“If you’re looking for a happy ending, you’ve come to the wrong place.” – Beckett
“Next time I’ll have to try that massage parlor on Seventh Avenue.” – Castle
Have you all started writing your thank you notes to us? That’s Debbie and Keith McDuffee, c/o CliqueClack TV… what do you mean, what are you thanking us for?
Clearly TPTB over at Castle have been reading our posts. Keith may have stated that Castle needs more poker games, but I do believe I have begged and pleaded in nearly every one of my Castle posts that I long to see the poker games become a regular thing. Well, I got my wish tonight … sort of.
Hooray, the poker games are back! I’m sure TPTB put in two poker games, just for me, I’m positive. OK, they weren’t exactly the poker games I’ve been craving, complete with the famous crime authors helping Castle solve a murder, but both of these poker games worked for me, and worked well.
The first poker game, with Castle, Martha, Beckett and the other cops on the team reinforced the bonding that’s been taking place between Castle’s family and his consulting “work.” Last week, we got to see Beckett and Martha bond. This week, we saw the other members of the team take a liking to Martha as well. To all you Martha haters out there, I say phooey on you; they’ve toned her down and given her a purpose. And the fact that she’s become the department’s honorary mother figure is even funnier in light of the fact she’s anything but motherly. Admit it — it’s cute.
We also got to see Castle throw the game for Beckett — who folds with a full house? This led to a great back-and-froth that furthered their relationship, and also a rematch … and the promise of another. Oh yeah, more poker!
So the second game, the rematch, had Castle, Beckett, her bosses and the mayor duking it out, solving crime over poker in the same spirit as the original poker game in the pilot. So it wasn’t Patterson, but it still worked with this crowd. I’d like to see this more often, as I actually think it will work better than the original poker game in the pilot. Yeah, it had star power, and it was unique, but let’s get to know the weekly characters of the show instead. Good call, PTB. Good call.
This time Beckett threw the game, but in the end, I think Castle and Beckett understood each other a bit better. No one’s going to be throwing that rematch game, I can assure you.
Are you as happy to see the poker games return as I am?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Apr 28, 2009 @ 11:54 EST5EDT
I’m totally with you that these ‘versions’ of the poker game will work much better than the authors. The Captain, a Judge, and the Mayor were enough star power for Beckett, even though she didn’t back down. And the first one brought most of the extended cast together, which was very nice to see.
I’m slowly getting past my annoyances with the mother, but it will take more scenes like the opening poker game to get there.
DM, I wholly agree with you. I liked the idea of the original poker games, but the writers weren’t actors so it came across as stiff and forced. I hoped they’d do poker again only with real actors playing mystery writers. However, you’re right using the judge, the mayor and the boss is more than sufficient. It gives a glimpse into Castle’s world, but with veteran actors. Although three poker games cut down on the Beckett’s team’s screentime (outside the open), this was still a good ep.
Regarding the mother, she initially came off as a watered down version of Jessica Walter’s 90210 and a re-hash of Jinx. However, the re-tooling has improved her and Sullivan’s portrayal of the character. Girly note: I am impressed by Sullivan’s colorist who has shifted her to a bright auburn while maintaining shine and moisture. My biggest pet peeve on In Plain Sight is Leslie Ann Warren’s hair. I only hope the two will meet one day to compare characters and colorists :)
Thanks for the longer, detailed post, DM. I actually prefer longer articles a bit more than other formats.