Since "Castle" is shot in L.A., it was logical to actually set an episode on the Left Coast, and under the skillful direction of former B-movie actor John Terlesky this segment was a winner.
Not really the fish-out-of-water formula that helped make Eddie Murphy a movie star, this transplanting of Beckett and sidekick Castle to unauthorized police work in Hollywood was a breezy affair, propelled with some serious back-story of her dedication to tracking down the killer of her cop mentor.
I enjoyed the balance between romance (plenty of innuendo advancing towards the fans' long-awaited Beckett/Castle hookup in the sack, especially as they share a hotel suite), in-jokes (fairly hilarious Hollywood casting of types for their fellow cops Esposito & Ryan in the upcoming Nikki Heat movie, plus fun mocking of "cheesy dialog" associated with La La Land), and action.
Inspired casting of former "Prison Break" icon Dominick Purcell as the hissable villain was a real treat -haven't seen him on screen lately but he's poised to make a splash appearing in two high-profile pictures, remake of Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS and original THE KILLER ELITE, coincidentally the name of another unrelated Peckinpah pic.
Hardly controversial, but it was interesting to see the half arousing/half satirical slo-mo scene of Beckett emerging from a pool in a revealing bathing suit, to impress Purcell (and the fans). It showed literally a different side of Stana Katic, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she does on the big screen in the upcoming thriller THE DOUBLE.
This was an excellent example of how week-in, week-out series television can keep things fresh, even though we know that formula is the name of the game. For example, the coming attraction for next week's "Pretty Dead" episode instantly reminded me how these shows would have certain bases to touch: like a memorable Charlie's Angels plot of them going undercover at a beauty pageant. It will be interesting to see how the "Castle" team handles that trope.
Not really the fish-out-of-water formula that helped make Eddie Murphy a movie star, this transplanting of Beckett and sidekick Castle to unauthorized police work in Hollywood was a breezy affair, propelled with some serious back-story of her dedication to tracking down the killer of her cop mentor.
I enjoyed the balance between romance (plenty of innuendo advancing towards the fans' long-awaited Beckett/Castle hookup in the sack, especially as they share a hotel suite), in-jokes (fairly hilarious Hollywood casting of types for their fellow cops Esposito & Ryan in the upcoming Nikki Heat movie, plus fun mocking of "cheesy dialog" associated with La La Land), and action.
Inspired casting of former "Prison Break" icon Dominick Purcell as the hissable villain was a real treat -haven't seen him on screen lately but he's poised to make a splash appearing in two high-profile pictures, remake of Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS and original THE KILLER ELITE, coincidentally the name of another unrelated Peckinpah pic.
Hardly controversial, but it was interesting to see the half arousing/half satirical slo-mo scene of Beckett emerging from a pool in a revealing bathing suit, to impress Purcell (and the fans). It showed literally a different side of Stana Katic, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she does on the big screen in the upcoming thriller THE DOUBLE.
This was an excellent example of how week-in, week-out series television can keep things fresh, even though we know that formula is the name of the game. For example, the coming attraction for next week's "Pretty Dead" episode instantly reminded me how these shows would have certain bases to touch: like a memorable Charlie's Angels plot of them going undercover at a beauty pageant. It will be interesting to see how the "Castle" team handles that trope.
