Channel Surfing 10-30-09

 Monday night’s episode of “Castle” reminded me of one of the many reasons why I love television.
 Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, exits his room in a space cowboy costume, identical to one Fillion wore on the short-lived series “Firefly” (and the movie “Serenity”).
    “You wore that same costume five years ago,” his daughter says. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”
    I am a firm believer it’s never time to move on. Nothing amuses me more than hearing one of my favorite actors reference a past role.
    For fans of the actor, it’s a little inside joke.
    One of my favorite moments of ‘Actor Allusions,’ as they are referred to on the highly addictive tvtropes.org, came on “Home Improvement.” Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) answers the door on Halloween only to be greeted by a Buzz Lightyear and Simba. He handed extra candy, of course, to the “cute little lion.”
    It  seems silly to explain the allusion, but for the two people who don’t understand it: Thomas did the voice for young Simba in “The Lion King,” while co-star Tim Allen played the space ranger in “Toy Story.”
    In fact, Allen has dropped many “To infinity and beyond” lines of dialogue into projects, including “Home Improvement” and “The Shaggy Dog.”
    The problem with these allusions, however, is occasionally the references last too long. Little gags inserted for a brief laugh are fine, but when shows take it overboard, it can get trite.
    “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” featured an episode in which the characters participated in a play version of “High School Musical.” Ashley Tisdale’s character, Maddie, auditioned for the role of Sharpay, the same role Tisdale played in “HSM” franchise. They had to mention this, of course.
    The first reference was worth a giggle. Maddie tells everyone that she looks exactly like Sharpay. Then they kept making the same joke and they lost me.
    Sometimes the references just go over viewers’ heads. Attempts to be clever are lost on an audience who did not know about the role in the first place.
    “Greek,” which featured multiple hilarious “Ferris Bueller” references when Alan Ruck appeared on an episode, and tried an actor allusion with Jessica Rose. Rose’s character, Jen K., discusses her roommate who spends all day at the computer: “It’s like living with Lonelygirl15.”
    Rose portrayed this character in a series of YouTube videos.
    Maybe actor allusions are best when used in moderation. No matter what, though, I’ll love “Castle” for using it to bring Captain Tightpants back to my screen.
    Contact Kyle at charlotte.kyle@murraystate.edu.

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