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.
Discover more from Tony Acree
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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.