Castle, An Ensemble without blondes... Options

[herbsinger42]

I've loved the promos, I think it is great to see Fillion on any screen again... but with Susan Sullivan!!!! Great looking cast so far.

I see no bimbo factor. I love that possibility. Nathan as a jerk... kinda fun, after seeing just what a superjerk he can be in Dr. Horrible. I eagerly await Monday night's premiere.

[herbsinger42]

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Nathan Fillion - "Castle" Tv Series - Televisionwithoutpity.com Interview
Wednesday 4 March 2009, by Webmaster



Nathan Fillion may be the nicest guy on the planet. It may not come across when he’s playing tough-as-nails Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly, or the dickish Captain Hammer on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, but on the phone he’s as friendly as all get-out. Which is funny, because his new character — Richard Castle, the crime-solving crime novelist on the new series Castle — is a bit of a jerk. We sacrificed our queen to get Mr. Castle into position for a one-on-one phone interview, and he gave us the scoop on his new series, the subtle art of jerkery, and where things stand with Serenity 2 and Dr. Horrible. Plus, he’s apparently a fan of ours, which only makes him seem nicer.

TWoP: Thank you for your time today!

Fillion: Not at all, I’m a fan of your site. You guys are tough but fair. And really accurate and passionate!

TWoP: Wow! Thank you! Of course, we’re all big fans of yours.

NF: I’ve also noticed that, which is [mumbles rest] alsowhyyou’reoneofmyfavorites.

TWoP: I should have known. So who’s the bigger jerk, Rick Castle from Castle or Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible?

NF: Captain Hammer is a bigger jerk. He’s a super jerk! He’s a super-powered jerk — being a jerk is one of his powers.

TWoP: Is it more fun to play someone who’s a bit of a jerk? You seem like you’re having a great time on Castle.

NF: Yeah, you know, a long time ago, I was playing a character on a sitcom called Two Guys and a Girl and he was perfect. I was the character of Johnny, he was so perfect, he was really cool and everything. He was very nice, he was the only person who was centered and relaxed on the whole show, and then they say "...okay, and he’s a fix-it guy, but he doesn’t fix anything right, and he’s cheap." And I thought, [high-pitched] "No, don’t! My guy’s so cool, why would you — ! I don’t wanna do — ! Aw, man!" I was so disappointed, and then I realized how much funny there is in flaws, and when you just don’t know what to do in a moment, play to your faults, your flaws. When I learned that, I became obsessed with flaws, I embraced flaws. No one wants to see a person on TV who’s super-ultra-cool. That’s Superman, that’s a thing of the past. Heroes are now flawed, and have terrible tempers, you know? They’re real people.

TWoP: Were there any shows or movies you looked to for inspiration going into Castle? A lot of people are comparing it to Murder, She Wrote, but the premise reminds me of that movie The Hard Way.

NF: I remember that movie! Yeah! I’m the one who often makes the Murder, She Wrote reference, and ABC hates that, they don’t want me to do that. And I say that having never actually watched Murder She Wrote. I think people have been trying to compare it to crime shows that are on right now, and all I can do is listen. I don’t watch a lot of TV.

TWoP: Is there anything you do watch?

NF: I watch The Office. I watch 30 Rock. I watch Dirty Jobs. Those are three of my favorite shows ever. And I watch a lot of movies.

TWoP: You play a crime novelist on the show, and in the first episode you play poker with some of your real-life contemporaries, Stephen J. Cannell and James Patterson. Did you pick their brains at all about the life of a writer?

NF: You know what, I was a little nervous meeting those guys! They had a lot of stories, and I was just sitting there and chatting with them and talking about stuff that they’ve done. Steve made most of the television that I grew up with. That’s really quite something. So he would tell me little side notes about how certain shows would run, and how different actors were, and how he came into different ideas, and that was kind of cool. But we didn’t really speak specifically about books and writing. That would have been a really good idea to do that, in retrospect.

TWoP: Now, do you film in New York?

NF: We filmed the pilot in New York, and right now we’re filming the series here in L.A. It’s actually quite interesting. There’s a lot of places in downtown Los Angeles that we use for New York City. I lived in New York City for three years, I know what New York is like, and I’m going to downtown L.A, and I’m looking around and going, [high-pitched] "I didn’t know this was here! I didn’t know you could live in a loft this size! Look at this whole street, this whole street looks just like— !" I’m really surprised — listen to how high my voice is going — but I was very surprised how "New York" sections of downtown L.A. actually do look. I was very surprised.

TWoP: How is this show different from working on a show like Desperate Housewives or Drive?

NF: Desperate Housewives is an ensemble cast, where I played a tertiary character. I made a lot of great friends, but that show didn’t keep me very busy. I worked a few days a week, right here, close to my house. Castle is every day of the week, about 14-hours a day, and sometimes we work Saturdays, which is tough. We just heard that something happened with one of our reels that we sent in; some of the scenes we shot spent too long in the "soup," where they pull it through at the lab, when they’re developing it, and it ruined it, so we’ve got to go back and re-shoot some stuff. Now we’re trying to squeeze it all into our regular schedule. Nobody wanted to come in on a Saturday again. It’s an intense schedule. I really don’t have time for much of anything else, save for weekends.

TWoP: So if Joss Whedon called you and asked you to do a guest stint on Dollhouse, you’d have to say no?

NF: I would have to say no. I mean, unless he wants to shoot weekends.

TWoP: Are you interested in revisiting the Firefly or Dr. Horrible universes?

NF: I tell you, Firefly? Best job I ever had. Heartbroken when it was canceled, but had it not been canceled, I never would have gotten Serenity. I think Serenity is the most incredible thing I’ve ever been able to actually get my hands on and do. I can’t even tell you how much love I have for that project. If anybody ever said, "There’s gonna be another Serenity," I’d be the first guy to sign up. I’d be in.

TWoP: Has there been any more talk about that?

NF: Certainly, we throw around the idea, but no one with the money to actually do it.

TWoP: How about Dr. Horrible. Would it take another strike to make that one happen?

NF: Boy, you know, I sure can see the benefit to producing programs for the Internet. Any time art meets finance, you have these artists who want to tell a story a particular way, they’re storytellers, and then you have these people with finance and the distribution, who say, "Well, you know, this is our network, and if you’re gonna put a show on our network, we wanna make sure that ’X’ plus ’Z’ equals ’dollar sign.’ So why don’t we put in more ’X,’ and instead of ’Z,’ why don’t we make it a ’G’?" It’s their money, and they’re gonna have a say as to how it goes, and there’s really no purer way to tell the story than just to leave the storyteller alone. And you’re not gonna get that with a lot of finance guys. A lot of finance guys are not gonna say, "Hey, go nuts! Do whatever you like! I’m putting it all in your hands!" They have responsibilities. That’s their job. You can’t really fault them for that. But when you look at the Internet, the Internet is your distribution. "You want to see my program? Push this button." And it’s done.

TWoP: Will you still keep your foot in movies, when you have free time?

NF: Yes, hopefully. I’ve got my eye on a couple, I don’t wanna jinx ’em by telling you which ones, but there’s a couple that I would really love to be involved in. At the same time, my number one priority once we’re wrapped up with this show next week is a little bit of downtime. Go someplace tropical, relax, go scuba diving, hang out, do whatever I need to do, but just to kinda disconnect for a little while.

TWoP: Well, I’m glad, because it sounds like they’re running you ragged. We’re at the end of our time, so I’ll wrap it up. Thanks for your time!

NF: Thank you very much! Big fan of your site, again!

[herbsinger42]

Nathan Fillion

Richard Castle
Richard Castle, roguish best-selling author, is the consummate man's man, ladies' man, and man about town - nearly as well known for his tabloid-generating antics as for his immensely successful novels. With two ex-wives in his past and his fifteen-year-old daughter and live-in mother watching his every move, his life is never short on drama. But now, having just killed off his most famous character and with his publisher ex-wife breathing down his neck for his next book, he's in desperate need of inspiration. When Castle is pulled in by NYPD Detective Kate Beckett to advise on an investigation, he discovers his next muse and a new calling. Turns out all those years of research for his crime novels paid off. Castle now has the opportunity to use his unique knowledge and skills to help solve murders, much to the chagrin of Detective Beckett.


Stana Katic

Kate Beckett
Kate Beckett is a tough, smart homicide detective with the NYPD -- a first-class investigator known for being a closer. She's also gained a reputation as a detective who's intrigued by the "freaky ones," the sort of cases that doesn't fit neatly into a box. It's a reflection of her ongoing quest for justice. Having joined the force after the murder of a loved one was never solved, she has a rare ability to empathize with the victims and it's this that fuels her unceasing drive to capture the people responsible. Forced to work with Castle, she's at first frustrated by his presence but over time begins to appreciate him. Even though he drives her crazy, she knows they make a great team.

Susan Sullivan

Martha Rodgers
Castle's mother, Martha Rodgers, is a former Broadway actress who never made it quite as big as she thinks she did. However, that never stops her from constantly seeking the spotlight with her larger-than-life personality. After being swindled out of her savings by her latest ex-husband, she's forced to move in with Castle and her granddaughter Alexis. She feels it's her job to keep Castle grounded -- she's always there to point out when his books drop off the best-seller list or to search out a bad review, no matter how obscure. But it's all done out of love -- Martha's unique way of showing she cares.

Molly Quinn

Alexis Castle
Castle's daughter, fifteen-year-old Alexis, is an old soul who often feels more at home with adults than kids her own age. Having grown up in a household full of dinner table conversations about whether the self-cleaning oven could incinerate a body, she's rebelled by being just a normal girl. More interested in her physics textbook than makeup, Alexis never ceases to amaze Castle with her wisdom and insight. It's sometimes difficult to tell which one's the parent and which one's the child, but Castle's her rock, always there for Alexis when she needs him.


Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Roy Montgomery
Detective Beckett's gruff but paternal boss, Captain Montgomery appreciates Beckett's determination and diligence but maintains a close watch to make sure the investigation goes smoothly. He's there to keep Beckett and Castle in line and remind them to wrap things up as quickly as possible. He's amused by how much Castle annoys Beckett, but also appreciates how effective the two are when they work together.

Tamala Jones

Lanie Parish
Lanie is a Medical Examiner, but maintains a warm, friendly outlook, despite her chosen profession. As a friend of Beckett's, she's one of the few people that Beckett can let her guard down with. She's also one of the only people who notices the personal connection between Beckett and Castle, and urges her to act on it.

Jon Huertas

Javier Esposito
Detective Esposito works in the homicide division with Ryan as part of Beckett's team. He's always ready with a sardonic comment to keep Beckett on her toes and enjoys the way Castle riles her up. Although Esposito is constantly arguing about obscure facts with Ryan, the two are incredibly tight and always have each other's backs.

Seamus Dever

Kevin Ryan
Detective Ryan works alongside Esposito as part of Beckett's team. He's charming, quick on his feet, and is a wealth of obscure knowledge. He's always contributing a random fact or some strange piece of insight. He and Esposito regularly tease Beckett, but they're incredibly protective of her and ultimately treat her like one of the guys.

[Raycheetah]

I might actually watch this one! Shiny!

=^[.]^=

[HeroineOfCanton]

Oh, I'll be there! I'm an NF fan from way back. And when I say "way back," I mean it. I'd never watched a sci fi show in my life before Firefly, but I watched it because I'd loved Nathan since his time on One Life to Live.

[herbsinger42]

Oh, I'll be there! I'm an NF fan from way back. And when I say "way back," I mean it. I'd never watched a sci fi show in my life before Firefly, but I watched it because I'd loved Nathan since his time on One Life to Live.

Hmmm. I know actors love 'em... it is great work. However, as a practicing thespian... small 't'... or maybe it is that I'm recovering; not sure.
I hated / abhor/ despise soaps... until Soap. The concept of a neverending novel doesn't appeal, I don't care for the twist in plot just to bring you back when it has no social lesson/ redeeming quality.

I'm surprised that an Austenite would be a fan.

Clearly, the depth and breadth of human interest is bigger than me.

Anyway- I know actors love to practice a thing over and over... work it, tweak it for one or another effect. When my former daughter in law lived with me, I watched 'cause she did, and I had the bigger screen, and It came on after our local news break (which I watched) only to discover that key scenes were re-shot... then re-shot again, and learned why ACTORS thought they were fun. But they aren't really well written with a clear agenda. I can't sink my brain anywhere comfortably.

This SERIES on the other hand.... or any other well casted, well written series... and I'm there. I am so looking forward to this one.

Life, the CSI's, Lie to Me, Bones, Leverage, Saving Grace, The Closer, Dollhouse, Brothers and Sisters, Flashpoint, even Numb3rs; these are well written character studies... Formulaic, yes, but the arch of character development, situation that gives both a well developed story line, plus development reveal--- this appeals to the literary me.

And thank the gods for DVR--- now with the plethora o channels... I don't want to give up one for the other... and then the net for the ones that overflow my DVR.

[HeroineOfCanton]

I'm surprised that an Austenite would be a fan.

Interesting that you should say that considering that two of the three founding members of the Austenites have been soap fans for 20+ years, both of whom have English degrees as well as other graduate degrees. Our hot conversation of the moment is applying Barthes to soaps. Perhaps you'd like to weigh in on whether or not soaps are primarily readerly or writerly texts?

I'll never understand why sci fi fans of all fans in the world are so harsh towards soap fans. No two genres are more often maligned by those who have never bothered to watch before forming an opinion. We should form common cause rather than dismiss one another. Then again, as BSG fans will tell you, the show started to go to pot in Season 3 when the show got "soapy," which just shows a complete misunderstand of soap operas, because there was nothing soapy about Season 3. Poorly written romance is not an interchangable term with soap opera.

[DarthMarley]

Just to get on the same page, then, how do you define "soap opera?"

I thought it descended from the "Horse opera" depiction of western radio shows, applied to romantic serials on early television which relied on soap products for sponsorship.

[herbsinger42]

Novels have a beginning, many character reveals that help, but do not lock in the way a character will react to the plot.
Novels have a given setting, and don't change it for sweeps week.
Setting is changeable, and moves the plot, or with the plot. Not due to sweeps week.
Tone is set by a writer, it gives the reader insight and guidance to character and plot.

Plot actually happens, and there is some kind of wrap/ sense of completeness about a portion of a story.
Plot is the driving force behind the set of actions a character makes; the character's respond to other characters position in the plot, and the choices they make.

Surprises do happen, plot twists happen, and relationships are revealed... but rarely do they entirely upend the development of a character so that something totally out of character is left unexplained.

There are 'rules' in the world/space-time continuum. Folk do not, unless you are in a vampire story, come back from the dead. Folks have a source of income, and what they can do is dependent upon that source.

I did give soaps a chance. Three months I watched one. I did watch Dark Shadows as a kid... and it had a limited run. Maybe that maintains my sense of completion. I just get irritated that 'suddenly everyone is transported to Hawaii' for big wig's wedding.... again. Buffy...
angel... Firefly arched. Bones... West Wing... they arched. The had a beginning... stuff happened that changed the character's point of view... you saw the evidence of the changes on their choices...

I do think Darth is correct in the source of the story lines. One can choose to create something like a sitcom that doesn't really go anywhere. It repeats the same kind of mistakes because the characters aren't supposed to learn... It is funny if somebody continues to fall down... and we all get to laugh, but it doesn't hold my interest. Seen it. Been there. Got the T-shirt.

I like the sense of learning something about the human condition, that I can go back over--- watch an arch of development to more introspection... or more activism. Something.

[HeroineOfCanton]

Folk do not, unless you are in a vampire story, come back from the dead.

*snip*

Buffy...

Apparently even when they aren't vampires.

[HeroineOfCanton]

Just to get on the same page, then, how do you define "soap opera?"

This entire article is pretty long, so here are some highlights.

The term "soap opera" was coined by the American press in the 1930s to denote the extraordinarily popular genre of serialized domestic radio dramas, which, by 1940, represented some 90% of all commercially-sponsored daytime broadcast hours. The "soap" in soap opera alluded to their sponsorship by manufacturers of household cleaning products; while "opera" suggested an ironic incongruity between the domestic narrative concerns of the daytime serial and the most elevated of dramatic forms. In the United States, the term continues to be applied primarily to the approximately fifty hours each week of daytime serial television drama broadcast by ABC, NBC, and CBS, but the meanings of the term, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, exceed this generic designation.

The defining quality of the soap opera form is its seriality. A serial narrative is a story told through a series of individual, narratively linked installments. Unlike episodic television programs, in which there is no narrative linkage between episodes and each episode tells a more or less self-contained story, the viewer's understanding of and pleasure in any given serial installment is predicated, to some degree, upon his or her knowledge of what has happened in previous episodes. Furthermore, each serial episode always leaves narrative loose ends for the next episode to take up. The viewer's relationship with serial characters is also different from those in episodic television. In the latter, characters cannot undergo changes that transcend any given episode, and they seldom reference events from previous episodes. Serial characters do change across episodes (they age and even die), and they possess both histories and memories. Serial television is not merely narratively segmented, its episodes are designed to be parceled out in regular installments, so that both the telling of the serial story and its reception by viewers is institutionally regulated. (This generalization obviously does not anticipate the use of the video tape recorder to "time shift" viewing).

Particularly in the United States, the connotation of "soap opera" as a degraded cultural and aesthetic form is inextricably bound to the gendered nature of its appeals and of its target audience. The soap opera always has been a "woman's" genre, and, it has frequently been assumed (mainly by those who have never watched soap operas), of interest primarily or exclusively to uncultured working-class women with simple tastes and limited capacities. Thus the soap opera has been the most easily parodied of all broadcasting genres, and its presumed audience most easily stereotyped as the working-class "housewife" who allows the dishes to pile up and the children to run amuck because of her "addiction" to soap operas. Despite the fact that the soap opera is demonstrably one of the most narratively complex genres of television drama whose enjoyment requires considerable knowledge by its viewers, and despite the fact that its appeals for half a century have cut across social and demographic categories, the term continues to carry this sexist and classist baggage.

As far as return from the dead storylines, that is something soap viewers accept, not something they actively enjoy. When a show has been on for decades and shoots 5 days a week, actors are bound to come and go. Returning from the dead is simply a device necessitated by production demands.

And if anyone is wondering why this particularly put a bee in my bonnet, I'm not really fond of being called stupid, which is unquestionably the connotation behind something like I never realized the Austenites were a bunch of drooling morons.

[HeroineOfCanton]

Or for folks with short attention spans, here's a brief definition supplied by BSG Maestra.

soap opera, n., a serial television drama characterized by large casts; complicated, interwoven stories; absence of traditional narrative resolution; multivalent POV/focalization (in terms of both narratology and film theory); and an overall emphasis on private over public sphere, talking over action, and character over plot.

[DarthMarley]

2 snaps up in "z" formation.

[Raycheetah]

Very good! Entertaining, even if the mystery wasn't particularly challenging.

The missus and I will be watching again next week.

=^[.]^=

[DarthMarley]

As far as return from the dead storylines, that is something soap viewers accept, not something they actively enjoy.

In certain kinds of shows, different rules apply.
In things like The Simpsons, or South Park, time stands still for decades.

[HeroineOfCanton]

In certain kinds of shows, different rules apply.
In things like The Simpsons, or South Park, time stands still for decades.

Exactly.

Anyhow, enough arguing over soap operas. Let's talk about how much Castle rocks! Best new show I've seen in a long time.

[DarthMarley]

It really was great.

Has someone got a Castle wiki up yet?
All the book titles shown should have obsessive nerds typing away about the world of Castle.

[Raycheetah]

It really was great.

Has someone got a Castle wiki up yet?

Yes! It makes for fascinating historical reading... though it's probably just another populist piece of infotrash, since it's Wiki.

*Takes his smartass self off to hide behind the couch!*

=^[.]~=

[HeroineOfCanton]

For non-smartasses: Castle Wikipedia.

[HeroineOfCanton]

Castle numbers