'Eureka's Ed Quinn comes to 'Castle' for Comic-Con

Okay... this one has layers of geekery woven throughout... hold on tight and I'll explain as best I can. To begin: Ed Quinn ('Eureka') will be guest starring on 'Castle' in an episode based at Comic-Con!

What's so geeky about a guest star? Well let's take you back a few years... Nathan Fillion, star of 'Castle,' got his big break as Captain Mal Reynolds on the single-season cult smash Sci-Fi series 'Firefly.' Although 'Firefly' was cut off at the knees, killed after a mere season run, DVDs of the season have flown off the shelves and even inspired a feature film called 'Serenity.' Both the series and the film made Nathan Fillion a god of the geek galaxy, especially at locations like Comic-Con, wherein the tv series star gets treated like royalty.

Now that he's a star on 'Castle,' the show-runners have been smart enough to play off of Fillion's cult following. Several winks to 'Firefly' have been made over the course of the show (with my personal favourite being Castle's Halloween costume of "Space Cowboy," his exact outfit from his previous show), but none bigger than what's coming up in the new season.

Ed Quinn will appear in an episode based at Comic-Con--or at least a convention that looks exactly like Comic-Con, for legal purposes. There Castle meets the former star of a sci-fi cult-favorite TV show whose career and personal life has gone down the tubes since the show was cancelled. That character, Captain Max Richards (heheheh) will be played by 'Eureka' actor Ed Quinn.

Still with me? I think that covers all you need to know to fully appreciate the gesture. On top of the obvious, the episode promises innumerable winks to the short-lived fan-favorite series beyond Quinn's character. Ed Quinn is best known for 'Eureka,' as noted, but he has also had guest appearances on several hit shows, including 'Desperate Housewives' and 'NCIS: Los Angeles.'

'Castle' returns on ABC this coming Monday.