When life gives you lemons… go on a mass murdering spree.

Not as badass as David Carradine, but definitely cuter…

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Unbelievably sad news to report tonight as former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett has passed away. Jay was a very influential player in taking Wilco from their early days in the Alt-Country scene and helping transform them in to a highly respected and critically acclaimed American band. I was lucky enough to be at the First Avenue show featured in the “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” documentary. He was a remarkable presence on stage and he will be missed. He was only 45 years old.

When it comes to watching good TV on its initial run, I’m not the best consumer. A look at my track record reveals show after show that is now cancelled and that I fell in love with on DVD. Sometimes I do try to make the effort but it simply doesn’t work out; I either lose interest of life gets a hold of my schedule and I’m never home to see the show. That said, the internet now makes it quite easy to catch up with shows if you miss them at their regular air date and I have a recommendation that has me working overtime to watch on a weekly basis.

“Castle” premiered on ABC a few weeks ago and two episodes in and it’s safe to say that I’m a fangirl in the making. The show stars the great Nathan Fillion (in a non FOX show which means the odds of it staying on the air for longer than ½ a season are pretty good) as Richard Castle, a best selling mystery author. When hard nosed detective Kate Beckett notices that the murders match the deaths in three of Castle’s books, the author is brought in for questioning and in a round about way, ends up assisting the police in their investigation (after all, no one knows the crime scenes better than the guy that wrote them).

It’s obvious from the get-go that the success of the show will rely on the relationship and chemistry between Castle and Beckett but how do you keep the two working together on subsequent episodes? The show actually does a fairly good job of setting up the relationship though I have a hard time believing that something like that would happen in real life, the show focuses on a lifestyle most of us are unfamiliar with so the details are easily glossed over. The appeal of the show so far is the combination of the writing and Fillion.

Anyone that’s seen him in action (particularly in “Firefly”) knows that the man does the mix of comedy and drama well. He has the “likable asshole” act down packed and the writers are making great use of it. The show has a great combination of drama and comedy and Fillion fits the bill of cocky writer to a tee. Add in the physical humour the show has displayed so far (particularly in episode two which features Castle trying to break out of handcuffs) and this has winner written all over it.

Mysteries are not my thing and neither are dramedies but two episodes in and I’m a fan. Here’s hoping that the show has enough viewers and love to keep it alive past the first season.

Have you watched “Castle”? What do you think?