GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Castle's Firefly Parody

POSTED BY: CANTTAKESKY
UPDATED: Thursday, November 15, 2012 05:26
SHORT URL: http://bit.ly/OQaJL3
VIEWED: 15412
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Friday, September 21, 2012 3:47 AM

CANTTAKESKY


http://crushable.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-castle-firefly-parod
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Quote:

Ever since Nathan Fillion joined ABC’s crime drama Castle, he’s been such a good sport about slipping in references to his 2002 sci-fi western Firefly. After all, it was playing Captain Malcolm Reynolds that made him into a beloved cult figure, which eventually translated into mainstream TV stardom. So in the past few years, we’ve seen Nathan’s character Rick Castle dress up in Mal’s old tight pants to be a “space cowboy” for Halloween, or he’ll look right at the camera when someone mentions “Serenity.” Not to mention when he was reunited with Jayne Cobb, a.k.a. Adam Baldwin, last season!

But you always got the sense that these Firefly Easter eggs were Nathan’s doing, that he bugged the writers to include them out of a sense of affection for still-loyal Browncoats. Then I found out about one of Castle‘s upcoming season 5 episodes, which could be the most meta Firefly joke ever. E!’s Kristin Dos Santos revealed in her daily Spoiler Chat roundup that Castle is looking to cast someone to play… Nathan Fillion, basically:

Gabriel Winters is described as an actor who quickly rose to fame playing Captain Max Richards on a hit sci-fi series. Of course, unlike Fillion, this leading man spiraled out of control after his show went off the air with booze and one-night stands.

OK, this is awesome. Not only is Castle lampooning what could have been the fate of their star, but they’re literally making a parody of Malcolm Reynolds. I don’t think Joss Whedon could’ve ever foreseen this when he dreamed up Firefly, and especially when the series got cancelled after only fourteen episodes. (Also, what great timing to learn this news, on the tenth anniversary of the series premiere!) As a geek, I’m just so delighted and touched that mainstream TV thinks Firefly influential enough to parody.

Castle 5×07 “The Final Frontier” also pokes fun at geekery in general: Castle, Beckett (Stana Katic), and the other police officers end up at a sci-fi fan convention called SuperNovaCon, where a young woman gets murdered. The victim and the other attendees are all fans of Nebula 9 (the Firefly parody), and Gabriel Winters could be one of the suspects.

For his part, Nathan — who often shares behind-the-scenes photos and videos with his fans — doesn’t seem to have commented on the casting yet. Who could they get? Unfortunately, a lot of Nathan’s doppelgangers are all probably too famous to do a cameo: Jeremy Renner and Jason Bateman immediately come to mind. So, ABC will probably go with some hunky unknown. Just as long as they find someone who can deliver lines like this with such panache:

I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.


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Friday, September 21, 2012 4:27 AM

ZEEK


What? Go with an unknown? This is the perfect time to bring in another BDH. Sean Maher perhaps? I'd love to see him playing a parody of the captain.

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Friday, September 21, 2012 6:49 AM

WISHIMAY


Heh. Max Richards...Mal Reynolds
Made sure to even get the initials right.

Can't wait to to see this one...

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Friday, September 21, 2012 11:26 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


It should be Tim Guinee.




wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Friday, September 21, 2012 2:50 PM

CYBERSNARK


As good as it would be to see Sean, I think Alan would be funnier mocking Nathan's character.

Or hell, maybe Joss. . .

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Friday, September 21, 2012 7:05 PM

EBFIDDLER


CastleTV.net lists the Max Richards character as being played by Ed Quinn. The director of the episode is none other than Jonathan Frakes.

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Friday, September 21, 2012 10:42 PM

WINDIE


Quote:

Originally posted by Cybersnark:
As good as it would be to see Sean, I think Alan would be funnier mocking Nathan's character.

Or hell, maybe Joss. . .
[/q

My vote would be for Joss...............

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Saturday, September 22, 2012 2:44 AM

GWEK


Quote:

Originally posted by ebfiddler:
CastleTV.net lists the Max Richards character as being played by Ed Quinn. The director of the episode is none other than Jonathan Frakes.



That's too bad. Ed Quinn's not a bad actor, but if they were going to go the EUREKA route, Colin Ferguson would have been spot on.

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Saturday, September 22, 2012 4:35 AM

EBFIDDLER


I'm hoping they have a scene that takes place at the sci-fi convention...and the panel consists of Joss, Gina, Sean, Morena, Ron, and all the others making cameo appearances. That would be awesome!

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Saturday, September 22, 2012 7:37 AM

WISHIMAY


Quote:

Originally posted by ebfiddler:
The director of the episode is none other than Jonathan Frakes.



That's pretty cool!
Two facts: Jon is 60 now, and used to run track in high school. Didn't know either one of those...

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Sunday, September 23, 2012 6:58 AM

SUASOR


Ed Quinn has a delicious air of arrogance, which is ideal for this role. He's also got good comic timing.

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Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:34 PM

MOOSE


I think he'll do a great job.
I was bummed when he left Eureka.

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Tuesday, October 2, 2012 10:29 AM

OLDGUY

What Would Mal do ?


they need to hurry and get to epi 7, cause I'm in "yawn" mode right now with this season..for that matter, I was already done with it last season...it's fine when nothing else to watch and certainly only without commercials..not worth waiting through all those breaks to get back to the story...plot is so thin I tend to forget what was going on between commercial breaks...

I was fine leaving Kate in the school yard swing in the pouring rain wondering how it would turn out...so I look forward to a cool episode here ...SOON

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012 6:54 AM

PROPMASTER2000



Next Mondays episode of Castle will be at the "SciFi Convention"

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/castle

:)

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Wednesday, October 31, 2012 4:05 AM

SISTER


Will be watching!

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Wednesday, October 31, 2012 8:06 PM

REAVERINA1985RIVIERA


Quote:

Originally posted by ebfiddler:
CastleTV.net lists the Max Richards character as being played by Ed Quinn. The director of the episode is none other than Jonathan Frakes.



That's great! Frakes has directed some of the best episodes of Leverage.

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Thursday, November 1, 2012 6:21 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Quote:

I am LITERALLY geeking out right now. That is the most delightful thing I have heard in my entire life!!! I just love catching all of Nathan's tributes to Firefly in Castle.

And it's coming up this SOON! I'm in heaven...

I vote Ferguson--he's shown great deadpan humor, and is easy on the eyes, like Capt. Tightpants.

JUST found out about The Hobbit yesterday, now this; it just don't get no better (well, unless they remade Firefly, but we all know the problems with that, so I don't even dream about it anymore).

Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.

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Friday, November 2, 2012 12:20 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


I LOVE IT!!! How many references do you find in just this preview?



Three days away three days away three days away...I'm "agog"!

For your reading pleasure:
Quote:

Do you know how Castle can make some big Nathan Fillion fans even happier than finally having his character get together with Stana Katic's on the show? Go meta and make gleeful references to his past fan favorite project, Firefly. And that is exactly what the show does (in fact, a fun drinking game for the episode may be to count the references) in "The Final Frontier."

We won't lie to you: just the other day we were having a conversation with another entertainment reporter about whether or not Firefly would be as beloved as it is now if it had actually gone on for five or six seasons. Could it have carried on the quality of the first, short, and now iconic season? Or are the few episodes we do have put on a pedestal simply because they are so limited? We were not making an argument either way; just offering a general observational inquiry, but we have to say, Castle kind of answers our wonderings simply with this episode.

Castle itself is a series that, if delivering sub-par episodes, would be seen has being dragged out, rather than producing a tight storyline that ends on a high note. Episodes like "The Final Frontier" this far into the series run, though, proves the writers and producers still have a deep passion not only for their own project, but also for their fans. By nodding to them, and to Fillion's past, they are not just being meta to mine new stories but to have some cheeky fun. Which is something Castle does best.

"The Final Frontier" starts, seemingly, inside another show, as a cast of uniformed characters guide their Nebula 9 space vessel home, only for the lights to click on at the end, and everyone to cheer. See, it's all a part of a fan experience put together for a show that only had one short season, a decade earlier (sound familiar?). Only when the fans disembark the ship to change back into their convention clothes, they find that one prop on the set is actually a dead body.

It doesn't take much to get Beckett and Castle on the scene. He is already at the convention, signing copies of his new graphic novel (which gets very nice product placement in the episode, we might add), while she...appears to be a closet Nebula 9 fan. Seriously, just wait for the flashback photo moment. Beckett was a LARPer, you guys, just check out the photo slideshow above for the best picture of her ever.

The investigation takes them deep into the level of fandom when it turns out the dead woman was not only the head of the Nebula 9 fan club but also responsible for producing new webisodes of the show after acquiring the rights-- and angering some purist fans. Things take an even twistier turn, though, when the M.E. reports that the cause of death was a high intensity laser at close range-- you know, the perfect science fiction weapon for a science fiction convention, which naturally has Castle even more excited.

Props can kill people, you know, especially when in poor hands.

Listening to Beckett and Castle banter about whether or not the fans of the show like something that isn't worthy of such devotion may be a little too meta, considering just how devoted some Castle fans actually are. For the most part, it's good-natured enough not to really ruffle any feathers, but we couldn't help but find ourselves cringing every time we heard the term "crazed" fans, compared to "mega" fans, or you know, "normal" people. A sequence where Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) interview convention-goers, while they are still in full get-ups, including some muffling masks, doesn't necessarily help the argument of sanity here, but it does make for a unique montage of what is otherwise just typical procedural fodder.

And any fun that may be poked at a fandom's expense or with them is all paid off in the end anyway, when Beckett delivers a moving monologue about why such fandom is so important. She is speaking personally, of course, but we can just picture the Tweets and Tumblrs that will scream "Testify!" at her come Monday. After all, her sentiment is one shared across the fandom-- across any person or group of people who find greater meaning and metaphor in even the simplest, silliest stories. You can substitute show and character names in for each other; it's the feelings of empowerment and community that are universal and matter the most.

"The Final Frontier" is so chock full of fun references and callbacks to other genre greats (as you would expect, considering Jonathan Frakes directed the episode) we're sure we didn't even catch them all. It also boasts an impressive list of genre guest stars to add to Castle's street cred: Armin Shimerman, Ed Quinn, Christina Moore, Erin Way, and Chris McKenna. Honestly, though, the best part of the episode is simply seeing a new, nerdy side to a couple of characters when the convention brings out an enthusiasm and knowledge you might never expect from them.

Slideshow pics at http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/the-final-frontier-castle-promotiona
l-photos#slide=blank-27




Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.

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Friday, November 2, 2012 12:38 PM

MRSAX

Cry Baby Cry. Make Your Mama Sigh.


I'd like to see someone walking around with a Blue Sun t-shirt. That would be shiney!

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Sunday, November 4, 2012 2:52 AM

YT

the movie is not the Series. Only the facts have been changed, to irritate the innocent; the names of the actors and characters remain the same



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Sunday, November 4, 2012 2:59 AM

YT

the movie is not the Series. Only the facts have been changed, to irritate the innocent; the names of the actors and characters remain the same


Quote:

Originally posted by BIGDAMNHERO42:
Quote:

Originally posted by Niki2:
How many references do you find in just this preview?


On the first view I count four.


5. (on entering what I presume is intended to be a reproduction of the set) "OK, this is a cool ship"


Keep the Shiny Side Up,

YT

YTonTw1tt3r

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 5:17 AM

MUTT999



6) The killer's last name was Frye...Kaylee's last name.




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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 11:56 AM

SVDRIFTER


Meh, I was hoping for more Firefly references. The entire thing was more Galaxy Quest than any other show. Even the laser weapon (which is not feasible at this time) which can generate killing power with a hand held power source, looked like an NSEA Protector blaster than anything from Firefly.

I firmly believe that Director Jonathan Frakes had Ed Quinn do "Commander Peter Quincy Taggart" more than anything else. IMHO

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 2:40 PM

FLORALBUNNY


Loved it!

bun
still shiny after all these years

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 6:19 PM

EBFIDDLER


I'm with SVDrifter here. I was hoping for more Firefly references. Instead, there were heaps of Star Trek references, and a Galaxy Quest kind of vibe. Good fun, but not Firefly enough for me. Star Trek got mentioned by name multiple times, while Firefly wasn't--it was just "that Joss Whedon show." Also, what was with Alexis walking around in costume dressed as a--what? In real life, Molly Quinn went to Comic Con dressed as Mal. Pity they didn't refer to that. I also got fed up with Castle repeatedly expressing his disdain for "Nebula 9."

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 11:41 PM

SHINYGOODGUY


When I saw the title to this episode I totally geeked out. I did think of Star Trek but, I kept thinking there would be plenty of Firefly references. The show, I thought had the perfect excuse to go nuts, but missed a golden opportunity IMHO. Still though it was fun.....by the way you guys all missed the very first Firefly Easter egg in the opening sequence at :30 seconds.

Ariel's Moon

As far as Castle's negative comments of Nebula 9, he was playing the part of the Firefly haters out there that constantly trash our show. I just thought of another reference - Kreavers. Of course they couldn't use Reavers, so they did the next best thing.

All in all, it was a fun episode.


SGG

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Wednesday, November 7, 2012 12:25 AM

ZZETTA13


Good morning browncoats!

I was at work Monday night pulling an all-nighter when my better half called and said, “You have to watch Castle when you get home, you have to have to have to!”

Well I did, and I started laughing about ten seconds into the show (and I didn't quit laughing or smiling for a whole hour) certainly one of the best Castle episodes that ever aired IMO. I so enjoyed the Firefly references, and the Star Trek, and Blade Runner references, and so many more.

I really like that Kate was a “geek girl” when she was younger, and that Javier & Kevin were geek-ish in their younger days too. I think that there’s a little geek-nerd in everyone, even if they won’t admit it.

Anyoo, I do agree with everyone here, it was an episode funny and worth every second of attention….I even watched the entire episode again, immediately after it ended, so that was two full hours of joy.

Z, the Browncoat… still holding

PS: Waiting for “Browncoats Unite” on the Science Channel on Sunday night. Can hardly wait to see those smiling Firefly faces; they always seem to have so much fun when they are together (I feel like I’m there too and included). Nathan should see that more Firefly alumni have guest appearances on his show.

Z,out

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Wednesday, November 7, 2012 5:12 PM

SVDRIFTER


Yes, but it really should have been called Castle: The Galaxy Quest parody. That would have been way more accurate a description. Calling the episode a "Firefly Parody" just got people's hopes up and then dashed them.

But then as Browncoats, we're rather USED to having our hopes raised and then crushed aren't we?

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012 12:14 PM

EBFIDDLER


Well, I followed the policy of "Don't whine about it, do something!" and wrote a fanfic, "The Shiny Frontier" -- my version of how the beginning of that Castle episode should have gone, to pay proper homage to Firefly. :-) Just posted it in the Blue Sun Room today. Wrote it yesterday, and thus was able to incorporate some shiny things from the 10th Anniversary Special. I put the Blue Sun T-shirts in for you, MRSAX. :-)

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