A Very Castle Christmas: Secret Santa (S5Ep9)

So, that's it until January folks. The final pre-winter hiatus episode of 'Castle' has aired.

It's doing very well on Hulu this morning, but actually fared very poorly on TV last night. The show hit an all time low (1.7 in the 18-49 category). Yet another example of how Nielsen ratings aren't the be all end all anymore. There's some interesting commentary about last night's 'Castle' and it's ratings HERE. I think the takeaway message is that we can maybe kinda sorta blame that Blake Sheldon Christmas special for the low numbers.

"Secret Santa" (S5Ep9) was a tad reminiscent of a 2007 episode of 'Bones' ("The Santa in the Slush"). However, this was mainly because both episodes were Christmas-themed, they both included a not so jolly Santa, and they both had their main characters stand under mistletoe. However, that's where the similarities stopped.

Monday Nights are Tricky

I just realized that I've been failing miserably at recapping two of my favorite shows. 'Bones' and 'HIMYM' have kind of fallen by the wayside, and I apologize for that. Monday nights are hard, y'all.

Actually, what's hard about Mondays is the fact that everything I want to watch (besides NBC's Thursday night comedy line-up, and the random assortment of shows I watch on all the other networks), is now relegated to Mondays. And it's the start of the week. And while I could previously watch almost everything I ever wanted (except for 'Castle') on a Thursday night, and not feel guilty about going to bed at an ungodly hour (who goes to bed at a reasonable time on a Thursday night? Not my frat-boy neighbors), now that's impossible. Because there's swanky new TV scheduling out there which makes my Mondays look like this:

8 pm: Quick, pick, do you want to watch 'HIMYM' (CBS) or 'Bones' (FOX)?
8:30 pm: If you watched 'HIMYM' this is now a half hour of free time to recap/discuss/debate that 'HIMYM' episode--but let's be honest, you probably went with 'Bones' and that's an hour long so...
9 pm: 'Bones' is over. Sometimes you might watch 'Hart of Dixie' (CW), except, let's be honest, ratings aren't so hot and it's probably going to get cancelled. Plus, you're hungry, and 'Castle' starts in 45 minutes. And you could have just spent this past hour recapping/discussing/debating 'Bones', but now it's an hour later so...
10 pm: Hey, it's time for 'Castle'. Sometimes commercials are used for writing a blog post, because (honestly) you feel kind of guilty about not doing anything else. <--This is how 'Castle' posts end up showing up every week, FYI.
11 pm: Well, that's over, and technically it's probably time to go to sleep, because there's this thing called work that happens in the morning. And will continue happening every morning for the next four days. Because it's only Monday.

I leave you with this, a song about hating Mondays. Which I feel kind of bad about posting, because I now realize (post Googling) it may actually be about some school shooting that happened in the '80s. But let's just focus on the hating Mondays aspect.

Castle Promo: Season 4 Episode 23 "Always"

American Promo:

 Canadian Promo:

Castle and Zombies and Beckett, Oh My!

 "Undead Again", Season 4 Episode 22

Tonight's 'Castle' gave us something we haven't had in weeks: hope.

During the last several episodes (read my recaps HERE and HERE) Castle has been pulling further and further away from Beckett, and she has been too hurt to do anything about it. To refresh your memory, it all started when Castle overheard Beckett say that she remembered everything about her shooting that happened at the end of last season. This wouldn't be a big deal, except that Castle told her he loved her, and for the past 21 episodes Beckett has been pretending she didn't hear it. When Castle realized that she had heard it, he assumed she had ignored it because she didn't feel the same way. Since he had been going for weeks on the assumption that she returned his feelings, but wasn't "ready yet", this stung a bit. And so, he decided that last night's case would be their last one together. Ever.

And it was a doozy. At first, it seemed like they were dealing with a rather simple murder. A trader was murdered at 4 am in a parking structure, and everything pointed to his disgruntled co-worker who had been turned down for a promotion. Everything, that is, until said co-worker was found chained in his apartment, ranting that zombies had killed the trader.

Castle rather typically immediately latched onto this. Zombies! Something he could talk about endlessly. And Castle is always at his best when the murder leads to oddball theories. He told his mother that he'd decided that this would be his last hurrah, and he was thrilled that it was an interesting case. He admitted to Beckett that he was glad it wasn't a boring one, and also told the medical examiner (sarcastically) that he would "treasure these special moments [they'd] shared"--this definitely made Beckett suspicious that something was going on, but due to the tense relationship they've had during the past several weeks, she didn't ask him anything.

It wasn't just the co-worker's words that made them suspect zombies, it was security camera footage that Ryan found. It showed a zombie going after the man. As the gang stood around discussing this probability Espositio told Castle it was good to see that he and Beckett were getting along again. In reality, it was because he had decided it was his last case, and that he would be leaving, that Castle was acting so friendly with everyone (even Beckett). His mother's statement earlier in the episode, that he had been flaunting women around just to punish Beckett, also got to him. Beckett certainly recognized that he was more like his old self, it would be hard not to since he was back to his usual schoolyard teasing ways. When Ryan asked him if he really believed in zombies, he admitted that he didn't, but he loved to tell Beckett that he did.

They found out that the murdered man had texted a woman the night that he died. When they questioned her, she admitted that she used to date him, but that she was now engaged to a law student. She had briefly cheated on her fiancé with the man, but once her fiancé found out she had broken it off. The trader wouldn't take no for an answer and kept texting her. This, of course, made them immediately suspect the law student, but it turned out he had an airtight alibi. He had been studying in the library during the exact hours of the murder.


By tracking where the murdered man had been that night, Beckett and Castle went to examine an abandoned warehouse. While they were there they were suddenly surrounded by zombies! Beckett pulled out her gun, but Castle pointed out it wouldn't be enough to kill them all. Caught up in the moment, they both panicked. Castle, proving that he still cared about Beckett more than he wanted to admit, yelled at her to get behind him. It was this order that made Beckett realize how absurd the whole situation was, and she immediately yelled "NYPD". The zombies all stopped being zombies, and turned into normal people. They admitted that they were doing some event called 'zombie walking', where they pretended to be zombies, and chased the 'normals'. Beckett ordered them all to the precinct for questioning.


They talked to a lot of the zombies, including some who were clearly high on drugs. After showing the picture of the zombie in question to all of them, one guy finally identified him as Kyle. But when Ryan and Espositio burst into Kyle's apartment, he was dead. And still decked out in zombie makeup. The paramedics brought him to the morgue, and Beckett and Castle showed up to the attend the autopsy. Castle tentatively asked the medical examiner if it was possible the guy really had been a zombie, and right as Beckett was telling him not to be absurd, the medical examiner cut into Kyle and he woke up. He jumped off the table and ran away, and Beckett chased him down the hall, screaming at Castle to call for backup. 


But Kyle wasn't really a zombie, it turned out he had been given high doses of a drug similar to a roofie. Except, with this drug the person stays conscious and becomes highly suggestible. It is actually known as the 'zombie drug'. As the drug leaves their system they lose all memory of what has taken place and can even go into a coma. This is what happened to Kyle.


Beckett remembers that some of the 'zombies' they questioned were high, and she brings one in for questioning. He admits their dealer is the law school student. Beckett realizes that he dosed Kyle and told him to kill the trader. She tells Castle she's afraid that it's the perfect crime. and he assures her there is no such thing. 


Because it's Castle, he comes up with a perfect plan. They trick the law school student into thinking both he and Kyle have been released. They then put Kyle's make-up on Castle, and he 'attacks' the law student, causing him to admit everything. 


Kyle is released from jail, and Beckett tells him the DA may not even press charges. He was completely manipulated by the law school student. After Kyle leaves, Castle tells Beckett he doesn't know how Kyle will ever get over it--you don't forget really tragic events. Beckett's eyes widen slightly, as though she realizes that Castle knows she has a memory of what happened during her shooting. She tells him, clearly talking about herself as much as Kyle, that it will be very hard, but that with therapy he will learn to live with it. Castle admits that he didn't realize that she was in therapy, and she tells him she didn't want anyone to know, she just wanted to do what she had to and then move on. She also admits that she is almost ready to deal with everything that happened that day. She then pauses, looks Castle right in the eye, and states "everything". Clearly she is talking about his statement of love, and they both know it, although nothing is said directly. Castle says he hopes that's true. Beckett then asks him, showing that she realizes his behavior has been slightly suspicious that day, if he will be in again tomorrow. And he promises he will.

The episode ends with that--a promise of a tomorrow, and a conversation (however much was left unsaid) that insinuates a reconciliation between Castle and Beckett. 

SPOILERS

The promo for next week's season finale suggests that Castle and Beckett will finally get even closer! The episode is titled 'Always', and it will finally deal again with Beckett's mother's murder. This is the one secret that Castle is still keeping from Beckett. He promised unknown forces that he would stop Beckett from investigating and that in return they would let her live. She doesn't know any of this, and if she did, the secret would surely tear them apart again. In the next episode, Beckett will learn what Castle was keeping from her. Beckett will quite the police force to investigate on her own. And we will have another declaration of love on Castle's part, as well as the possibility of them finally getting together. At the very least, I think we can finally expect a kiss. See if I'm right next week. 'Castle' airs on Mondays at 10/9C on ABC.

We've never had a real kiss--the closest we got was S3Ep13. Is it time now?

'Bones' & 'Castle': Game Changing Episodes

Castle: The Limey & Bones: The Prisoner in the Pipe

Let's talk about 'Bones' and 'Castle'. Both of them had important episodes last night, which may well change the course of their prospective series.

 

In last night's episode of 'Bones' (recapped here), we all knew what was coming: a baby. It was no secret that Brennan was going to deliver her baby last night, and that's slightly unfortunate. Much of the episode was completely expected. The producers and the network released a huge amount of information about the episode ahead of time: we knew that the crime involve a prison, we knew that Brennan would go into labor near the prison, and (if you've been paying attention to spoilers, like this spoof video by Michael Ausiello, Gillian Jacobs, and Adam Pally) we knew that the birth would take place in a barn. In fact, the network even released an extended scene from this episode, showing the manipulation that occurred between Booth, Sweets, and Brennan. Oh, plus the fact that we all knew that they would name the baby Christine after Brennan's mother. Really, there were no real surprises left. And I think that's unfortunate. I assume that spoilers were released in order to achieve a massive number of viewers for the show's first post-hiatus episode. But loyal viewers don't care about numbers in the same way TV execs do. The episode would have been a lot stronger if viewers could have held their breath in anticipation, even a little.

Clearly, my main critique is not the content of the actual episode, but rather the way that it was promoted. Each part of the episode felt predictable, and a large part of that predictability was not due to the quality of the writing, or the quality of the performances, but rather to the promotion of the episode. I knew what was going to happen next to such an extent that I didn't much care what was happening next.

Now, let's switch shows and talk about 'Castle'. This show actually went to the other extreme. The producers have been promising that the last couple of episodes of this season will change the course of the series. Many viewers, myself included, have taken this to mean that something will finally happen between Castle and Beckett. What that something is remains to be seen--but at this point I think we'll take almost anything. Last week's episode was important, and painful, because Castle finally learned that Beckett had heard him tell her that he loved her, and had then lied about hearing it. While 'Bones' didn't put its viewers on edge enough, 'Castle' put them on edge too much. I was filled with nervous anticipation during the whole episode (would Beckett figure out why Castle was being so distant?), and none of that nervousness had dissipated by the end of the episode. Nothing was really resolved at all, and the lack of resolution was to such an extent that I actually was in a bit of pain (okay, okay, I know I shouldn't care so much about a show--but I do). Now, the fact that I cared so much is a credit to the show. But, that being said, it actually made me hesitant to watch last night's episode. I seriously contemplated taking a break for a week or two so that I could watch several episodes in a row and hopefully see some closure on screen. But, of course, I write this blog so that wasn't really an option.

During this week's episode we continued to deal with the fall-out of Castle learning Beckett's secret. Castle is clearly pulling away (even returning to his partying and sleeping around ways), and Beckett actually noticed. Finally her detectives skills are worth something (where were they last week?!). Lanie gave Beckett some reasonable advice: talk to Castle, tell him how you feel, he's probably pulling away because he's tired of waiting. Now, clearly that isn't all true. It was painful to watch Castle hurt and trying to deal with it, and Beckett hurt and trying to deal with it, and realize that if they just talked to each other honestly for one second none of that pain would be necessary. At the end of this episode things were actually worse than at the end of the last one. Beckett began to doubt that Castle cared for her, and wondered if he could ever change his womanizing ways. Castle continued to believe that Beckett didn't care for him (it wasn't helpful that she was so friendly with the visiting Scotland Yard detective). Great. Rip my heart out right now.

Clearly I didn't enjoy either of the last two episodes of 'Castle', but I didn't enjoy them because they made me care so much about the characters that it actually hurt a little. On the other hand, I didn't really enjoy last night's return of 'Bones' either. However, my lack of enjoyment there was due to the promotion of the episode. With 'Castle' there was too much nervous anticipation (I was so focused on their relationship I couldn't focus on the murders), and I cared too much. With 'Bones' there was a lack of anticipation, and because of that I didn't care enough. Hopefully both these shows can find a happy medium next week!

'Bones' airs Mondays on FOX at 8/7C

'Castle' airs Mondays on ABC at 10/9C

Community Returns!

'Community', the show which led to the "six seasons and a movie" campaign after it was put on hiatus last year, is returning tonight.

 Despite critical acclaim and pop culture success, 'Community' has never been a ratings star. However, the long hiatus may have helped the show. Before the 'Community' hiatus, and its fans' panicked reactions about potential cancellation, the show was popular amongst a niche group of people. Lots of everyday Americans didn't know it existed. But then the show went on hiatus. And Facebook groups were formed in protest, people tweeted their chagrin, and some even went so far as to wear little fake mustaches (it's a long story). There were protests in front of NBC's Rockefeller headquarters, and mentions of the show on 'The Soup' (which is hosted by 'Community' cast-member Joel McHale).

'Community' focuses on the lives of a misfit group of friends who all attend a community college.

Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) lost his license to practice law because the Bar found out his degree was from Columbia (the country, not the university).

Britta (Gillian Jacobs) is a former activist, and secretly dated Jeff throughout the second season. She often offends people with her outspoken statements. She has recently decided that she wants to become a therapist, a decision that everyone else in the group is very hesitant about.

Annie (Alison Brie), a high-strung, intelligent student who was disgraced at her last school because of her addiction to Adderall. Although Annie was originally romantically paired with Troy, more recently there have been suggestions that she may end up with the older, and significantly more mature, Jeff.

Speaking of Troy (Donald Glover), he attended high school with Annie, but he didn't associate with her there because he was a big-shot football player. His friendship with Abed is an important facet of the show.

Abed (Danny Pudi) is an awkward pop-culture nerd who almost definitely has Aspergers. He enjoys making meta references, which often serve as a spin-off point for some of the show's most interesting episodes. Abed is Palestinian/Polish-American.

Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) attempts to serve as the moral and religious compass of the group. She is mother to three children, including a recent baby who was involved in a paternity scandal. Shirley has now reunited with her husband. She is African-American, and the second-oldest member of the group.

Ben Chang (Ken Jeong) first supervised the group as their Spanish teacher. However, he was disgraced at at the end of season one, when everyone learned that he didn't speak Spanish. For a brief amount of time, it is suspected that he is the father of Shirley's baby. Chang is despised by everyone in the group, although he often asks to join. Each time he is turned down he breaks the fourth-wall, and suggests that he will be the ultimate downfall of the whole group. 

Pierce Hawthrone (Chevy Chase) often makes racist comments about Abed and Shirley. He is the oldest member of the group, but also one of the least mature. Pierce is incredibly wealthy, because his father was the founder of Hawthorne Wipes, a moist towelette company.

The group often has visits from the Dean, Craig Pelton (Jim Rash). He loves to dress up in outrageous costumes, and often hosts ridiculous events at the school. He has a not-so-secret crush on Jeff.

'Community' will begin airing again tonight (3/15/12) at its original time slot, 7/8C on NBC. If there are enough viewers, NBC will probably renew the show for a third season: so watch it!

'Community' Hiatus is Over!

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, this has been a good month for television. 

Not only is my beloved 'Cougar Town'* back on the air, and ‘Bones’ finally has a release date, but now ‘Community’ is coming back too. February really has been a great month.

When is ‘Community’ back? March 15th, 2012. 

Catch 'Community' Thursdays at 8/7C on NBC.

Thank goodness we're not called 'Cougar Town'

* Bad show, good title, yada yada yada. Watch 'Cougar Town' on Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30C on ABC.

'Castle' is All New Tonight! (Promo & Sneak Peeks)

'Castle' is finally back from hiatus tonight!!
(Clearly I'm very excited)
Scroll down for the promo of "Till Death Do Us Part" and some sneak peeks.


Here are some clips from tonight's episode:

I Hate Hiatuses

If you’re read my blog before you know that there’s one thing I really, truly hate: hiatuses.

Obviously, I completely support the fact that people in the television industry deserve holidays too, and I can even be persuaded that it makes sense for TV shows to not be on the air for a bit. After all, it would be pretty tricky for me to watch a show live if I was in an airplane flying to visit family. I’m assuming the same is true for all of us!

That being said, now that I’ve been back at work since the end of last week, it would be nice to have a favorite show to look forward to at the end of the long day. I wish that TV shows didn’t disappear from our screens for such an extended period of time (sometimes as long as three weeks!). Most people working average, run-of-the-mill jobs would never get that long off work.

Lucky for me (and you!), there are a few shows returning, and new shows starting, tonight:

CBS has new shows starting at 8/7C, so ‘NCIS’ and ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ are both new.

NBC is also new starting at 8/7C, with a brand-new season of ‘The Biggest Loser’ starting off the night (for two hours!), followed by a new ‘Parenthood’.

ABC starts with ‘Last Man Standing’ at 8/7C, followed by the premieres of ‘Work It’ and ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ (Gary Busey, anyone?).

FOX is only airing re-runs.

In a weird sort of twist, just because four networks are airing new shows tonight, do not expect all of your shows to be back on this week. I’m not sure what in the world most of the networks are thinking, but for the next two weeks some days they’ll have all new shows, some days they’ll have all re-runs, and some days they’ll do (what seems to me to be) a random mix.

Tomorrow (Jan 4^th) and Thursday (Jan 5^th) NBC and CBS are both once again airing reruns, and ABC will be the only channel airing all new shows.

Friday (Jan 6^th) NBC, CBS, and ABC will all air new shows again, but FOX will still be showing re-runs.

Monday, NBC and ABC will be new, but don’t expect anything from CBS or FOX.

Finally, starting next Tuesday (Jan 10^th), almost all of the networks (NBC, CBS, and ABC) except for FOX (why do you keep holding out on us?) will have new episodes.

After which, on those channels at least, your shows are most back. Oh, except for Wednesday (Jan 11^th), when CBS shows the ‘People’s Choice Awards’ instead of their normally scheduled programming.

Thursday, January 12^th is really the day to look forward to: FOX finally has shows on the air again, and ’30 Rock’ returns to NBC from its extended hiatus.

Happy New Year!