When I started working on CastleTV.net in April last year, almost a year before the first episode went to air, I never imagined that one day I’d be standing on the set watching scenes from the second season being filmed.

Until recently I had no idea that any of the cast or crew even knew about the website so when I was invited to stop by the set to meet the cast and crew during my visit to LA I was both humbled and excited by the opportunity.

When I arrived at the studios I was greeted by John (Writer s Assistant) who took me onto set where I met Terri Miller (Producer/Writer).  It was Terri that had arranged for me to visit the set. Terri introduced me to Nathan Fillion (Richard Castle) who greeted me warmly.  I had met Nathan very briefly a few days earlier at the San Diego Comic Con so he knew I would be stopping by. We chatted briefly about the set.  Nathan mentioned that last year it had been extremely hot on set and this year they were thankful for the improved air conditioning!  As it was a hot day and was still quite warm on the set I can’t imagine what they had to deal with last year.

I was then introduced to Stana Katic (Det. Beckett) who was as stunning in person as she is on screen.  We chatted briefly before she and Nathan were called to film a scene (from episode 2) in the interrogation room.  This was the first time I’d seen working set so I found it fascinating watching how everything was done.  The scene was filmed twice, the second time for close ups and it was interesting watching between filming how everything is measured out with a tape measure to make sure they get the focus points right.

While we were waiting for the shot to be set up I was introduced to some of the writers and crew that were on set.  I was especially happy to meet Andrew Marlowe, the creator of Castle.  Everybody I spoke to was friendly and warm towards me and never made me feel like I was in the way.  While the scene was being filmed I was sitting in Andrew Marlowe s chair and listening through headphones while watching the action on the monitors.

After they finished filming the scene John walked me around the precinct set.  The set is pretty much complete and looks just like it does on screen.  We walked by Beckett s desk and into Captain Montgomery s office. John mentioned that he thought the family photos in the office are Ruben Santiago-Hudson s actual relatives which I thought was a nice touch.  We took a ride in the elevator (ok, well we stood in it, it doesn’t really go anywhere) and walked around through the lounge area and kitchen, seeing the coffee machine Castle donated in “Hell Hath No Fury”.

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The photos above were pulled off my video camera so sorry about the poor quality

After exiting the kitchen John noticed that Seamus Dever (Det. Ryan) and Jon Huertas (Det. Esposito) were nearby and he called them over so he could introduce me. It was lovely to meet them both, they were both terribly nice and thanked me for my work on the site. It was great to be able to meet them face to face after having spoken to them via email and having interviewed Seamus on Skype!

After chatting with them briefly John and I headed over to Stage 3 where Castle s loft is. The set wasn’t being used so the lights weren’t on but we got to wander around and look at everything and I took a few photos. Unfortunately my camera was acting up so not as many photos to share as I would have liked. We talked about the books on Castle s shelves, it turns out that they re all real books (except the ones by Richard Castle of course) and most of them are mysteries. The thing that struck me most about Castle s loft is how nice it would be to live there! Well, ok, if not for the fact that there s no roof and no bathroom, small details like that! It really is a gorgeous set. The kitchen/living area, Castle s study and Castle s bedroom (which they redress and also use for Alexis room) are all set out just like a real house would be but the stairs don’t go anywhere!

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While we were checking out the set I chatted with John about his experience working on Castle.
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After having a good look around the loft and wishing I could live there we headed over the morgue. I took a couple of photos which included a number of dead bodies.

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John had something to take care of in the production office so we headed over and while we were there I was introduced to Jose Molina, one of the writers that was added to the team for season 2.
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We headed back to the precinct set where they were setting up to shoot another scene with Castle, Beckett, Ryan & Esposito and I had a minute to chat with Nathan about Castle before he was called away to shoot the scene.
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I got to sit in Andrew Marlowe s chair again and watch as they filmed the scene. There were several takes this time and it was interesting seeing the slight differences between each take, sometimes it was a dialogue change, sometimes it was a different tone or expression used and I’ll find it interesting to see how that scene ends up on screen. The writer of the episode (Moira Kirland) made suggestions as did the director (Dwight H. Little). It was a fascinating hive of activity with people everywhere all going about their individual tasks rushing about and then the call “rolling” goes out and everyone comes to a stop while the scene is filmed.

After the scene was done I had the opportunity to sit down and chat for a couple of minutes with Seamus & Jon. (Seamus is whispering at the end because we needed to be quiet while they were filiming).
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I found the visit quite overwhelming. One of the things that really struck me was how wonderfully friendly everyone was. I was introduced to a lot of people during my visit and every one of them greeted me with a smile and a “Thank you for visiting” or “Thank you for everything you do with the website” (It surprised me how many people knew about the site!). It seems like everyone gets along extremely well and I have little doubt that the people who work there enjoy going to work each day. It was truly an honour to be invited to visit the set and to meet the cast and crew. I have nothing but the highest praise for each and every person working together to bring us such a fantastic show.

Lastly, I’d like to say thank you especially to John and Terri for looking after me during my visit, but also to all the cast and crew for being so welcoming.

Castle TV Series Set Tour from Castle on Vimeo.

Background music copyright Marian Call please check out her stuff, she’s awesome!

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