The Positively Positive

Christian Slater in the forgotten, Season 1, episode 4 “Parachute Jane”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

As I watched this week’s episode of the forgotten it occurred to me that there is always going to be an innate sadness to this show. Because the forgotten is different than other procedural dramas. In other shows we see a team looking to solve a crime which is more often than not a murder, but occasionally they get to rescue someone too.

This show doesn’t have that option. Here we already know that our victim is dead and nothing the team does will change that. All the volunteers can hope for is to find out who they are to give the families, and indeed the victims themselves, some closure.

That being said, I don’t see this as an overly sad show. Yes it’s true that I do tend to tear up at the end of each episode. I can’t help it, hearing the voice of the victim tell us who they are as their murderer is brought to justice, just gets to me. But the show still manages to be interesting, exciting and even funny.

This week’s episode had the team looking into the murder of a teenager whose only crime was that she wanted to go home. In the beginning I pegged the girl as a wild teen enjoying her freedom and fooling everyone into thinking she was older than she was. As it turned out, the exact opposite was true, proving that I jump to conclusions much too easily.

Overall another good episode of a show that I’m beginning to enjoy very much.

More on the forgotten…

the forgotten, Season 1, episode 3 “Football John”

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic in Castle, season 2, episode 4 “Fool Me Once…”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

This week’s episode of Castle has everyone investigating the death of a con man who may, or may not, have a heart of gold. He apparently tricks kids out of money, but then takes time out to write to each one of them while on a fake trip to the Antarctic. He is dating an heiress worth millions, but has signed a pre-nup giving up any claim to it.

This episode kept me guessing until the very end. Not only about who committed the murder, but also about the victim himself. Along the way, we got to see everyone on the give their opinions of cons and con men. It was no surprise that all the men liked con movies and admired some of the victim’s ploys.

It was interesting to see though, that as soon as Castle saw cons from the viewpoint of a father rather than a man, his whole idea of them changed. What was once funny and clever was now suspicious and possibly dangerous to his little girl. His over-protection, checking out Alexis’s violin teacher, may have been a bit over the top…okay a LOT over the top, but who can really blame him?

I also enjoyed the fact that throughout the entire episode, Beckett was pulling the biggest con of all. She lied to Castle about not reading his book, which we find out (and so does he) that she’s really addicted to it. She also told the whole team that she didn’t like con movies, but in the end loved them just as much as the guys did.

More Castle…

Castle, season 2, episode 3 “Inventing The Girl”

Heather Stephens and Christian Slater interview a possible suspect in the forgotten, season 1, episode 3 “Football John”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

I didn’t hear about this show until after the pilot episode and I’ve only seen the last two episodes. So far I think it’s really good.

About a group of volunteers led by an ex cop (played by Christian Slater), ”the forgotten” is not your typical cop show. Well for one thing, the characters solving the murders of people the police have given up on (dubbed “the forgotten), aren’t cops at all. They’re just people. People who have decided to do this in their spare time, sometimes to the detriment of their family lives, jobs, etc.

Because this isn’t their “job”, I can really feel the passion these characters have for what they do. They also come up with some rather unorthodox ways of doing it. Unable to arrest anyone or serve warrants, they do everything to get the info they need, including pleading with a hotel receptionist or buying a round for a bar full of rowdy football fans.

The voices of the dead, as our narrators to their own story, help to move the show along.

The joy the group feels when they solved a case is palpable as well, and another reason I have enjoyed the first episodes I’ve seen. That and the fact that last night’s episode actually had me crying at the end. If that’s not a sign of some well written television, I don’t know what is.

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic in Castle, season 2, episode 3 “Inventing The Girl”. image from www.tvovermind.com

Castle was another one of those shows that suffered from my lack of a DVR last year. I only caught a few episodes here and there and was determined to change that this season. So I started recording it and have now finally gotten a chance to watch the first three episodes of this season.

What I like about this show is its wit, the characters and surprisingly enough (to me, anyway) the mystery. I’ve never been much into mysteries. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that one of my favorite actors (Nathan Fillion) was in this show, I wouldn’t have started watching. Now that I have, I’m happy I gave it a shot. This show is hilariously funny and the characters are a blast to watch.

Nathan as Castle is sexy but also just a big goof, not afraid to make fun of himself or others. Beckett is the detective forced to have Castle tag along on her cases and is a good match for him. She’s tough and ballsy but has a good heart. As their sometimes rivals, I really love the other two detectives they often work with to solve crimes. In a show that is already chock full of humor, these guys manage to add even more. Last week’s episode, where all were involved in a bet to see who would solve a case first, especially let them shine.

Once again I thank the DVR gods for bringing to me a great show that I might have otherwise missed..