Spoilers, Speculation & All Things Media!

[verdana]

 I love this set of three of Stana, Seamus and Jon on location tweeted by Bree Currigan.   Especially Seamus. 

 

Tamala Jones @tamalajones  ·  14h
#esplainie #inthebluetent #waiting4thenexyshot #ilovehim @jon_huertas

http://instagram.com/p/rLKGMMN0za/

 

 

Hope that's not a hint at what we might be getting soon (#esplanie), I realise Tamala has been reduced to bit part status on the show so any story for her would be welcome I'm sure but I would much rather see her interacting with Beckett than Espo.

Edited August 2, 2014 by verdana

[oberon55]

 

I disliked the douchebag and "insecurity" arc (heh thanks mad maverick) because it didn't make any sense for the characters at that stage even given the heightened emotions involved not because the writers refused to do exactly what I wanted.

 

For me the journey is as important as the destination. The fact that they ended up together in the s4 finale did not take away the damage done to the characters. Especially Castle. I understand him feeling hurt & betrayed. What I did not like was the fact that he knew he was hurting Beckett & he seemed to revel in it. It is now & forever more canon that when push comes to shove Castle can be a petty, vindictive & cruel prick. It seems to me they could have accomplished what they wanted without having him sink so low.

[Snoopy]

Hope that's not a hint at what we might be getting soon (#esplanie), I realise Tamala has been reduced to bit part status on the show so any story for her would be welcome I'm sure but I would much rather see her interacting with Beckett than Espo.

I'd be OK with them being together or not being together, but I'd wish they'd just decide already. This are they/aren't they together situation is getting old. But I'm with you...give me a Lanie and Beckett scene any day over a Lanie/Espo scene. I'm always kind of surprised with how enthusiastic Tamala appears to be about being in the show when it does seem like her role as declined a lot in recent years. I guess that's how you keep jobs in that business? By not biting the hand that feeds you...even if it doesn't feed you what or how much you want.

Love the pics of the cast with the man in uniform. They all seem absolutely proud to be posing with this fan!

[Snoopy]

There are a few more pictures she's posted on her twitter if you care to look, she obviously had a great time hanging out and getting pictures with the cast, they all seem very accommodating to take time out for the fans. I hope they're not annoying the cast and crew though by following them around. Seems wherever they go now the Castle crew get fans watching them but I presume it's exactly the same (if not worse) for other shows with a higher profile than Castle.

It must be a catch-22 for them. On one hand, how great is it that fans care enough to want to catch any glimpse of you and your work that they can? I'm sure they also know that they often make people's day by posing for these photos with them on occasion. However, I can't imagine having to try to do your work and carry on your day and be constantly interrupted or have people take your picture without your knowledge/permission. I guess it is just an occupational hazard in some ways. I just hope people who go to these locations are respectful and understand that these people are trying to do their jobs - that they are not just there so that fans can sneak a peek or get a photo with them.

[verdana]

Love the pics of the cast with the man in uniform. They all seem absolutely proud to be posing with this fan!

Yes that's what I loved about those shots, the way they looked posing with the guy, I thought it was touching. 

Edited August 2, 2014 by verdana

[Snoopy]

For me the journey is as important as the destination. The fact that they ended up together in the s4 finale did not take away the damage done to the characters. Especially Castle. I understand him feeling hurt & betrayed. What I did not like was the fact that he knew he was hurting Beckett & he seemed to revel in it. It is now & forever more canon that when push comes to shove Castle can be a petty, vindictive & cruel prick. It seems to me they could have accomplished what they wanted without having him sink so low.

Can't we all, though? Lol...I think most people have that side in them. Would the Castle who we'd seen grow (in large part thanks to his partnership with Beckett) over the years do that? No, but I have no doubt the Castle-of-old may have. I looked at it as a bit of a regression. I actually think I had more of a problem with Beckett's inability to confront him, even though I understood that talking about her feelings for Castle had always been a sticking point.

I didn't mind the arc. I think the "pay-off" of always was more sweet because there had been some conflict there that brought things to a "head"...but I did feel they went a bit too far in the Limey. Castle being hurt made sense to me. Castle trying to "move on" made sense to me. Castle pairing up with another detective made sense to me. Castle making the occasional pointed remark to Beckett even made sense to me. I'm not even sure that Castle "flaunting" Jacinda in Beckett's face didn't make sense to me (assuming he'd regressed a bit), but mainly, as you said, it felt like something they could have achieved their storytelling goal without, considering they knew it would upset a lot of fans.

[verdana]

It must be a catch-22 for them. On one hand, how great is it that fans care enough to want to catch any glimpse of you and your work that they can? I'm sure they also know that they often make people's day by posing for these photos with them on occasion. However, I can't imagine having to try to do your work and carry on your day and be constantly interrupted or have people take your picture without your knowledge/permission. I guess it is just an occupational hazard in some ways. I just hope people who go to these locations are respectful and understand that these people are trying to do their jobs - that they are not just there so that fans can sneak a peek or get a photo with them.

Most of them seem harmless, good natured and generally respectful but in some cases you hear about fans getting upset or even angry that one of the cast members didn't stop or wave or talk when they tried to get their attention or were close by. But the fans need to remember these people are at work. They're often going to be busy and not have time to stop and talk or may be they're really tired after a long day (or night) filming and just want to leave. Everyone works very long hours on this show, they have a right to come and go as they please and not be hassled or made to feel uncomfortable on location. Fans should think of it as a great bonus if they choose to take a time out, chat and have a photo taken. 

Edited August 2, 2014 by verdana

[verdana]

I'd be OK with them being together or not being together, but I'd wish they'd just decide already. This are they/aren't they together situation is getting old. But I'm with you...give me a Lanie and Beckett scene any day over a Lanie/Espo scene. I'm always kind of surprised with how enthusiastic Tamala appears to be about being in the show when it does seem like her role as declined a lot in recent years. I guess that's how you keep jobs in that business? By not biting the hand that feeds you...even if it doesn't feed you what or how much you want.

Esplanie doesn't interest me I know it does others and for those people I wish the writers would decide what's going to happen next.

 

I would love the Kate/Lanie relationship to be more at the forefront next season, poor Tamala really took a back seat in S6 to just about everyone. I would love them to show Kate leaning on Lanie for support and reassurance when Castle is missing. Considering she's such a good friend I was expecting a lot more girly interaction I have to say especially given Kate was getting married - that was surely a perfect opportunity to show these two talking about things. I admire Tamala's levels of enthusiasm, no one can criticise her attitude (although I do find her interviews can be somewhat hyperbolic and a bit confusing at times) she's always supportive about the show and upbeat which like you say must be rather difficult given how little she has to do.  

Edited August 2, 2014 by verdana

[oberon55]

 

Castle being hurt made sense to me. Castle trying to "move on" made sense to me. Castle pairing up with another detective made sense to me. Castle making the occasional pointed remark to Beckett even made sense to me. I'm not even sure that Castle "flaunting" Jacinda in Beckett's face didn't make sense to me (assuming he'd regressed a bit), but mainly, as you said, it felt like something they could have achieved their storytelling goal without, considering they knew it would upset a lot of fans.

 

In my opinion one of the show's greatest failings is lack of follow up or closure. Castle & Beckett never addressed his behavior or what caused it. As far as she knew he just got up one morning and started acting like a bastard. She never got an on screen explanation. It was just swept under the rug & ignored when she showed up in Always. So even if he was completely justified in his conduct it was ultimately meaningless in the story. It didn't change anything. It was just there to ramp up the angst & not to move them forward in any way. Again just my opinion, but that's a lot of character damage for no real gain.

[Snoopy]

In my opinion one of the show's greatest failings is lack of follow up or closure. Castle & Beckett never addressed his behavior or what caused it. As far as she knew he just got up one morning and started acting like a bastard. She never got an on screen explanation. It was just swept under the rug & ignored when she showed up in Always. So even if he was completely justified in his conduct it was ultimately meaningless in the story. It didn't change anything. It was just there to ramp up the angst & not to move them forward in any way. Again just my opinion, but that's a lot of character damage for no real gain.

 

I don't disagree. I do wish they would have addressed it a little more clearly.  I do think that Beckett caught on to the fact that Castle at least suspected she remembered him saying "I love you."  The conversation at the end of Undead Again, as subtexty as it was, was Beckett explaining to Castle why she wasn't able to face what happened that day.  And Castle accepting it.  I think the entire storyline did make Beckett wake up and realize that the holding pattern they were in wasn't going to last forever and that she better start doing something about it.  The way I saw it, she took some small steps forward.  The conversation at the end of Undead Again, for one, but also Beckett accepting Castle's vague invitation to watch movies at the beginning of Always.  That, of course, is me putting my own interpretation of things on it and making it into something that makes sense to me.  There are a lot of conversations I wish Castle and Beckett would have on screen that I don't think we'll get.  I think I've just learned to accept that and realize that if I want to enjoy the show, I'm going to have use the things that are up for interpretation in a way that suits me.

[madmaverick]

I think the more likely thing is that, as storytellers, they allow themselves to take some liberties in terms of realism/continuative for what they feel is a fun/important storyline.

 

And I have no problem with that.  Problem is, when the storyline doesn't turn out to be "fun" for me as a viewer or when I find them ignoring what I consider to be important/interesting storylines in favour of something less so.  It's never been issues of realism or continuity that have bothered me most on the show, but rather issues of characterisation and choice of story arcs.

 

I think they just hope that they tell a good enough story that I can overlook those things.

 

 

Agree with this completely, but unfortunately they haven't crafted a good enough story for me in many cases.  Like I've said, great writing can make you engaged in just about anything, e.g. root for anti-heroes, be compelled by despicable characters.  Castle simply hasn't reached that threshold for me in a while.   But I still have a lot of residual love and goodwill for these characters that keeps me watching, even if I'm unhappy with their characterisation.

 

Moving on...  I do wonder if it's more of an ego boost or a chore for the cast to have to take so many pics with fans (often the same ones!) on location just about every day they are outside now.  Occupation hazard, I guess.   I do think security is necessary and I hope no one follows anyone home. ;)  And I do wonder if BTS pics nowadays don't get much more interesting than the cast standing around because they can see a million cameras pointed at them examining their every move. Those hoping for more juicy stuff will be disappointed. ;)

[madmaverick]

Oberon, thanks for saving me the trouble of rehashing the douchebag arc as you reflected my issues with it so accurately.  I didn't actually want to delve into it and all the negativity involved too much again as what's done is done.  I would just prefer we don't have to revisit that kind of behaviour absent proper communication and explanation with any character again.

 

So for 7x02, so far we have:

- the murder of a toy mogul

- Beckett dropping off Castle to meet with some guy

- Castle and Alexis with a key (presumably to a safe deposit box) at a bank in Canada (or at a Canadian bank in NYC)

- team at a warehouse on the docks

- Castle having more scenes on his own at the warehouse.

 

So Castle seems to be off doing some stuff on his own, but what exactly and why not with Beckett?  Is he investigating his own accident?  Is it about some secret of his that we never knew about?

[KaveDweller]

I like this picture of Stana, the short black dress, the shades with her hair up in a cute ponytail and she has what looks like lovely knee length boots on which I want.

 

Is that a picture of them shooting Castle? It is a very un-Beckett outfit.  I love the outfit and boots, but it is definitely un-Beckett.

 

I'm always kind of surprised with how enthusiastic Tamala appears to be about being in the show when it does seem like her role as declined a lot in recent years.

 

Maybe she is a better actress than we get to see? She can't really be that excited about saying lividity every week. Or maybe she's so bored that even 30 seconds of decent screentime makes her happy.

[KaveDweller]

And then the conversation during UnDead Again. It was subtext but it was all there.

 

Yeah, I think it was addressed onscreen in Undead Again.  Not in that much detail, but Beckett did figure out that Castle knew she'd lied about the ILY.  And she explained to him that she wasn't ready to deal with it. He asked her if she ever would be, and she told him she was seeing a therapist to try and get ready.  Then in Always she said yes when he asked her to watch those movies with him. 

 

So Castle seems to be off doing some stuff on his own, but what exactly and why not with Beckett?  Is he investigating his own accident?  Is it about some secret of his that we never knew about?

 

I don't like the idea of Castle having a secret.  Especially if Beckett spent months dedicated to finding him, and he turns around and keeps something from her? I'm hoping that's not how it plays out.  If she's dropping him off maybe she at least knows what he is up to.

[break21]

I like Perlmutter better than Lanie - he has a lot of comic timing with NF.  I would have made Perlrmutter the ME and Lanie Beckett's BF. 

[WendyCR72]

Is that a picture of them shooting Castle? It is a very un-Beckett outfit.  I love the outfit and boots, but it is definitely un-Beckett.

 

 

 

 

Maybe she is a better actress than we get to see? She can't really be that excited about saying lividity every week. Or maybe she's so bored that even 30 seconds of decent screentime makes her happy.

 

Or maybe the money makes up for it!

[Cyranetta]

 

And I do wonder if BTS pics nowadays don't get much more interesting than the cast standing around because they can see a million cameras pointed at them examining their every move. Those hoping for more juicy stuff will be disappointed. ;)

 

In addition to personal security issues I suspect that one of the main problems is trying to control spoilers. In the pre-Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/whatever era it was probably a lot easier for studios to limit what spoilers got out to those they specifially chose for promos. I wonder if the writers ever have to take that into consideration and make sure that scenes with significant plot points are written to be shot in more highly-controlled locales.

[Sonik Tooth]

And then the conversation during UnDead Again. It was subtext but it was all there.

They were not going sit down and talk about he said/she said. That's not who the chracters were at that point and exposition to each other of how they fucked up is not a story.

I agree that it hit the right tone of the season of secrets and mis-/indirect/ non communication. But I would call communicating reason and feelings a vital ingredient in a love story. Or life in general. Otherwise there is second-guessing and assuming which doesn’t always end well in real life, and coming back to Castle, can lead to, well, the ending of Season 5: If you can’t communicate your reasons and feelings, if you feel the urge to lie to each other, better get engaged and continue with a long distance relationship :-)

 

For 7.02 we got Castle with Alexis in front of that bank and Castle and that Matt Letscher character as well... I think. And Castle is wearing his long coat, so maybe it's supposed to be cold(er)? In Canada? 

[verdana]

The ring's being cleaned, frankly I have no idea why as it rarely gets an outing to get dirty but may be they're giving it a spit and polish in preparation for a special upcoming event.

Rob kyker @RobKyker  ·  2h
Taking Becketts ring in to be cleaned.

https://twitter.com/RobKyker/status/495642157248565248

 

I agree that it hit the right tone of the season of secrets and mis-/indirect/ non communication. But I would call communicating reason and feelings a vital ingredient in a love story. Or life in general. Otherwise there is second-guessing and assuming which doesn’t always end well in real life, and coming back to Castle, can lead to, well, the ending of Season 5: If you can’t communicate your reasons and feelings, if you feel the urge to lie to each other, better get engaged and continue with a long distance relationship :-)

 

I think for any healthy functioning relationship they need to communicate with each other properly and that involves if not literally sitting down and talking at least being open with each other at key moments, that is part of the story as far as I'm concerned to see how they can negotiate their problems like two adults in love not playing guessing games. Relationships with the kind of crappy communication exhibited in S4 and S5 don't tend to last long in real life and are certainly no basis for wanting to get married. I never want to see them go through that kind of story arc again, once was enough. To have them regress to that point again where they're keeping secrets and refusing to talk to each other would signal to me the writers don't want to write them in a steady loving mature relationship for some reason either that or they don't know how. 

Edited August 2, 2014 by verdana

[verdana]

Stana must have finished filming at that point because I'll admit that outfit didn't seem to belong to Beckett, unless Luke's decided on a new look for the season to go with the shorter hair.

 

because we all need a Nathan in a tux on our dash.

 

Oh yeah so true, the only thing I liked about that episode.

 

Perlmutter is great, he plays well off Nathan that's true and has way better lines that Lanie (which okay isn't difficult).  Hope to see more of him next season, he's always good for a laugh. 

[verdana]

Someone was screaming on tumblr where are the promotional photos from the annual pre-season ABC photo shoot. I did a search and last year it was beginning of September when they came out, I was sure it was earlier than that but obviously not.

 

Although they're not usually much to get excited about. I wonder what they'll do this year as a theme or will they just be standing (or sitting) around looking like stuffed dummies as usual. 

[Samantha84]

Stana [Jon and Seamus] hadn't started filming yet; they'd just arrived, done rehearsal, and were heading to hair/makeup. Thus, those are Stana's clothes, not Beckett's. 

[Snoopy]

Although they're not usually much to get excited about. I wonder what they'll do this year as a theme or will they just be standing (or sitting) around looking like stuffed dummies as usual.

I thought I read they weren't doing a photo shoot this year. Did I make that up? Usually there is chatter about it on Twitter and I don't recall any this year.

[verdana]

I thought someone here speculated that they might not do one, that other shows hadn't bothered after a while. I think there would be quite a few disappointed fans if they didn't and then some would start worrying why they hadn't. Not that I'd be that upset if they give it a miss as they look so awkward and photoshopped.
 
The best photo shoot that they did for Caskett wasn't even done by ABC but by Entertainment Weekly, that captured them so well as a couple with that sense of cute, sexy, playfulness right at the start of their relationship, Nathan looked really good in those. In fact all the best promotions tend to have been done by other entertainment sites. ABC seem to be sorely lacking in imagination.

[Samantha84]

... and the ring is all cleaned!

[KaveDweller]

... and the ring is all cleaned!

 

This must mean they are going to actually use it.  Maybe even in a close up?  Why else bother cleaning it?

 

I think for any healthy functioning relationship they need to communicate with each other properly and that involves if not literally sitting down and talking at least being open with each other at key moments, that is part of the story as far as I'm concerned to see how they can negotiate their problems like two adults in love not playing guessing games.

 

I think that's true, and while I don't need to see every minute of every conversation I do like seeing some of them or at least hints that they are happening.  In season 4, they weren't really together and I think that's why it made sense they weren't talking.  It was dumb because it caused a lot of angst, but very realistic for them. Now that they are together it's different.  It did seem like they were communicating well in season 6 though.

[break21]

I think EW was the last photoshoot NF and SK did together.  ABC tends to shoot them separately and photo-shopps them together (not just Castle - most shows)  It always ends bad and looks horrible.

[WendyCR72]

I remember some big stink from a OUAT photo shoot ABC did a season or two ago... So if shows abstain, maybe it's for the best.  ;-)

[McManda]

The OUAT shoot - I think it was from last season - was horrible. There was so much fan backlash that I think ABC pulled it a for a time, but of course because it's the internet, nothing really disappears. If I get a choice between that kind of photoshoot and no photoshoot I'll choose no photoshoot.

 

Of course, if I really have a vote I vote Entertainment Weekly do all the photoshoots. Or TVGuide. EW did the photoshoot of Castle and Beckett in bed, and TVGuide did the 50s inspired photoshoot (circa season 4). Those are my favorites, I think.

[McManda]

I hope the ring makes an appearance (though I don't really see much of a difference between the before-cleaning and after-cleaning). It really is a beautiful ring, though. I don't think we've ever seen it up close like that.

[Samantha84]

Before you can see the little brown spots on the 4 settings around the center stone.  Yes, it is a beautiful ring. Wish we could see it more. 

[verdana]

Okay yeah I see what you mean Samantha about the spots.

 

Was it ever really established if this ring cost big bucks in the end? Luke tweeted at the time it was around USD100K when asked but some fans speculated what he meant was a ring similar to the one he was showing would be worth around that. I got the impression he meant the actual ring they got and then it was also rumoured they had some copies made.

 

Because if it's the real deal I get the point of them having it cleaned professionally (I presume that's what Rob meant) but if it's just crystal or glass then why not put in some warm soapy water and give it a scrub and job done.

 

I still don't get them spending big money on a ring they hardly ever used especially since Marlowe has made comments in the past about sets and the cost of shooting on location etc. I'm sure he said something about the Hamptons location they used for the finale in an interview recently and the expense which wiped them out at the end.  If they really did spend a lot of money on one ring then I don't have much sympathy because cash is being spent in other departments on the show needlessly.

 

 

 

 

[verdana]

 

I think that's true, and while I don't need to see every minute of every conversation I do like seeing some of them or at least hints that they are happening.  In season 4, they weren't really together and I think that's why it made sense they weren't talking.  It was dumb because it caused a lot of angst, but very realistic for them. Now that they are together it's different.  It did seem like they were communicating well in season 6 though.

I don't either but I need to see something and I'd rather not hear that it happened off screen although I suppose it's better than nothing but there's no substitute for on screen communication at least for me. S6 I thought was harmonious for them, the writers had their time taken up with the wedding and any arguments were just minor spats (like the lion picture). It's going to be be interesting with this presumed focus on Castle next season and given what what's been teased does Marlowe regress them back to S4/end of S5 levels of distrust/insecurity or will he let them them talk openly about what's wrong? I hope very much it's the latter, it doesn't have to be boring or predictable and it would be far more believable than choosing the "we can't talk to each other" path they've already been down. They should firmly be past that stage by now. 

 

 

[verdana]

Oh I liked the TV Guide one too that as a goodie.

 

I heard about the OUAT one but was it really that bad? I guess so if it got pulled, kind of embarrassing for the people who produced it, shows fans can make a difference (at least for some things).

tamjones1
1 day ago

#tgif #atwork #martininight #assoonasiwrap #it'son

http://instagram.com/p/rLJxIwt0y7/?modal=true

 

Martini time for Tamala, sounds great, obviously she's in 7.02, hope her script next season has been expanded to include more than talking about a dead body for 10 seconds.

Edited August 3, 2014 by verdana

[verdana]

I don't know if this one was in the group that was posted before but picture of Nathan taken on the location from the other day wearing that green jacket (may be it belongs in the fashion thread too) but he's walking around, I'm so intrigued as to what he's up to all alone without Beckett.

Edited August 3, 2014 by verdana

[madmaverick]

That green jacket looks better (less hideous) from a high angle.  They need to start shooting all their ugly clothes from high up. ;)  Maybe it won't be that bad on screen, but I still think Castle could be dressed much better in clothes that fit better!

 

I'm so intrigued as to what he's up to all alone without Beckett.

 

Well, I know what he's not up to. *sob bedroom scene sob*  Heh. ;)

 

Stana looks good in her own clothes (but aren't those boots a little hot for L.A. this time of year?) that didn't look very Beckett.  But who knows what Beckett wears on a date and a night out with Castle since we never see! Maybe she wears girlier clothes then too.  Girlfriend Beckett has been surprising before.  

 

EW photoshoot really was the best.  Like verdana said, it perfectly captured the fun, playful, sexy vibe that they should aspire to create with Caskett onscreen all.the.time.  And they both looked good, not photoshopped to death as well.  The TV Guide one wasn't bad either, if a bit too photoshopped, but I liked that they were going for a different sort of theme, and hey, we got a cute video out of it as well!   If the show really is ending soon, I hope we get one last hot photoshoot.

 

Maybe our best "photoshoot" for this season will be screencaps of the deleted Always scene on DVD. ;)

 

I wish they would explore female relationships more, be it Beckett/Lanie, Beckett/Alexis, Beckett/Martha, Alexis/Martha, or Beckett/Gates.  But since they seem to barely have time for meaningful Caskett after the COTW, I doubt we'll see much in this regard.  If you ask me, it's a matter of lack of skill and/or will.  Other shows juggle more characters and relationships and COTW adeptly.

 

I think they may actually put more effort into Perlmutter's lines since he shows up less frequently (at least to make sure he has some witty putdowns of Castle) than they do Lanie's who is almost stuck with lividity by rote.  They should write in a meta lividity joke at this point to get a laugh.  Lanie is a fun, strong, sassy professional woman and it's a shame that she doesn't get more to do in her own right.  Does she need to move to a Shonda Rhimes show? :P  And did you know that the CEO of Marvel is actually named Perlmutter? Heh.

 

I think all the supporting cast are more capable beyond what they get to do on the show and I would like to check them out in other projects, but they seem to be rather elusive!  I would like to see the slavery short done by Jon Huertas and Tamala Jones for example.

[madmaverick]

Are we going to be informed about a dress cleaning next? :P ;)

 

Mr. JML hints at a "very interesting" scene... (Are we sure he didn't mean a "very fun" "very organic" scene? Sorry couldn't resist the snark. :P)

https://twitter.com/The_JML/status/495581994638520320

 

I can't actually tell anything from that pic.  Anyone with better eyes?  Not sure it's the loft without that staircase picture.

[cappuccino]

Are we going to be informed about a dress cleaning next? :P ;)

 

Mr. JML hints at a "very interesting" scene... (Are we sure he didn't mean a "very fun" "very organic" scene? Sorry couldn't resist the snark. :P)

https://twitter.com/The_JML/status/495581994638520320

 

I can't actually tell anything from that pic.  Anyone with better eyes?  Not sure it's the loft without that staircase picture.

There is a skateboard at the wall. Did they keep that from last season ?

I think you can make out Nathan's head on the left. The guy holding the microphon and in front of him. That kinda looks like Nathan's hair/head.

 

I judge that scene when I see it. Their "interesting" differs very from my interesting.

[verdana]

I saw that tweet from JML before on tumblr but couldn't see that much "interesting" in it - I'll wait.  His endless twitterings at the end of the finale got on my nerves especially given what had happened and the constant hints that fans had "missed" things that would come out later and further burnish Marlowe's genius for organic storytelling had my eyes rolling almost out my head towards the door.   That tweet above reminded me of his comments because of one of the tags on it: #AlwaysMoreToTheStory. 

[verdana]

That EW photoshoot had me so hopeful of what was to come for Caskett on screen, alas it was not to be.  

 

You're right mad maverick that green "fungus" jacket does look better from a long way up. Heh. 

 

I wish they would explore female relationships more, be it Beckett/Lanie, Beckett/Alexis, Beckett/Martha, Alexis/Martha, or Beckett/Gates.

 

 

 

I'd love to see Beckett and Gates interact more given their developing relationship from open distrust to mutual respect and support. I thought they would do something when they had the episode with Gate's sister but the moment was lost. The only scene that I felt genuinely some emotion over in 6.23 was the conversation between Martha and Kate at the end. Why can't Alexis go back to asking Beckett for advice like she used to or may be have her help out with some college project? It doesn't have to be some major scene, often smaller moments are more effective emotionally. I wish we saw more conversations between these women and even better if they don't always revolve around Castle.  

Edited August 3, 2014 by verdana

[Gant]

Maybe she is a better actress than we get to see? She can't really be that excited about saying lividity every week. Or maybe she's so bored that even 30 seconds of decent screentime makes her happy.

 

 

To be honest, and this is of course just my opinion, I always feel that whenever Lanie gets to do something other than lividity and an occasional "imma slap you, girl", Tamala comes short. That's what I took away from her brief "emotional" scenes in Rise, Dreamworld and Disciple. I agree with those who much prefer Perlmutter - as a character, the actor wasn't given any emotional or dramatic scene so I have no clue about that. He is a perfect, if infrequent, foil to Castle now that Beckett is almost as cheery as her ex-opposite.

[KaveDweller]

I wonder if that's Beckett's apartment? You can sort of see whitish bricks on the wall in the top right, and that matches her place more than the loft.

[McManda]

No, that's definitely Castle's office. You can sort of make the staircase out (despite the glare) in the photo behind the desk (mostly on the right by the lamp), and the skateboard was something the added last season , back when they added in props from previous cases. (The writer vest and the time travel device also made it into Castle's office.) And I think that's the drink cart that lives in Castle's office to the right of the guy with the boom mike.

 

That said, I have no guesses as to what's going on. All I can tell that it's Castle's office and there are a ton of crew members in the way of anything good.

 

Before you can see the little brown spots on the 4 settings around the center stone.  Yes, it is a beautiful ring. Wish we could see it more.

 

Oh, I thought that was part of the setting. Oops.

Edited August 3, 2014 by McManda

[cappuccino]

Castle is filming around W 60th and Western Ave in L.A.

 

Guess we are getting more pictures today.

[Nadine]

Cue the craziness again.

 

703's title (according to Studio System) will be Clear and Present Danger.

[madmaverick]

Hitfix reviews ABC's new show Forever, but I'm putting it here for discussion because it references Castle quite a bit:

http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/take-me-to-the-pilots-14-abcs-forever

 

Show: "Forever" (ABC)
The Pitch: "New Amsterbland" or "Ele-Meh-ntary"
Quick Response: Wait. Give me a second. People tend to read "bland" is a negative and it doesn't need to be. I think "Castle" is also bland, but I find it blandly charming and blandly pleasant. I just watch "Castle" each week knowing that the chances of it challenging me on ANY level are something below zero. And if ABC cared about such things, "Castle" should have swapped nights at some point and "Forever" should be airing at 10 p.m. after "Castle," because I think fans of one will like the other. Ioan Gruffudd isn't quite the happy-to-spend-44-minutes-per-week-with-him bon vivant that Nathan Fillion is, but when he gets to speak with his native accent, he's hardly an inert blob. He's coasting purely on charisma here, but Matthew Miller's high concept premise -- Dude gets immortality and, thanks to endless spare time, basically becomes Sherlock Holmes -- practically requires it, since unlike Jonny Lee Miller's CBS Holmes, there are no real rough edges to this character. This guy would be annoying, because he seems to know literally everything, but he flashes a cock-eyed smile and... Oh who cares! Joining Gruffudd's Pretty Guy You Can't Hate are an assortment of vaguely sketched character types including Judd Hirsch as Wise Philosophical Jew, Alana de la Garza as Brassy Latina Cop and Joe David Moore as Socially Awkward Nerd in Lab. [Awesome "OITNB" veteran Lorraine Toussaint will join the cast as Stern Black Authority Figure.] The immortality angle yields a couple semi-interesting flashbacks involving Mackenzie Mauzy and I think there's some potential to the character dynamics it might yield. It also plays into a pilot that suggests a bit more of a serialized aspect than something like "Castle," where only the Castle-Beckett relationship has been meaningfully serialized and maybe 75% of episodes could be watched out-of-order or, in the case of DVR overflow, skipped entirely. With a show this slight, instant chemistry is essential and I think Gruffudd and Alana de la Garza have that chemistry off-the-bat, which isn't unimpressive since both actors have been prone to some chilliness with co-stars in the past. I wish the comedy/quirkiness provided by Hirsch and Moore felt fresher and, in the pilot, Moore in particular feels like he's there because somebody thought the character was necessary for dramatic symmetry and not because anybody had an idea.

Desire To Watch Again: Tepid, but not negligible. As I'm mostly committed to "Castle," I can't say that I need another "Castle" in my life. However, since I felt like the real "Castle" had a weak season last year (and a brutal finale), maybe it's time to move on-and-over. Maybe if "Castle" can't bounce back, it'll be time to swap my ABC laundry-folding romantic procedurals. Of course, shows die REALLY fast in that ABC Tuesday 10 p.m. slot, so I may not need to decide.

 

Bolded bits my own.  The HitFix reviewer echoed a lot of my thoughts on Castle.

 

Sometimes I wish Castle was a more challenging show to watch, but I fell in love with the show knowing it was mostly fluff (nothing wrong with that), dessert after dinner as it has been described.  Once upon a time it used to be more witty, charming, entertaining dessert.  It still has the ingredients for that, especially in its leads, and perhaps that's why I'm still watching.  LOL re the description of these shows as "laungdry folding romantic procedurals", but so true.  I can half pay attention to so much of most Castle episodes now and not miss anything.  That really is a sign of storytelling that isn't tight and compelling enough, dialogue that isn't sharp enough to keep audiences engaged.  When 90% of your dialogue is exposition, it's hard not to fall into laundry folding territory. ;)  There are a few episodes every season which are an exception, but that just reminds me how lazy the other ones are in comparison knowing they can do better.

 

Castle the character has always coasted on charisma (it's one reason that had me watching from the pilot), but has he become more bland because there are no "rough edges to his character"?  Is that what they'll be trying to do with him this season with a hint at secrets?  I don't know about rough edges for Castle, but there should always be more to 'what you see is what you get' in a character, perhaps unless you give the character a really interesting world to navigate all the time.  I will say the character of Holmes on Elementary is a more intense protagonist because he does have those rough edges that can leave you never quite knowing what to expect, and a very rich built in history from the books.  I think Castle's story to becoming a successful murder mystery writer and his world in navigating that with constant 'research' can be interesting to explore too, but the writers don't seem interested.  I don't think TV writers always have to invest characters with a tragic past or a messy personal life to make them interesting.

 

It's season 7 and I still think we have some vaguely sketched character types, especially in the supporting cast.   Are characters like Tory inserted because they thought they needed a Tech Girl? ;)  Not because anyone had any idea as to what to do with her?

 

Strong chemistry really is vital in shows like Castle.  It's what made me start watching, what kept me watching.  When it dips, the show really becomes a pale shadow of its own self.  So whatever they do, they've got to have writing that generates chemistry.  Of course the actors have to do their jobs well too and bring that x factor.

 

I am neutral on Ioan Gruffuld (but definitely negative on Vaughn ;)).  Will check the show out of curiosity to see how it compares, especially the chemistry.  But I don't think I will get hooked onto another WT/WT laundry folding procedural anytime soon after Castle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[madmaverick]

Thanks, Nadine.  Jack Ryan, anyone?  Ages since I watched that movie so don't remember much about it.  I think this is the episode written by the Creaseys about an invisible killer, described as 'fun' multiple times by AM.  Is the title a tongue in cheek poke at invisibility or will the episode be more dramatic than comedic?  I'm hoping for a well-written light-hearted 'classic' Castle episode with as little mythology as possible.

 

More location filming for 702?  Seems more than usual.  If there are so many scenes set outside in locations like banks, warehouses, parks, then I guess the episode's COTW/mythology heavy and chances of many Caskett scenes of a romantic, personal nature are low.

Edited August 4, 2014 by madmaverick

[S55]

Cue the craziness again.

 

703's title (according to Studio System) will be Clear and Present Danger.

 

Thanks Nadine! Appreciate you sharing these details with us when you see them. :) 

[Sonik Tooth]

Thanks for the review madmaverick.
It mostly echoes my views on Castle as well. I didn’t find the finale brutal though (more of a You gotta be kiddin’ me, who’s gonna believe that?! Regarding Beckett’s previous marriage) , but I think that might be the difference between viewers mainly concentrating on the romantic aspect of the Castle and Beckett relationship and viewers who are…uhh…not. For me, the romantic aspect is just not riveting enough to be the sole backbone of the show (or on any show) 22+ episodes a year, so I gladly like to explore something else next to it. Preferably with more characters involved and I’m not talking about Tory, the Tech Girl.

 

 

Strong chemistry really is vital in shows like Castle.  It's what made me start watching, what kept me watching.  When it dips, the show really becomes a pale shadow of its own self.

I think the chemistry is still there but the dialogue between the characters is oftentimes too soft (or, if they want to amp up Caskett , too cheesy and clichéd) and generic for my liking. As you said it was witty and charming and I like to add more cutting before. Additionally, as Gant mentioned above, now that Beckett and Castle are more similar to each other and the interactions with other characters are either reduced to a minimum or restricted to police speak, it’s even more prominent at times.

 

 

Castle the character has always coasted on charisma (it's one reason that had me watching from the pilot), but has he become more bland because there are no "rough edges to his character"?

For me it was mostly the way how people around him reacted to his boisterous and charming personality that was interesting and how he would “deflate” at home. Now that he has become more “socially acceptable”, he’s not that interesting in a police procedural anymore. Giving him a rough edge or adding layers to him makes IMO only sense when it’s also linked to the procedural aspect of the show (as it takes up 90% of the time) and have other characters react to it. Otherwise it’s likely to be a one time only event with no further consequences.

 

And is this discussion something for the new Show Critique thread?

[verdana]

Thanks, Nadine.  Jack Ryan, anyone?  Ages since I watched that movie so don't remember much about it.  I think this is the episode written by the Creaseys about an invisible killer, described as 'fun' multiple times by AM.  Is the title a tongue in cheek poke at invisibility or will the episode be more dramatic than comedic?  I'm hoping for a well-written light-hearted 'classic' Castle episode with as little mythology as possible.

 

More location filming for 702?  Seems more than usual.  If there are so many scenes set outside in locations like banks, warehouses, parks, then I guess the episode's COTW/mythology heavy and chances of many Caskett scenes of a romantic, personal nature are low.

I really enjoyed the first three Jake Ryan movies. Clear and Present Danger was about drug lords in Columbia and him going down there to rescue some army guys who got captured and in doing so he brings down a cartel along the way. Ryan was being kept in the dark by his colleagues in the government about a secret army being sent to wage war on these cartels with the tacit agreement of the President, feeling responsible for the men and what's happened he goes in to rescue those left behind.  It certainly was action packed. I think that covers it. Does that help you any? 

 

I'm not quite sure how that movie might fit into what the Creaseys appear to be doing I have to say. May be they just liked the title. 

 

And yeah it does seem as if they're shooting a hell of lot outside which means that there probably won't be much going on inside of a romantic nature. So I'm reducing my anticipation for #7.02 accordingly.  I can't see them fitting a wedding in there unless they want to get married in a warehouse or something just to be different.  

Edited August 4, 2014 by verdana