Castle Gets Traffic

 If you've read this blog for long enough, you've seen me write about many movies (I do have that "Movie Micro-Review" series that has reached its 90th edition, after all) and several TV shows.

Of those TV shows, I've probably written about Star Trek most -- in one form or another.  But the TV show which receives the most traffic on this blog is:

Castle from ABC.

You might be surprised.  I know I was.  But every time I go check the statistics which Google keeps for this blog, there is one post which shows up on the list of "Top 5 most recently viewed."

Castle is a Gem from October 17, 2011 is, by far, the post from this blog which has been hit more than any other.  It's not even close.  And it seems like when I post a review for one of the "Castle-written" Nikki Heat books, and tweet about it, I get more readers than any other book review.

Blogger (Google) also provides information about what directs people to find this blog, and most of them are Google searches with "Castle" in them -- whether people are looking for character photos, or specifically looking for one or more of the characters, the"Gem" post has them.  For some reason, Google presents that "Gem" post quite high when people search on those topics.  And that means SnW gets hits.  It feels pretty cool thinking all those people see something I have written.

I'm not going to turn this blog into an "All Castle - All the Time" thing, but I certainly admit that I love the show, so it's easy to talk about it.  This season, the main characters have moved into a new phase of their relationship, which has been written exceptionally well.  But while Castle would not be the show it is without the relationships, it is about more than that -- the mysteries are very well done, and the ensemble cast is remarkable and has great chemistry.

Speaking of the ensemble, I cannot end this particular post without mentioning one of the other characters - a character I left out of the "Gem" post because of her small role in the episodes I had just seen when I wrote it.  Tamala Jones plays Lanie Parish, a medical examiner for the NYPD, and true friend of Detective Kate Beckett.  She is smart, confident, and plays a great role.

So, dear reader, while I will still be talking about Great Courses and Movies and Knowledge (new post tomorrow) and Games, people will be finding their way to this blog because "Everybody Loves Castle (and Beckett)" -- that's just the way it is.

Castle is a Gem

I love Castle, the TV mystery-drama on ABC on Monday nights.

Now in its fourth season, the show has found a way to continue coming up with interesting mysteries, while also allowing excellent character development.

Of course, the stars of the show are Rick Castle (played by Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic.)  Their "will they or won't they" sexual tension has moved to a new level after the crisis at the end of Season 3, still remains believable, but does not derail the action.  Very importantly, though, the "supporting" characters have been getting more deeply drawn, and the actors who portray them are up to the challenge.

Molly C Quinn, playing Castle's daughter Alexis, shines in her role, and gives Fillion a chance to show the struggles we fathers have when our daughters are growing up and preparing to leave and love.  Susan Sullivan, as Castle's mother, has already had a chance to show her depth in the first three seasons, and plays a wonderful confidante to any of the characters who need some advice from a woman who has been through many experiences, and handles them with charm, grace and a joyful flair.

Last week's episode continued a deepening of the second "team" on the show -- Beckett's supporting detectives, Esposito and Ryan, played by Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever, respectively.  Huertas has perhaps had a bit more opportunity to flesh out his character in previous seasons, but this episode gave Dever a story line to demonstrate Ryan's passion and commitment.  They both did a wonderful job.

This collection of professionals, together with the team behind the scenes, continues to give me something to look forward to each and every new episode.

Review - Naked Heat - Richard Castle

Title: Naked Heat 
Author: Richard Castle (but really?)

A bit over a year ago, I read the first Richard Castle "Nikki Heat" novel, Heat Wave. The second came out in time for Christmas, but I had to hold off reading it, in case it was a gift.  It was not, so it got stuck behind a couple of other books in my queue.  But a month ago, I finally got to start it.  Now, I've finished it.  Verdict?

Another winner.

The characters in the Nikki Heat books are not quite the same as the characters in the Castle TV show -- I like Castle and Beckett better than I like Heat and Rook -- but they are similar enough to make viewers of the show comfortable with them almost immediately.  The supporting cast is, for all intents and purposes, the same.  So, reading a book written by Richard Castle is very much like watching a super-sized episode of one of the most fun TV shows on the air today.  With a bit more swearing.  And sex.  But that makes sense -- it's Castle's imagination, you see.

Anyway, the story.  A well-known gossip columnist for a New York newspaper is murdered in her home.  Nikki Heat, of course, is called in.  She has gained some unwanted notoriety from Jameson Rook's article on her -- written as a result of his background research involvement in the case detailed in Heat Wave -- but she is still the best detective in the precinct, so she is on the case.  Who happens to have been shadowing the columnist for yet another article?  Right.  Rook.

So, they must solve this murder.  Along the way, each and both are put in danger, follow confusing leads, meet criminals and celebrities, and have to deal with the tension caused by the backlash from Detective Heat's sudden notoriety.

{Side note: I loved, loved, loved the Firefly reference hidden in the middle of the book.  I mean, how many layers can we get?  The Naked Heat characters, obliquely referring to a role played by the person who plays the role of the fictional author of their story.  Classic.]

Like a good mystery book, and like a typical Castle episode, there are red herrings, views inside police work, relationship tensions, heroics, danger.  And, like a good mystery and typical Castle episode, the denouement makes sense once you get there.  Along the way, you get to live inside a relationship almost as interesting as the Castle/Beckett relationship.  And it's hard to get better than that.

Until they start writing books with Castle and Beckett as characters.  Which I hope they do.  But not until the show is done.  Which should not be for a very, very long time.


[I know, I said I would have reruns this week, but hey I finished the book and had time to write the review.  Why wait?  Reprints can wait a day or two.]

Castle "Knockdown"

This week's episode of Castle, titled "Knockdown" was an excellent example of a TV show living up to what we love about it.

Richard Castle, the mystery writer who has been shadowing NYPD Detective Kate Beckett for more than two seasons clearly has feelings for this smart, beautiful woman. And, of course, as is the case in so many of these "sexual tension" shows, she has feelings for Castle, too, but they never seem to get together.

Also, like many of these police dramas, there is a long-running mystery which serves as a connecting arc. This mystery involves the killing of Beckett's mother several years before the TV show began.

"Knockdown" moved the mystery story forward, without ending it. This is good, because it seems like once a central mystery is solved, a show loses some of its driving force. "Knockdown" also got its two characters a little closer to admitting their feelings for one another, without quite doing it. Again, probably a good thing, since the breaking of sexual tension often robs a show of some inner energy.
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.... SPOILER ALERT (as if every Castle fan didn't already know....)
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But that doesn't mean the producers can't give the fans something. And this week, they promised it. Loudly. The Kiss.

It was worth it.

Now, I hope that, someday, the writers and producers are willing to put Castle and Beckett together, because I think the characters are strong enough, and the writing good enough, to deal with the issues which would arise. But until then, this episode will serve to tease us into watching the show again and again.

I am imbedding a Youtube video below, but "The Kiss" is really better seen in context. Especially, but not exclusively, because this clip only shows the second half of "The Kiss."