By Michael Seese
I really enjoyed "Smells Like Teen Spirit," despite the fact that, upon further reflection, the underlying plot was COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE. (Even more implausible than the fact that Beckett wears 4" heels without impeding her efforts to chase down bad guys.)
OK, SPOILERS.
So, we have not 1, not 2, but 3 pampered teen princesses who manage to slip out of their Manhattan penthouses several times a week (don't their parents at least stick their heads in the room to say "Good morning") who also have the skills to defeat security systems (not to mention lobby cameras), and the requisite ninja training to sneak past the sleeping occupants in order to steal valuables?
Please! The telekinetic theory holds more water.
Putting that aside, I did enjoy the episode. As we've seen many times before, Castle tries to sell the supernatural angle, and Beckett ain't buying. Then, all the pieces come together lightning fast at the end, and fit into a coherent (albeit COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE) explanation.
The beginning was very cool. It was neat to see such a bizarre murder playing out in real-time.
That pretty much sums it up. On to lines...
Beckett: "What's a party without a DJ?"
Castle: "That's rhetorical, right?"
Beckett: "OK, Castle. Let's hear it."
Castle: "Isn't it obvious? Madison made The Hulk angry."
Castle: "I cannot wait to tell Stephen [King] about this."
Beckett: "Bearer bonds? I thought those only existed in Die Hard." My aside: And Beverly Hills Cop.
Castle: "1987. The year the Bangles taught us to walk like an Egyptian..." and the subsequent musical references.
And THE look: Beckett's smirk when Castle slinked into the principal's office.
Three picky observations, aside from the COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE thing.
1. Castle grew up poor. How did he manage to attend a swanky private school?
2. The first suspect -- the victim's ex-boyfriend -- was described as being 6' 2", 245 pounds. The kid they had playing him was nowhere near 245 pounds.
3. Perhaps I missed something, but Jordan knew that Lucas staged the cafeteria event...right? If so, why would she spend money buying books on telekinesis, and seeking out that charlatan doctor?
Oh well.
Feel free to share your thoughts on "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
By Michael Seese
This won't be a gushing review. (And no, Hell did NOT freeze over.) "The Fast And The Furriest" didn't do a whole lot for me. Perhaps they went to the "Scooby well" once too often. And too recently. Although, what other show could work the Smurfs and Avatar into the same cultural reference?
So back to the "well" analogy. Like "Scared To Death" and "Undead Again," you knew that:
1. Castle would be absolutely convinced that a supernatural force was at work.
2. Beckett would be absolutely convinced that a supernatural force was not at work.
3. There would be a moment where she sees something which makes her think, "Could Castle be right?"
4. Then the balloon would pop.
In my review of one of those episodes, I probably recited the same basic "you knew..." litany. But it didn't bother me then. Perhaps this time, it was just old. Or perhaps, I assumed that, if nothing else, it was a guy in a Bigfoot suit; in contrast, "Scared To Death" offered no immediately apparent alternate explanations. Also, I thought the ending fell flat. In many episodes, the killer turns out to be a non-suspect. But at least, they offered a credible and clever explanation for the motive. In this case, they took the easy way out: "It turns out, you're a known stalker." Deus ex machina.
Oh well.
On the positive side, I did enjoy the scene where Castle and Beckett were sitting in bed, and he was trying to explain his love of the unknown: "There are no new continents to explore. There's no more deepest, darkest Africa."
I did think it was funny that, in this episode, Ryan was totally on board with Castle's hypothesis. I give extra credit for the exchange:
Beckett & Esposito: "Who's Darrel Meeks?"
Castle & Ryan "Who's Darrel Meeks?"
Which segues nicely to lines.
Castle: "I've never sleep aten... Sleep ate... Sleep eaten."
Castle: "You're saying someone framed Bigfoot?"
Esposito: "Gentlemen, I hate to rain on your parade."
Castle: "Do you?"
Esposito: "No."
Castle: "Are you scared of my work?"
Beckett: "No, I'm scared that I might murder you, and then I'll have two crime scenes."
And looks:
The entire scene with Castle and "Moonshine."
Castle's smirk when the Aussie Bigfoot hunter told Beckett, "You're squatting in the wrong bush."
Castle's look of subtle realization when Alexis said she was afraid he would have given her "the speech," and he replies, "Oh..that speech, yeah."
Next week's episode, "The Squab And The Quail," looks to be (if I may re-use a favorite word) intense. I'm going to make a bold prediction, though, and say they won't kill Beckett.
Feel free to share your thoughts. And something new...
Get someone else's fur flying. Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
They got me. Twice. Which is another way of saying this blog has LOTS of spoilers. Don't even think of reading it unless you've seen it.
OK, admission time: I've never seen "Rear Window." (Hey, cut me some slack; I barely have time for Castle.) But I looked it up in Wikipedia, and expected that "The Lives of Others" would be more of a straight-up homage. It wasn't. But that's OK. It was a fun episode.
I especially loved Castle's play-by-play as he spied on his neighbors for the first time. "That better be for a sick child," to the maid stealing cash. And, "Oh, to be young an underemployed" to the paramours.
The murder he "witnessed" was well staged. You see the woman leave the room with the open blinds. You see the husband / boyfriend (we're not sure which) pick up the knife, look at it, then storm to the other room, where the blinds are closed. The shadows indicate some form of struggle. Then something is pushed against the Venetian blinds, and creates a ripple as it slips down. Bravo!
One unique twist: as I commented aloud while watching it, this was the first episode that I could recall which featured two completely distinct murders. So I just knew they were going to somehow tie them together. Then the writers pulled the rug out from under us, which I would call the first "gotcha."
The opening segment was one huge line-fest.
Castle: "I won't think it's because you've forgotten. I'll think it's because you made other plans." (Accompanied by a great "look.")
Martha: "It is a spa trip, darling. Not a guilt trip."
Ryan: "You must be bored. You've actually gone Rear Window."
Beckett: "Unless the body you're looking at is dead, I suggest you drop those binoculars."
And then it all ended with a great homage, courtesy of Castle: "Hey what if I consult by phone? We could pretend I'm Charlie, and you're my angels."
A few other odds-and-ends looks and lines:
Ryan: "Staring at the phone won't make it ring. I learned that in junior high."
Alexis's eye roll after Beckket said, "Or, maybe his girlfriend asked him to keep it in storage until she's ready to pick it up."
Castle: "When you do it, it's an illegal search. When I do it, it's just illegal."
Beckett: "You didn't have to kick down the door."
Esposito: "I was in the moment."
Ryan: "We wanted to be convincing."
Castle: "Where is Captain Gates?"
Esposito: "She couldn't make it."
Castle: "Good."
Wrapping it all up was the second "got me." I really thought Castle was going to blow up over the joke, especially since he would have spent an agonizing X minutes thinking Beckett had been murdered. And the way his face changed from grim to glee when he said, "This is without a doubt...the greatest birthday present of my life!" Spectacular.
And then Beckett solved the real murder. I thought it was a bit of a stretch, but what they hey.
One picky thing. Beckett said that Captain Gates was in on the joke. Perhaps Beckett sold it to her as a birthday prank for "my friend and professional partner" Castle. Still, it should have raised an eyebrow. (Something Captain Gates does exceedingly well.)
Next week (actually, two weeks) looks to be another "Scooby" episode in the vein of UFOs, zombies, and deadly DVDs.
Feel free to share your thoughts.
Have YOU been staring in a "Rear Window" with Castle? Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
Kids have Scooby Doo. Grown-ups have Castle episodes like "Scared To Death." Like "Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind" and "Undead Again," you knew that no supernatural forces were at work. Still, you wanted to go along for the ride, to see whatdunit, I mean, whodunit. The major difference is that in those episodes, Castle wanted his out-of-this-world explanation to be the answer. This time, he was (if you'll excuse the obvious homage) scared to death that he was right.
Since Scared To Death was a horror episode, the writers made sure to serve up all the right slasher film cliches:
- The creepy clerk at the Brunswick Inn. (My wife opined that he was Nigel's half brother, and the murderer. Not correct. But still, a good guess.)
- The brother in the insane asylum.
- The cabin in the woods.
- The unknown person in the bushes watching Castle and Beckett as they approached the cabin.
Oh, and kudos to me... When Leopold how he could have sent DVDs to Val or "the other witness," I thought (and Castle said), "We never said anything about the other witness."
Even though Castle was shaking in his shoes, he (and others) managed to get in some good lines.
Castle: "Based on the fact that she looks like an Edvard Munch painting."
Beckett: "Find anything yet?"
Castle: "Yes, a closet with more stilettos than yours."
M.E. Perlmutter: "Detective Beckett. And defective Castle."
Beckett: "You want me to outlive you?"
Castle: "Yes, who else will tell my tale of heroic sacrifice?"
Wes Craven (nice cameo, by the way): "So you call me up in the middle of the night to join my fan club?"
Castle: "Ha ha. No."
And the looks:
- Castle's lip actually quivering when he said, "I'm next."
- Castle's and Beckett's glances as they watched the DVD together.
- Beckett's overall barely contained laughter as she tried to cajole Castle into (perhaps) their final amorous encounter, and then her smirk as he walked into the standpipe.
- Finally, at the very end, as Castle counted down to "his" midnight. "Three, two..." Smile.
I must concede that I have a few complaints:
- I can understand why they had nurse Lockhart out at the cabin. Some plot device was needed to draw Beckett outside, leaving Castle and Heller alone inside. But doing it to prove the innocence of Leopold...really?
- Along those lines, she dug up Nigel's grave...really?
- By the way, how did she and Amanda know that Heller would be up there? Sure, it could have been (limited) public knowledge that he owned the cabin. But it's a big logical jump to think he'd abandon the relative safety of New York City to venture out there alone.
- Oh, and a defibrillator wouldn't leave any mark?
Oh well. It was still a good ride. And I'm looking forward to "The Wild Rover" tonight.
In the world of Castle, DVD stands for "Deadly Video Disc." Click to tweet.
