With your regular procedural patroller Alynda Wheat on vacation, it falls to me to embed this clip from last night’s vampire fetish/comic book happy Castle, or what my colleague Marc Bernardin has referred to as “officially, the geekiest hour of television ever.” It opened with Nathan Fillion trying on a familiar “space cowboy” costume for Castle’s annual Halloween party. Daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) wasn’t quite as psyched as we were for the Firefly reference:
I say a Halloween episode in Season 2 is a fine time to break out Mal Reynolds’ suspenders: Not desperate, just fun. Bonus points for also working in a Buffy reference (the victim, a talented artist and bloodsucker wannabe named Crow, had been staked). The case — Crow and his comic book co-creator were killed by his former nanny, who realized they’d soon piece together that she’d murdered his mother, the woman who appeared in Crow’s art — wasn’t quite as goofy as I’d expected. Which, like the reveal of Beckett’s non-sexy costume, was actually a bit disappointing. In the end, the big question for me was not who would’ve won the costume contest at Castle’s party (obviously Martha, for her Cruella De Vil), but whether we wish Castle had had a traumatic event in his childhood to make him interested in the macabre. He had me hanging on his every word as he told Beckett what turned out to be fake story about him discovering the dead body of a boy his age on a Hamptons beach. I like the idea that you don’t have to be scarred to write mystery or horror, but I wouldn’t have minded if Castle had been telling the truth in that moment. I don’t want him to ever lose that lighthearted scaredy-cat quality (love that he wouldn’t open the Rob Zombie lookalike’s coffin on his own), but I’m ready for him to reveal something real about himself, to get serious about more than Molly. (Kudos to the writers for keeping Molly sober at the senior party — and smart enough to both call Castle when her friend got drunk and to forgive him for phoning her parents, which needed to be done.)
What did you think of the episode? (I thought for sure Castle would be a fan of True Blood, and we might get to hear Fillion do a “Sookie.”) Where does this rank on your list of favorite procedural Halloween episodes? My two favorites are still Bones‘ “Mummy in the Maze” (we learned that Brennan always dresses as Wonder Woman) and NCIS‘ “Witch Hunt” (in which McGee’s and Tony’s jaws dropped at the sight of Abby as Marilyn Monroe).
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I loved the firefly reference last night and the Buffy shout out. I was pleasantly surprised by who the murdered turned out to be, although I guessed the woman he was drawing would turn out to be his mother. But I thought it would be the Father/Husband yet again.
As far as my favorite procedural Halloween, i liked that they pulled out an obscure reference, i.e. “didn’t you wear that like 5 years ago?”
Loved this episode. Had to show the opening to a friend who does not watch Castle, but did watch Firefly. Loved the “didn’t you wear that 5 years ago.”
How about Alexis’ line “there are no cows in space”. Because as was pointed out by Kiba over at Whedonesque – she was right, “But now they see the sky and remember what they are”. /River
So much fun.
It was like a total dip back into the Whedonverse. Not only was the “space cowboy” bit hilarious, and the staking awesome, but during the commercial break we got a gorgeous close-up of Morena Baccarin in the teaser for V. Shiny!
Best episode ever!!! I thought I caught a glimpse of Mal in the previews last week. I was right!!!
Me too! It was driving me crazy because I just couldn’t get the tv to pause at the right second.
Lovely to see Mal again. Love that the writers allow Nathan his little shout-outs. They’re probably aware that a lot of Castle’s fans are made up of Browncoats.
Loved the Firefly nod, the Buffy reference, and his reference to Lucian and the lycans from Underworld. Always enjoy pop culture references. Fun stuff!
Oh duh, Underworld. I knew when he was talking about lycans it meant something. ALSO – him and Beckett geeked out about Frank Miller! Comic books FTW
Loved the Firefly uniform resurrection, but also noticed that Jon Huertas (Det. Esposito) was weraing his soldier’s uniform from his role as Sgt Espera inGeneration Kill to the costume party. Very subtle, but as a Kill fan, loved it.
Nice catch!
I KNEW I recognized him from somewhere! I just couldn’t put my finger on it! Thanks
Molly?? Do you mean his daughter Alexis?
also worthy of shout-out- the other costumes that were inside jokes- Ryan dressed as a Doctor with blood all over him (actor was on General Hospital as Doctor turned Hitman who was killed off) & Esposito in military fatigues (actor was on Generation Kill).
GREAT episode last night.
I noticed that too, and I laughed out loud, seeing him in those bloody scrubs!
Loved Halloween on Castle, I thought it was much better than NCIS’s Halloween nod last Tuesday but I still love Witch Hunt from season 4
Loved every moment of it. From Malcolm Reynolds to the fact that the actors for Ryan and Espisito also dressed as former characters they’ve played on TV. I think TPTB at Castle know that many fans of the shown were drawn to it because of Nathan Fillion – and it is nice to see them appreciate that.
I was busting a gut during this episode, esp at that intro. What a delightful and delicious poke at Firefly. But how many other people caught this one – Esposito (Jon Huertas) decked out in full gear a la SGT ‘Poke’ Espera, his character from Generation Kill? Loved it.
This is one of the best shows on TV. It’s LOL funny and the banter between Castle and Beckett reminds me of Gilmore Girls which I also loved.
I am soooo sick of the Firefly references. It’s like he’s selling himself short and assuming all Castle viewers are former Browncoats.
Also, the creepy vampire guy didn’t look like Rob Zombie, he was Devendra Banhart all the way.
If you had ever watched Firefly, you wouldn’t be sick of the references. Firefly was the best show on tv, EVER.
agreed. high five
Also agreed!! And we didn’t get nearly enough of Firefly to last, so any references are greatly appreciated.
yep,yep.
Bam said the lady!
this.
I am waiting for Nathan to use shiny. Feed the Birds!
Firefly was cancelled almost 6 yrs ago.. get over it.
We don’t have to “get over it.” We can love and miss the show as long as we want to.
Funny, people seemed to love when the Seinfeld cast appeared on Curb Your Enthusiam…great TV shows live on forever to the point where ANY future reference is appreciated…and Firefly was great.
I love Castle, saw Serenity and liked it but never watched Firefly but with all the fans that loved it I think I’m going to have to buy the DVDs.
No, they’re not assuming that all Castle viewers are Browncoats (no such thing as “former”!) but many are; if not for Nathan Fillion, I doubt that I would have started watching the show last year because it conflicted with Medium. The Firefly references are nice little nods to those of us who still desperately miss the show, and are pretty much meaningless to those who never watched. I don’t understand why they would instill any rancor when they’re basically throwaway bits, not major plot points. I didn’t watch Generation Kill, or Seamus Dever on General Hospital, but I can appreciate the costumed nods to the actors’ former roles.
I agree and applaud the show’s creators for not being uptight and allowing the cast “shout outs” to former roles that the fans would appreciate. Yet another another example of a einning formula to have fun and not take yourself too seriously.. and we fans LOVE it!
I definitely only tuned into the show because of Nathan. Same for Chuck (so glad Adam Baldwin was cast in that show – thank you casting director), Leverage, HIMYM. We’ve found some great shows because we’ve followed actors from our favourite shows that are no longer with us.
I totally agree! I only knew about Fillion on Firefly not the other characters former roles. The nods are awesome.. also loved the Buffy name dropping and the spiel about Underworld! lol
Totally agree! It’s fun for us Browncoats but doesn’t take away from overall enjoyment of the show. I didn’t get the General Hospital reference, for example, but knowing it now makes me like the show even more.
My favorite part of Castle’s character is that he’s a good dad. I just started watching this year — do we know why the mom isn’t in the picture?
I guess my “rancor” comes from the fact that it still keeps pigeon-holing Fillion as his Firefly character. You don’t see Susan Sullivan constantly making Falcon Crest references, do you?
As a Fillion fan, I see the constant Firefly reminders as Shatner-esque and REALLY corny.
It would only keep pigeon-holing him if he kept taking Malcolm-like roles. An occasional (not “constant”) nod to a role that his fans–and he–loved is hardly going to ruin his career.
If Falcon Crest had had the passionate fan base that Firefly did, then Susan Sullivan probably would still be making reference to it.
Your opinion is as valid as mine, of course, but you are apparently in the minority. If the references bother you that much, I think you know what to do about it.
@Melinda65, obviously we’re all passionate Fillion fans here, and yes, my opinion is in the minority. I’m fine with that. I guess the consistent nods to Firefly (and yes, constant: Easter eggs on the season 1 dvd set, Nathan’s sometimes-needy tweets, last night’s ep) are bothersome because they seem to beat Firefly novices over the head. Even with all the terrific nerd-tastic nods last night, the costume took up 2 scenes and almost as much screen time as the murder victim. It’s just very inclusionary. I’m starting to think that Castle is just a vehicle to push Firefly box sets.
Zena, I guess that I can’t see it from your point because I *am* a Firefly fan. I truly don’t think that the two minutes spent on the costume overshadowed the entire rest of the episode. I haven’t seen the DVDs, so I can’t say whether they’re Firefly-heavy or not…nor do I Twitter, or Tweet, or whatever the proper term is, although I’ve read a few of Nathan’s out of curiosity. I don’t mind inside jokes, because either I enjoy them, or I don’t get them and they go right past me. I do know that some people are annoyed by them, though, so I’m sorry that you’re feeling left out by them. Nathan most likely gets more feedback from sci-fi fans than any other group, due to con attendance, so that is probably a factor in the throw-away bits that are included. Adam Baldwin has similar moments in Chuck that those who “know” him recognize.
I DEFINITELY geeked out seeing him in the Firefly costume again, but I can’t say the rest of the episode did much for me. I’ve tried watching Castle before, but (much like Bones) it’s just way too jokey and corny for me. I like my procedurals to at least take themselves a LITTLE bit seriously.
think in terms of Remington Steele or Moonlighting. This is not really a procedural.
The murders really take a backseat role in the show, rather than being the focus. They’re a machination for keeping Beckett and Castle in proximity, and getting Castle to focus on something other than his own life.
While I understand that some may desire this from a procedural, I think that this is why this show (and the Mentalist) strikes another chord with viewers – there are soooo many serious procedurals already on… different (and in this case lighter) is better, imho
The show is called Castle, meaning it is about the character of Castle. Therefore, the stories are more character-driven than procedural. We are seeing the events as a writer would and are being shown the reasons why someone would commit murder rather than the trackable steps they would take.
Exactly, it’s character-driven… and the types of cases are supposed to further develop the charcters, like the funerals in 6 Feet Under. Oh and I’m glad that Nathan Fillion was able to snag a role in Desperate Housewives and then create a more mainstream following! He’s incredibly talented and deserves it! What is Firefly anyway??
I’ve never seen Firefly but got the reference anyway. The Buffy remark was pretty funny too. Castle is a WRITER that is what he does so the story he told Beckett was completely within character. Think of it in terms of Stephen King telling a ghost story. It was all the better because he made it up on the spot. That is why Castle is a top selling writer. I love how his interactions with his family seem to give him those “House” moments. Not alot of parents would tell their kids to call no questions asked. If more teens had a parent like that there would be less dysfunction in the world.
Hillary thanks for explaining the Generation Kill thing. I saw the costume too and wondered about it. It’s funny because until I heard the Poe remark I couldn’t quite figure out who Castle was dressed as. It stuck me that Esposito’s costume was cool and with all the Halloween stuff going on I had wondered if any of the other costumes were referencing anything.
Mandi, I think you mean Alexis. Molly is the name of the actress.
The actor playing Ryan was dressed as a doctor– and he used to play Devlin on General Hospital.
@Jennifer. If more kids were like Alexis there would be less dysfunction in the world.
If more parents were like Castle, willing to be flexible and to be firm even if it makes them unpopular, there would be less dysfunction in the world.