This is easily my favorite episode of the series with so many legendary sci fi actors and the very very subtle and hilarious reference to Nathan Fillion's one of a kind Firefly show as "that Joss Whedon" show. Also hilarious to see Jonathan Frakes subtle appearence and Castle's comment. This is one episode sci-fi fans have to rewatch the most. I love it and I'm glad they made it.
7 Reviews
Funny Funny Funny Funny
MichaelSeese19 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
By Michael Seese
Funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny episode. Did I mention I thought it was funny?
"The Final Frontier" was just a wonderful show. I suspect that the direction of Jonathan Frakes had something to do with it. Though I've never met him, of course, I just get the impression that he has a great sense of humor. And it showed.
First, let's dispense with the formalities.
Murder? Check. Lots of suspects? Check. Motives? Not at first, but then...check. They solved it? Check. Nice bit of insight in to Beckett's soul? Check. (The scene where she explained why she liked Nebula 9.)
MINOR SPOILER IN THIS PARAGRAPH! One picky thing: at the end, when they were examining all the suspects' hands under the UV light, they seemed to pretty easily accept Winter's alibi that he bought a gun and shot it that morning.
OK, so let's talk about lines, looks, and references. For the sake of level-setting, normally when I take notes on Castle, I use ¾ of a sheet of paper. This one took 1 ½ pages.
LINES
Beckett: "What caused the wound?" Medical Examiner Perlmutter: (Pause) "No clue."
Perlmutter: "Detective Beckett. And non-detective Castle."
Beckett: "This coming from the man with a life-sized Bobba Fett in his bathroom." Castle: "Point taken."
Castle: (After seeing Alexis in her cleavage-baring costume): "How am I going to un-see that?"
Beckett: "I know about the threesome with the Lt. Chloes. How much worse can it be?"
Castle (channeling Jean-Luc Picard): "Let's make sure no one forgets the name Enterprise."
Stephanie: "Lt. Chloe bobbleheads!" (The delivery was everything.)
LOOKS
Ryan's quizzical, "The Nebula 9 Fan Club?" followed by Beckett's uncomfortable, "Yeah, I understand they have a loyal following."
Castle's amused blink-blink when he said, "Kate Beckett! You have a Nebula 9 outfit."
Castle's true shock / horror when Beckett appeared in the hot costume and the hideous mask.
And the entire scene where Ryan and Esposito were interviewing witnesses was precious. I especially loved Espo's face when the girl in the leaf costume pulled one off, wrote her number, and walked away. Then he added weakly, "You took my pen."
And I have to admit, I loved Stephanie's "death throes" as they were re-enacting the crime.
REFERENCES
Of course, I'm sure I missed a few. And others were so obvious that I didn't even record them. But the most noteworthy:
"Star Trek. Battlestar. And that other show by Joss Whedon." The latter, of course, is "Firefly" starring you-know-who.
"Fracking amazing." "Frack" was the f-word equivalent in the original "Battlestar Galactica." It might have been used in new one as well; but since I only saw bits and pieces of several episodes, I can't say for sure.
The song played at the end was "Ideal Woman" from the William Shatner disk "Has Been." Incidentally, that is a great album; it definitely is one of the "Ten I'd Want On A Desert Island" disks.
Funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny episode. Did I mention I thought it was funny?
"The Final Frontier" was just a wonderful show. I suspect that the direction of Jonathan Frakes had something to do with it. Though I've never met him, of course, I just get the impression that he has a great sense of humor. And it showed.
First, let's dispense with the formalities.
Murder? Check. Lots of suspects? Check. Motives? Not at first, but then...check. They solved it? Check. Nice bit of insight in to Beckett's soul? Check. (The scene where she explained why she liked Nebula 9.)
MINOR SPOILER IN THIS PARAGRAPH! One picky thing: at the end, when they were examining all the suspects' hands under the UV light, they seemed to pretty easily accept Winter's alibi that he bought a gun and shot it that morning.
OK, so let's talk about lines, looks, and references. For the sake of level-setting, normally when I take notes on Castle, I use ¾ of a sheet of paper. This one took 1 ½ pages.
LINES
Beckett: "What caused the wound?" Medical Examiner Perlmutter: (Pause) "No clue."
Perlmutter: "Detective Beckett. And non-detective Castle."
Beckett: "This coming from the man with a life-sized Bobba Fett in his bathroom." Castle: "Point taken."
Castle: (After seeing Alexis in her cleavage-baring costume): "How am I going to un-see that?"
Beckett: "I know about the threesome with the Lt. Chloes. How much worse can it be?"
Castle (channeling Jean-Luc Picard): "Let's make sure no one forgets the name Enterprise."
Stephanie: "Lt. Chloe bobbleheads!" (The delivery was everything.)
LOOKS
Ryan's quizzical, "The Nebula 9 Fan Club?" followed by Beckett's uncomfortable, "Yeah, I understand they have a loyal following."
Castle's amused blink-blink when he said, "Kate Beckett! You have a Nebula 9 outfit."
Castle's true shock / horror when Beckett appeared in the hot costume and the hideous mask.
And the entire scene where Ryan and Esposito were interviewing witnesses was precious. I especially loved Espo's face when the girl in the leaf costume pulled one off, wrote her number, and walked away. Then he added weakly, "You took my pen."
And I have to admit, I loved Stephanie's "death throes" as they were re-enacting the crime.
REFERENCES
Of course, I'm sure I missed a few. And others were so obvious that I didn't even record them. But the most noteworthy:
"Star Trek. Battlestar. And that other show by Joss Whedon." The latter, of course, is "Firefly" starring you-know-who.
"Fracking amazing." "Frack" was the f-word equivalent in the original "Battlestar Galactica." It might have been used in new one as well; but since I only saw bits and pieces of several episodes, I can't say for sure.
The song played at the end was "Ideal Woman" from the William Shatner disk "Has Been." Incidentally, that is a great album; it definitely is one of the "Ten I'd Want On A Desert Island" disks.
...AND Armin Shimerman
bmcelhenny9 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Everything the other reviewer said... AND Armin Shimerman! Awesome to have an alum from Next Gen, DS9 AND Buffy! (Thank you Jonathan and Josh)!
Don't forget Jonathan Frakes cameo! He's Castle's #1 fan - LOL.
AND Ed Quinn...Eureka! says it all!
This episode was a great amount of fun, all the way to the reveal of Beckett in cos-play.
"Fracking amazing." "Frack" was the f-word equivalent in BOTH the original "Battlestar Galactica" and the re-make. Now if they had cast Katie Sackhoff here as the femme-fatale now THAT would've been priceless.
Yes, William Shatner's spoken-word bit at the end was the perfect capstone.
Well, done, J.F... Well done!
Don't forget Jonathan Frakes cameo! He's Castle's #1 fan - LOL.
AND Ed Quinn...Eureka! says it all!
This episode was a great amount of fun, all the way to the reveal of Beckett in cos-play.
"Fracking amazing." "Frack" was the f-word equivalent in BOTH the original "Battlestar Galactica" and the re-make. Now if they had cast Katie Sackhoff here as the femme-fatale now THAT would've been priceless.
Yes, William Shatner's spoken-word bit at the end was the perfect capstone.
Well, done, J.F... Well done!
In Jokes Galore
sarahmichelleheide1 August 2018
Funny and odd
VetteRanger7 January 2023
A woman who bought the rights to a failed sci-fi series (12 episodes aired only) and is pushing podcasts, fan experiences, and other ways to promote and capitalize on the property is murdered during one of the fan experiences at a major New York City con.
The star of the show (the Captain of the ship) is a preening, self-absorbed actor who is questioned but never seriously considered a suspect. As usual, the detectives and Castle go through a short list of suspects and even find a working laser gun which provided the fatal wound.
Some comic relief comes at the convention as detectives question prospective witnesses, and Castle makes two surprising discoveries of his own which have nothing to do with the murder.
The solution is a surprise and very different from most Castle solutions. Recommended watch.
The star of the show (the Captain of the ship) is a preening, self-absorbed actor who is questioned but never seriously considered a suspect. As usual, the detectives and Castle go through a short list of suspects and even find a working laser gun which provided the fatal wound.
Some comic relief comes at the convention as detectives question prospective witnesses, and Castle makes two surprising discoveries of his own which have nothing to do with the murder.
The solution is a surprise and very different from most Castle solutions. Recommended watch.
Castle References to Firefly
robinlexva15 April 2014
Did you know? When Caste is first belittling the "Nebula 9" series to Beckett, he contrasts it to good sci-fi shows, "Star Trek, Battlestar, that Joss Whedon show. . .". Joss Whedon was the screenwritter and creator of the 2002-03 TV sci-fi series, Firefly, in which Nathan Fillion also starred. This one of at least 3 references, probably more, which Castle makes in various episodes to the Firefly series. Another is when he dresses up as a space cowboy for Halloween, and Molly Quinn tells him the costume is so 6 years ago. The third reference I know of is when he unexpectedly speaks Chinese. When Beckett asks how he learned Chinese, Castle explains it was from some TV show he used to like.
For the fans (=fanatics)
lor_28 July 2023
A loving satire of sci-fi fandom, this comical episode of "Castle" is most entertaining in its array of in-jokes. The actual murder mystery, whodunit concerning the woman who arranged an immersive fan experience for the fictional TV sci-fi series "Nebula Nine", plays second fiddle in the script and execution of this police procedural.
The sci-fi series being spoofed is an obvious ripoff of "Star Trek" and Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes directed this episode. And he shows up early on as a big fan of Castle attending a book signing. Castle himself, Nathan Fillion, then tosses in a plug for his old "Firefly" and "Serenity" creator Joss Whedon.
It is interesting that the production designer of "Castle", including the space ship set used for this episode, was the late Alfred Sole, himsel a cult figure among fans for having directed movies like "Tanya's Island" and "Communion".
The sci-fi series being spoofed is an obvious ripoff of "Star Trek" and Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes directed this episode. And he shows up early on as a big fan of Castle attending a book signing. Castle himself, Nathan Fillion, then tosses in a plug for his old "Firefly" and "Serenity" creator Joss Whedon.
It is interesting that the production designer of "Castle", including the space ship set used for this episode, was the late Alfred Sole, himsel a cult figure among fans for having directed movies like "Tanya's Island" and "Communion".
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