A Death in the Family

**Writer:** Andrew Marlowe

**Director:** Bryan Spicer

#### DUSTJACKETS BLURB

A plastic surgeon is found dead with a plastic wrapper over his face, leading Castle and Beckett into the world of organised crime. Meanwhile, Castle's meddling in Beckett's past turns up new information but may blast their friendship to smithereens.

### Guest cast

* Bailey Chase - WILL SORENSON
* Ion Overman - CANDACE ROBINSON
* Robert Picardo - CLARK MURRAY
* Jackie Geary - MAGGIE DOWD
* Robert Costanzo - SAL TENOR
* Joe Marinelli - JIMMY MORAN
* DeLane Matthews - JACEY GOLDBERG
* Kari Coleman - JULIA HAMMOND
* Carrie Southworth - COURTNEY MORANTZ
* Drew Osborne - OWEN
* Rey Herrera - MARIO GUERRERA

### Music

* "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile" - HELEN CLARK (teaser)
* "More to Luv" - MINNUTES
* "Comes and Goes (In Waves)" - GREG LASWELL
* "Please Don't Go" - TYLER LANE
* "Red Balloon" - ALEXIS HARTE
* "She Back" - BOSSHOUSE

### Literary and other references

* David Mamet is probably best known as a playwright (*American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross*) famous for gritty, indirect language and stories about the hypocrisy inherent in modern life. He's also the author of a number of original screenplays, and the creator of the recently cancelled TV series *The Unit*. (Stana Katic guest starred on this show in 2007, so the reference may be a shoutout.)
* According to one of the promo interviews, the Chris Walken imitiation is one of Nathan Fillion's party tricks.
* *A Beautiful Mind* is a film about schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, the inventor of game theory.
* *The Island of Doctor Moreau* is a 1896 science fiction novel by Jules Verne which focuses around bizarre surgical experiments.
* *The Elephant Man* is a 1980 film based on the story of Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

### Memorable moments

* Castle trying to imitate the plastic surgery addict's lips.
* The terrible Chris Walken imitations.
* Alexis trying on dresses, and Martha's speech about women and clothes.
* Alexis going to prom.
* Kate saying she couldn't have solved the case without Castle.

### Quotable quotes

* SORENSON: (regarding Castle) You want me to watch the monkey?
BECKETT: Nope, the monkey stays with me.
* BECKETT: What is it with men and boobs, anyway?
CASTLE: It's biological, we can't help it.
* BECKETT: But doesn't it bother you that they're so obviously not real?
CASTLE: Santa's not real. But we still love opening his presents.
* MONTGOMERY: At the very least she should be arrested for violating the laws of nature.
* RYAN: You know, if you want a guy to be loyal, you probably shouldn't nickname him 'The Rat'.
* CASTLE: What, that's it? I don't even get to ask him if he's killed a man?
ALEXIS: Dad, he hasn't. But I might!
* CASTLE: Yeah, next thing you tell me they're going to be pulling up in a black Suburban with tinted windows. (They do.) Oh come on, somebody's been watching way too many Bruckheimer films.
* CASTLE: You don't give up, you don't back down. That's what makes you extraordinary.

### Just the facts

Go here to discuss the spec

* Castle frequently asks his pathologist friend Dr. Murray for advice -- like, what happens if you put a head in a microwave? This time, it's about Beckett's mother's case.
* Joanna Beckett was murdered 10 years ago.
* Martha's nickname for Murray is 'Dr. Death'.
* Alexis's first date is to the Junior/Senior prom with a kid called Owen.
* When Ryan went to the prom, his date's father checked his wallet for condoms, then showed off his gun collection.
* This time they're called all the way to 133rd St, or at least to a tow-yard somewhere in Harlem.
* Kate investigated her mother's case every spare moment for her first three years on the force, until -- after a year in therapy -- she accepted that it was going to destroy her if she didn't let it go.
* Beckett's reference to Mamet reminds Castle that he knows she reads plays, although we've never seen her doing so or referring to it.
* Among Castle's many 'sources' of information, this ep adds mobsters to jewel thieves and MEs. Sal Tenor, the mobster, gave Castle information about how the mob works for *Storm Warning*.
* Sorenson likes donuts with multicoloured sprinkles, and so did Kate when they were dating.
* Castle is reading *Sweetheart* by Chelsea Cain while waiting for Alexis to get home.
* Alexis gets home at about 4am, around the same time Kate arrives back at the station, having been up with Sorenson all night.
* Beckett has the authority to drag her men back into work at 6am on a Saturday.
* Dr Death finds that Johanna Beckett was first stabbed in the kidney to immobilise her, then stabbed three more times 'for show'. It's the kidney wound which killed her, and it's likely not random gang violence at all. There is some relationship to three other murders which took place at the same time, which were also dismissed by the same ME as random, something terrible enough that once told, Castle wishes he didn't know.
* The Assistant US Attorney who is in charge of witness protection (or at least the case against the Spolanos) is Candace Robinson, known as 'Hard Candy'.

### Oops

* The dead surgeon has been decomposing in that closed car, in a warm season, for a week. There is NO way the detectives would be getting in the car with that body unless they absolutely had to, let alone right up close as Beckett does. The stench would have them retching.
* Why would Beckett approach the US Attorney that almost exclusively prosecutes organized crime without having any idea that the witness was connected to organized crime?
* Even if Maggie Dowd has an ID to the hospital, she wouldn't necessarily be on the admit list for Moran's room, since she's not associated with his current doctor. Plus, how did they know to disconnect the IV because she would try to poison him, rather than stabbing him or something?
* Anytime Beckett and Sorenson are eating the donuts, the amount of donut that hasn't been eaten changes between shots.

### Branch libraries

* News
	+ Zap2it - 'Castle': Nathan Fillion discusses the finale, season two prospects (10 May 09)

* Reviews
	+ Episode Review: Castle 1x10 - "A Death In The Family" - Whedonopolis (13 May 09)

* Promos