Castle (Reality Star Struck): Movies about Writing

This isn’t necessarily my favorite episode of the television series about a thriller writer and his job as consultant to a New York homicide detective. I just picked this one because it takes place around Valentine’s Day. As this episode is from season 5, majors spoilers for this show from fifteen years ago.

Castle and Beckett are about to have their first Valentine’s Day as a couple while investigating the stabbing of a member of a “Real Housewives” style reality show. There are jokes about what the couple will be getting each other, how their friends on the force are spending the holiday (Ryan is under his wife’s control in the attempt to convince), and how the murder weapon is high end. Actually, jokes about the fancy knife could’ve been better. “The good news is, expensive cutlery like that won’t dull while cutting bone. Too soon?”

One of the better things about this episode is it is one of many that include a guest appearance by one of Fillion’s “Firefly” co-stars, Gina Torres. It’s fun to see kick-ass Zoe as a uppity rich bitch. Castle is also appalled by the unscripted format of reality TV . . . until he gets caught up in the drama and watching the show all night long. Beckett only watches one episode because she’s classy.

This is also a side plot of Castle accidentally placing his gift to Beckett in their Captain’s coat with a romantic note (he’s a writer, of course he wrote a note). As she is not aware that they are a couple, it become a ridiculous bit of shenanigans that make me quite uncomfortable. Also, Beckett’s gift to Castle is really sweet gesture -a drawer in her apartment to keep his stuff in showing that their relationship has reached the next level. But she also gives him the smallest drawer! Did no one else notice that?

At this point in the series, Castle’s ACTUAL job as a professional author has taken backseat to the mysteries. There is at least a joke about Castle’s thinking the murder is a Valentine’s Day gift in the form of a mystery that makes no sense. The point of his role as a consultant is that his skills in people study and creation of unusual murder scenes makes him a good profiler. Hey, it’s a TV show! No one asked for reality!

Castle (Vampire Weekend): Movies about Writing

So… I’m cheating here. This is not about Edgar Allan Poe it’s an episode of Castle. But it’s Halloween and I’m trying to put off watching that John Cusack movie as long as possible. Also, despite the episode title, no reference to the band is made in this 45 minutes.

For those who don’t know: Castle is about a mystery writer who acts as a consultant to the NYPD. He lives with his mother and teenage daughter. His partner is Detective Kate Beckett who acts as straight man to his Groucho Marx routine.

I love this episode of Castle because it opens with Richard Castle dressed in a “space cowboy” costume, which his daughter points out he wore “like five years ago”. Firefly references rule and if you don’t think so then . . . well, you’re wrong. Alexis is reading the Pit and Pendulum (which for some reason is novel size. Like a thick novel. Did the prop department not know it was a short story? Why did no one correct them? All they had to do was add “and other Tales” to the fake dust jacket they made. It even looks like they threw an Aubrey Beardsley illustration on the back! Some research must have gone into this so why is that book so big?!

Sorry, sorry. Back to the episode. It’s about modern vampires, people who get augmented teeth and drink blood for funsies. A young man dies with a stake through his heart. Castle and Beckett are led to a deranged man with photo-sensitivity, beautiful drawings of an unsolved murder, and a grieving little sister who they joke might grow up to be a writer or a cop due to the trauma.

Castle has a good little speech about becoming a writer as a way to try and understand the behavior of people, especially the people who would harm someone or something they claim to love.

Anyway - the episode ends with Castle’s annual Halloween party where he dresses up as Edgar Allan Poe complete with a fake raven on his arm. One of the other characters tell him he “throws a great shindig for a 19th century Poet”. You know, I think if Poe ever had the means to throw parties, he would have been good at it.

Castle (Flowers for your Grave): Movies about Writing

I know this isn’t a movie, but I wanted to take a break from the long, melodramatic biopics and watch something quick and fun. Why the first episode of the TV series “Castle”? Why not? Nathan Fillion is my favorite space cowboy and sometimes I just have to watch him…in a respectable manner of course.

First of all, I know that the crime TV genre is very over done, yet continues to be popular. This blog isn’t about the overarching trope of prime time detectives with a gimmick beloved by everyone’s mom. This blog is about how writers are depicted and viewed by me (because it’s my blog, after all) and it just so happens that the gimmick of “Castle” a struggling crime writer who gets to do police ride-along to cure his writer’s block. I should also point out that I own every season on DVD.

Looking beyond the moral and legal implications of a writer without proper training getting to be on the front lines of homicide cases, Castle is also a comedy. The two leads and all side characters are fantastic, witty, and acted with honesty and charm. Again, I own the DVDs so naturally I liked it for more than Nathan Fillion, but he was the reason why I started watching.

The episode opens with Richard Castle (Fillion) enjoying the spoils of the final book in his popular “Derek Storm” series, having killed off his stale yet popular character. At the same time, Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic - great name, right?) and her department investigate a series of crime scenes that have been copied from the pages of Castle’s books. To help profile the killer, Beckett contact’s Castle at the perfect moment that he is nine weeks behind on his new book.

While on the case, Beckett is disappointed that Rick Castle is narcissist party boy and Castle is disappointed when the case seems to easy to solve. What? Even real life needs a twist - as his bestselling author poker buddies tell him. Also, damn it, James Patterson! 12 years at Barnes and Noble and I can never escape you! Not to be a spoiler, but, surprise! Castle is write. They almost arrest the wrong guy. I won’t give more detail than that so I don’t get a bunch of angry people who still haven’t watched this episode that aired in 2009.

As a writer, Castle actually covers a lot of emotions and habits that are quite realistic. Not the wealth. Him being filthy rich and living in a fancy New York apartment supporting a famous actress mother and an Ivy League eligible daughter is the most unrealistic thing after him being made a police consultant.

Writer’s block is a true epidemic and they don’t cover it in any conventional emotional training. Losing motivation and wanting to tell a story is draining. Anything that makes you want to write again is like being given a free, giant ice cream sundae on a hot day. I don’t blame the character for wanting to chase the high of turning Beckett into a character.

The amount of knowledge Castle has to be working in homicide is based around the research he had to for each book This is seriously realistic. Nothing sucks a writer in faster and take them off on a tangent like research. Writers can become near experts on a topic in search of realism in a book. After that, the hard part is deciding how much of this juicy new knowledge is usable within a story.

Image property of ABC. You know, ABC - AKA Disney. PLEASE DON’T SUE ME! I throw myself upon the mouse’s mercy!