TV News and Reviews

This week TV.com seems certain of the demise of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Considering Dollhouse’s ratings are on the same level, it might not be long for the schedule, either, unless they decide to give Joss Whedon a chance to build momentum.

TV by the Numbers  seems similarly convinced that In the Motherhood, Cupid, Castle, and The Unusuals are doomed. Nothing official as yet, but the ratings aren’t all that fab. Better Off Ted is on the cusp.

You can see from my earlier blog posts that I won’t cry over In the Motherhood or The Unusuals. I would, however, cry over Cupid, Castle, and Better Off Ted. Especially Better Off Ted. That show is just outrageous and risky and crazy and damn funny. And I love every actor on it. The problem may be that it’s the perfect match for Scrubs, and if it ends up without a sitcom pairing next season, that could put it in jeopardy. Which would be a damn shame. But honestly, Scrubs‘ star has been waning for some time, so pairing Better Off Ted with another up and coming sitcom could actually improve its ratings.

I love Nathan Fillion, but Castle suffers from some weak casting. And terrible scheduling. I’ve missed it twice now because I’m watching Medium and forget to record Castle. Castle isn’t a powerhouse show, but Fillion is ridiculously charming and could do well in a more out of the way timeslot. It’s one of those times where I would welcome a timeslot shift and it could save the show from oblivion.

I suspect Cupid suffers in the ratings because the plot is a hard sell. It sounds incredibly cheesy to say this guy thinks he’s Cupid and goes around matchmaking people. But in actuality, the show is full of heart and sweetness and Bobby Cannavale zips out the one-liners so fast and charmingly it makes your head spin. Each week we get really cool guest stars that you can identify from other sitcoms or shows you’ve loved in the past, and there’s a new set of characters to fall in love with. It’s not brain surgery, but it’s a really pleasant way to spend an hour. It’s a great antitode to all the hard-edged crime procedurals and medical dramas out there.

If you want to save these shows, watching them online may help. If you’re not a Nielsen family, they have no idea you care. Visit the website, watch the vids, leave comments. Let them know people are watching!

Read up on the TV News and Reviews posts for Better Off Ted , Castle , and Cupid.

Nolan Gerard Funk as Brandon in “Hedge Fund Homeboys”, Castle screencap c2009 ABC Studios.

Tonight was the new Castle episode, “Hedge Fund Homeboys”. A prep school boy is found murdered in a boat, set adrift in the lake. The trail leads to his close-knit group of friends. These friends apparently got drunk and high in the park and “played” at Russian Roulette–supposedly without bullets. Add a disgruntled and suspicious drug dealer with a motive and you’ve got yourself a complicated mystery.

Castle was extremely enjoyable tonight, both for the winding tale of the murder, and the gradually developing teamwork by Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion). Fillion is as ridiculously charming as ever, and Katic is starting to warm up and get more of the nuances right. She had a few great dirty looks in this episode that were just perfectly timed and executed.

There was also a really nice and unexpected subplot with Castle and his daughter Alexis (Molly C. Quinn). Seeing how oblivious the parents were of what their kids were really up to, Castle has a heart-to-heart with his daughter to find out if she’s really as good as he thinks she is. Her later tearful confession of wrong-doing is just spot-on–it’s the type of thing real life good kids would confess to.  Quinn continues to make the precocious Quinn endearing and entertaining, and she’s a perfect match for Fillion.

Tonight’s other good casting came in the guise of Hedge Fund Homeboy Brandon, played by Nolan Gerard Funk. This uber pretty young actor gave us an unsettlingly calm performance as one of the prep school friends, who all seem to have a carefully planned answer for everything. He was so irritatingly smug that it caused Castle to utter “I HATE that kid!” through clenched teeth after one of their interviews–and we the audience were ready to choke that kid as well. All a sign that Funk played the role just right.

Tune in for more fun and mystery on Castle, Monday nights at 10/9c on ABC. Here’s a teaser for “Hedge Fund Homeboys”:

(Go here if you can’t see the video.)

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The second episode of Castle, “Nanny McDead”, took me by surprise tonight. After a revelation I had already figured out ten minutes ago, I decided that early reviews of Castle had been correct–that the investigations weren’t going to be the point behind the show. They’d just be simple good guy/bad guy plots that would be the vehicle for all the banter and sexual tension between Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic).

Then something amazing happened–the revelation turned out to be not a revelation at all. Castle, Beckett, and the home audience had all assumed something that seemed obvious and turned out was something else entirely. And then the next assumption turned out to be way off as well. I hadn’t been expecting such a cool misdirect on a “fluff” show, so it worked especially well. If they can manage to keep up interesting plot twists in the cases along with all the playful banter, we might have ourselves a good show.

Castle is still weak in some areas–most notably in the police station. Katic still isn’t quite good enough to match Fillion’s charm, but she has her moments. I hope those moments will increase. The rest of the squad, unfortunately, are kind of boring and bumbling at this point. It’s okay to have one guy who maybe doesn’t have a clue, but if they’re going to actually take these murder mysteries seriously–as it seems they are–then they need to give these actors something to work with. And possibly get someone a bit more flashy in there to keep things interesting. The Mentalist had a similar problem, and definitely improved once the police squad actually started getting their own character development and actual intelligent police work.

Nathan Fillion is still the ridiculously charming glue holding Castle together. The show could go either way for me at this point, but the extra attention to the police work this time made me hopeful. I also like Castle and Beckett working together on interviews, because he thinks to ask different questions than she does. They just have to be careful not to make him a better cop than her. They kept the right balance tonight. I also loved the scene tonight when Castle lulled them all into fascination as he laid out a novel-worthy scenario of the crime that he had fabricated right on the spot. Since he’s supposed to be a brilliant and famous mystery writer, it’s important to show us his actual skill once in awhile.

Keep your fingers crossed that Castle will hit more of the right notes each week and grow into a truly entertaining and quality show.

Watch Castle Monday nights on ABC, 10/9c.

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Nathan Fillion as Castle and Stana Katic as Beckett on Castle, screencap c2009 ABC Studios.

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