So, I got home after school tonight (and not feeling nearly as well about today’s exam as yesterday’s, though I am glad it’s over), finished up my last minute packing, and decided to watch Castle before I went to bed. It was a landmark show for them, so I didn’t want to wait a whole week to see it, and I also didn’t want to take the risk of spoilers anywhere. So, let’s chat a little bit about it.
If the cake didn’t give it away, the milestone for the Castle folks is that they broadcast their 100th episode this week. And, yes, before you spend too much time wondering, I have seen them all. I enjoy a good will they/won’t they show almost as much as a good buddy show.
Anyway, in the television world, 100 episodes is a big deal, since, according to conventional wisdom, that’s when a show reaches the syndication threshold. I’m not sure when that began, though. I mean, if you look at the old shows that have been in syndication forever (and that people still tune in to), you’ll see that the hundred episode minimum wasn’t necessary. My personal favorite example, of course, is Star Trek, which was only lasted three seasons and came in short of the magical one hundred number. But those 79 episodes have been running ever since. There’s even been popular lore that on any given day, somewhere in the world, Star Trek is on TV. I don’t know if that’s true, but I like to think it is.
Anyway, back to Castle. Since I don’t like to run across spoilers, I also usually don’t give them, so I’ll just say that they chose to use their milestone episode as an homage to Hitchcock and his movie, Rear Window. Oh, and I’ll also say that I found it to be a little bit predictable. Not that Castle (or most of the shows along those lines) is ever edge-of-your-seat gripping, but I thought this was predictable even by their standards. Maybe it didn’t help that not even a week ago I’d watched a remake of the movie with Christopher Reeve (also not that great; really, probably not as good as this episode), so maybe I just wasn’t ready to sit through it again. And, I can’t really tell you my biggest pet peeve about it without major spoilers, just know that there were a couple of things that bugged me.
Still, even a lukewarm episode is an enjoyable romp. Castle and Beckett (not “Caskett”, please; I’m not a fan of the cutesy nicknames) are fun together, and the rest of the characters fill out a nice ensemble. Especially Alexis, Castle’s daughter. She’s easily the best supporting character in the show, and has been since the beginning.
At any rate, while I wouldn’t rate this as one of their best outings, I still enjoyed it, and if they’re around for another hundred episodes, I’ll probably still be watching.
That’s it for this week’s Tube Day Tuesday, and now I believe I will turn in. My alarm is going off at 2:30 tomorrow morning, which is just barely three hours from now. Good thing I can sleep on a plane.
