Embrace the meta-ness ;-) (...of Castle)

One of the shows I really LOVE right now is Castle. I already did an Awesomeness of quotes page of the show, which kinda proves my point. One of the things I love about it, is the way that creator and writers appreciate the fans. They would have episodes reffering to other shows that their viewers probably watch as well. For instance: In the Halloween episode (2x06) Nathan Fillion - also know as Captain Malcolm Reynolds from his previous show Firefly - dressed up as none other as the space cowboy that he was. But he wasn't the only one, more castmembers dressed up as characters they previously played. As if that wasn't enough, they also have killer theme eps about steam punk, alien abduction, zombies (think Walking Dead) and even a convention ep last week. How meta can you get??? :D

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SPOILER ALERT <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
 
Heat Wave
It gets even better. In the show Nathan Fillion plays writer Richard Castle who will base his next book on the detective he is following: Kate Beckett. These books actually came out! The first one is called Heat Wave and is dedicated 'to the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th'. In short the story is about NYPD detective Nikki Heat 'tough, sexy and professional' who carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. When the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York's Finest, she's hit with un unexpected challenge - next to solving a crime. This would be the New York real estate tycoon who plunged to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk and a trophy wife with a past that survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Nikki Heat tries to shine a light on the case, while unraveling another shocking murder and comes across a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. The story takes place during a suffocating grip of record heat wave, which functions as a metaphor for her relation with Rook. 'Pulitzer Prize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them... the one called heat.'
A lot of the first season is used in the book, which leads to some fun facts for fans of the show:

- Page 21, a reference is made to the "Marlowe Building", in deference to the creator behind the show Andrew Marlowe.
- Page 25, Heat and Rook meet up with 'Fat Tommy,' gangster friend of Rook's who gives the two a tip that helps with their case. This may be familiar for viewers, because Castle and Beckett visit with a mobster friend of Castle's for help on their case in A Death in the Family (1x10).
- Pages 57-58, there's a very obvious moment from the show. In Home is Where the Heart Stops (1x07) detective Ryan and Esposito start to rattle off a series of slang names for 'suspect' for Rook (he uses 'purp' which is writer speak apparently). In the book Detectives Raley and Ochoa do the same and in both versions Castle/Rook try to write them all down, only to have Beckett/Heat stop him.
- Page 66, Rook recruits Heat to join him in a poker game with a judge named Horace Simpson. On the show (Ghosts - 1x08) Beckett joins Castle in a poker game with a judge named Markway.
- Page 131, Rooks gets into a fight with a witness, wrestless the gun away from him and points it at him while saying "Go ahead. I need the practice." A quote that came from Beckett in episode 1x07. Only in the show Castle wrestless with the murder suspect, the gun gets away. While the suspect struggles to get to it, Beckett steps on it and says the line. 

- During the course of the investigation Heat and Rook interview the victim's nanny, with whom he was having an affair. Much like Nanny McDead (1x02) where a nanny was having an affair with the married father of the child she took care of.
- In 1x07 Castle enlists the help of Caine Powell, a jewelry dealer with a sketchy past. In the course of the investigation in the book, Rook asks Casper Philips for help: a well-known art dealer with a sketchy past.
- In the book Rook and Heat discover that the artwork in victim Matthew Starr's apartment are all reproductions. This is similar to Castle's and Beckett's discovery in  The Fifth Bullet (2x11).
- Less obvious is the name. It's an indirect reference, because in chess a 'rook' is a castle shaped playing piece.

- The acknowledgments in the book Castle writes about his mother and daughter - Martha Rodgers and Alexis - who play a big part in the show as well. Terri E. Miller gets a special mention (Marlowe's wife and producer of Castle), Andrew himself and many more names. He also writes 'A debt is due to [...] my dear friends Nathan, Stana, Jon, Seamus, Susan, Molly, Ruben, and Tamala. May our days, no matter how long, continue to be filled with laughter and grace.' These are all the names of the main cast.

And on the show:
- In When the Bough Breaks (2x05) there's a launch party for the book and Beckett reads the dedication 'to the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th'.
- In Deep in Death (2x01) the season starts with Castle doing a photoshoot at the precinct for Heat Wave, while Beckett is forced to do an interview. 
- During Castle's interview in the opening scene of The Late Shaft (2x20), Bobby Mann promoted the fact that the book would be coming out in paperback on July 27th in 2010, which was the actual release date.
- The tie-in Heat Wave was published by ABC and sister publisher Hyperion Books (written by a ghost writer of course). The first half of the novel were released in weekly increments on their website.
- In episode Fool Me Once... (2x04) there's mentioning of a sex scene between Rook and Heat. Beckett acts like she doesn't care, but does want to read it. See the vid below: "It's on page 105."
- On Tick, Tick, Tick... (2x17) it is revealed that Heat Wave will be made into a movie. This is a storyline over several episodes. There are many more of these things, seeing how they keep talking about a cover that's released and how well the book is doing on the show.

Want to read it for yourself? Check it out here.

Naked Heat
While Heat Wave was a bit slow or flat sometimes (storywise), the second book was much better. This starts after Rook and Heat ended their romance. The article about Det. Heat has already come out and she is a familiar face in the entire city. But Nikki and Jameson are pushed into each others life once again because of a new murder. Rook was shadowing a gossip columnist who is now found dead and Heat is forced to accept Rook's help. Being a gossip columnist, there's a long list of suspects because of the secrets she exposed of them. There is even an old flame of Nikki herself. Nikki tries to solve the case while dealing with her new found fame, as well as Rook's re-appearance. All right, time for fun facts:

- Page 87: Rook opens a fridge and a body topples  out, which also happends to Castle in The Third Man (2x14).
- Page 105: Nikki Heat tries and succedes in getting her duck tape off. In A Rose for Everafter (2x12), Castle mentions how he has Nikki Heat strapped to a chair and he's trying to figure out how she can escape. 
- Page 117: Rook comments on Nikki's bathtub and says 'If the asteroid ever hits, this is where you should duck and cover.' In Boom (Part Two) (2x18) Beckett jumps into her bathtub to survive the bomb blast that destroys her apartment.
- Page 123: Nikki reveals that here 'safe word' is pineapples. Rick Castle mentions to Beckett in both Flowers For Your Grave (1x01) and The Mistress Always Spanks Twice (2x16) that his safe word is 'apples'.
- Page 221: The code for the Chef's wine cellar is the same as Beckett's badge number, 41319.

- In the book there's a character named Soleil Gray. She was based on Sky Blue (Soleil stands for 'sun' though) from the episode Famous Last Words (2x07).
- There's a nod to actress Stana Katic (who plays Beckett), whose parents emigrated from the same region as Croatia, in the character of Petar Matic and his Croatian background.
- Toby Mills, the baseball player, and his agent are inspired by Cano Vega and his agent Bobby Fox from Suicide Squeeze (2x15). 

But it gets even better: In this book there are two references to Mal(colm) Reynolds, the character Fillion played on Firefly and Serenity. Namely, there's a pair of detectives named Malcolm and Reynolds XD. 

- In the acknowledgments Castle thanks the 12th precinct and mentions Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Montgomery by name as well as Dr. Lanie Parish where he adds the quote "If he's dead, why is he still moving?" Deepest gratitude goes to daughter Alexis and mother Martha and Andrew Marlowe is an inspiration. He thanks Terri E. Miller (co-conspirator), Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Ruben, Molly, Susan and Tamala, but also Melissa Harling-Walendy at ABC, someone named Tom and Jennifer Allen (for the ride-along). The acknowledgements were written in The Hamptons in July 2010 by RC, which falls in a direct line with the story of the show (more precisely A Deadly Game 2x24).

On the show:
- In episode A Deadly Game (2x24) Beckett asks "She's naked on the cover again, isn't she?" to which Castle answers "Kinda, yeah." See vid below for the evidence ;-).
- In 2x05 it's mentioned for the first time that Castle will be writing three more Nikki Heat books, of which Naked Heat is the first.

Online version of the book by chapter can be found here. 

Heat Rises
The third book was a bit ahead of it's eps I think, but I'm not sure. I just finished reading it and it's full of information that is connected to many episodes of all seasons. It starts with a bizarre murder of a priest at a bondage club in New York. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, because it leads Detective Heat to a dark conspiracy that includes the highest level of the NYPD. Even her Captain, Montrose, pushes her in another direction. When Nikki gets too close to the truth, she's disgraced, stripped of her badge and out on her own. Not the best way to be, when killers are after you... Fortunately reporter Jameson Rook is there to help her out. Together they will prove one thing - in the midst of the coldest winter New York has had in a century - that Heat will Rise. No shortage of fun facts in this one, take a look:

- Page 55: Nikki is sparring with ex-Navy SEAL Don, who she occasionally does other 'stuff' with too. It reminded me of Kate's relationship with Det. Demming, who she was also sparring with quite a lot.
- Page 97: Nikki and Jameson are playing a question game, but whenever someone doesn't want to answer they have to take of their clothes "like strip poker?" as Heat says. In 1x02 Castle tells Beckett she should join him and his writerbuddies for a poker game. When she says it's to rich for her taste, he remarks "We could always make it strip poker."
- Page 111: While Nikki is waiting for Dr. Armani a male nurse 'with a youthful face and surfer dude curls - with brilliant teeth' tells her that the Doctor is busy 'with the intimacy of a patient lover.' This may ring a bell, seeing how a male nurse (Steamy/Dreamy) is a suspect in Anatomy of a Murder (3x05).
- Page 124: Nikki is being hunted by professional assasins and takes cover in Belvedere Castle. There's a line that may be double-y interpreted "Heat leaned back against the wall, looking upward at the castle that had been her salvation."
 - Page 153: During the investigation Nikki interviews a former drug runner, who did time in Sing Sing and since then has been clean. In 3x05 Beckett interviews a former drug runner who reformed himself. Secondly, in the book his alibi is watching the Bond movie Quantum of Solace at home after which he tells Nikki "You could be a Bond Girl yourself, Detective." This is a reference to Stana Katic who plays Beckett and was also the Bond girl in that movie.
- Page 164: While Rook is installing a Nanny/Nikkicam he sees himself in the monitor and says "I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?" much like the episode Always Buy Retail (1x06) and with which Det. Ryan agreed in A Deadly Affair (3x01).
- Page 168: In the book there's a conversation about someone who works at a pizza parlor called Legendary Luigi's and there's confusion about Luigi's Original. A similair thing happends in Slice of Death (3x20).
- Page 203: Nikki is talking about a neighbour in her building, named Mrs. Nathan (which of course will make you think of the face on the back cover: Nathan Fillion). 
- Page 218: Rook was shot at because he was following Nikki, but he dove away in time. In Knockout (3x24) Castle tries to dive in front of Beckett, but he's too late and she's shot in the chest.
- Page 244: When Nikki and Rook interview Mueller's agent, he tells Rook he would make him into a stripper by the name of Indiana Bones - complete with fedora and bullwhip - or a space explorer. In Wrapped Up In Death (2x19) and Setup (3x16) it becomes clear that Castle is a Indiana Jones fan. Rook guesses that when the agent talks about the space explorer he means Malcolm Reynolds.
- Page 251: To get Meuller to talk Rook threatens him with a hyperdermic needle to demonstrate how easy it would be for someone to "dress like nurses and inject poison into the IV drip of their victims." In A Death in the Family (1x10) this is exactly what a contract killer tries to do, but Castle and Beckett stop it in time.
- Page 258-261: Rook's mother, named Margaret Rook (much like Martha Rogers in the series), talks about Rook's middle name being Alexander, just like Castle's.
- Page 268: There's mention of the Brass Harpoon 'a legendary writer's bar of old Manhattan' and 'a mythical survivor of prohibition with its secret doors and underground tunnels' much like the one in Last Call (3x10)

- Page 301: There's a book that Rook published under the pseudonym of Victoria St. Clare titled Castle of Her Endless Longing (nice reference to Castle and Beckett). It features a character named Lady Kate Sackett, which of course is a reference to Kate Beckett. In the opening scene of the book, she is approached on horseback by a man "handsome in a roguish way" (see above) who offers to "ride along" with her which is what Castle does with Kate and Rook did with Nikki and her squad in Heat Wave.


- The priest is found in a fetish club, much like the one Castle and Beckett visit in 2x16.
- The beginning of the story mirrors episodes 2x24 and 3x01, where Castle and Beckett have been out of touch during the summer. Heat hasn't seen Rook for a month, not knowing where their relationship stands.
- Just as Dr. Lanie Parish and Det. Javier Esposito are in a relationship (starting Poof, You're Dead 3x12) the characters from the book Lauren Parry and Det. Ochoa are too.
- A key person in Beckett's murder investigation in Almost Famous (3x07) is a German stripper, much like the one in the book named Horst Meuller.
- The priest was a fan of murder mysteries, like the ones written by Stephen J. Cannell, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and James Patterson - who are all in Castle's writers-only poker games. He was also a fan of the movie Air Force One, written by Andrew Marlowe.
- SPOILER!!!!!!  During the story Captain Montrose dies, while Nikki still suspects him of something shady. In the series Captain Roy Montgomery died after Beckett discovered he was also  involved some shady business.
- There's mention of Capt. Montrose's dog named Penny several times. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald plays Capt. Victoria Gates who takes over command after Capt. Montgomery dies.
 - Nikki uses a fire axe one time in the book to chop of someones arm. In the episode One Life to Lose (3x18) the murder which Beckett and Castle are investigating was committed with the same weapon.

- In the acknowledgements Castle once again thanks the team of the precinct as well as Terri Edda Miller (who choose the title) as well as Jennifer Allen (who taught him the secret o' life), Andrew Marlowe and Tom. The actors are mentioned as well, just as his mother and daughter and Melissa from ABC. A special mention is for Mr. Cannell, who the writers' team will still be dealing in during the poker games (he passed away).

On the show:
From now on there isn't much mention about the books on the show.  

Feel like reading it? You can! Right here.

>>>>>>> UPDATED SECTION <<<<<<<

Frozen Heat
The fourth novel was released on September 11 in 2012 and it mainly focuses on the murder of Nikki Heat's mother. NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat arrives at her latest crime scene to find an unidentified woman stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase... The suitcase that belonged to her mother and was stolen when her mother was killed - ten years ago. These now connected (and unsolved) murders become the main focus and to solve one murder, she has to solve the other. Once again she is paired with her romantic and investigative partner, the top journalist Jameson Rook, who will help her not just solve the murder but also confront unexplored areas of her mother's background. All is not without danger, because Heat soon turns out to be the target for the next kill. Heat's passionate quest - exposing a startling hidden life of her mother while reexamining her own past - takes her and Rook from back alleys of Manhatten to the avenues of Paris, trying to catch the killer.

Though I feel like I missed a couple of references, here are the ones I did notice ;-). Unfortunately no longer clearly devided into sections such as 'from the show', 'general' and so on, but just criss cross.

- Page 14 & 18: Nikki is handed her favorite cup of coffee by Rook: A grande skim latte with two pumps of suger-free vanilla, which is the same as Kate Becketts.
- Page 23: When Rook and Detective Feller have a disagreement about partnering up with Nikki for the case, Rook suggests a game of Rochambeau, or rock, paper, scissers. Just like how Esposito, Ryan and Castle decided who would go get dogfood in An Embarrassment of Bitches (4x13). 
 - Page 45: Since Rook got shot in the previous book, Heat is even more protective of him and wants him to stay behind a lot. Therefor Rook says: "Come on, I promise I won't get shot. I can wear one of those vests." Ochoa/Esposito responds "Check it out, bro. It says 'POLICE'", to which Rook answers "Do you have one in there that says 'WRITER'?" Which references several episodes, since Castle had one made for himself in Always Buy Retail (1x06) and since then uses it repeatedly.
- Page 65: As in the previous two books, Detectives Malcolm and Reynolds are present. In this particular section Rook says: "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something I like about Malcolm and Reynolds." Seeing how Rook's character was based on Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the series Firefly, a lot of Browncoats will appreciate this one.
- Page 126: At a certain point Heat and Rook are discussing calling 'The Hammer' which is a nickname for the character Zach Hamner, but it's also a wink to Nathan Fillion's character Captain Hammer in the webseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
- Page 126: Character Captain Wallace Iron in the book is losely based on Captain Gates in the show. At a certain point someone says "You wouldn't be sitting on the wrong side of Cap'n Wally's Iron gate?" In the show it is said that Gates was formerly with the Department of Internal Affairs, earnign the name 'Iron Gates' for her uncompromising personality.
- Page 163: Ochoa mentions "There's an Elvis convention in Atlantic City. I could rock my whole Elvez gig." This is a direct reference to the episode Heartbreak Hotel (4x08) where Esposito, Ryan and Castle all dress up as Elvis and Esposito also says "What? Elvis can't be brown? I'm Elvez!"
- Page 172: Rook and Heat wake up in the trunk of a car, while being handcuffed to each other. This refers to the episode Cuffed (4x10), which focuses on Beckett and Castle being handcuffed to each other.
- Page 202: There's a character named Eugene Summers... It's probably a well known name, but to me it always makes me think of Buffy Summers, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer whom Nathan's Fillion's character 'Caleb' tried to kill. 
- Page 226: There's this quote, that Rook says to Heat and it goes "And if you're crazy enough to keep going, I'm crazy enough to follow" which references directly to their conversation in Linchpin (4x16) where Castle goes : " If you're stubborn enough to keep going, I'm stupid enough to go with you."
- Page 227: There's a reference to Soleil Gray, a famous singer. It's both a reference to the book Naked Heat as well as the episode Famous Last Words (2x07) which focuses on a singer. 
- Page 257: In everybook there's a mention of something 'castle'. In the previous book it was about a castle being her salvation. Now it's the town "Castleton Corners."
- Page 257:  There's a reference to the Blue Man's Group by calling it the 'Blue Hands Group.' As in the show, when the detectives gather evidence, they wear blue gloves during their investigation. However, in the ligth of Firefly, it brings to mind the 'Two by Two, Hands of Blue' quote, which Castle/Fillion also referenced in Fool Me Once (2x04), by doing 'two by two, while wearing blue gloves at the crime scene.
- Page 271: There's a reference to a building super of a gossip colunnist whose murder they solved in Naked Heat. 



- SPOILER!!! The final twist is someone being a spy. It's a nod to Stana's (who plays Beckett) character in Quantum of Solace and to Castle's former muse Sophia Turner being a spy for an enemy country in Linchpin (4x16). - This is the first book in which Captain Wallace 'Wally' Irons appears, or as on the show Captain Gates. ('a wall of iron' for those who didn't get it ;-) ). But she isn't pictured very well. She's also a man in the book. Which makes it that much funnier that in Secret's Safe With Me (5x03), she says "I decided to give Frozen Heat a read, and you know what? It's really a good book." 

Then there's also - as always - the dedication and acknowledgement section. The dedication "To all the remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating people who inspire us to do great things" is taken directly from the fourth season finale. 
The acknowledgement is pretty much the same as in the previous books: All the actors, creators are named as well as ABC people. I especially liked the little nod to the discovery of 'Lanie sings the blues' which is a direct reference to Tamala Jones singing in the episode The Blue Butterfly (4x14). 

Deadly Heat
Deadly Heat is the upcoming fifth novel by Richard Castle about NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat and journalist Jameson Rook. It's set to be released on September 17th, 2013.


Other books:
In the series Caslte is known for his previous book series about Derrick Storm. In the season finale of season three a graphic novel - based on Storm - was introduced (see vid). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm was published by Marvel Comics on 28th of September 2011. 
Digitally other novellas were released as well:
- A Brewing Storm (May 1, 2012)
- A Raging Storm (July 3, 2012) 
- A Bloody Storm (August 7, 2012)

Personally I love the Nikki Heat books. Sure, it's pure fandom pleasure. But the books keep getting better and better. They are more fun if you know the show, because you will get the references. I just love to read them during the periods when there are no new episodes, like the summer. This way I still get 'new episodes' so to speak. I feel that way, because the characters are really a lot alike the characters in the show. You can hear the way the would say the lines and you can just see their faces. That's what makes it even more enjoyable for me to read. I haven't read any Storm novels, because for now, I'm good with Heat. It's not like I feel I have to read them, I just really like them. Who knows, you might too ;-).

A great site for more information on the books is:
- http://castlefans.org/wiki/index.php?title=Naked_Heat_%28Novel%29

Other fandom
I'm the kind of geek who likes to see familiar faces. In Castle, there are a lot of them. Here's a little list of a couple that I noticed:

- In A Chill Goes Through Her Veins (1x06) Channon Roe plays the role of Kevin Henson. He also played Jack O'Toole in The Zeppo (3x13 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- In Little Girl Lost (1x09) and 1x10 FBI-agent Detective Sorenson, Beckett's ex, is played by Bailey Chase. None other than Graham Miller from Buffy. 
- For the Veronica Mars fans among us: Weevil can be seen as Juan - the father of a girl that was kidnapped in 1x09.
- Laurel Holloman plays in 2x01. She's probably mostly known for her role in The L Word, but I know her as Justine in Angel.
- Reed Diamond plays the Doctor in 2x05. He was also in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
- Gregg Henry is in everything it seems. In Kill the Messenger (2x08) he played the role of Winston Wellesley, in Haunted (1x10 - Dollhouse) he played William Bashford, and he even worked with Nathan Fillion before. This was as Sheriff Bourne in The Train Job (1x02 - Firefly). (But I mostly know him from Gilmore Girls). 
- In 2x10 (One Man's Treasure) D.B. Woodside (Principal Wood) plays the role of Lance Carlberg.
- In 2x11 former lover of Buffy Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) can be seen as Jeremy Preswick.
- A Rose for Everafter (2x12) centers around Kyra Blaine, who is played by Alyssa Milano from Charmed.
- Eddie Shin can be seen in Sucker Punch (2x13). He played Henry Cho in Gilmore Girls, but also Boyd's assistant in Point Pleasant - the one season series by Marti Noxon.
- Jack McGee can be seen in 2x14 (The Third Man) as well as in Becoming Part One (2x21) in Buffy (the man from the museum).
- Ray Wise can be seen in 2x15 as Bobby Fox. Whedonites may know him from Dollhouse as Howard Lipman in The Left Hand (2x06).
- Arye Gross is probably known for a lot of roles. In Castle it's for M.E. Sidney Perlmutter in several episodes, but he also played Professor Grossen in Belle Chose (2x03 Dollhouse) and Larry Duberman in Leverage (3x02 The Reunion Job).
- 2x16 has a couple familiar faces. Such as Dina Meyer (Lady Irina/Amber Hargrove in Point Pleasant), Amy Gumenic (Danielle/Olivia in No Ordinary Family - with Julie Benz - Paige Sayles in Bones - with David Boreanaz - and in How I Met Your Mother - with Alyson Hannigan - as Amanda), Keiko Agena (Kelly/Lane in Gilmore Girls), Devon Gummer (Matt Haley/Sean in Roswell and as Kevin in Tru Calling - Yes, that is with Eliza Dushku).
- 2x17 and 2x18 maybe have some bigger names. Dana Delany plays the role of FBI-agent Shaw, but also played wife of Nathan Fillion in Desperate Housewives... While Leonard Roberts completse the Initiative trio (Bailey Chase/Marc Blucas and himself) of Buffy. He was mostly know as Forrest, but is here Special Agent Jason Avery, the right hand of agent Shaw (he also appeared in Bones and Tru Calling once).
- 2x18 adds another familiar face. That would be Mary-Pat Green, who was in one of my favorite eps of Buffy, namely Anne as 'Blood Bank Doctor' (sad...). At least in Castle she has a name - Erin Murphy ;-). 
- 2x19 (Wrapped Up in Death) has two familiar faces: Navi Rawat (Rachel Walters/Dana from Angel in Damage) and Gil Birmingham (the Mayan Cacaw Te/ Peruvian Man in Inca Mummy Girl in Buffy). He also played in Charmed once and twice in Veronica Mars, but is now probably more famous for his role in Twilight. 


That's it for now, but I'm sure more will follow ;-).

My second year of Glow

As with a lot of movies, the sequel is not always as good as number one. This was also the case for me at Glow. There were some beautiful things, but not everything was at the same level as last year. Part of me simply thinks it's a waste of energy and bad for the environment, but the other part of me just loves to be amazed by the beautiful lights and the things that can be made with it. This year there was a special section where you could interact with things. You could play Tetris with your body (kinda like a Wii-game I suppose) and the lights. There was another little portable Ipod thing, but it had extra screens so you could watch real 3D on a small screen (I loved that!), you could also go to a website on your cellphone after which your phone would get a color. By using/moving your phone the color would do the same on screen. There was a lot of art as well, kinda like stuff from Esscher and it played with your perception. There was also this:

Under the silver ground there was some kind of foam, which made walking on it very cool. The lighting on the wall was also impressive. Other things in this section was a laser show that responded to your voice and a projection on a building that also did the same. Only this time it was mostly squares that flew up and made interesting moves on the building.

(The art in the first section - with UV-lighting)

When we got back to the real tour in the city, there were a lot of projections. We didn't do any of the side projects because I did have to go back to Utrecht on time (sidenote: This year I also went with my parents and my sister and her boyfriend, instead of just with my dad like last year). We also saw this: It was some sort of story that began at the roof of the building and it was about someone running from something (possibly the cops). I thought it was amazing and looked really good. Check it out here:

One highlight is always the church. I didn't get a good vid of it, but luckily I could find it on YouTube! I also have a picture myself ;-).

The other highlight was the flowerbeds. It wasn't the actual end of the tour, but I thought it was so pretty that I would like to end this post with it. Every year the city of Eindhoven asks children to make something themselves. This year they made flowers, like a whole bunch of them! It was such a pretty sight (sorry that the pictures are crap :S).

HalloWhedon 4 - We did some Epic Shit

As I mentioned in a previous blog, the last weekend of October I was in London for HalloWhedon 4 - a convention for all things Joss Whedon (hence the name). And this year was amazing!!!!! I met even more people than I did last year and got to see my friends again. The actors were just wonderful and heart warming. It was definitely the best weekend of the year. A lot of people ask me 'What is it, exactly?' so I decided to give a full on recap of the weekend, to give my best explaination possible. Prepare to have a nice long read, because here's my story about the epicness of this weekend ;-).

(Here's our motto)

Friday - October 26th
On Friday my plane was supposed to arrive at ten past two... was supposed to, because due to weather circumstances I arrived 1,5 hours late. The plane ride was okay though, because I had my magazines and I talked to a cameraman who was sitting in front of me. And as long as I was in Holland I could check up on my friends en scoobies through Twitter and/or Facebook. So we chatted some as well. Once landed in Heathrow I took the Hoppa Bus to the beautiful Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel. It took me about half an hour to get registered and go to my room. Then I had to register for the event itself, so it was about five 'o clock when I could go to the meet up.
The meet up is a thing, where fellow con-goers go to a pub and have a nice dinner while meeting other goers. Last year I met Nicola, Sez and Carry there and we have remained friends since then. I was really looking forward to seeing them again at the meet up - as well as the Scoobies. Through social media (mostly Twitter) I had been in contact with other congoers - the Scoobies - and I was very excited to finally meet them face to face. Unfortunately I was just to tired (and not really hungry) that I had to cancel. At the registration desk I did meet two wonderful friends of mine since the first HalloWhedon, Danni and Tom. We talked some - exchanged gifts :D - and took a lot of pictures. After freshening up in my room I came back early for the opening ceremony. Early, because I was going to see the scoobies - FINALLY - at the dealers room!!!! I cannot describe the happiness that I felt when I saw them again and got to meet the others (Stephen, Joey, Rhys and Joanne). It was pure awesomeness :D :D :D. Sez even brought a gift for all the scoobies: our own T-shirt with twittername and 'scoobies' on it. And I love it! We talked some, took pictures and then we headed for the main room for the ceremony.

Opening ceremony, drinks and lawyers with sacrifices
The opening ceremony is basically two organisers coming on stage and telling us what the weekend is going to be like. Usually with a special reminder that the guests are there to have fun as well, so to please let them be and mingle instead of taking pictures or asking autographs: That's what the scheduled sessions are for, of course. The best thing about it is that the guests come on stage for a bit and say a quick 'hello'. J August Richards (Charles Gunn on Angel) definitely set the tone for the weekend by coming on stage unzipping his vest and saying 'this is the motto for the weekend' while pointing to his shirt (see picture above): "DO EPIC SHIT!" Other than that we heard some kind words from the always funny Nicky Brendon (Xander LaVelle Harris in Buffy) and the o so sweet Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers - Buffy's Mom). After about five to ten minutes they left the stage and got ready for the drinks reception, as did the Gold Card Holders (which was me and my friends!).
The wine reception is a reception for Gold Card Holders where we get free drinks and stand in groups of ten around a table. Each guest will come by and have a little chat with the group, so everyone will be able to ask questions or simply enjoy being this close to an idol for the first time :P. Kristine was very sweet and talked about her time in England studying, J was interested in what we were going to dress up as for Halloween and Nicky... He was the best. We got him to do the Snoopy Dance (talk about Epic!), not to mention the fact that he sang his line from 'I've Got a Theory' (after some assistence from us) (EPIC!!!!!!). We then got some behind-the-scenes info on filming that. I also got to embarres myself by answering a question about massages...which won't be mentioned here... (anymore). What I also loved about this reception was that our group consisted of some old friends from previous years who went Gold for the first time - as well as new faces that we had the best time with for the rest of the weekend!
After the reception had ended we decided to go to our rooms and meet later before going to the party. We all got dressed up - mostly as fancy lawyers, but some also as human sacrifices. The theme of the party was 'Wolfram & Hart' - the evil lawfirm that was working against Angel and with/for demons - so sacrifices are to be expected, haha. We had a bouncing castle, which we had an amazing time on. Not to mention a lot of dancing and talking. A great way to end the first day of HalloWhedon, which was already full of Epic Shit.

(A quick hello during the opening ceremony from the VIP-three)

Saturday - October 27th
Saturdaymorning started with a group breakfast. Just like last year I had breakfast with the same group every morning. There even was a icognito guest as well: Nicky Brendon was spotted every morning around the same time in the same room - in a red hoodie with sun glasses. I thought it was kinda funny, but mostly I just liked the fact that he felt comfortable enough to enjoy his breakfast surrounded by fans. He even joined some fans at the table as well. After a wonderful breakfast we all went upstairs to get our stuff and get ready for the rest of the day.
At ten in the morning we could get our pictures taken with each of the guests as well as get our items signed. This was an AMAZING morning. Because Sean Maher (from Firefly) cancelled last minute due to work commitments, Gold Card holders got an extro photo with each of the guests as well as one extra autograph from a guest of our choice. And I love my pictures!!!! Because we got two pictures, you had to come up with poses. And I got hugs from J and Nicky. It was so awesome. I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about it. They are the greatest people: Nice, and funny *swoon*. Kristine is so motherly, so I wanted pictures like that. And I got them as well. The extra autograph I got was from Nicky. I loved my picture with him so much and I asked him to sign it. This was possible because - unlike last year when we had to wait a pretty long time for our pictures to be developed - we could see the pictures at once. We got them right away, which really lessened the stress factor of making sure you would get all your prints on time. 
Also included was one group shot: a picture with all the guests in one picture and of course yourself. Sez and Nicola came up with the idea to do one extra with all of the Scoobies, so we bought an extra ticket for that. We were all wearing our Scooby-shirts that Sez made and it's one of my favorites of the weekend :D.

(Group shot with the lovely scooby gang!)

There was about 1,5 hours between the morning and afternoon programme, so we went for lunch at MacDonalds first. Around two o' clock the Talk started. I believe first up was J, then Kristine and Nicky last. What I love about the talk is that you can ask the questions you always wanted to ask. But you can also just ask them silly things or get them to do a comic book reading XD. This was EPIC! Someone from the audience asked J and he immediatly got some peeps from the audience to play some other parts as well. It's so amazing when this stuff happens, haha. We also got kinda deep, talking about Martin Luther King, politics (I think) as well as the show of course. He told a story about taking an axe with him from the set, and I believe a leather jacket as well. He really loved it and forgot it one time at a hotel. He even went back for it, but it was gone. He was so bummed about it, but then he remembered that there was another one at costumes. So he went to the set and took the other one, hahaha (I'm not telling it right, but it was a funny story). He also said that someone probably still has it right now, not knowing that it was his favorite jacket - not even knowing the story behind it.
Between the talks were 15 minute breaks during which we chatted with our friends and I handed out candy (lol). I brought some Dutch treats, like stroopwafels and chocolate letters, as well as 'chocolade pepernoten'. I'm glad they loved it as much as I do. During the talk with Kristine I asked her about how she prepared for the episode The Body (in which she dies) as well as playing the storyline about Joyce getting a brain tumor. This is a very personal question for me and there are a lot of fans who find it as heartbreaking as myself. She explained that it was very personal for her too, and that she had many talks about it with Joss. During her talk she was always very calm and serene. I just loved that vibe, because it really translated onto the audience. She also knew how to play the audience, especially when the questions about Giles and Joyce having sex came up: "They were good enough to make my husband jealous." :P
Like I said, the last talk was with Nicky. Before we started he asked if a certain person was in the room and asked her to come on stage. As it turned out, it was her birthday (as well as someone else's, who also got on stage) and he sang 'Happy Birthday' to them both seperately. Nicky is just awesome like that. I finally got to ask him a question about something I had been wondering ever since I read about it. Namely: Apparently Sarah and Aly pulled down his pants during one of the scenes and I wanted to know if it's true. "It's true," Nicky said, "they pantsed me... It was for the episode with dodgeball, I was hanging on something and we were wearing gym clothes. I wasn't wearing anything underneath. Full frontal of Nicky's little - It was cold, so yeah - and we were shooting a scene so it was filmed. But the cameraman promised me he would destroy it." There was a lot of laughing going on and this is what I remember about the answer, but I believe there was even more to the story. Another question I liked was when someone asked about his twin brother and if he ever asked him - Kelly - to do things for him when Nicky himself didn't feel like it. He got quiet for a while and then said..."Yeah, I'm Kelly. You got me." It was just a great moment, a 'you had to be there' kinda thing. The Talk ended with him doing the worldfamous Snoopy Dance ;-) (shown below from his second talk during the first HalloWhedon). 

After the talks had finished we immediatly went on with the auction. I would have loved to bid on something - I did try for one thing - but the prices go up like crazy, so I simply like to watch what they have and be amazed. This year I even got something out of it: Because I missed the second HalloWhedon, I didn't get the free mug or T-shirt. Collectables in my book, that I still want to have. I noticed the mugs on stage, but they never went up for auction. So, afterwards, I went to them, explained how much I wanted the mug (there was no T-shirt...) and I could buy it for practicly nothing :D ( I'm a happy camper!). It ended around sevenish I think, and I was starting to get a headache from being wired and tired. So I skipped dinner with my friends and lay down for a while before the EPIC Halloween Party! I didn't get to go as Buffy's Little Red Riding Hood as I wanted and I didn't really have time for a costume (nor the money) so I went as either Buffy, or a Sunnydale High Student in their gym outfit. Not very creative, but very comfortable. Everybody's costumes were in-cre-di-ble! So scary, bloody, creepy, or simply beautiful. I saw Edward Scissorhands, Poisen Ivy, werewolves, vampires, victims, zombies, Gentlemen, Glory, cheerleaders, a lot of Red Riding Hoods, James Dean... you name it. There was also a rodeo thing, only it was a pumpkin, and a tossing game (I won candy!). The decorations were amazing, though the cobwebbes were very sticky... and the music, well, that wasn't as great as last year, but we still had a great time. I especially love the moments when everybody rushed to the dancefloor because 'Time Warp' (Rocky Horror Picture Show), 'Star Trekkin'' and 'Dr. Who' came on. And of course we couldn't sit still during the Buffy Theme, the theme from Firefly, 'I've Got a Theory'  and 'My Eyes' (from Dr. Horrible). I even believe I'm missing a couple, but it was so great. We partied 'till late, and we still got an extra hour of sleep because winter time started that night. Best Halloween party of the year!

(In case you don't know the Time Warp or The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Sunday - October 28th
On Sunday we met up a little later, because we already got our pictures and autographs on Saturday. Which meant we also had some time to kill. In my case I also had to check out, because I was going to spend the last night in a room with my Dutch friend, Yvonne. Other than that I got one extra autograph from Nicky though, and the rest of the morning was filled with chatting with friends, catching up, writing in each others journals, taking pictures and simply having a relaxing morning. We also went to the Dealers Room. Here you can buy certain things, such as pictures (to get signed), mugs, T-shirts, comic books, books, action figures, posters, autographs, bags... well, you name it. And it's not just Whedon stuff, it had shirts with "Bazinga!" on it (from The Big Bang Theory), as well as a bag from the Vampire Diaries or stuff from Game of Thrones and True Blood. I bought the first volume of Buffy season 9 (comic book), which I had wanted for a long time (Happy camper again :D). I did buy one other thing, which was a 'professional' picture from the Halloween party. Giles Golding is the photographer at the event and he also takes amazing pictures during the parties. I think all of us got some pictures of at least one of the parties :P. 

In the afternoon we had Talks again. This time we began with Kristine. Once again it was a very nice talk. There were some questions about mothers and daughters, specifically her own experience and how she herself would have been with Buffy. We also talked about what it was like for her to come back for a couple of episodes and I loved it that she said that Joyce was a ghost protecting Dawn, giving her a message, instead of her being the First (in Conversations with Dead People). Between the first and the second talk we had an hour to kill and hung out a bit. Then it was Nicky's turn. Again he mentioned people from the audience, but this time it was about a couple who got engaged during his shoot. EPIC! As a follow up I asked him if he ever pranked anyone on a show. He said that on Buffy they had to work really hard and there was never really time to get bored and do a real prank. But they did have fun on the set. I loved that he started talking about Kitchen Confidential - a show I personally loved - in which he starred with Bradley Cooper (this was actually the first time I saw anything of his). Nicky explained that Cooper had bought a new car, but was still waiting for it to be delivered and Nicky and one collegue were so bored that they got toilet paper and wrapped up Cooper's car in it - the one he was still using. Then they even used sprayed it wet. When the talk ended, nobody had asked if he would do the Snoopy Dance so even when we didn't have any time anymore he asked "Well, shall I do it anyway?" and he did. It was so sweet and shows how much he loves and appreciates his fans (Yep, there the butterflies are again :P *swoon, swoon, swoon*).

 (Quiz Time!!!!)

Quiz time and a premiere showing!
Quizzes are awesome. We have two teams on stage and the room is devided in two, because you're with the team in front of you. There's a round of questions, pictionairy and scenes. It's just a lot of fun to see how much you know of the show and play along. The first team was called 'Sophie's Choice' because as it turned out, the two audience members were both Sophies. Our team was called 'Do Epic Shit', because, well hello! We had J! It was funny - especially to see the guests thinking that they had no idea what the answers were, except for one question. When this question came J got so excited and started writing and seconds after he wrote it he started laughing really hard "I just thought of something... What if it's the wrong answer?! Haha!" (another 'you had to be there' kinda thing, but it really was very funny). During the scenes, they were rehearsing and I heard Kristine say "Who's 'Gunn'???" which I though was really funny as well. Other than that some answers on the sheet were actually wrong, which also made for some laughing bits. Even though we laughed a bit and were doing it for fun, there had to be a winner. In the end the Epicness won! Wootwoot :-). 
We moved on to the talk with J, which turned into a viewing - the UK premiere! - of his new show The Hypnotist. A webseries, you can check it out here. Afterwards we talked about the show, about him and about everything we wanted to talk about. But mostly about his show, because all of us got really excited and wanted to know more. J also spoke his thanks and how much he loved being able to show it like this, because it's more personal. He gets to hear the direct response of the audience, which he really appreciates.
We had one more talk this weekend, and that was with all of the guests on stage. I - and I think many others with me - loved this the most, because they can bounce of each other and we get much more elaborate stories (and backstories). The answers take longer and they basically laugh a lot and talk about their experiences on set. For instance: Nicky was always late, but now he's always early. How most of J's bloopers were used on the dvds, like the one with Amy Acker where he's unaware that he doesn't know his line and he thinks Amy is the one messing up (you had to be there), or how Kristine may have felt a little bit like the Mom on set sometimes and bringing her children with her sometimes. Nicky and Kristine also talked a bit about her husband, John and they all talked about wanting to do their own stunts (Kristine's was the hardest: the holding of the axe "It was really heavy!"). At the end, they all said a few kind words to us about how wonderful we have all been and how much they enjoyed meeting us. So sweet!
Then we went on to the closing ceremony - but hang on, who's that peeking behind the banner? Well it's J! "I totally forgot to take pictures myself", followed by Nicky and Kristine taking pictures with their mobile phones - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this moment!!!!! When the ceremony continued we were told once again that there will be a HalloWhedon 5, but in Birmingham with some changes. They thanked us and we applauded the crew of volunteers that made the weekend possible. 

(One of my favorite moments: The VIP-three taking pictures themselves)

Because I had missed dinner at The Pheasant the previous nights, I wasn't going to miss out again. So we went to our room, got our stuff and headed to the Pheasant. Before we were even outside, we met J. He was waiting for the others, because they were also going to have dinner there. We had a little chat and went our way through the rain. Once at the Pheasant, it was packed! So we got our menus and decided to eat outside (of course this wasn't in the rain, but under a ...(can't think of the word, but it was dry and they had heaters)). Once decided Sez, Carry and I went inside to order and you'll never guess who showed up behind us: The VIP-three + one! J, Nicky and Kristine with her husband 'John' were standing behind us, lol. Sez and I were wrecking our brains, because we knew John from somewhere. Then it hit me: He played on Mad About You! So you could say we did get four guests for the weekend, haha. Anyway, we ordered, ate our meal and went back to go to the impromptu organised Sing-Along.
Because the music was kinda the same the previous nights, someone came with the idea to have a viewing of Once More With Feeling, the Buffy musical episode from season six, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon's web series beforehand. We started at half eight (that's half past eight by the way :P) and you could feel the excitement in the room. Everybody sat at tables and together we watched, sang, enjoyed and cheered for all those big moments and sobbed for the sad ones. This was EPIC in my book, because it's an amazing experience to watch it on the big screen, with so many other people that love what we're watching. I think it's kinda indescribable, and I really wish - from the bottom of my heart - that this would happen more often. The viewing ended around ten o' clock and the party started immediatly. It was the last night, so it wasn't very busy. The theme was 'The Bronze' - "the only cool place in Sunnydale" so people just dressed nicely, like they're clubbing or simply in their every day outfits. Except for one, that deserves special mention: Rhys. He had the best costume EVER! In his skinned Warren outfit he owned the night, was the life of the party, and killed the dancefloor. We danced quite a lot, but chatted more because it was all to obvi that this was the last night. The feeling had been there the entire day, but leaving the party meant that we were going to have to say goodbye :'-(. So we savoured every minute. Around midnight they finally played the Buffy theme and the party ended with 'New York, New York' ('cause we were leaving that day) and some of our Jazzy dance moves. We thanked the DJ's and went to the bar. Here we chatted for about an hour, because it was just to hard to say goodbye. But we had to, so we did. Except for the ones that had left early, I got to say goodbye to everyone. Then we were in for a short night, before having to leave...

(Promo for Buffy the Musical: Once More With Feeling)

Monday - October 29th
This day actually doesn't count. But I was just so happy to see my friends one last time during breakfast and getting to say goodbye to everyone afterwards that it's still part of the weekend for me. We had our final breakfast together and promised to keep in touch. Something that luckily isn't hard to do with Twitter and Facebook. Me and my Dutch friend left at the same time, but she got home sooner though... My flight was delayed again. For 1,5 hours again. I didn't really mind much, because I had enough to read and keep myself busy with. I think I got home arout five-ish and then I got to unpack my suitcase and enjoy all the pictures taken. I think I've already worn out the word 'awesome' in this blogpost, but you can easily interchange it with EPIC. I cannot describe how incredible the entire weekend was. I think back on it with a lot of love and enjoyment. I miss everyone I met, but I have the fondest memories of them all. And the best part is that I still get to stay in touch. Some of them will be friends forever. I really believe that. And to take that with me from this weekend, after all those years of Whedon, is truly EPIC SHIT. 

(Scoobies, me, Danni, Tom and new friends Katie, Karl and Claire at the Wolfram and Hart party)