Is Steampunk Entering the Mainstream?

Watch the full episode of "Punked" at www.ABC.go.com/Castle

The October 11, 2010, episode of Castle featured the Steampunk community as a plot device and, wonder of wonders, they got it right. As G.D. Falksen reports on the Tor.com blog, “The latest episode of Castle has gone steampunk, and it has done so with all of the elegance, charm, respectfulness, and accuracy that I have come to expect from the show. The episode, titled “Punked,” has clearly been the result of careful research and dedicated writing.”

After watching the show Monday night, I think we who love the Steampunk aesthetic all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Photos of the filming had already filtered into the blogoshere several weeks ago.  The costuming supplied by the Legendary Costume Works was impressive, so at least we knew the show’s creators were going to get the look right.

The plot was typically loopy, as most Castle plots are—that’s part of the show’s charm. The essential whimsy of the Rick Castle character dovetails beautifully with the inherently whimsical attitude of most Steampunk aficionados I have met. His explanation of Steampunk as being a subculture embracing the “simplicity and romance” of the past and marrying it to the hope, promise, and “sheer supercoolness” of the future is hard to top.

Thank you ABC and everyone responsible for the delightful Castle show.

Read G.D. Falksen's full review here.