A Castle is also a House

Time to get the stink of Heroes off of me, with a double dose of goodness.

Castle just continues to be a show I enjoy. The plots are entertaining, but not breaking much new ground (although the reveal of this week's case was inspired). However, it's the interaction between the characters, some sharp writing, and a general sense of fun that keeps this show in my good book. Nathan Fillion owns this character, and he truly is the straw that stirs the drink. There are elements of Captain Hammer in his Rick Castle, only his super powers are money and fame, which team up to get him pretty much anything he wants. In the end though, it's the scenes between him and his daughter that prove to be some of the best moments in the show. They don't even feel like good acting, they just feel right. Tonight's episode features layers upon layers of cons, leading to a light discussion of great con movies, and Castle's unrestrained glee at watching another master storyteller at work, albeit in a different medium. I can't recommend this show enough, it's just the most fun I have all week watching TV.

House is still making for some compelling television as well, as the old team is back in the saddle again, although with vastly different dynamics from the "good old days". Chase and Foreman are still dealing with their actions in last week's episode, in which Chase fakes a lab result in order to make sure a genocidal tyrant dies on the table. I was expecting it to get dragged out a little longer, maybe with a character dogging their heels, similar to the David Morse storyline from a couple seasons ago. It looks like it's mostly wrapped up, although I'm sure that won't be the case when its all said and done. Thirteen gets moved out of the way for now, as the next few episodes seem to be all about redefining roles within the team of House, Foreman, Cameron, and Chase. There was a nice bit about how House likes power and puzzles, but the last time he had both, it sent him into Vicodin addiction and insanity. We've established that he needs the puzzles, so can he deal without the power or not?

The Patient of the Week is more of a MacGuffin than usual, as it's his rich dad who signs away his fortune in an effort to reverse his karma and save his child. The real karma issues haven't been resolved yet, as Chase (and to a lesser extent, Foreman) is packing a pretty heavy load of bad karma. Since Foreteen seems to be broken up for good (for now), will Cameron and Chase be able to stay together, especially with what's weighing on Chase's conscience now?

Top Chef, FlashForward, Thursday night comedy (including the return of 30 Rock!) and Dollhouse are coming up this week. I'm going out of town for the weekend, so I'll catch up when I can. Might I suggest leaving some comments? Yes, I'm a comment whore now, what's up?