Castle Review: Season 1, Episode 9 "Little Girl Lost"

 By Elizabeth Beall

**SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen this episode, please go and do so before continuing!**

Oh Castle.... What's a relationship without a little competition to add drama? So far on the show we've been treated to at least two ex-wives for Rick, but Beckett... Well, she's still single, and she is still not quite falling for a certain someone's "ruggedly handsome" charms.
This case hits a little close to home for Beckett: a young child abducted from the home. She's dealt with it before, and it didn't end well. That and--oh look! The FBI is involved... and the agent on the case is an ex-boyfriend of Beckett's.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle is trying to earn "boyfriend points" by greeting Beckett on the scene with her favorite donut and order of coffee. Trouble is, he also brings up his fan site... Which Beckett is apparently familiar with--for "research purposes", of course--and Castle's ribbing about it ("You subscribed to my website? Wait a minute... are you Castlefreak1212? Castlelover45?") earns him a bear-claw in the mouth. Lesson learned: No woman wants sass before she has her coffee.

-The case involves the abduction of a two-year-old girl from the home of her hard-working parents. Mom works at the hospital, Dad paints for a living. He was in the next room when it happened; one moment, the girl was there, the next moment, gone.



-Enter the suave, dashing, smooth-talking, driven Agent Will Sorenson. He's got the history with Beckett that Castle wants, he knows things about her that Castle can't possibly get her to confess, and in short, he's got the position that Castle thinks he wants--and yet, Beckett seems reluctant to be working with him again.... And on the plus side, we get more of the Wisecracking Castle!

-"Really? You're going with the instincts of Nancy Drew, here?"
"Is that supposed to be an insult? Because Nancy Drew solved all her cases."

-Beckett: "Oh, why don't you two just drop your pants and get it over with!"
Castle: "I'm game!"


-Beckett ends up sending Castle home because Will doesn't want him around... and poor Rick discovers that Martha's "money-making scheme-of-the-week" happens to be working out of his office as a "Life Coach." "Mother, can I interest you in the kitchen as a better location? The wide open space... proximity to beverages... and sharp implements..."

-Can I just also take a moment to point out that THIS EPISODE MARKS THE FIRST MENTION OF JENNY O'MALLEY, RYAN'S THEN-GIRLFRIEND, PLAYED BY SEAMUS' (THE ACTOR'S) REAL-LIFE WIFE JULIANNE!!! He was my favorite character to begin with... and the fact that he's the first one to have a steady girlfriend.... portrayed by his wife... I was over-the-moon. Granted, it's just a mention, but... The tie says it all...


-The ransom demand has been made... and it's oddly specific: exactly every penny the couple has, and not a cent more. Could the kidnapper be closer to the victims than just a stone-cold professional on a spree?

-When it comes time to make the drop, Beckett finally stands up for Castle in the face of "the Feds", deciding to allow him to volunteer to make the drop.

-This episode really plays up the "Will They/Won't They" angle... because all networks know that, "If all else fails, use romantic tension to make viewers want another season." But while Castle is getting ready for a potentially dangerous money drop with an as-yet-unidentified killer, Beckett comes in... and she's more worried about this Nikki Heat novel that he is working on, and the cover image ("It's just a silhouette. She's holding a gun." "She's *naked*!" "She's posing strategically.") than about his actual safety... at least as far as she'll let on. ("Castle? Screw this up and I'll kill you.") Oh yeah, they definitely will.

-Of course, it all goes south, because the kidnapper seems to know exactly what they're going to do just before they do it, and can prepare accordingly--But Castle proves more clever than Will gives him credit for, because though they lost the bag with the money, he managed to slip the burner phone into it--right after texting Beckett from the phone. So now they can track it till the signal dies.

-The nature of the case has made Castle nostalgic. He goes home and starts imagining what it would be like if someone abducted Alexis... Which of course gives him the break he needs to realize that the kidnapped child had a favorite bunny that she carried all the time. A stone-cold kidnapper would have just taken the kid and left the bunny... so where is the bunny?

-It was just the break they needed, and by looking for the bunny, they find the girl, not far away--at the house of her Aunt. The overworked Mom had arranged the whole abduction, intending to use the money to take custody of their daughter away from her neglectful husband. The big reveal and wrap-up gives a sour note to the end of the episode--almost as if the writers were still trying to figure out the best way to end an episode.

-Of course, Will keeps dropping hints that he wants to get back together with Beckett--he'd even like it if she decided to come back to Boston with him--but she is not sure anymore if that's what she wants. The Beckett he knew was very career-driven, but meeting Castle seems to have brought a sense of "family" to her that she probably never expected. She turns him down.

Again, I am not really digging the whole "crime without a criminal" method. It was fun to find out a little more about Beckett's past, both in the ex-boyfriend and the return of the murdered mother case. 

However, I believe it must have been sometime about this episode, or the last few, that the network confirmed a second season, because already we're getting deeper into the lives of the characters with their own arcs and back-stories—things aren't quite so "temporary" anymore. It took nearly ten episodes for this show to get itself organized with the crime solving technique and the character involvement, but in the words of Casablanca, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." 

"Little Girl Lost" gets a 4/5.

Castle Review Season 1 Episode 8 "Ghosts"

By Moira Kirkland

***Spoilers! If you haven't watched this episode, please go and do so before continuing!***

Kudos to the creative team behind Castle for coming up with so many unique ways for a person to die in just the first season--which had such a quick run, it couldn't even be termed a full season! Here we are, already at the eighth episode, and today's crime scene features a woman drowned in a tub full of motor oil. Seriously, nothing is quite so creepy as a face that appears in what you thought was a black screen.... Stolen identities, ghostwriters, bombs on an oil tanker, environmental activists... and a past that hasn't quite let go like people always assumed.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle's got a new poker crowd! This time, it's the gang from the 12th Precinct who are fast becoming best buds with the "ruggedly handsome" mystery writer--and also getting a dose of Martha! "When he blinks too much, he's bluffing.... Oh, now he's tapping, that means he's got a good hand..." Nobody calls tells like a mother, which is why Susan Sullivan is quite possibly the best actress to ever play the mother figure for somebody like Nathan Fillion; the pair are wonderful, and the wits are perfectly matched, one can't help but sense the fictional genetics in the chemistry.

-Speaking of chemistry, what better way for a guy to show he likes a girl than to fold on a perfectly good hand just so she can win the pot? Things are looking good for the Caskett ship!

-I'll admit, Castle had me hooked with his "soccer mom lover's liaison" angle as to why a woman like the unfortunate victim would be in a sleazy hotel like that one in the first place! It was fun, though, to see that, gradually, Castle is winning the guys--they're not writing him off (no pun intended) as just a crackpot tag-along anymore. Trading theories with Espo--how fun!

-So the identity was stolen--but the layers lead back to a true crime writer that I recognized: Joanne Kelly from Warehouse 13! Joanne doesn't quite pass off the writer-vibe as well as Nathan Fillion does, but that's okay, because she's just a ghostwriter who has been recording the story from the victim's past that she had been running from her entire life, which may have been the thing that caught up with her.

-The woman, Cynthia, had teamed up with two others to plant a bomb on an oil tanker, which blew too soon and injured the captain who was still on board, and killed one of the others. The fact that the killer drowned Cynthia in motor oil was more than just poetic justice--it was personal. So the question becomes: who else knew about the bomb plot and would have the motive and means to kill Cynthia?

-After a brief interview with the one surviving member (and the guy who built the bomb and blames himself for the faulty fuse that caused the early explosion), Castle notices that his account diverges from the story Cynthia wanted to publish. Being a writer, he knows something about how and when to reveal key information, depending on the kind of message the writer wants to send--so why would Cynthia be giving her ghostwriter false information? Or perhaps the ghostwriter is taking creative liberties? If so, why?

-The more leads they find because of the ghostwriter, the more people they encounter who know about the book that Cynthia was going to publish, which gives rise to a new motive--true crime novels are one thing when published under the watchful eye of the perpetrator--but now that Cynthia is dead, the ghostwriter could be sitting on a bestseller, with very few people who would care if she sensationalized the story. Of course, the airtight alibi exonerates the writer--but if she didn't, who did? A connection is coming--but what could it be?

-In talking with the family of the captain who had been on the oil tanker, Castle and Beckett discover that the son had been trying to hunt Cynthia down--but it turns out that was only to find out why she'd been sending regular checks to his mom, accompanied by a note that said "I'm sorry." The trouble is, the ghostwriter--who should have known about it, since it would have aided casting Cynthia in a more favorable light--knew nothing. So if Cynthia didn't send the money, who did?

-Can I just point out how much I miss these poker games scenes? I can't recall exactly when they were phased out, but one just doesn't see them much anymore on the show! It takes a poker game with the "Gotham crew" (the judge, the mayor, and the police chief) to figure out this new twist in the mystery. Plus, Beckett demands in because she is mad at Castle for "throwing" the last game... and yet, when given the chance, Beckett "throws" it right back! Who says romance has to involve kissing and bedroom scenes?

-A well-placed comment in the middle of a flurry of contemplation prompts Castle to come up with another wild theory: what if the conspirator everyone thought was dead, really wasn't? And what if she was the one who murdered Cynthia, after living all this time under a false identity, just like Cynthia had?

-And BOOM. Turns out the writers have one more twist for us: Cynthia had discovered this woman was alive... and Cynthia had invited Susan over to kill her in the motor oil and so the story could be told however Cynthia liked... but Susan figured it out and turned the tables on her.

-As a final wrap-up for the case, Castle figures out the ghostwriter's slimy ploy to publicize the fact that she was in contact with Cynthia, which would only invite more publicity for her book if Cynthia were actually arrested and placed on trial. (And yes, I do believe there is a sleazy "tabloid reporter" based on the ghostwriter as a character in Castle's books!) Lesson learned: don't mess with a writer. Even if you "succeed" in hoodwinking them, you'll more than likely end up as material, and the portrayal will not be flattering.

-Finally, Castle and Beckett confront each other about intentionally throwing the poker games... and decide on a rematch. The pot? Gummy bears.

On the whole, I think this episode was on the weirder side, as far as the mystery goes. There weren't any intensely action-packed chases, a lot of it was subtle, mess-with-your-mind-and-emotions kind of stuff. I liked seeing the relationship between Castle and Beckett develop further, as everyone in the Precinct begins to welcome him more as one of them instead of passing him off. I'd give this episode a 4/5.

Film Review: The Chronicles of Narnia "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe"

"This is an awfully big wardrobe." You don't say...!

         I am always a little leery whenever I hear that Hollywood is getting its hooks into one of my favorite books series'. I've been burnt so many times in the past that I automatically cringe whenever I hear that there is going to be a new adaptation. So when I heard that Walt Disney was going to take on the book series that was an integral part of my childhood and my introduction to great literature and fantasy in general...I shuddered and was instantly torn between terror and ecstasy.

     It's not that I am a staunch book purist or anything like that. I used to be, way back in the day, but I have since learned that sometimes adaptations do have to make changes and cuts and, if they are done correctly and with love, they can actually enhance the storytelling and keep the original themes and messages of the book while beautifully changing the medium from book to screen. Sometimes changes have to be made. I get that and I'm not one of the people who rant and rave about Tom Bombadil being cut out of The Fellowship of the Ring. (Or at least I don't any-more...)

     But I am always nervous whenever a part of my childhood is going to be given an adaptation. Whenever I think about all the horrible misinterpretations that have been made of The Secret Garden, I still break out in hives. So was The Chronicles of Narnia: LWW as bad as I feared it would be?

     NO! As a matter of fact, I think that this is by far my favorite film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' Narnia tales out of all of them. And, trust me, I've seen 'em all.

    It got the emotion and the raw humanity of the story in a way that no adaptation since has been able to capture. They had Douglas Gresham (C.S. Lewis' stepson) on the board as a consultant and it really shows through the attention to theme and detail that shines in this film. They even got the bluebottle fly that was buzzing on the windowsill of the spare room, and if you look at the carvings on the wardrobe you can see that there is a panel for each of the other Narnia books.

    Whenever the film started out with the bombers, I honestly thought that either the projectionist was drunk or that I had walked into the wrong theater. Then it dawned on me...DUH! The story is set during WWII, of course there's going to be the Blitz going on! I love that they included this in the film because it not only sets up the family situation, but it also adds some gritty reality into this fantasy film to help ground it in some semblance of reality and make it easier to relate to.

     This film really nails the sibling dynamic between Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I like how the introduction with the Blitz and then the evacuation set up each of their characters and the situation they were living in without the need for a lot of exposition. It helps that all four siblings are perfectly cast and really work together well. William Mosely is the perfect big brother - supportive and protective while Anna Popplewell balances him out as the logical, caring older sister. Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley play the younger siblings very well and help to flesh out the family dynamic and bond. Because the children auditioned together and were given time to become friends and get to know each other before filming started, the chemistry and rapport between them is spot on and really translates over to their characters.

     And can we talk about how perfect James McAvoy was as Mr. Tumnus? I haven't seen him in many things (I think the only other big role was in the X-Men franchise) but I feel that he is a vastly underrated actor. Certainly he embodied what I had always visualized when I thought about Tumnus and he just threw his heart into the project and acted his hooves off. (Haha.)

     Something needs to be said about the musical score too. From the use of 'Oh, Johnny' to the darkly haunting 'Narnian Lullaby', this is a score that takes me right back to childhood every time I hear it. It is beautiful and wondrous and extremely well-blended in to all of the themes.

    Looking back, that scene where Mr. Tumnus lures Lucy back to his cave and lulls her to sleep with tea and music is slightly disturbing...anyway! Moving on!

     I feel like this film really handled the more religious undertones of the story too. There is no getting around it - the Narnia tales are essentially allegories. Lewis himself described them as 'what if' stories detailing what the Christian faith would look like if it took place in another world. So in order to tell the story right, you really have to include those elements. The trick is to do it without being heavy-handed and letting those tones bog down the story and ram things down viewer's throats. That is not easy to do, but I think they handled it all with grace and respect. The themes are there, but they're never overdone or oversimplified. They don't attempt to explain them away, but instead let the viewer interpret them as they will and, really, the events speak for themselves. Aslan is as much a wise mentor as he is a Christ figure - so, depending on your beliefs, you can look up to him either way. The same goes for Edmund, the traitor, and The White Witch. All of the original elements from Lewis' mythos and stories are presented utterly unapologetically and just as they are. And, as a result, the message and feel of the original shine through despite the minor tweaking.

     A lot in this story is devoted to the relationship between the four children and the severing/healing of their bond as they go through the trials and battles of Narnia. It is a learning experience for them and one that they come out the other side of stronger for it. This film portrayed that beautifully. The visuals were stunning and the music perfectly complimented each scene so that I was swept up in the emotion of it every time. The characters were all perfectly cast and were true to their book selves even while they were expanded on. Really it remains one of the best book-to-film adaptations that I have EVER seen. Every time I watch it I am transported back to whenever I was a kid and my mother was reading these books to me and every time I watch it I get that same magical feeling of discovering the land at the back of the wardrobe for the first time. It really is a wonderful film that any fan of fantasy should check out and it is a shame that it is so overlooked. The Chronicles of Narnia: LWW is a 5/5. But the less said about the sequels the better...



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Ten Highlights From "Fan Fiction"

*makes helpless pterodactyl noises*

       Do you know that this is the first Supernatural episode in AGES that has left me squeeing and smiling for days after it aired? Honestly I don't think that this has happened since The Great Escapist all the way back in Season 8...and I know exactly why. I watch Supernatural because of Sam and Dean and the bond that they share. I came to the show for the mythology, but I stayed and am drawn back again and again by those brothers. This isn't a show about monster hunting. It isn't a show about the struggle between destiny and free will. It isn't a show about Heaven vs. Hell. No, the heart of Supernatural is that it is a show almost entirely dedicated to the love of a couple of brothers who are soulmates and who will fight to the death just for the chance to maybe find some peace together whenever they are finally done.

      

1: The Music

       I was...optimistically concerned about this episode. Honestly I was. The idea sounded great, but if the music wasn't just as wonderful I feared that it was doomed to be 'good but not great'. Fortunately, though, the music was both funny and heartfelt. We had a chillingly ethereal cover of 'Carry On My Wayward Son' alongside such soon-to-be-classics as 'A Single Man Tear'...the latter managing to be both exceedingly touching and rather humorous. Certainly my toe has been tapping to 'The Road So Far' for the past couple of days (I think my brother is getting rather sick of me belting out 'His name is SAAAAAMY!' to be honest) and 'I'll Just Wait Here Then' featured Kristen as a Castiel cosplayer who could give Samandriel a run for his money when it comes to being the most adorable angel EVER.

2: The Characters

       Supernatural is a show that is rather infamous for being extremely ruthless with its self-parody and meta. And this includes making fun of the fandom and not being afraid to either re-imagine their rough, tough macho heroes as an all-girl musical. As a result, I always warn people that you can't really safely declare yourself a fan unless you are okay with being made fun of. Trust me. If you expect any different, you're just going to be disappointed and maybe even a bit offended. Because NOTHING IS SACRED on this show. So we've had characters joking about the Broments, we've had a Sam Girl stalker named Becky Rosen, we've had a gay couple who cosplayed as Sam and Dean, and now we've had a honest-to-God musical put on about the Winchesters. I should also point out that this is really the first time that fans of the Chuck Shirley books have been portrayed in an entirely positive light. Instead of being made fun of (the way poor Becky was), Marie, Maeve, and the rest were all fully fleshed-out characters who were passionate about something because they loved it.

3: The Message

         The message of this episode was twofold. First off it was about family. It took us back to the basics of what Supernatural is all about - family loyalty and love. It cut right through all of the crap that has been flung about and showcased the heart and soul of the show, reminding us why we all fell in love in the first place. We fell in love with two brothers on the road in a classic car with rock music blaring and an arsenal in the trunk. Two brothers who had lost everything but still had each other. Two brothers who were united against the world. Two brothers who would die for each other. That is the first message. The second was a love letter directly from the cast and crew to us, the fans. This show would not still be on the air without us, you do realize that, right? It was supposed to end with Season 5, but it was so popular with its small but loyal fanbase that the network decided to renew it again. And again. And again. The second message this episode gave us was a thank-you for all of our love and support and then the cast and crew handing the show back to us. Basically they have said that, while they may not always agree with our shipping and fan interpretations of things, they do acknowledge that those are legitimate and they appreciate our passion for the show they have worked so hard on. Instead of making fun of fanon, they said that we have every right to interpret the show however we want...even if they don't agree and aren't obliged to accommodate those interpretations.. It was basically telling the fandom that we have a symbiotic relationship with them and that they appreciate the loyalty and love we have shown throughout the years.

4: The MoW

       I just love Calliope and I wish that she had been in the episode a bit more. Really my only complaint about this episode was that the Muse of Poetry felt a little bit underutilized. It's not really a complaint, though, because the focus was on Sam and Dean and Calliope was a lot of fun. I certainly identify with her about some fanfiction "There's robots and tentacles in space. I can't even..." and I certainly find it interesting that, whenever she died, she exploded into purple goo. Was that a reference to the term 'purple prose', perhaps?

5: The Outsider POV

       This is SUCH a valuable part of this show! We are with Sam and Dean ever step of the way, so it is easy to get bogged down in their issues and their man pain and forget just how legendary and awesome these characters are. A dose of Outsider POV where we see Sam and Dean the way OTHER CHARACTERS view them immediately shakes that up and unsettles the status quo for a while, making the show feel fresh again. It also means that they can re-iterate elements of the past, clean up minor continuity errors, lampshade tropes and clichés, and bring back in long-forgotten elements for analysis. Two very great examples of this in the show were the FBI's Most Wanted arc and, of course, all of the meta episodes. This episode gave us probably the most perfect example EVER.

6: The Meta

          Robbie Thompson has said that he drew heavily on fanlore for this episode...and it is obvious. Aside from the customary jabs at shipping we also got someone fangirling over how utterly selfless and sweet Sam is, a lecture about the Samulet, a song entitled 'A Single Man Tear', and a whole bunch of other stuff that I KNOW I have seen over the past couple of years. This was all blended together with the special brand of humor and feels that Supernatural excels at, culminating in the ending where Chuck Shirley showed up and looked down at it all and said that it was "Not bad."

7: The BM Scenes

      I am not above admitting that I rather childishly giggled at that particular term for the Broments. What? It was funny! And very true. For all that Dean claims to hate 'chick-flick moments' he certainly instigates them quite often. And after a Season 9 filled with angst, man pain, and more fraternal bickering than was probably healthy even for this show, it has been GOOD to get back to the basics and to see Sam and Dean working together on the road again, having their BM moments, and actually behaving like brothers instead of angsty caricatures again. It was about TIME that we got back to that. Supernatural is always at its best whenever it is focused on the Winchesters and the bond they share...because it is their show. Whenever it focuses on other things, the quality instantly drops. This episode gave us broments in droves. And it was beautiful.

8: The Samulet

          *squeals & dies* THIS is the moment that absolutely broke me. I, like many other Winchester fans, never really forgave Dean for throwing away that necklace in Dark Side of the Moon, just because he didn't like that Sam had memories in Heaven that didn't involve him. There have been fanfics and fan-art and theories and fans PLEADING for YEARS for us to get a fix-it for that moment. And, like monks mediating a Tulpa to life, our prayers and threats were heard and this episode gave us just about as perfect a Samulet fix-it as we could wish for. I can't be the only one who nearly cried whenever Dean hung it in Baby and Sam looked up, realizing what that meant, can I? Because I did. I don't usually cry at television, but for some reason this show and these brothers get me every time.

9: ADAM!

          Will I ever stop talking about Adam? NO! NEVER! NOT UNTIL THEY FIX IT! Yes I do feel very strongly about this and yes I can rant for hours about the fate of poor Adam Milligan. I have so many Adam feels, it isn't even funny. I may joke about it, but really that's only to keep me from bursting out in tears and snatching him up to hiss "My precious!" at the writers every time they forget/abuse him again. If this show ends with him still trapped in the Cage, well, I don't know what I'll do...but it won't be pretty and will probably involve swearing in Elvish and eating copious amounts of ice cream. Honestly, I still can't believe that they really did mention him in this episode and that it wasn't just a fevered dream of mine brought on by too little sleep and too much writing fanfic. IT WAS ABOUT TIME THEY REMEMBERED HIM!

10: The Brothers

        Say it with me, everyone: SAM AND DEAN ARE THE HEART AND SOUL OF SUPERNATURAL AND THE SHOW COULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THEM! THEY ARE SOULMATES! THEY ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER! THEY ARE BROTHERS! THE SHOW ISN'T ABOUT MONSTERS OR ABOUT HUNTING OR ABOUT CASTIEL OR CROWLEY OR ROMANCE OR ANYTHING ELSE NO MATTER WHAT OR HOW WONDERFUL IT IS...THE SHOW IS ABOUT SAM AND DEAN AND THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP AND LOYALTY AND LOVE THAT THEY SHARE! NEVER FORGET THAT! This has been a fandom PSA.

What I Want For Doctor Who Series 9

      For those of you who have not yet seen Dark Water, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS! It's nothing personal, but you seriously do NOT want to have that spoiled for you. So go and watch it before proceeding. I'm dead serious. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!

       If you are still reading this, I assume that you have already seen the first part to the Series 8 finale of Doctor Who. If not, well, you were warned. Spoilers are your own fault at this point.

       MISSY IS THE MASTER! WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?! I did NOT see THAT coming! I seriously thought that she would turn out to be The Rani or Romana or something like that. Needless to say, my head just about exploded whenever I realized just WHAT or (more importantly) just WHO she was. AAAAAA!

     So, supposing that Missy doesn't die in the series finale, what I REALLY want is for Clara and Danny to get their happily ever after and then for The Master (er...Mistress) and The Doctor to form a tentative, grumpy alliance while they go in search of Gallifrey together. Sort of like Magento and Professor X working together grudgingly to stop Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

     Come on! Wouldn't that shake up the dynamics a bit and make things fresh and interesting? Just imagine the conversations!

Doctor: "Hang it all, Kosch! I told you: don't touch anything!"

Missy: "I don't have much of a choice. You drive like a blind, geriatric, DRUNK platypus. Did you even ever pass your driver's exam?!"

Doctor: "No! Of course not! That exam was...it was part of the stuffy section of Time Lord council."

Missy: "Along with their terrible fashion sense?"

Doctor: "I wouldn't talk if I were you. You wore worse during that little meeting we had with the Eye of Harmony over in America."

Missy: "Bugger. Why couldn't you have forgotten that instead of how to work the brakes?!"

    Now how awesome would that be?!

Twenty Reasons To Actually Watch SPN Seasons 1 - 3

       

      Would you believe that there are actually those who skipped Seasons 1 - 3 of Supernatural? Makes sense, seeing as how there are fans who advise newcomers to just start in with Season 4 and ignore everything before that. I can't believe I'm actually having to talk about this, but here I go:

DON'T SKIP TO SEASON 4! JUST DON'T!  

 Why would you EVER tell a new fan to skip ahead? Is it because you don't like John? Is it because you only like Castiel? Is it that you prefer the brothers fighting and putting each other down and suffering constantly? Is it? If so...fine. You're entitled to your own way to watch Supernatural and you're entitled to your favorite character. But, for the love of all things holy, please don't ruin the experience for new viewers? They need to see the early seasons to understand what is going on and to get why people are acting the way they are acting.

1: Foreshadowing

      Seasons 1 - 3 are where we see the bond between Sam and Dean established. We learn about Sam's psychic abilities and a LOT of foreshadowing for the Apocalypse story arc is put in place. You've got the Yellow-Eyed Demon, who we later learn was named Azazel and put in place by Lucifer to watch over Sam and prepare him as a vessel. We are introduced to Bobby Singer and to Gabriel the archangel. Lilith is set up as the big bad. Ruby proves herself to the boys as an 'ally'. And we get the first beginnings of the questions about faith and angels and God that this series tackles. There's also the incredible episode Home where Sam and Dean return to their old house in Lawrence and encounter the ghost of their mother. I can GUARANTEE that if you skip these early seasons you will not understand what is going on and will probably misjudge a few characters because you will have jumped in at a bad point in their lives. In fact, I am going to tentatively blame the terrible Season 9 writing on the fact that some of the writers Jeremy Carver is bringing in haven't even seen Seasons 1 - 3. Which is really a shame because those seasons contain some incredible writing, story arcs, and TONS of foreshadowing for later in the show.

2: The prank wars

        Ah yes. God forbid that Sam and Dean actually act like brothers, rather than the utterly broken liars that they are. (Note the sarcasm...I'm still bitter over the Gadreel fiasco.) Probably the most famous prank war happens in Season 1's Hell House...highlights include Dean threatening Sam's hair and Sam gluing Dean's hand to a beer bottle...but all throughout the seasons there are lovely little touches. Usually of Dean deliberately messing with and annoying Sam, but certainly Sam gives as good as he gets. Tall Tales is another one of the utterly glorious episodes where Sam and Dean are bickering and getting on each other's nerves in that special way only siblings can.

3: John Winchester

        I seem to be oddly alone in loving this most controversial member of the Winchester family. But, whatever you think of him, if you want the full picture of the complex, frustrating man that was Sam and Dean's father then you really need to watch the early seasons. I feel like a lot of people who hate John skipped to Season 4 and are just going on gifs and heresay about his character. I'm not trying to make him out to be any kind of saint...but I don't think that you can judge him without watching his full story. Besides, if nothing else, you should watch it for the chance to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan kick some serious vampire butt with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles at his side.

4: The Trickster

        Back before we were all getting emotional over archangels and Grey's Anatomy parodies, there was this little character known simply as The Trickster. He was mysterious, powerful, and had a very twisted sense of humor. He was implied to be a demigod of some kind and was known for killing Dean 200+ times on a Tuesday and for making some poor frat boy slow dance with an alien. Really you don't want to miss out on the early episodes of Loki. You just don't. They're some of the best comedy this show has ever produced and Mystery Spot at least is a fine little character study for Sam.

5: Ghostfacers

            These are the characters who have outlived EVERYBODY ELSE ON THIS SHOW! And how can you possibly call yourself a fan of the show if you haven't paid your respects to the characters who managed such a feat? (And, no, #THINMAN doesn't count.) The Ghostfacers belong solely to pre-Series 4 Supernatural and to a web series that ran as a companion from their titular Season 3 episode. Seriously. These geeks are some of the best characters ever to come out of this show if for no other reason than the fact that they represent what we would probably look like if we were dropped into the Winchesters' world.

6: Dr. Ash Badass

        Sometimes I really miss Harvelle's Roadhouse and the colorful array of characters that paraded through its front door and slept on its pool table. The latter, of course, is a reference to the mullet-wearing MIT drop-out who works as Sam and Dean's hacker for a while. And what else is there to say about him? Ash is just a cool, fun character who - sadly - is only seen in Season 2...except for one short cameo in Dark Side of the Moon which, if you haven't seen the earlier seasons, must leave you utterly bewildered and confused.

8: Lisa and Ben

        How can you hate this mother-son duo? They're ADORABLE! Even if you don't believe that Ben is Dean's kid, you have to admit that he was pretty freaking cute. Okay. So I know a lot of people didn't like Lisa. Good grief! If you go on YouTube and do a search for any clips involving the time Dean spent with them you'd better make sure that little eyes aren't reading over your shoulders, because the language can get pretty offensive. Personally I didn't understand the high amount of vitriol and disgust that she seemed to evoke...until I realized that many people have not seen Seasons 2 and 3 where the Braedons are introduced and where we begin to see Dean subconsciously dreaming of maybe one day having a family with them. If you just start with Season 4, then Lisa literally comes out of nowhere. You won't understand the history and, as a result, you will not have a complete picture to base your judgement off of.

9: Things were simpler back then

      Not that the show was lacking complexity by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly there was a lack of fatalism. There were no angels mucking stuff up, there was no Apocalypse, Sam and Dean weren't pathologically lying to each other, and the Winchesters were still only concerned with their family problems. It was nice. We got to see them take down some serious monsters as a team and the way that the brothers practically operated on the same wavelength. Seasons 2 and 3 also contain some of the best episodes that this show has ever produced, simple on the surface but full of complexities and great storytelling underneath it all.

10: Victor Henriksen

        You need to watch the episodes with this man in it, d'you understand me? You NEED to watch them! Not only do they chronicle the saga of Winchesters: America's Most Wanted, but Victor is just a great character who is a lot of fun to either love or hate. Either way you end up feeling about him, it won't be a loss. He's a smart, tough, dedicated FBI agent who picks up on the curious case of the Winchesters and makes it his mission in life to figure them out and bring them to justice. The interactions between him and Dean are simply priceless.


11: Playthings 

            This is one of those 'can't miss' episodes from Seasons 2 and 3 that I mentioned earlier. Basically it's Sam and Dean going to hunt an old, creepy haunted hotel with a weird dollhouse inside and two little girls that evoke The Shining imagery. Oh yeah and we the boys playing with dolls, Sam diving into a pool from a balcony, and one of the strangest and sweetest grandmothers ever depicted on this show. I won't say anything more because I don't want to spoil it for you, but there's some really great writing in this episode that builds up to a rather surprising twist ending.


12: A Very Supernatural Christmas

        This is, to date, the only Christmas special that this show has ever done and good LORD is is awesome! It has everything you could possibly wish for. There's killer Santas, dark comedy, and even a bit of tear-jerking cuteness as we get a peek into Sam and Dean's childhood. We learn the significance of Dean's amulet and Dean is forced to replace all of his swear words with 'fudge'. Oh...and we also get to see the boys singing Christmas carols. How could you turn that down? No. Seriously. How? If you haven't seen this, I'm just sorry. 

13: Sarah Blake

        Yes SPN needs more female characters. I agree with that. We especially need more female characters like the practical but understated Sarah Blake from Season 1's Provenance. This particular love interest of Sam's is often forgotten (probably because he didn't actually sleep with her...or because she was only in one episode) but if you neglect to see her episode, then you're really missing out on a lot. For starters, we see Dean go into full-on awkward-big-brother-councilor mode in his efforts to find Sam a little bit of happiness. Secondly, Sarah is just a great character! She and Sam were really cute together and she managed to be capable without being over-the-top tough or unbelievably careless. I wish she had stuck around a bit, I really do.


14: PA!Dean

         I could watch Dean eating mini Philly cheese steaks all day. Hollywood Babylon is a gem of an episode because, not only is it SPN successfully parodying itself, but it takes jabs at the CW network (with some well-placed quotes) and at the system of Hollywood in general. And Dean gets to be a personal assistant to one of the studio bigwigs, pigging out on the free food and seducing the lead actresses as he goes along with Sam watching in utter bemusement from the sidelines. He is in his element!

15: Azazel/The YED

        Did you know that the whole reason Sam and Dean were raised as hunters in the first place exists almost solely in the first two seasons? Azazel, more commonly known as The Yellow-Eyed Demon, is the baddie who kick-starts the whole tragic story of the Winchesters whenever he visits Sam's nursery and kills Mary, giving John his drive to seek revenge and basically being the catalyst for why things are the way they are in our two main character's lives. Yeah. I'd say that he's a pretty important piece of the puzzle! He's the reason Sam has psychic powers. He's the reason Mary is dead. He's the reason John got into hunting. He's the reason this 'Jessica' chick keeps being mentioned (she was Sam's girlfriend who was murdered, btw). And, yes, he is VERY important! GO WATCH HIS SEASONS!


16: Linda Blair as a detective

       I have a confession to make: I have never seen The Exorcist. Nope. Not once. Not even once. And I'm not planning to either...it's really not my kind of movie. That being said, you CAN'T deny that Linda Blair is a pretty freaking awesome actress. And, what do you know, Supernatural was lucky enough to get her to cameo in one of their episodes (Season 2's The Usual Suspects) where she plays a no-nonsense Baltimore cop who gets caught up in the insane world of Sam and Dean Winchester. Her episode is just great - pea soup jokes and all - and she really worked well, her character meshing beautifully with the boys. She's just honestly a joy to watch and feels like a real character with a real story to tell, for all that she's only ever in one episode. And her story is quite good too. Again, not going to spoil it, but it's definitely worth a watch.

17: Killer clowns

        Oh poor Sam...yes, the boys fight off a literal killer clown. At a carnival. In a funhouse. And it is the best thing EVER! The episode Everybody Loves A Clown is important for three reasons. (1) it involves the first real conversation that Sam and Dean have after their father's death. (2) it contains Dean driving a minivan and lip syncing to a cheesy Air Supply song. (3) it involves a KILLER CLOWN. How can you not fall in love with that? I'm not a fan of clowns myself, but I really enjoyed this story. It's got some great characters and an excellent twist that I'm not going to touch so I don't spoil it.

18: Nightshifter

         This may just be my favorite Supernatural episode EVER. Sam and Dean being awesome? Check. Complex story with surprising twists and turns? Check. Agent Victor Henriksen being his wonderful self? Check. A cool monster? Check. It just has EVERYTHING and showcases both of the boys' skills (both supernatural-world and natural-world) along with a game of monstrous round-robin that leaves everyone guessing. There's great side-characters, a compelling case, and one of the BEST music moments that you will EVER see on this show. I get CHILLS!

19: Weechesters

        Pretty much any episode bringing out the younger versions of Sam and Dean will push my 'squee' button and instantly make me fall in love with it. But did you know that if you skip over the first three seasons of this show you miss several opportunities to travel back in time with these kids and watch the two heroes of the show grow up? That would just be a shame. So just don't.

20: Blond!Meg & Sam!Meg

         Yes. Long before Meg was playing with Hellhounds and flirting with angels she was the nemesis of Sam and Dean. Called the 'Daughter of Azazel' (we're never told if she's his literal daughter or if that was just a lie to mess with the Winchesters), Meg is a thorn in the boys' sides for several years. She is indirectly responsible for the death of their father, personally killed many of their allies, and possessed Sam on one memorable occasion. If nothing else you should make sure to watch her early years for the chance to see Jared Padalecki play her. No. Seriously. Every actress (or, in that case, actor) to play Meg has utterly convinced me that they are possessed by the same person. It's a little bit cool and a lot terrifying and you're really missing out on something big if you don't get to see Meg: The Early Years.

Leslie's Top 10 Guilty Pleasures

Because why does Emily get to have all the fun?

1. Extracted (Nir Paniry 2012)

Genre: Sci-fi indie film

Starring: Sasha Roiz and Dominic Boggart are about the only names you need to know.

Why I like it: What can I say? I'm a sucker for intense psychological stuff, without the "Nolan Curveballs" (like those in "Inception", "The Prestige" and countless others) and Roiz is an actor whose skill I greatly admire. The story goes that a scientist (Roiz) invents a program that can basically insert one person's consciousness into the mind of another, to be able to view that person's memories. So of course the minute he applies for grants and whatnot to fund the last phase, the government gets wind of it and wants a demonstration: in the mind of an accused criminal, to find out if he actually committed the murder for which he was accused. Of course, nothing goes as planned and the scientist ends up trapped in the man's memories. His own body is comatose, and if they cannot figure out how to extract his consciousness, he could be trapped forever. The visual effects, the editing and cinematography are stellar for an indie film, and the casting choices of such committed actors makes this movie a win.

2. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Zach Helm 2007)

Genre: Live-action Family Fantasy

Starring: Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman, and Dustin Hoffman

Why I like it: Because magic and color! Films like these can be kind of patronizing, the ones with the "Believe in the magic of yourself" and whatnot, and sometimes the wackiness of a children's film can get out of hand so far that it appeals only to a very narrow, easily-appeased, hyperactive child. (As the movie Cat in The Hat or Nanny McPhee does) However the wackiness of Mr. Magorium centers around perfectly-timed wordplay, fertile imagination, and an underlying gravity that pulls everything in and keeps it rooted. Say what you like but this is a movie I keep coming back to!

3. Epic (Chris Wedge 2013)

Genre: Animated Family fantasy

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrel, Christoph Waltz, Chris O'Donnell, Aziz Ansari... and a whole lot more

Why I like it: it's cheesy, yeah... but I'm a sucker for fantasy and awesome acting--even if the most awesome thing about these actors is their voice. From the guy that brought you Ice Age comes a story not unlike a very environmentally-conscious twist on the premise for the Spiderwick Chronicles. It's tiny people! Vivid colors! Humor! A three-legged, blind pug! Never mind that it also includes Stephen Tyler, Pitbull, and Beyonce... I can forgive that because this movie feeds my fantasy-inspired soul.

4. Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek 2010)

Genre: Sci-fi dystopian drama

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, Kiera Knightley

Why I like it: It's a strange addition, I know, but I really REALLY like it a lot! The story centered on a group of young adults who discover that they are clones bred only for their organs, and they bond over the desire to be more than just "walking donors", but mostly I watch it for the fantastic skill of the actors involved. The film made some very thought-provoking points about human existence and whatnot, but a lot of this movie is spent on the nonverbal--what the actors are "saying" when they're not saying anything. That, I believe, is where the true skill of an actor comes out, and these actors display profound emotions only possible when one is totally immersed and becomes the role.

5. George and the Dragon (Tom Reeve 2004)

Genre: Live-action family fantasy

Starring: Michael Clarke Duncan, James Purefoy, Piper Perabo, Patrick Swayze (who'd have thought?)

Why I like it: Dragons, duh! Even though the computer animation was wayyy not the caliber it is today, I think the true skill comes out in the way the actors still manage to react and perform exactly as if this thing that they cannot even fathom is real. And the Special Effects people have to orchestrate things like the monster breathing, moving, what the environment does, what it sounds like--all completely fabricated because the thing is not and never has been actually real. Movies back then didn't ride on their special effects. There was still something to be said for the skill of the actor to take a cornball movie and treat it like an historically accurate epic! It's cheesy in some places, crude in others--but I like it!

6. Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings 2007)

Genre: indie drama

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner

Why I like it: SUPER SUPER cute movie about two boys from vastly different upbringings who bond over a love of Rambo and the aspirations to become film stars. Truth be told, I mostly only watched it for Poulter--loved his performance in Voyage of the Dawn Treader and wanted to see more of his work--and also because Jennings also directed another movie that I dearly love, so I knew I was in for a treat. The boys cavort and pull pranks and try their darnedest to fit in at school and impress the French exchange students who show up--and it's just a marvelous little romp that I enjoy for the same reason I love being an elementary schoolteacher!

7. Tron (Steven Lisberger 1982)

Genre: sci-fi

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner

Why I like it: A movie about the world inside a supercomputer... animated by computers (among the first movies to do that).... in a time when people were only just discovering what computers can do. Plus, it's Jeff Bridges in his prime... the guy has SERIOUSLY slacked off in recent years! I got intrigued by the movie and the premise when the release of "Tron: Legacy" was announced. To fashion a sequel to something twenty-seven years after the first installment... Well, just imagine if Peter Jackson had waited that long... or Stephen Moffat, for that matter...
It was a bold effort, and I was super-excited after seeing the first film. The quality of the acting and the fantastic imagery used in the original film is truly something that deserves merit. Also, watch closely: there is a distinct overtone of intelligent design woven into the original film that was abandoned in favor of a flimsy "evolution" storyline when Disney produced the sequel. (Didn't like Jeff Bridges' character reduced from a snarky, energetic programmer to a placid Zen monk, either.) Compared to today, yes the animation is vastly inferior--but in the context of that era, I regard it as magnificent.

8. Race to Witch Mountain (Andy Fickman 2009)

Genre: live-action sci-fi family

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig

Why I like it: Out of all the family movies The Rock has done so far, this one is my favorite... namely because the premise is so tantalizing, and the kids pull it off so well. The sci-fi effects are fun to watch, and it's always a pleasure to see young actors who take their roles as seriously as the adults they act with. Plus the cameos at the Science convention (including Garry Marshall) were fun to pick out.

9. Leatherheads (George Clooney 2008)

Genre: comedy

Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, Jonathan Krasinski

Why I like it: the humor, basically. A movie about the early days of American football and a guy who wants to put together the first professional team that is not affiliated with any college. Basically, it's just a chance for George and Renee to exchange zingers and run through the cinematic comedy cliches while Jonathan supplies the slapstick and the drama factor. There is not one part of this film to be taken very seriously at all--and everyone is completely stone-faced deadpan. My kind of humor.

10. How To Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders 2010)

Genre: animated family fantasy

Starring: Gerard Butler, Simon Pegg, and Jay Baruchel

Why I like it: dragons again. LOTS AND LOTS OF DRAGONS. Of every shape and size and color! With just about as much personality as the human characters! It's kind of a cheap plot-line, but the music and the animation and the Scottish accents (which is odd, considering that they're supposed to be Norse Vikings.... but the only accents are American and Scottish... oh well! My favorite!) and the DRAGONS make it all worth it!