My wife and I were watching Castle, when “The Curse” struck. Castle is about a writer who follows around a New York police detective, garnering ideas for his books. So, naturally, there is always a who done it in each show and part of the fun is figuring out who the bad guy (or girl) is in each episode.
We were about a third of the way through when it happened. The Curse of the character actor. The one whose face you recognize, but whose name you may not know. Showtime even did a documentary about them called That Guy…Who was in That Thing. When you see a face you know in an episodic TV show, they will have a major part in what happens.
In this case, it was the gal who I first saw in 24, then in Jesse Stone: Thin Ice. Her name is Leslie Hope and as soon as I saw her, I knew who the murder would turn out to be. Sure enough, even though you only see her for a few moments early in the show, she turns out to be the bad guy–or the bad girl, as the case may be.
I hate when this happens. When figuring out who did it is half the fun, it’s like being told there will be a surprise birthday party for you on Friday. The same thing happened when we were watching Elementary, the new Sherlock Holmes show. About a third of the way through when Brian Kerwin made an appearance, I let out a grown as I knew who did it. I remembered him from Law and Order and The West Wing.
I know shows are only trying to get the best actors for each show, but when they always turn out to be the bad guy, it’s a bummer. The only way around this is to have two great character actors in the same show. Then the Curse cancels out the Curse.
Tony Acree 
It’s a bummer for two reasons: #1 having a recognizable actor just gives away any element of surprise, like you said. #2 It means I’m watching too much TV!!!
I have the opposite problem. I watch so little TV, when I do, I don’t like to be tipped off to the ending. I USED to watch a lot of TV and have a good memory for faces, if not names. So when I see “The” character actor it brings an automatic sigh.
That’s funny! I’ve never really put that together. I don’t watch tv that much–but I do have that–oh that guy, we just saw him in something else–moment a lot. Good observation, though. Now my detective shows will be ruined forever!
I’m sorry Lyndi, but you’re now ruined forever. Once you notice the trend, you can’t unnotice (not really a word, but you get the meaning) it. Drives me nuts. Then again, that’s a short trip.