Normally I’d be sitting
down right now to write my weekly edition of Castle Cliff Notes but honestly
this week I haven’t even brought myself to watch Castle and can’t even fathom writing
about happy Castle moments. Yesterday, we were shocked with the news that both
Stana Katic and Tamala Jones were not coming back for a hypothetical season
9. At first I was shocked and upset thinking
it was their choice but then I found it that it wasn’t that they decided to
leave, no, it was because they weren’t asked back. I’m sorry, what? To add salt to the wound, it has also been
reported that the cuts were made to help “cut costs.” Now I’m going to go ahead and remind you all
that I love Tamala and am sad to see Lanie go, but I’m going to take most of
this rant and focus on Stana’s departure and the loss of Beckett.
First off, a few
disclaimers before I rant. I want to make it very clear that I am not blaming
any of the cast/crew of Castle. I think
they are some of the hardest working people and they produce a show that I have
loved for many years. The target of my frustration is ABC. Also, there is no
place for threats and I only pay attention to comments made with respect. I had
a rant before season 8 started stressing the importance of respect to the
fandom, cast, and crew and I’m not going to put up with disregard for respect
among the fandom. Also, all opinions here are my own and you may not agree with
me; That’s fine! So here we go.
As I said, I haven’t watched
this week’s episode but it was appropriately titled “Backstabber.” Personally, I think that’s what most of the
fandom was feeling from ABC after the news was delivered. Castle has always come down to a simple
premise: a writer and his muse. For
seasons, we watched as Castle and Beckett worked together and inspired each
other, growing as characters and a couple.
Castle then went through some rough times (in my opinion) as it
progressed through season 7 and 8 but I still watched faithfully each week
because I loved the characters and I held out hope that things would get
better. I will admit that I was hoping Castle might lean towards cancellation
after this season and ride off into the sunset as some of these late season 8
episodes started to improve and remind me of the show I fell in love with. Instead of letting me live in my bubble of happiness
ABC had to go and do one of the worst possible things they could do. No Stana didn’t choose to leave (which would
have caused a different pain), ABC decided to not even ask her back. No talks, no attempts at contracts and no
shits given about 8 seasons of loyalty and beautiful storytelling. The worst part for me? This whole “cutting costs” excuse that has
been floating around. Cost cutting?
Bullshit. You cut costs by
decreasing your production budget, decrease secondary characters and guest stars,
decrease wardrobe budget, decrease episode count… you don’t cut one of your
leads. I feel terrible for Stana. You work hard and create a wildly popular
character on a successful TV show and you basically get told the show will
continue on without you as if you character was only a minor blip in the Castle
journey. What disgusts me more? The
powers that be at ABC think Castle can actually thrive without Beckett. Sure, fine, whatever… the show is called “Castle”
but Richard Castle isn’t the only important part of the show. Castle is an ensemble cast and the work of
the cast together has led to the longevity of the show. All parts are necessary for the show to work and I'm not tuning in for a Castle PI show, I signed up for a writer and his muse. Ask most Castle fans and they will tell you
the heart and soul of Castle is Caskett together. Plus if we are being technical here, Castle
and Beckett are married therefore she is a Castle. (Insert the lovely tea drinking
Kermit here guys…) It’s downright
disrespectful for ABC to even think that they can backstab the actors and
fandom that led to their success and move ahead as if nothing important
happened and its business as usual. The whole thing is disgusting. I know fans are lobbying for
the fandom to continue watching the rest of the season because of the hard work of the
cast and crew, but while I appreciate everything they do, they unfortunately
got overshadowed by money hungry network executives and I can't bring myself to tune in this week. And if there is one thing the network does
pay attention to its ratings because that leads to money.
The
twitter reaction from the cast and crew was heartbreaking. Jon Huertas stated “To say I’m sad about
@stana_katic & @tamalajones not coming back even if #castle returns would
be a gross understatement. #blownaway #morose.” To make it worse? He also stated he had to find out about the
news online. Our old Captain, Penny
Johnson Jerald, responded to the news by simply stating “Waited all day to
respond with dignity… NO WORDS.” One of
the reactions that got me the most was Andrew Marlowe who said “Heartbroken. There are no words. #nmc” which was seconded
by his wife Terri. To them, you are
seeing your creation be torn apart and reassembled as something you don’t even
recognize. I think Jon Huertas said it
best when he described the potential season 9 of Castle as being an unknown
incarnation of the show. Being a
passionate fandom, there was also plenty of fan response on twitter, most of who
were outraged about the circumstances surrounding the network not asking Stana
back. I was also happy to see lots of
well wishes on future endeavors. Again, I ask the fandom- please don’t direct
your hate towards the cast and crew – instead make your opinion RESPECTFULLY
known to ABC.
So instead of ending on the ridiculousness
that is ABC thinking Castle can survive without Beckett or their utterly
ridiculous budget solution, I wanted embrace everything I love and will
continue to embrace about Stana’s portrayal of Kate Beckett. I fell in love with Castle for many different
reasons, but Beckett was a character I could easily relate to and she quickly became
one of my TV role models with other amazing women like Dana Scully. She was tough as nails but also had a feminine
side. Did I mention her killer style? No one understands my jacket and boot obsession
quite like Kate Beckett and I never felt better about my long brown hair than
when Stana/Beckett rocked the signature wavy locks. She taught me that it’s ok to struggle with
your emotions and that even the toughest and most independent females require
help from others. She was able to open
her heart to love without changing what she stood for, and I respected her like
crazy for that. Best of all? She had
flaws! And they were beautiful flaws that caused challenges but she was able to
work through them as the show progressed. Stana brought Kate Beckett to life
and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to see her genius at work. And Lanie?
Sure she wasn’t as prominent as Beckett but Lanie was the girl friend I
never had until I got involved with my TV fandoms. She was the voice of reason and many times
the voice of the fandom when talking to Beckett. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t use some of
Lanie’s advice in my life. Women need strong
role models in real life and on TV and even if ABC doesn’t see the benefit the
fandom does and we will never forget the great work done by Stana and Tamala on
the show. Stana and Tamala- Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us and making these past 8 seasons so enjoyable. You inspired us and deserve so much better than what you got from ABC in the end.
I hope ABC can understand
why there is so much anger in the fandom even from fans that may have lost
faith over the last few seasons. You
didn’t just change a direction of a TV show, you took away a role model and did
it in a way that portrays lack of respect and understanding of what makes your
hit shows work. ABC has come out looking
ignorant. We still respect the work done by the cast and crew but clearly you
don’t respect the show enough to even understand what it’s about. I leave ABC
with the words of the character they thought wasn’t worth enough to keep around
“What you destroyed today was worth a helluva lot more than money.”
And to the Castle fandom,
let us remember that “even on the worst days there’s a possibility for joy.”
Always.
-DenialLove
Support Stana! Let's show this to ABC! http://9gag.com/gag/a97ZN3m #NoStanaNoCastle
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this!! You so eloquently expressed the things that I can't calm down enough to gather my thoughts to say.Stana is indeed an outstanding actress, and I believe ABC will live to regret their ridiculous decision. Stana will go on to a better, more lucrative career, I have always thought her talents would be better utilized on the big screen. She can act more with just her facial expressions than most actors I've ever seen. I just hate that she and Tamala didn't get the send-off they deserved. The long hours, the fraturdays, all the talent they shared,came down to this--- and this is just wrong.I will not watch any other version of the show, even though I loved this version. I have thrown Castle premiere and wrap parties with my friends, just to celebrate our collective love of the show. I do think there is more to this story, however, and I think I smell some ego issues here, and it saddens and disappoints me. To ruin such a good thing over petty issues is just reprehensible- it spoiled it for all of us.I hope that many people boycott the new show, and even the ABC network. And folks wonder why Netflix is taking over TV. This is a good example of why. Finally, I wish Stana and Tamala all the best-their talent will take them far beyond anything this network has or ever will allow. Looking forward to great things from these two!!!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. Thanks for reading and all the support in the world to Stana and Tamala
DeleteNO MORE CASTLE, NO MORE ABC,NO MORE CASTLE P.I. OR WHATEVER THEY CHOOSE TO CALL IT. MAY CONSIDER BOYCOTTING THE PRODUCTS THAT SPONSOR CASTLE.
ReplyDeleteBravo! I agree with you. If there is a season 9 the only reason I would watch would be to see how they TRY to go on. As it stands, there aren't really any "good" ways to write Beckett out. I've seen talk on other sites about an abbreviated season. For me to believe they couldn't swing Stana's pay on that is beyond my realm of understanding. Season 7 was so awful with the new showrunner. 8 has only been marginally better. At this point, I'm disgusted with TPTB at ABC. Shame on them!
ReplyDelete