland Emmerich’s 2012. We chat about how we would change Eddie Murphy for the better, what kind of sequel we want for Star Trek and whether we are glad to see Sean Connery coming back, if only in voice form. Tom slightly dampens the praise given to An Education and Sam revels in the madness of Running Scared and the flawed ambition of Dogma. The conclusion involves a discussion of actors that, no matter what, we always look forward to seeing on screen.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 42

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Listen to the episode HERE.

Joss Whedon’s Firefly was probably the best sci-fi television show ever. To be cancelled after half a season. By Fox (those bastards). It might have proved to be the best sci-fi show ever, period, if it’d been picked up by another network but it wasn’t. All we got was 14 episodes and a movie (Serenity). Fans of the show were heartbroken.

I wasn’t one of the heartbroken. I was part of the problem. I never watched Firefly when it was on the air because it was a huge nerd hurdle for me. Not because it was sci-fi but because I had no idea it was sci-fi. I heard the words “Joss Whedon” and “Firefly” and assumed it was another Buffy spin-off like Angel, but maybe about Willow or some other wiccan lesbians. Though I loved Buffy, I didn’t care for Angel, so I never checked out Firefly. And not many other people did either.

Then, after it was cancelled, I heard it was really good. One of the best TV shows ever. My ears pricked up. Then I heard it was “space cowboys” and my ears pricked back down. Cowboys are a huge hurdle for me. I like the odd western (usually starting a young Clint Eastwood) but generally I don’t care for the genre. It’s why it took me so long to watch the excellent Deadwood. Perhaps it’s because I don’t like modern-day cowboy culture and thereby associate ”westerns” with redneck douchebags. And I don’t care for the music. Such as the Firefly theme:

Then it was explained to me that the show isn’t so much about space cowboys as space outlaws and once again my ears were pricked. So a couple of years ago, several years after it was cancelled, I finally sat down to tackle Firefly.

I wasn’t disappointed. True, I wasn’t hooked from the first episode, but by the third I couldn’t stop watching if I tried. The show’s strength is that it’s blessed with probably the best ensemble cast ever assembled. Where other classic ensembles (TNG, Buffy) took a good three or four seasons to hit their stride, the cast of Firefly hit the ground running. The chemistry couldn’t have been improved in a laboratory. Check out the gag reel at the bottom of this post. It’s hard to believe these people were practically strangers.

Though there is certainly an outlaw/western feel to the show, it’s all the aspects of westerns I enjoy. They’re more dust-bowl pirates than cowboys. In a way it’s like Pirates of the Caribbean set on the Millenium Falcon instead of the Black Pearl. If it’d been sold to me that way, I’d have been watching from day one.

Instead the show was pitched as “nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things.” Um. Okay. That’s cool and all, but it’s sounds like Waiting for Godot staged on Discovery One. This show isn’t that at all. Perhaps the exact opposite. It’s an adventure-comedy of the highest grade. And well worth the hurdle.

I have said it before, and I will say it again…  Castle is perhaps one of the best, and most interesting, procedural dramas on the air today!  Here’s to hopefully not getting cancelled!

A couple is arguing in a car over whether or not the husband was looking at another woman. He says if he’s lying may God strike him dead. Just then, a body falls on the windshield. Alexis is on the phone and says, “If I tell him he’ll freak.” Castle tries to find out what’s going on. Alexis blows him off and goes back upstairs. Then Beckett calls. The victim is Jack Buckley, a district attorney. The Captain is at the scene as well. There was no reason why Buckley was in this part of town; his ex-wife is in California. According to Buckley’s secretaries, the cops brought John Knox to Buckley’s office last week and they argued loudly in his office – which was unusual. Knox’s alibi is a reverend and he was at an AA meeting. Buckley’s doorman remembers that there was a man insisting on seeing him twice the week Buckley was murdered. Jessup is the man, and he was there because he was out of jail on a technicality, but Buckley wanted to put him back in jail. Beckett and the gang go to a bar to find him, just as he’s getting beat up in a bar fight.

Jessup admits to basically stalking to Buckley. They’re going to process him for assault on Castle, but then he remembers that Jessup will know about Buckley’s mysterious trip uptown on the day of his death. While in the car, Beckett gets a call from Alexis. Castle is really confused now. Jessup’s id is Buckley’s ex-brother-in-law. He tells Beckett that he was assaulted and that he was warned to tell Buckley to lay off a man named Danton. Danton runs a ring of call girls (the brother-in-law likes to order them). Beckett gets the brother in law to order a girl, and the one who shows up is not only a regular, but is one of Buckley’s secretaries.

Buckley was apparently one of Scarlett’s clients. They started going out and eventually he offered her a job as she was only working as a call girl to pay her way through law school. She’s never met Danton. All the girls are independent contractors and the clients are just numbers. They think that maybe Danton tried to blackmail Danton and it backfired, so that’s why he started to investigate him. Castle decides to drop the charges against Jessup – he’s just such a wordsmith. Castle then asks Scarlett why. She explains her story, and it kinda moves him. Beckett then leaves to meet Alexis, but she still won’t tell Castle what’s up. It’s driving him so crazy that he asks Martha what’s up. A vice cop comes by and tell him that Danton is in prison – put there by Buckley. But apparently there’s a new guy running the operation. It seems its a franchise operation. Espisito and Ryan decide to mess with Castle about all the things that Alexis could be up to. Beckett interviews Danton to find out how and why Buckley cut a deal with him when he went to jail. They tell him that they think the new Danton is the one who killed him. Danton tells them that would make it a suicide. The deal was that Buckley would become the new Danton. Yes, the district attorney was a pimp.

In trying to find out reasons behind everything, they think that there might have been a hostile takeover going on in the call girl service. They go to Scarlett to find out who it is. It was John Knox. In the car, Castle starts writing the new novel of the case. Beckett comes up with the idea that Knox (as the enforcer) has an enforcer of his own, and he’s the one who threw Buckley off the building. They can’t arrest Knox without telling that Scarlett talked, which Castle promised they wouldn’t. So, they have to let Knox go. Castle gets home and finds a beat-up Scarlett in his hallway. She says she didn’t know where else to go.

Scarlett shows Castle a photograph of the Reverend with her. He’s a client. She tells him that Knox killed Buckley. He then took her to a hospital. The next day, Castle gives the photograph to Beckett. She goes nuts. Knox’s apartment is empty. Castle calls the hospital, and Scarlett was checked out by a man almost immediately after he dropped her off. Scarlett then calls Castle and tells him that Knox has her and is going to kill her. The phone goes dead. They trace the call and go to the hotel where they hear Scarlett scream and two gunshots.

The cops break into the apartment. Scarlett’s holding the gun and Knox is dead on the floor. She tells them how it went down, and that she stole his gun when he heard a noise outside the door. When Jessup shows up at the precinct, it triggers something to Beckett and Castle. They realize that the door wasn’t dead bolted. She played them. She actually was working in Buckley’s office as the one to run the call girl business, but when Knox wanted to push her out – she needed an excuse to get rid of him. Alexis finally tells Castle what was going on – she’s thinking about going on an exchange program to France for three weeks and wanted to discuss it with Beckett since she spent a semester abroad. She decided not to go – but is looking at Oxford for college.

But as we all well know,  Alexis will probably not go away to college.  NYU is a perfectly acceptable and close to home school!

BTW, Scarlett was played by Michaela McManus.  You can find out more about her, here:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2288842/

What did YOU think of tonight’s episode?

Comment below!!

It’s widely accepted that Moonlighting broke fairly new ground with its combination of mystery-solving, witty dialogue, and sexual tension between Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shephard) and David Addison (Bruce Willis). It’s also widely understood that Moonlighting’s ratings dived during the fourth season, leading to its cancellation.

Why? Commonly, it’s thought that it’s because it fulfilled the tension between the characters in the third season. Its’ contemporary Remington Steele didn’t fare that much better, dragging into a fifth and final season. But that’s not the only reason these series let their viewers down – it’s because both series relied too heavily on romantic tension as a foundational plot device.

Neither show was terribly kind to the women: Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) was forced to take on nameless, man-without-a-past, bad-boy Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) for the need to have a male partner in her detective business and Hayes was an ex-model, embezzled by her ex-accountant, and with debts to pay. Hayes needed Addison to resurrect one of her failing investments, Blue Moon Detective Agency, as well as to have a purpose in life post-modeling career. Needed. That’s the key word.

Navigating the “will they or won’t they” dynamic is tricky territory. I don’t think detective/crime-drama television series have come back this way since the 1980s. That is, until now: Castle (Andrew Marlowe) and Bones (Hart Hanson). Both series are finding very clever ways to sustain the dynamic, but more importantly to give it real progression.

Why are these two series succeeding where the predecessors failed? The story-telling is far better – with Castle often moving deftly like a Dashiell Hammett mystery and Bones ooing us and awing us with the details of forensic science and technology. It’s almost sci-fi, Stargate geeky. Each episode is equal parts National Geographic and psychological thriller.

However, ultimately, the success comes down to strong, in-depth lead characters as the core, engaging sub-plots, and fleshed out secondary characters . . . who can be foils, but not caricatures. Bones should be commended, next to Battlestar Galactica, for having one of the most racially diverse (and stunning) set of female characters.

Bones and Castle have as leads – strong, beautiful, intelligent, capable, women who do not need their male partners. The interdisciplinary partnership, however, enhances the overall ability to more effectively solve cases. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a brilliant forensic anthropologist teamed up with confident, intuitive FBI agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) is a hard-boiled, tough, probably Ivy League-educated, NYPD homicide detective in league with insightful writer Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion).

I’m reminded of the best elements of the great noirs of the 1940s with Humphrey Boghart and Lauren Bacall (who were as equal to each other as one could be then). Castle and Bones succeed in part because yes – they are sustaining our curiosity on whether or not the two leads will get together. But only in part.

The dynamic is tricky because if it happens too soon, the viewers lose interest. If the producers wait too long, there is the danger the show will get canceled, or that the viewers will become frustrated and lose interest. My friend Stina asks the question – why have co-worker romantic tension at all? Yes, why have it indeed?

Well, because the dialogue, when executed well, is just marvelous. In Bones and Castle, not only is it intelligent in and of itself, the topic at hand is also intellectual. But a series that relies heavily on sexual tension between two characters, no matter the genre or content of the dialogue, will always fail. (A series that relies only on sexual tension between several pairs of characters is a soap opera – *cough* Grey’s Anatomy.) It may be fun, but it lacks substance.

Whatever happens in Bones, I will be satisfied knowing that Brennan and Booth have came this far – they have transformed each others’ lives. This is not just about witty dialogue and tension – it’s about a genuine friendship and a partnership – a true emotional bond with serious ramifications. Like relationships in my favorite novels, like Diana Wynne Jones’ Fire and Hemlock. Like a Miyazaki film, it sends shivers up your spine. Television rarely enters this territory.

As for Castle, the relationship between Castle and Beckett is so far, more playful. It’s always fun to see her cut him down in her Lauren Bacall/Katherine Hepburn sort of way and to see him catch her off guard. That said, the comic relief is mixed in with some very dark tones of murder cases as well as a sub-plot involving Beckett’s past. I think Castle explores the personal dynamics between those involved around the victim with excellent skill.

Castle is also a fantastic and clever example of life imitating art imitating life imitating art imitating… – and I’ve totally lost track. Moonlighting may have been a spoof of detective series. But Castle takes the best elements – breaking the fourth wall, extremely witty dialogue, and maintains the edge and grit of a real mystery.

Castle is a boyish, playboy, popular mystery writer, who is brought in by the NYPD to help solve a string of murders that mirror those in his novels. In the process, he meets his new inspiration (Beckett) and works out an arrangement (much to her chagrin) to shadow her as research for his new book. That book is actually on our bookshelves. Additionally, the show takes us outside of the homicide lounge and into Castle’s life, which includes his eccentric mother and charming teenage daughter. Castle brings the best elements of comedy sitcoms into a drama . . .which even a lot of non-detective dramas do badly.

It’s Beckett who remains the mystery – to Castle, and to the viewers. Not to mention she’s totally gorgeous with her dark brown hair and enormous green, heavy-lashed eyes, and legs to die for. And jackets to die for – I haven’t seen such great outerwear since Audrey Hepburn’s coats in Charade.

Once you develop great characters, not to say that the story writes itself; but, the viewers are far less likely to be disappointed by what or what does not happen between the leads. One tends to accept it and respects it as the choice of the characters. That my friends, makes a great detective yarn, a great romance, and simply, a great story that keeps me watching week after week. I haven’t had this much fun since reading Nancy Drew novels as a younger girl. And both Castle and Bones make me want to believe that an epic partnership could in fact potentially be real.

Here at Singlarity, swampmusic’s monocle is a revered artifact that is used for important purposes. Just what are those purposes? In this week’s conversation we clarify the jurisdiction of the monocle, discuss the cult-like hysteria associated with the Snuggie and declare Nathan Fillion imperfect but f***able.

Just for balls

swampmusic: I’ll analyze it. With SCIENCE.

Nibby: Is the monocle required?

swampmusic: Optional but not required. The only time it’s REQUIRED is during the involvement of the study of balls.

Nibby: Just balls? What about other crotch features?

swampmusic: No. Just balls.

Nibby: Okay, thank you for clearing that up. Once in a while I get confused about the purpose of the monocle.

Ayn Rant: Which reminds me — swampmusic, I took this at World Market, just for you. It’s the scientific-yet-happy study of balls during the holidays.

Monocled pumpkins - the apocolypse is near!

swampmusic: Hahahaha, nice!!! I totally cracked up at this. Pumpkins. With monocles. It’s such a beautiful combination. Perhaps they are studying pumpkin balls.

Balls! Balls! Balls!

RetroVixen: Have fun at your next cult meeting.

swampmusic: CULT MEETING OUT IN THE WOODS. LOLOLOL. I love this.

Ayn Rant: And that creepy uncle is still trying to get in your pants…

swampmusic: Btw, I love how [a conversation] about Batman somehow turned into something about ball-examining, monocle-wearing pumpkins. Nice.

Nibby: The other day [my friend] pointed out that Nathan’s eyes are slightly further apart than average, so now I cannot look at him without thinking about it. I now want to meet him just so I can take a ruler and measure the exact distance and compare it with Adam Baldwin’s. Damn you, [my friend] and your criticisms. I swear, he’s more picky about men than I am. Dude finds flaws with everybody. You know what Alex’s flaw is? He hangs to the left.* Huh. WTF?

Eyes wide apart?

Ayn Rant: Nathan Fillion’s eyes are a little wide across — I’d still do ‘im.

Nibby: Well that settles it.

——————-

* Upon thorough examination it was estimated that Alexander Skarsgard hangs right 68% of the time. This estimate was acquired without the use of the monocle as hang-determination was deemed an unsuitable use of the sacred instrument. An appeal against this ruling is still passing through the court system. Stay tuned.

  A little over a month ago the entertainment community collectively went “Huh?”  when it was announced that James Franco would be appearing a 2 month long story arc on of all things a Soap Opera.  “This must be a joke” and “It is for research” were thrown about fairly often as possible reasons why JF would have chosen to leave his ivory tower in Hollywood and walk amongst the commoners.  Because when you get right down to it that is how the industry chooses to view Daytime, as commoners.  Someone not worthy of their respect.  Someone to laugh at and mock.  Daytime is so low on the totem pole that some people are even quiet about the fact that they watch them at all because of the laughter that it might illict.  Granted not everybody has been negative in their response to the news, for the most part it has been a range from startling disbelief to a kind of way to go JF.  But still it got me to thinking why doesn’t Daytime earn more respect?

  Some say that soaps are just one long story that keeps replaying itself over and over again.  They say that each story line gets more outlandish than the one before.  Remember the Possesed by the Devil story on Days of Our Lives?  Or perhaps Dixie coming back from the dead for perhaps the millionth time on All My Children?  Plus we aren’t even going to get into the Who’s the daddy? story arcs or the myriad of romantic entaglements that are the crux of the daytime world.  So I guess I can see their point, to an extent.  Because honestly what makes Soaps any different from Primetime or even the very top of the Ivory Tower, Movies?  Can the naysayers honestly tell me that Primetime doesn’t have outlandish storylines?  Can they honestly say that shows like Grey’s Anatomy or Gossip Girl are more respectable for their romatic entanglements than say The Bold & The Beautiful?  Or shows like Fringe and The X-Files are more grounded in reality than say no longer on the air, Passions?  Or why The Sopranos deserves more respect than General Hospital?  The truth is they can’t say any of that because the only differences Primetime and Daytime have are the amount of money the networks are willing to spend on them and and one runs one night a week and gets up to a 3 month hiatus and the other is on 5 days a week and has no hiatus.  And no being blacked out for two weeks, holidays, and weekends do not count. 

   Or it could possibly be the fact that only second rate actors are on Daytime, while all the “real” actors are on Primtime?  Oh wait a minute that can’t be true because Daytime is proud to be one of the few venues that has churned out some of the best actors of the past couple of generations.  What other venue can honestly say that?   But despite that fact Daytime is still considered to be either the place where younger actors get their feet wet or older actors go when they have no other options.  Because as we all know Primetime has no bad actors.  Hey I know how about anyone who feels that Daytime is the blackhole for talent I dare you to go up to Betty White and tell her she doesn’t have any other options or tell Bradford Anderson that GH will be his last stop.  Oh wait a minute I have an even better dare for you.  I dare you to go up to Jennifer Aniston and tell her that the man who plays Victor Kiriakis on DOOL is a bad actor.  Go ahead we will wait because I am sure those of us who are fans of Daytime and those of us who work tirelessly to bring it to fruition could use a good laugh at your judgemental expense.

You know what nevermind Daytime doesn’t need your respect nor do we want it.