Castle

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

Encourage yes--speak like they're giving a thematic or character primer? Maybe not. They're trying to avoid Bones-esque pitfalls by being as direct as possible at the cost of some character tone (not a lot, but some). If this is only a short-run thing, it might work. If it becomes a bad habit or a crutch, we'll end up with a serious problem.

What Bones-esque pitfalls, if you don't mind me asking?

Bones has been running at a good pace as of late (imho), loved last night's episode, with the exception of the dear Toyota commercial in the middle of the episode (that was annoying). Both the dialogue and the pacing was pretty good.

As for Castle, the dialogue was a lot better this week, a nice improvement . The plot on the other hand, not so much . It felt rather weak at times (as in the renegade cop ploy), and felt more like a farce than a show that's more of a 'film noir'. As for Castle and Beckett, it was nice to see that their relationship was back on even footing by the end of the episode, hope to see it continue into next weeks' episode.

[jordmundt6]

If Castle's a film noir, it's a film noir with hope and a sense of humor.

They were trying to get Castle to get his own head on straight and this was pretty effective. Also, the dipped into the "Hard Way" well again with some Firefly fan jokes.

Alec Baldwin's character was basically Jain from Firefly loosed on New York City (minus the gun preoccupation). His attitude, the way he carried himself, even his remark about "That's a mighty fine coat" had at least dual purposes. For example, the coat he "admired" on Castle was brown leather, a symbol for the Browncoat resistance in the Firefly universe.

Anyway, Castle tagging along with him was supposed to have a feel like the film "The Hard Way" (with Michael J. Fox and James Woods). In the film, Fox was an actor researching a role for a hardboiled detective thriller so he tailed the toughest, most manly New York cop he could find (played by Woods) who caught the actor's attention because of a brutal interview he gave while pursuing a serial killer (think Baldwin's live news comment but with R-rated language). They did this before with Prepon doing Nikki Heat research, and it worked fairly well. It served its purpose here.

Unsurprisingly, Alexis got the Rory Gilmore/Willow Rosenberg treatment from every college she applied to (and now she has a Rory-esque decision to make). The point, however, was to get Rick to reconsider his own actions concerning Kate and you could see the wheels turning for him in that scene. As for the writers' room dialogue--they were just as direct as the last two episodes, but they gave each character a plausible authentic-seeming scenario and conversation to voice the sentiments. Kate and her therapist, Rick counseling Alexis about college.

Frankly, I was hoping she'd end up deciding to got to Hudson and live at home or very close--but it looks like they've decided against renewing Molly Quinn for a regular or recurring contract so the finale might be the last we really see of her. Too bad.

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

If Castle's a film noir, it's a film noir with hope and a sense of humor.

They were trying to get Castle to get his own head on straight and this was pretty effective. Also, the dipped into the "Hard Way" well again with some Firefly fan jokes.

Alec Baldwin's character was basically Jain from Firefly loosed on New York City (minus the gun preoccupation). His attitude, the way he carried himself, even his remark about "That's a mighty fine coat" had at least dual purposes. For example, the coat he "admired" on Castle was brown leather, a symbol for the Browncoat resistance in the Firefly universe.

Anyway, Castle tagging along with him was supposed to have a feel like the film "The Hard Way" (with Michael J. Fox and James Woods). In the film, Fox was an actor researching a role for a hardboiled detective thriller so he tailed the toughest, most manly New York cop he could find (played by Woods) who caught the actor's attention because of a brutal interview he gave while pursuing a serial killer (think Baldwin's live news comment but with R-rated language). They did this before with Prepon doing Nikki Heat research, and it worked fairly well. It served its purpose here.

Unsurprisingly, Alexis got the Rory Gilmore/Willow Rosenberg treatment from every college she applied to (and now she has a Rory-esque decision to make). The point, however, was to get Rick to reconsider his own actions concerning Kate and you could see the wheels turning for him in that scene. As for the writers' room dialogue--they were just as direct as the last two episodes, but they gave each character a plausible authentic-seeming scenario and conversation to voice the sentiments. Kate and her therapist, Rick counseling Alexis about college.

Frankly, I was hoping she'd end up deciding to got to Hudson and live at home or very close--but it looks like they've decided against renewing Molly Quinn for a regular or recurring contract so the finale might be the last we really see of her. Too bad.

Yea it was. It's good to see them try to get back on track, but it's still rather frustrating .

As for the humor, didn't mind that . It was one of the stronger parts of the episode, along with the scene with Alexis and his mother. That seemed to be one of the stronger parts of this episode (imo).

And that was a good way of doing so. It made him realize that he better go for what he wants to go for (as in asking Beckett out) before it's too late.

[jordmundt6]

You asked about what I meant when I talked about Bones-esque blunders. Here, I was referring mostly to areas we've already covered. These include the consecutive gut-punching season finales from Gormagon thru splitting the team up. Last season was the first in four that was almost competently handled but for the absolute bungling of beginning of the pregnancy storyline. Said bungling, however left an equally bitter taste in my mouth and has just about exhausted my patience. Some of it this season has been cute and endearing, but it's almost as if they dispensed with the very idea of courtship and went straight from partners to family with no stops--and that doesn't sit well either.

Let me see if I can put this another way--two possible examples. Imagine if Chris Meloni hadn't left SVU at the end of last season, but had signed on for an additional two years to match Mariska Hagritay's commitment. Now, imagine this season's premiere where the opening scene shows pregnant Benson getting out of their squad car to investigate a DB at an apartment. Imagine Warner over the body giving cause of death, etc. but saying "good to have you back" to Stabler and she's sorry she missed Kathy's funeral--and then we go on with the case. Wouldn't you as a fan of the show, be rather...perturbed that two major things got dropped on us from nowhere that completely changed the dynamic of the show?

Or...what if Fox and Dana had gotten married offscreen between one pregnancy cliffhanger and the following episode with little to no setup (not even a passionate kiss). Wouldn't that have grated on you as a fan of the show and of the relationship?

[decarus]

That is exactly how i feel jordmundt about Bones, that two major things happened off screen and got dropped on us from nowhere. And now the characters all the time seem out of character, because there was all this character growth that happened off screen. All of the sudden they are these people who say they love each other and are living together and have a baby and they are talking about baby issues as if any of this feels in character when it doesn't. As i have said, the show will never recover for me. I still watch it because it makes me laugh and is sweet at moment, but it can never be a great show, in my opinion. It is a mistake that cannot be fixed.

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

You asked about what I meant when I talked about Bones-esque blunders. Here, I was referring mostly to areas we've already covered. These include the consecutive gut-punching season finales from Gormagon thru splitting the team up. Last season was the first in four that was almost competently handled but for the absolute bungling of beginning of the pregnancy storyline. Said bungling, however left an equally bitter taste in my mouth and has just about exhausted my patience. Some of it this season has been cute and endearing, but it's almost as if they dispensed with the very idea of courtship and went straight from partners to family with no stops--and that doesn't sit well either.

Let me see if I can put this another way--two possible examples. Imagine if Chris Meloni hadn't left SVU at the end of last season, but had signed on for an additional two years to match Mariska Hagritay's commitment. Now, imagine this season's premiere where the opening scene shows pregnant Benson getting out of their squad car to investigate a DB at an apartment. Imagine Warner over the body giving cause of death, etc. but saying "good to have you back" to Stabler and she's sorry she missed Kathy's funeral--and then we go on with the case. Wouldn't you as a fan of the show, be rather...perturbed that two major things got dropped on us from nowhere that completely changed the dynamic of the show?

Or...what if Fox and Dana had gotten married offscreen between one pregnancy cliffhanger and the following episode with little to no setup (not even a passionate kiss). Wouldn't that have grated on you as a fan of the show and of the relationship?

Sorry about that. I mainly meant in terms of dialogue there more than the story itself.

about the Gormagon issue and the team splitting up, both of those plots were just bungled. Didn't like how TPTB handled either of them.

I can see what you mean by that. And in a way, there wasn't much of a choice there... since the main actress was pregnant in real life and there was only so much that they could do in terms of that.

Maybe they might incorporate some dating and nights out so the relationship itself will have more of a chance to flower. That would make some sense to me at least... if they don't do that, then the relationship wouldn't do nearly as well.

I wouldn't have been too thrilled with it. And it definitely would have changed things.

Good point . That wouldn't have suited either of them. As much as the relationship was, it wasn't meant to be that kind of one. As for frustration, heck... Chris and co. were known for that . The whole 'WTD' plotline was a pain to say the least. Along with any backing up in terms of the relationship.

But if that happened (the marriage), it would have been different to say the least. Also, I probably wouldn't have liked how Chris would have handled it either . The man is too much of a soap opera hound , and it showed sometimes in his writing.

[jordmundt6]

They look like they're back on track for the season finale. I hope that Alexis visits often from Columbia. Also, I can't believe how excited I am simply because next week's preview shows Kate standing in a doorway with reaching arms and hands. They'll probably muck it up somehow, but it at least gives us hope for next season.

Also, it'll be interesting to find out who was contracted for the hit on Kate.

[decarus]

Good episode. They both said some of what they needed to said and knew it and the promo looks good for next weeks episode.

[freelantzer]

Yeah, great episode last night! Glad they started talking a bit and I'm excited for next weeks show! Im so happy Alexis is staying close for college. Plus I loved that Castle got to dress up as the zombie at the end. He must've loved that.

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

Also, it'll be interesting to find out who was contracted for the hit on Kate.

Hmm....what makes you think they're going to resolve that?

[jordmundt6]

Do I think they're going to resolve the plotline? No, but it looks they'll be introducing the shooter. The synopsis they're releasing for next week's episode has Kate chasing her shooter on a new homicide and Castle torn between helping her and getting her to drop it for her own protection. For maximum punch, you'd think they'd introduce the shooter. After all, they introduced the guy who shot Montgomery's crooked mentor to great effect last season.

[decarus]

What plot hole?

[jordmundt6]

Plotline, not plothole...plotline.

[decarus]

Sorry. I must have misread it. I just thought i missed something.

[jordmundt6]

Stuff like that happens to me too. Drumroll for the big finale.

[Fawkesfan1]

It was an ok episode. Loved the zombies, the makeup for them was incredible . As for Beckett and Castle, it was ok there as well. Looking forward to the finale.

[Desraelda]

I absolutely hate zombies and almost didn't watch this episode. So glad I changed my mind. I loved the zombie walk and, of course, we all knew that last zombie was Castle.

I think they'll keep the burgeoning relationship between Castle and Beckett subtle. I don't think they'll go much further than they did in this episode.

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by Desraelda

I think they'll keep the burgeoning relationship between Castle and Beckett subtle. I don't think they'll go much further than they did in this episode.

Really? I think they're going to go all in.

[jordmundt6]

Not quite all in. It'll be a sensible progression. I just hope they don't blow everything up because they're terrified of a Moonlighting phenomenon.

[Fawkesfan1]

From what I saw from the previews so far, it looks like they'll let them make out somewhat. Not sure it they'll go all the way there.

Any one up for bets? jk...

1. They'll just kiss
2. They'll make out
3. They go all the way
4. Some other choice
5. I'll plead the 5th
6. They'll get interrupted

@ jordmundt: Agreed . It would be a shame if they'd screw things up due to that. Having things all set up and then have them break up over one or both of them being worried that they can't make the relationship work would just be a damn shame .