CRIME TV: Castle

Reviewed by: Amy Parker

Nathan Fillion is just about the most awesome guy on the planet. I first became a rabid fan when he played Mal Reynolds, captain of the good (space)ship Serenity in the short-lived sci-fi show Firefly.

When I heard he was starring in a procedural crime show, my first thought was, ‘Okay, this is going to be weird.’ As it turns out, I was right – but in the best possible way…

Castle is different from most crime shows, in that the title character isn’t a cop. Or a special agent. Or, in fact, any kind of qualified law enforcement professional.

A quote from the show’s opening montage:

There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers. I’m the kind that pays better.

The Concept

Richard Castle is a mystery writer, who uses the fact that the mayor is a huge fan of his bestselling novels to follow around one of the NYPD’s finest detectives (Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic). This is on the pretext of using her as inspiration for his next novel.

As completely implausible as this is, it works! Castle has written a series of bestselling mystery novels before he meets Detective Beckett. She’s investigating a series of murders committed in the same way Castle wrote them in his novels, and naturally, he’s a suspect. However, his extensive research into criminology, forensics and different kinds of criminals makes him a surprisingly valuable resource to Beckett’s team.

Forget the fact that this scenario would never actually happen in real life. As a TV show, it’s a refreshing change from the usual police-team dynamic, and this is not a show that takes itself seriously! Add in the fact that Beckett is a fan of Castle’s novels, and that the sexual tension between them is off the charts, and you have the recipe for great televisual drama.

Supporting Players

Other characters? Castle has a bunch of them. Each episode gives us an insight into Castle’s home life – his teenage daughter and flamboyant actress mother live with him, and the family banter is both heartwarming and hilarious.

On Beckett’s side, we have her junior detectives, Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. They’re a fantastic double act, but don’t really come into their own until the second season. The same can be said for Lanie Parish, one of the show’s medical examiners. They’re good characters, but until season two, they’re fairly forgettable.

Stick with it, though. Castle has just powered past the mid-point of season three in the States, and ABC has just ordered a fourth season. Looks like Nathan Fillion gets to be awesome on prime time TV for a little while longer!

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