Seek the truth and thou shalt be in light ~ the book of Castle

Due to a series of recent hacking attempts into this site, we installed new high-tech security enhancements. Part of those heightened protections include some pretty fancy cameras strategically placed throughout The Graveyard Shift office compound.

Well, last night the cameras caught an intruder who left a note tacked to the bulletin board hanging on the wall next to my desk. Yes, it was Melanie. But she slipped out and back into hiding before we were able to speak with her.

So, if anyone knows where we can find Melanie please do contact us before something bad happens to her. She needs an intervention and she needs it now, before it’s too late. Perhaps a heartfelt message from Nathan Fillion, or Seamus Dever, would bring her to her senses. Whatever you do, though, keep the showrunners away from the interior of her books because I’m quite certain they’d quickly meet their demise within those pages.

Anyway, here’s the note she left last night. We’re examining it for possible clues.

Should you decide to hit the streets as part of your search for Melanie, here’s a flyer for you to pass around and to attach to telephone poles and sign posts.

To broaden our own search efforts, we’ve been in touch with major milk companies who’ve agreed to start a nationwide “Have You Seen Melanie” campaign. Starting today they’ll be distributing new cartons like this one.

In the meantime, the show must go on.

Where do I begin? With Hayley and Alexis doing their best to annoy viewers with their larger than life abilities to do what NYPD detectives cannot, even though the NYPD is one of the top investigative agencies in the world? How about Hayely handling a piece of vital crime scene evidence, an ax, while police CSU team members go about their business doing other things? Of course, I was disappointed when ax-weilding escapee Gabriel Shaw didn’t end our misery by hacking Hayley and Alexis off the show and out of our lives, but…they live on to ruin another episode.

Speaking of the ax… Why was it so bloody if Shaw hadn’t used it to kill anyone? And, someone (a member of the CSU unit, I suppose) packaged it in clear plastic. That’s a big no-no. Wet evidence is always packaged in paper containers—bags, cardboard boxes, etc. The reason for the paper packaging is because plastic is a breeding ground/incubator for bacteria, and bacteria can destroy or degrade DNA evidence. A good rule of thumb – Wet evidence (things containing blood, semen, saliva, etc.) = paper packaging. Dry evidence (narcotics, soil, etc.) = plastic packaging.

Evidence packaging – Paper or Plastic.

Lanie said the victim bled to death due to a wound on his left side, and that whatever he was stabbed with most likely punctured his subclavian artery. Once the artery was cut the victim lived for thirty minutes to one hour, tops.

Time for a quick anatomy lesson.

There are two subclavian arteries,. The left subclavian artery, the one Lanie mentioned, extends from the arch of the aorta to the left side of the upper body. The right subclavian artery extends from the brachiocephalic artery (an artery that carries blood to the head) to the right side of the upper body. Subclavian arteries extend across the anterior (front) surface of the upper lining that encloses the lungs. This lining is called the pleura. At the outer border of the first rib, each subclavian artery becomes an axillary artery. The axillary artery supplies blood to the upper arm and chest.

Subclavian Artery Branches are arteries that branch from the subclavian arteries include the vertebral arteries, internal thoracic artery, thyrocervical artery, costocervical artery, and dorsal scapular artery.

In the image below you’ll see the aortic arch, which is just above the heart. It is there, at the arch, where the two subclavian aorta originate.

From this point at the aortic arch, the subclavian arteries extend to the arms. These are the two main arteries that supply blood to the arms.

The image below shows the path of the subclavian artery. The point I’m making, and this is basically for writers, is that at no time does the subclavian pass along the left “side” as Lanie suggested.

Even if the subclavian was located in the victim’s left side, there’s no way Lanie could’ve seen the damage to it because the victim was fully clothed, including a shirt and a coat. And he was on the floor, face down.

Next, Voodoo Lanie tells us the fatal wound had been inflicted by “some sort of talon, or claw.” Puhleeze. How the H. E. double hockey sticks would she know that merely by looking at the puncture. She went on to say she’d found a strange substance (sulphur) inside the wound. This conclusion was made while the victim was still on the autopsy table. Toxicology/lab tests are not that quick. Not even close.

Lets go back to Hayley and Alexis, who continued to annoy throughout the show, by the way. These two clowns were shown pawing through Castle’s secret vault (so stupid) and cataloging the items there. This place contained evidence of a serious crime and should’ve been under police control. Police investigators should’ve been the people there doing the investigating, not those two who’re playing Nancy Drew dress-up games.

Why is Vikram at the precinct? What’s his purpose? Does the NYPD need an unknown outsider’s assistance to “clean up” photos? Is the entire precinct so inept that the only people who can solve murders are Vikram, a total stranger who has access to the entire NYPD surveillance stuff and other inner-workings of a major police agency? Then there’s Alexis, the instant computer genius who’s the offspring of Castle, another civilian who runs the entire NYPD. Finally, we have Hayley jammed down our throats. She’s a character who constantly breaks the law, yet she’s allowed inside crime scenes, carries a firearm into the precinct, shoots people, etc.

It seems that the two main detectives—Ryan and Esposito—have taken a backseat to Alexis and Hayley, and this is not a good thing. Besides, it’s dumb to have the NYPD criminal cases run by outsiders instead of the police. Dumb, dumb, and dumb.

But, this fiasco is almost over. One more episode before, well, you know…

Oh, was it just me or are you, too, getting a strange feeling about Alexis and Hayley? They’re sure beginning to act like a couple. Now wouldn’t that be a twist. Hmm…

Anyway, this episode fell a bit flat. It seemed empty and cold, and part of that is because Caskett is already dead. There’s no spark between the two leads in spite of all the mentions (and there were several—too many) of playing naked Twister.

Yep, the fork is in and the food-involved woman has begun to sing.

“Why the hell won’t you die?” ~ Crook of the week, Gwen, to intended victim du jour.

Important announcement!

The skies are a bit dark around here today. The halls in The Graveyard Shift are quiet. There’s only one coffee mug on the conference table, and one of the only two chairs in the boardroom is empty. We call out her name, but she doesn’t answer.

Yes, the Good Cop has left the building. When I arrived at work this morning I found this note thumbtacked to the door.  I blame the writers of season 9 for this tragedy.

Dear loyal fans and friends.

For the first time since Castle first aired on March 9, 2009, I did not watch the show live. I recorded it on my DVR but cannot stomach watching it yet, so I cannot critique it this morning. I’ll wait until the season ends, then possibly binge watch from this episode to the end — except for the finale. If I find out Kate dies, I will never watch that. I simply can’t do it.

The show began with the premise of a writer and his muse solving crimes: Rick Castle and Kate Beckett started out as adversaries but soon became friends, then fell in love. The show’s creators, Andrew Marlowe and Terri Edda Miller, have said many times that they set out to write “a great love story”, and they did a fabulous job of it. Rick and Kate fell in love and got married. Such a beautiful, heartfelt tale. A tale that captured the hearts of fans.

Castle fans want a happy ending. For Rick and Kate to remain happy, despite the many obstacles in their way, and have a family and then sail off into the sunset together. Always.

We now know this will never happen, and fans are heartbroken. Shame on ABC and whoever else may be responsible (some people claim Nathan Fillion is to blame, but who knows?) The show is broken beyond repair now that the powers-that-be have refused to renew Stana Katic’s contract and made clear their plan to move Rick, Alexis, Hayley, and Rick’s P.I. business to L.A. six months after Kate’s demise for season nine — complete with a new love interest for Rick. Really? No. Freaking. Way. He wouldn’t get over Kate that quickly, if ever.

I’d rather shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails than to watch this travesty. The show I have loved for eight seasons is gone, and I can’t watch it limp along to the end. I’d much rather ABC just cancel Castle and end the misery. Rebooting with a story so far from the premise is a slap in the face to fans. So I will not blog about this show anymore, although I might send Lee a note to include in weeks to come. We shall see.

Thank you so much for reading our blog all these years! We hope to find another show to critique soon, so stay tuned.

Melanie, the Good but Sad Cop

Now, this is between us. I’ve heard a rumor circulating around the “inner circle” that a group of Castle bad guys ambushed and kidnapped Melanie after overpowering her and taking away her gun. You know, like what happens to Beckett every five or six episodes. So we’re sending out a team of highly-skilled pros to try to find her and bring her back. We hope there’s been no foul play. In the meantime…

Have You Seen This Person?

Melanie Atkins

Okay, we’re all professionals here, so the show must go on. starting with…Lanie.

As usual we see her checking out the dead body of the week (or so she thinks). Nothing unusual since the writers use her as an info dump to set the stage for the case. This week, instead of her typical “based on lividity” crapola, she said, “All signs point to poison—dilated pupils, bluish discoloration around the lips—that’s a giveaway. But I’ll know for sure after the autopsy.”

Well, that sounded pretty cool, right? Not so fast, Lanie.

Pupils fixed and dilated and bluish discoloration around the lips are also possible signs that someone is in serious need of medical attention, because they are in the process of dying, or they’re suffering from a serious medical issue, such as paralysis of the sphincter papillae muscle in the eye, a reaction to certain drugs, a severe blow to the head, or even a medical condition. The blueness around the lips is a sign of lack of oxygen in the blood that could be caused by pneumonia, a blood clot in the lungs, etc.

In other words, these symptoms are NOT exclusive to poisoning.

Okay, yes TTX (Tetrodotoxin) is a poison that’s found in some fish, and it is deadly, with an onset of symptoms that occur quite rapidly. But not instantly as we saw in last night’s episode. The stuff had barely touched “Safety Man’s” lips when he began tossing his cookies and falling into a brief stage of unconsciousness.

TTX symptoms typically begin within a few minutes, ten or so, after ingesting the toxin (it’s found in the liver and sex organs of some fish, such as puffer fish, toadfish, and some octopus and shellfish). However, the onset could begin 3-6 hours after consuming the poison.

The first stage of TTX poisoning is a tingling sensation in the lips and tongue, followed by facial and extremity numbness, headache, sensations of lightness or floating, profuse sweating, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, difficulty moving, weakness, and speech difficulties.

And then comes the dilated pupils, coma, difficulty breathing, seizures, and death (death can occur anywhere from 20 minutes to 8 hours after consumption of the toxin).

So please, writers, do NOT use Lanie’s “poisonous information” in your next book!

*By the way, if you’d like to read more about TTX or other poisons, you might want to pick up a copy of Book of Poisons, A Guide for Writers. It, along with my book on police procedure and Doug Lyle’s Forensics book, are in the Writer’s Digest Howdunit series.

Next, Lividity Lanie has a conversation with the ER doctor who’s quick to point out Lanie’s Voodooish mistakes when pronouncing a man dead who was, in fact, very much alive. The doctor asked if lividity and/or rigor were present. Lanie responded with, “No rigor or lividity because he’d been dead less than an hour.” Well, wasn’t it Lanie who, for eight long years and time after time after time (incorrectly) used lividity as the sole determining factor for time of death? Yet, she she finds none this one time? This time she was right, but…GRRR….

Let’s move on to Beckett, a police captain who used to be as tough as thirty-year-old shoe leather and as clever as a combination of Holmes and Einstein. However, she’s now a bumbling idiot who can barely function as a police officer. Actually, she barely comes across as a wife, lover, and friend to her husband. The writers have stripped this character of all of her, well, character. Anyway, a thuggish attorney threatens Beckett’s life, in her office at the police precinct, and she let’s him walk out. Yeah, right. In real life he’d have been in handcuffs faster than Castle could say something stupid, which in this episode occurred with nearly every breath he took.

And then there was the request to search a private business. The judge denied that request based on the fact that probable cause did not exist, which was a first for this show. Yet they searched the place anyway by having the “Groundhog Day” dead guy pretend to be there in his official capacity as safety inspector. Wrong, wrong, and doubly wrong. That might’ve been an illegal search, one that I doubt the city would be pleased to learn that was led by one of their inspectors. At the very least, I certainly wouldn’t want to be in their shoes (Beckett and the other members of the search team) if the case went before the judge who denied the warrant.

Finally…the Loksat BS was back stinking up the place.

What an absolute mess the writers and ABC have created. Even Fillion’s scenes this week were waaaaay over the top silly. What are trying to prove? That they know how to ruin what was once a fabulous show enjoyed by fans worldwide? That they can write horrible storylines and dialog? That they do not care one speck about the fans? That they do not respect the viewers?

I know I’ll be glad when this mess is over and done for good.

And, they turned Melanie from Good Cop to Sad Cop, and that’s downright unforgivable.

Lee Lofland

“You don’t give your stories away for free, and neither do I.” Dr. Marion Baker, this week’s killer du jour.

Melanie Atkins

I loved last night’s episode of Castle. Best episode so far this season. Heck, maybe in the last couple of seasons. I haven’t laughed out loud like that while watching the show in ages. This one was more like one of the earlier episodes. Funny, endearing, and clever. What’s even more amazing is that it was written by Stephanie Hicks, a brand new writer on the show who has to be a fan. Unlike most of the episodes this year, this one is proof that she actually watches Castle and knows what we want to see. If only the other writers would get the same memo!

The show started out with a hilarious scene at the loft between Kate, Rick, and Martha. Leave it to Rick’s mom to burst in and ruin the mood. So funny, now that I’ve finally seen all of it. I had to rewatch online because our ABC affiliate cut off the beginning of the show with a weather update, and am I glad I did. They had omitted the funniest part! I’m still laughing.

Rick’s supposition about a genie roaming around after being trapped outside of her lamp is way over the top, of course, but it was still funny. The entire show was funny. I totally cracked up when Ryan and Espo gave Rick the file with the picture of the genie. Hahaha! Oh, wow.

So many great lines, I can’t remember them all. They also gave us a lot of precious Caskett moments, complete with kissing, and even a touch of angst at the end with Jenny having problems during labor. To my great relief, the angst was short-lived, and we quickly learned that both mother and baby were fine. I love that Ryan and Jenny named the boy Nicholas Javier. Such a fabulous last scene, with so much hugging and happiness.

I didn’t guess who the killer was because I was too busy laughing to worry about it. Such a fabulous episode. This is the way the show is supposed to be.

Lee Lofland

I agree with Melanie. This was the best episode of the season, and it was much closer to the original Castle than we’ve seen in a long, long time.

When I’m asked to set aside reality I need reasons to do so, and to help with the process the story needs to remain consistent within its own rules to prevent me from switching the channel or closing the covers of a book. The writer should provide a set-up that establishes the faux reality as truth in a fictional setting. Then, as the story progresses, the reader or viewer has a logical reason for accepting “pretend” as what’s real in that particular fictional world. In other words, a writer of fiction should deliver believable make-believe. And that’s what, for eight long years, I’ve been saying about poor Lanie’s lines.

Rarely is Lanie given the opportunity to sound like a person of science and medicine, even in a fictional world. There’s no set-up to ask us to believe she has voodooish, mystical powers that allows her to magically know how someone died prior to exam and autopsy, which is often what we see week after week after week. Therefore, we’re led to believe she’s a real medical examiner who should follow the rules of the real world. This is why we have trouble with Lanie’s believability.

The same is true for the other characters and their actions. To add to the troubles, Castle writers are not consistent with the rules they set for their characters. Either Castle is a brilliant crime-solver or he’s a bumbling idiot who can’t figure out how to come in out of the rain, but he can’t be both without proper set-up. Sure, he can be a sleuth who’s both goofy and brilliant, but that’s not how the character was offered to us in earlier episodes. Instead, we were, in those days, shown a brilliant man who utilized his exceptional crime-solving skills while also displaying a playful and boyish charm, silliness, and innocence. But he was not a fool. Therefore, unless Richard Castle experienced some sort of traumatic brain injury that flares up between seasons or episodes, he’s simply not a consistent character with consistent actions and mannerisms. The same is true for the others. Ryan, a fine upstanding man who suddenly, out of the blue, does things that are completely shady? Expo, a character who spends holidays alone because he has no family…until last week where we saw enough family members to staff a battleship??? These are glaring inconsistencies.

Those, among many other out-of-step discords are not the fault of the actors, though. Instead, the blame falls squarely onto the shoulders of the writers. Murder She Wrote is a great example of character and story consistency. Jessica Fletcher was the same brilliant and tough but slightly quirky crime-solving woman throughout. There was no flip-flopping in that TV series (Great job, Tom Sawyer!). By the way, Ron Masak, the actor who played Sheriff Mort Metzger on Murder She Wrote penned an article for this blog a few years ago. You might find it interesting. I know I did.

Okay, on with the review…

Last night’s episode was well-written, especially if compared to the others in this season. No comparison, actually. And the goodness started with Lanie’s corpse-side time-of-death information dump (the set-up). Hooray! Jones was actually given lines that made sense. Well, with the exception of instantly processing fingerprints on the sword while still at the crime scene (fingerprinting of evidence is not the duty of a pathologist, nor are smaller items printed at the scene). And, the bloody sword was packaged in clear plastic.

Show of hands, please. What sort of packaging is used for wet (blood, semen, saliva, etc.) evidence? You can check your answer here.

Speaking of fingerprints. Alexis dusted her dad’s desk for prints and then had Hayley check them for possible matches.  I’ll just say this. Puhleeze…

Someone, maybe Ryan, said that female DNA was discovered on the dead guy they found rolled-up inside a rug. Therefore, based on the discovery of this DNA, they determined his killer was female. Two points. One – sure, it’s possible to determine sex from DNA evidence. Two – it is not possible for DNA evidence alone to prove the person who left it behind is without a doubt the killer. There must be other evidence as well.

For example, in the situation above a female customer (this includes individuals who’ve transitioned from female to male because they still have female DNA), could have handled the rug thereby leaving their DNA behind. That same DNA could’ve transferred to the body when it contacted the carpet material. This is called tertiary transfer of evidence.

Here’s what I wrote about tertiary evidence transfer (page 170 – 171 of Police Procedure and Investigation).

“It’s actually quite easy to transfer DNA evidence. When evidence is transferred from a person to an item, it’s called a primary transfer of evidence. When evidence is transferred from one item to another, it’s called secondary transfer. Tertiary transfer occurs when the DNA that’s been transferred to a second item is again transferred to a third item….

…DNA can also be transferred to people who then use that item, such as a towel that’s been used by someone else. DNA can even be transferred from one article of clothing to another in a washing machine.

Evidence that’s been cross-contaminated will exhibit false results and could be used to convict the innocent and allow the guilty to go free.”

So, there you have the major procedural errors, which were few. Overall, the show was fun and a bit on the wacky (in a good way) side. I think Esposito was thinking the same when he said to Castle, “I’m going to have to get you off the crazy train.”

I think Ozzy agrees.

“This is not going to be the last time you lose one of your coworkers. That is a reality of the job.” ~ Beckett to police academy recruits.

Melanie Atkins

All I can say about last night’s episode of Castle is that I liked parts of it, but not all of it. Not by a long shot. The idea of Kate and the boys investigating a murder connected to the police academy intrigued me, and yet the reality of the place came off as stark, sterile, and weird, as if it were Star Fleet Academy or something. And all the shots were so dark. What’s up with that? Can they not afford light bulbs?

Kate apparently holds all the records recruits can hold, and all of the current recruits look up to her. I enjoyed seeing her revisit that part of her past, but a little of that goes a long way. I have to admit that they got me this time, because I didn’t choose the right killer. I really expected it to be the female recruit who was so like Kate. Her being a mobster’s daughter took me by surprise.

Even so, the case didn’t really grab me, but the glimpses of Rick and Kate together did. I’m sick and tired of their fake break-up, and the first scene of them together in the loft with Kate avoiding Martha made me shake my head. Such a ridiculous storyline — but alas, all of that craziness is apparently about to come to an end. Because as we learned in the show’s final scene, the two of them are finally on the same page about fighting their enemies together rather than separately, which they should’ve been doing all season instead of living apart. Duh.

I’m ready to forget the last 15 episodes even exist and move on, except that they have yet to defeat LokSat. Another tired, contrived storyline. After last week’s show, however, they’ve at least connected LokSat to Rick’s missing time, so hopefully once they catch that particular boogie man (or woman), they’ll put both stories to rest for good. They can’t do it fast enough for me. I’m so tired of dreading to do this blog.

I’m also ready for Kate and Rick to live together again, to laugh, and fight normal crimes. Like they used to do on Castle, before the new showrunners decided to ruin my favorite show. I miss those days so much that I’m rewatching the entire series to get my fix. I’ll skip season 8, of course, because the entire LokSat fiasco has been such a disappointment.

Let’s move on from here and get back to the old Castle. Please.

Lee Lofland

I didn’t particularly care for the episode, but, as you know, my main job is to discuss the rights and wrongs of the police procedure and forensics, so let’s begin with good ‘ol Lividity Lanie…

Beckett to Lanie. “Got a time of death?”

Okay, wait for it….wait for it…wait for it…and, GO!

“Between nine and midnight,” said Lanie.

Did I hear that right? Did Lanie actually utter those words? Why yes, I believe she did.

So, Castle writers…how difficult was it to have have poor, sweet Tamala Jones say something that was absolutely and incredibly believable? That’s right, there was no dumb, “based on lividity,” gobbledygook. No consultation with a crystal ball. No voodooery. No fortune telling or tea leaf reading. Merely a simple, “Between nine and midnight.” The line was clean, concise, and…I’m so happy that, well…

And then there is Hayley. Grrrrr. Enough said.

Beckett plays police academy instructor to give her a means to question potential murder suspects. There’s a fine line here that defense attorneys might say she crossed when interrogating those potential suspects without first advising them of their rights. Technically, I suppose the argument in favor of the tactic would be that they were not in custody at the time of the pretend very real questioning. However, did the recruits feel they were able to leave?

Beckett’s trick of placing an item (a bag) on the table during questioning is a very real and very old tactic that often works quite well. For example, I once arrested a killer based on decent evidence, but wasn’t able to locate the murder weapon, a gun.  Therefore I decided to try a trick of my own. I entered the interview room that day and took a seat across from the accused. I advised him of his rights and started in making small talk, mindless chatter merely to give me time to establish some sort of connection before putting my real plan into motion.

Earlier, I’d asked my partner to deliver to me a large, sealed paper evidence envelope in which I’d placed a snack for later in the day. The snack consisted of a lone banana.

A few minutes into the interview there was a knock at the door. My plan was officially underway.

The bad guy sat watching as my partner delivered the package to me and leaned over to whisper something in my ear. We spoke for a minute and then I looked the killer in the eye and smiled while gently tapping the bulge in the envelope. I have to admit, it did appear to be a gun, but I never once said it was, nor did I even offer a hint what it was or what was inside. In fact, I didn’t mention the package.

During the interrogation, I watched the accused shooter begin to squirm in his seat. I actually saw beads of perspiration sprouting on his face and shaved head. A few minutes into the interview, without me having to say anything at all about the banana, he confessed.

The trick worked. The guy thought I’d found the murder weapon. Of course, prior to taking him to jail I opened the bag to retrieve my snack, and while peeling the banana I offered him a piece.

Hey, I’m a smart ass, but I’m not rude.

Sorry, I sort of drifted off topic there for a moment. Back to Castle…

Beckett was in the midst of interrogating a police academy recruit when he asked for a lawyer, a couple of times. She ignored his request and continued asking questions. When a person requests an attorney officers are required to cease questioning at once. Zip it. Nip it. It’s done. The fork has been stuck, and, well, you get the idea. When they ask for an attorney you must stop the interrogation.

I did pick the correct killer, but for a minute considered the academy sergeant. However, the writers were trying far too hard to make us believe he was the suspect, so my focus returned to the head of the academy. After all, he fit nicely into the vacant spot in the boilerplate script.

I never once thought the female recruit did it. However, the moment she pulled a gun on the mob guy/her father, she should have been discharged from the academy and the NYPD. She became a criminal at the point. And, Beckett and crew should have shot her while she stood there pointing a gun at a citizen, threatening to shoot him.

By the way, how in the heck did the three seasoned detectives miss finding a gun on the recruit before sending her in, wired, to trick her father into confessing to a crime? After all, a gun missing from the academy was the murder weapon. She (Decker) was a bit of a loose cannon. Add two and two in that situation and, well, you at least pat her down before sending her inside.

It was a nice touch to have Beckett mention a “panic phrase” (or word). When people, such as informants or undercover officers, are sent into potentially dangerous situations, while wired, they’re typically told to say the panic phrase when serious trouble pops up so the handlers/officers on the outside/backup will know to rush in and save the day.

Finally, LokSat…GO AWAY! We’ve seen the movie Groundhog Day, and it was wonderful, but to mimic the premise of that film by repeating the same old tired thing week after week after week has truly gotten old and stale. Please move on.

Castle used to be about a bestselling mystery writer who played poker with Michael Connelly, and he tagged along with a tough-as-nails female detective as she and her team solved murders. Could someone please tell which channel and time THAT show is on because I’d love to watch it again. ~ LL

Melanie Atkins

Last week’s episode of Castle surprised me by being one of the best this season, with great writing and directing in true classic Castle form. This week, not so much because the crazy case bounced from here to there and back again. What happened to the stellar writing? I did not peg the ESL teacher as the murderer, probably because the show had so many characters that I got confused early on and stayed that way.

So many parts of the case were unrealistic, and I just couldn’t get past it. Rick going undercover as an ESL student? Please. Parts of the scenario humored me, to be sure, but weren’t ha-ha-laugh-out-loud funny. And now he’s having flashbacks from the time he went missing way back when? Are we really going to have to revisit that craziness again? Ack! Of course, the explanation of what happened during that time left a lot to be desired, but I’d rather they simply dropped it and forgot it ever happened.

And LokSat. No one mentioned that elephant in the room, but Kate and Rick are supposedly still “separated”, even though they worked the case together and are together in private. Ho-hum. I’m so ready for this aspect of the show to disappear. Seriously. It’s silly and nobody believes it. How could they, with them together all the time?

On a whole, I did not like this episode. I hope next week’s will be better, but I won’t be totally satisfied until the entire LokSat and missing time plotlines are put to rest in episode 16. That can’t happen fast enough for me.

Lee Lofland

Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the episode, the first time since I started this review back in season one. Therefore, I have nothing to say. However, based on Melanie’s portion of the post, I don’t believe I missed much. So I guess I’ll sit in here in the corner and listen to your comments about the police procedure, forensics, etc. Could someone help us out by sharing your thoughts? What did you see that was right, or wrong? Anything?