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clodia_risaI've been working on sorting all the piles of paper lying around my office. I've got a filing cabinet, but I'll need a lot more hanging files before I'm able to sort it all properly.
I'm actually doing more than just watch TV - I'm just trying to get back into the habit of posting, and putting down thoughts about TV shows is a good way to start.
Again, loved the episode. Katic has an amazing range of expressions, and she's allowed to use them every episode. I enjoy the digs at both police procedurals and at mystery novels. And even though I knew that Brendan was the guilty culprit from the second he said "We should just tell the truth guys" they made the trip to that knowledge fun and exciting. (Seriously - if you're in a group of kids and one of them is unnaturally self-possessed and knows anything about the law and is unduly forthcoming - guilty. That's the sociopath there. At least on TV.)
I still appreciate that Beckett and Castle take turns being the inspired one and the fooled one, and their chemistry is fantastic. The scene where she twists his ear to get him away from the phone was beautiful.
My main complaint is that the daughter is too perfect. She's so well-behaved and informed and studious and docile and articulate. I mean, I was what one would call a goody-goody much of my teenage years. But I didn't read the newspaper, and I didn't chose studying over even people watching at a star-filled party. I wouldn't've responded to my dad telling me that I was adorable in my sleep like she did - I would have stammered or frozen up or something. Maybe my relationship with my parents than hers, and maybe she's inured to the thrills of the star's life. But it just feels off to me. As much as I love Castle's devotion to his daughter, the daughter feels unreal to me. She is the perfect foil for the partying grandmother, and I like that he has a home life that he can go back to (even if this week did the SVU-Stabler trope of "cop learns lessons at work and institutes them at home", that's the first time that they've done it).
I also want to make a couple of notes on the racial makeup of the cast, as I'm trying to actively notice these things. There are eight named recurring characters - five are white, two are black, one is hispanic. Of the four cast members who are given some amount of background and motivations, all four are white. Three of those four are in the same family, so I'll not deduct half a point for that. The bio section on ABC says that Laurie Parish (the ME) is Beckett's friend. I have seen no evidence of this yet, although I hope to in episodes to come. On the other hand, I know that there is a tendency to give white main characters a "black girlfriend" to support them without actually having lives of their own. All we know about the secondary characters (who are all Beckett's coworkers) is that they are competent, like teasing Beckett, and have heard of Castle. The actor that plays Montgomery (the boss) is a Tony and Obie award winning actor, writer and director. All we know about his character so far is that he will go to the Knicks game with Castle and the Mayor.
That's not to say that more characterization isn't imminent. This is, after all, the third episode. But as happy as I am that it's an entirely Caucasian cast, I would also like it if POC were not relegated either to the background or as the sidekick. I'm trying to think of a basic cable show that has a POC as one of the main characters. Psych and L&O both do, but I think in both they're the sidekick or the junior partner. Dollhouse has Boyd as a handler, but I think all advertising is going to focus on Dushku. Am I missing any shows?
For me, it is not enough of a reason to stop watching. I love the dialogue and the characters and the plot. But I feel it's important to notice these things - one more step along the path of acknowledge my privilege, right?
I'm actually doing more than just watch TV - I'm just trying to get back into the habit of posting, and putting down thoughts about TV shows is a good way to start.
Again, loved the episode. Katic has an amazing range of expressions, and she's allowed to use them every episode. I enjoy the digs at both police procedurals and at mystery novels. And even though I knew that Brendan was the guilty culprit from the second he said "We should just tell the truth guys" they made the trip to that knowledge fun and exciting. (Seriously - if you're in a group of kids and one of them is unnaturally self-possessed and knows anything about the law and is unduly forthcoming - guilty. That's the sociopath there. At least on TV.)
I still appreciate that Beckett and Castle take turns being the inspired one and the fooled one, and their chemistry is fantastic. The scene where she twists his ear to get him away from the phone was beautiful.
My main complaint is that the daughter is too perfect. She's so well-behaved and informed and studious and docile and articulate. I mean, I was what one would call a goody-goody much of my teenage years. But I didn't read the newspaper, and I didn't chose studying over even people watching at a star-filled party. I wouldn't've responded to my dad telling me that I was adorable in my sleep like she did - I would have stammered or frozen up or something. Maybe my relationship with my parents than hers, and maybe she's inured to the thrills of the star's life. But it just feels off to me. As much as I love Castle's devotion to his daughter, the daughter feels unreal to me. She is the perfect foil for the partying grandmother, and I like that he has a home life that he can go back to (even if this week did the SVU-Stabler trope of "cop learns lessons at work and institutes them at home", that's the first time that they've done it).
I also want to make a couple of notes on the racial makeup of the cast, as I'm trying to actively notice these things. There are eight named recurring characters - five are white, two are black, one is hispanic. Of the four cast members who are given some amount of background and motivations, all four are white. Three of those four are in the same family, so I'll not deduct half a point for that. The bio section on ABC says that Laurie Parish (the ME) is Beckett's friend. I have seen no evidence of this yet, although I hope to in episodes to come. On the other hand, I know that there is a tendency to give white main characters a "black girlfriend" to support them without actually having lives of their own. All we know about the secondary characters (who are all Beckett's coworkers) is that they are competent, like teasing Beckett, and have heard of Castle. The actor that plays Montgomery (the boss) is a Tony and Obie award winning actor, writer and director. All we know about his character so far is that he will go to the Knicks game with Castle and the Mayor.
That's not to say that more characterization isn't imminent. This is, after all, the third episode. But as happy as I am that it's an entirely Caucasian cast, I would also like it if POC were not relegated either to the background or as the sidekick. I'm trying to think of a basic cable show that has a POC as one of the main characters. Psych and L&O both do, but I think in both they're the sidekick or the junior partner. Dollhouse has Boyd as a handler, but I think all advertising is going to focus on Dushku. Am I missing any shows?
For me, it is not enough of a reason to stop watching. I love the dialogue and the characters and the plot. But I feel it's important to notice these things - one more step along the path of acknowledge my privilege, right?
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no subject
on 2009-03-26 04:48 am (UTC)I thought the same thing, from the church scene. Then while I was watching, all I could think of was "If this were Bones, Hodgins would have identified the rubber from the sole of the smirky kid's shoe and tied him to the scene of the crime before the end of Act 1. It's really too bad every police department doesn't have its own Hodgins. HOW DO THEY SOLVE ANY CRIMES?"
I agree with you about the daughter. It sounds like you and I were fairly similar--a goody two-shoes, but no one is that good. Not that pure *and* that intelligent and savvy and moral. She needs a few flaws to humanize her, make her feel more like a kid. If she had insecurity or problems with confidence, that I would believe, especially if she's so restrained in terms of being a good student and an obedient child. But she seems confident and charming and witty on top of the uber-purity. Let's give her some resemblance to all other fifteen-year-old female humans on planet.
Nice observations about race. I hadn't paid attention to the coworkers, but when the pilot aired I was thinking about someone's discussion of race in Dollhouse and RaceFail09 in fandom, so it was in my mind. My first thought was that an easy place to put in a major person of color would be to have Castle's daughter be either mixed or POC. It'd be easier than casting his mother that way, and it would give Castle an interesting dimension as a single father of a mixed-race household. (plus, he could then be an Obama geek with dreams for his daughter being President, especially if she's such a savant*)
* I was going to say "such a Lisa Simpson", but Lisa Simpson has done tons of dangerous, rule-breaking things in the name of the greater good.
no subject
on 2009-03-26 06:48 pm (UTC)It really is an unrealistic father/daughter relationship. If she were 4-6 years older I could get it, but that would also mean that she was an adult and he wouldn't be able to dictate her actions, thus depriving us of some sort of tension to come in a future episode, I'm sure (just like in this episode).
It feels like her function on the show is to be Castle's humanizing factor, someone that he can be concerned about, and also someone who can help him come to his revelation of the week. I like her more than I think I would in another show, just because Castle's love for her is so apparent and adorable, and they do have good conversations. I just hope that they do give her a few flaws, as you said. She doesn't act like any teenager I've ever known.
The only issue with having the kid be mixed is that they would eventually have to have a discussion about her mother. At this point, the most we've heard or seen of his ex-wives was that conversation with the ex/publisher and his series of quips with Beckett. There would have to be some sort of conversation that established that she was his daughter and that her mother was a POC.
Looking at the last paragraph, I'd like to say it a different way. It's easier to have the family and the two leads all be white. This way it's not necessary to have any conversation about race. If the secondary cast has POC, then they don't get backstories and we don't have to talk about why they're a different race from the lead. If we make one of the main cast members something other than white, the writers will probably have to "deal with it" in one way or another. (See Scrubs.)
As it is, they can just drop a teenage girl and an older woman, and you get they're family. There's no awkwardness between Beckett and Castle except for that they're different genders (and everyone likes that kind of tension) and have different outlooks on life.
Easier, of course, does not mean better.