Heyyy, welcome back, my Trickling Toyboxers! What’s new? Well, this time, it’s a new mega-broadcast focussing on the infamous Nathan Fillion, from his current spotlight as the multi-season star of “Castle” (2009) to his previous spotlights as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the retro-sci-fi cult-favorites “Serenity” (2005) and “Firefly” (2002). Why a Nathan Fillion post? Well, why not? First of all, “Serenity” and “Firefly” are two of my personal favorite sci-fi titles. Secondly (on 11 June 2011), when I decided to give “Castle – Season 1” a try, I was hooked. Thirdly (on 21 July 2011), when I witnessed Nathan as Richard Castle dressing up as his old character Malcolm Reynolds in “Castle – Season 2” Episode 6, I had no choice but to write a post, haha. So here we go, folks, time to burn up the atmo…
Part 1 of 3 > Castle (2009)
Ah, the world of rich castles and castle riches. Quite a far cry from the universe (or ‘verse) of raggedy fireflies and firefly rags, huh? In any case, like I mentioned, when I watched the fictional character Richard Castle dressing up as the science-fictional character Malcolm Reynolds in “Castle – Season 2″ Episode 6”, I laughed out loud! Hysterical! For a small slice of the scene, here’s the YouTube video “Castle: Space Cowboy” below. Enjoy!
So what did you think? Cool? Geeky? Shiny? Yup, I agree, all three. So for those of you who have no clue what the heck I’m spewing, here’s a quick summary of the “Castle” TV series from Wikipedia.
Castle is an American comedy-drama television series broadcast on ABC and produced by ABC Studios. Castle premiered on March 9, 2009, and the final episode of the third season aired on May 16, 2011. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season.
Castle follows Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist who has killed off his main character in his book series and has writer’s block. He is called in to help the NYPD solve a copy-cat murder based on one of his novels. Stana Katic co-stars as Detective Kate Beckett. Castle, who becomes interested in Beckett as a potential character for a new book series, uses his connections at the mayor’s office and receives permission to continue accompanying Beckett while investigating cases. Castle decides to use Beckett as the model for the main character of his next book series starring “Nikki Heat”. Beckett, an avid reader of Castle’s books, initially disapproves of having Castle shadow her on her cases, but later warms up and recognizes Castle as a useful resource in solving crimes.
Season 2, Episode 6, “Vampire Weekend” – As Halloween approaches, Castle and Beckett are assigned to investigate the death of a young man found stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake in a graveyard. To Castle’s delight, the two must delve into the world of vampires and werewolves to find the killer.
Next, here’s a quick summary of the “Firefly” TV series from Wikipedia.
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear.
The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a “Firefly-class” spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity. Whedon pitched the show as “nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things”. The show explores the lives of some people who fought on the losing side of a civil war and others who now make a living on the outskirts of society, as part of the pioneer culture that exists on the fringes of their star system. In addition, it is a future where the only two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, fused to form the central federal government, called the Alliance, resulting in the fusion of the two cultures as well. According to Whedon’s vision, “nothing will change in the future: technology will advance, but we will still have the same political, moral, and ethical problems as today.”
Firefly premiered in the United States on the Fox network on September 20, 2002. Despite high expectations for the Joss Whedon-led project, by mid-December 2002, Firefly had averaged only 4.7 million viewers per episode and was 98th in Nielsen ratings. It was canceled after eleven of the fourteen produced episodes were aired. Despite the series’ relatively short life span, it received strong sales when it was released on DVD and has large fan support campaigns. It won an Emmy in 2003 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. The post-airing success of the show led Whedon and Universal Pictures to produce a film based on the series, Serenity. The Firefly franchise expanded from the series and film to other media including comics and a role-playing game.
Yup, pretty cool indeed. So now, to celebrate the moment, here are a dozen high-resolution images from “Castle – Season 1” and “Castle – Season 2” featuring Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle and the gorgeous Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett. Feel free to enlarge and save, haha. Enjoy!
Part 2 of 3 > Serenity (2005)
Ah, now let’s rewind back in time (or forward into the future) to the universe (or ‘verse) of raggedy fireflies and firefly rags, where Captain Malcolm Reynolds roams free! Here’s a quick summary of the “Serenity” film from Wikipedia.
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship. The captain and first mate are veterans of the Unification War, having fought on the losing side. Their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbors a dangerous secret.
The film was released in North America on September 30, 2005 by Universal Pictures. It received generally positive reviews and was number two its opening weekend, taking in $10.1 million its first weekend. The movie spent two weeks in the top ten, and its total domestic box office gross was $25.5 million with a foreign box office gross of $13.3 million. However, it did not make back its budget until its release on DVD. Serenity won film of the year awards from Film 2005 and FilmFocus. It also won IGN Film’s Best Sci-Fi, Best Story and Best Trailer awards and was runner up for the Overall Best Movie. It also won the Nebula Award for Best Script for 2005, the 7th annual ‘User Tomato Awards’ for best Sci-Fi movie of 2005 at Rotten Tomatoes, the 2006 viewers choice Spacey Award for favorite movie, the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form and the 2006 Prometheus Special Award.
Yes, shiny indeed! So next, to celebrate another moment, here are 19 wallpapers and high-resolution images featuring Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, the eclectic crew of Serenity, and Serenity herself. As always, feel free to enlarge and save. Enjoy!
Part 3 of 3 > Firefly (2002)
Finally, let’s rewind even farther back in time to the origins of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his eclectic crew! To celebrate yet another shiny moment, here are 82 more wallpapers and high-resolution images featuring Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, the unforgettable crew of Serenity, and the Firefly-class cargo ship Serenity herself. Once again, feel free to enlarge and save. Enjoy!
Well, that’s all, folks! I think we’ve adequately burned and boiled the atmo, hehe. But hey, if you’re interested in some of my old “Firefly” fanart, hop over to my Blog 196 > Art Deco, Retro & Steampunk, and scroll down to “Part 4 of 5 > Firefly Fanart Flashback”. For more Summer Glau wallpapers from “Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, skip over to my Blog 207 > Angels, Badasses & Cyborgs, and scroll down to “Part 3 of 7 > Chronicles of Cyborgs & Terminators”. Otherwise, take a peek at my “Possibly Random Links” below. Till next time. Peace. Out.