My New Favorite "Writer"

I have found a new writer I'm absolutely in love with. Too bad he's not real.



Castle is ABC's new hit crime show that debuted last year mid-season. Richard Castle is a wealthy best-selling crime author (26 best-sellers, so think John Grisham or James Patterson) who uses his connections with the mayor and other such high-rollers to gain access to the NYPD shadowing Detective Kate Beckett as the inspiration for a new lead character to replace his recently fallen creation.

Richard Castle is charming, witty, handsome, suave and thoroughly fun to watch. Nathan Fillion puts forth a great perfomance that truly reels in the audience. From the opening of the episode where he is almost giddy with excitement to be cheking out a new crime scene to interactions with his mother and daughter, he's believable, fun, and always on. Despite a lack of (police) professionalism, he has a knack for solving crimes, bringing fresh eyes to the scene. Though his antics are often dangerous, cause problems on occasion, though naturally it all works out in the end.

Stana Katic stars opposite as Det. Kate Beckett. She's a very by-the-book officer who is good at what she does. Though usually very serious, she does banter with Castle in a way that feels real. Plot-wise, their relationship is complicated by the fact that she is a huge fan of Castle's novels (a fact that fuels Castle's ego to no end). It is amusing to watch her try to set that aside and deal with him as he is: far more annoying than she could have imagined.

The chemistry between these two is perfect. Castle has a blatant attraction for Beckett that he pursues every chance he gets, but Beckett rebuffs him. As an attempt to try to win her over, Castle works on the case of Beckett's mother's murder on the down-low.

This show takes the standard crime procedural and adds a depth many of the others avoid. Not only do we see a great deal of the personal interactions and personal story that shows like Law & Order leave to the side unless they're pulling it out for sweeps. It also brings in a lot of humor and banter, again more-so than its more dramatic counterparts.

It has its occasional lapses, primarily in that Castle gets his case-solving epiphany via his family (primarily his daughter and live-in mother). Whether they provide it in conversation or through action that sparks an idea, it can be occasionally forced and unnatural. But, usually it isn't painfully so.

Great fun, great characters, great mysteries. If you haven't watched it yet, give it a go. I've only only watched the second half of the first season (in one day) and I have rarely been so hooked on a TV show.

As a side-note, the novel that Richard Castle is writing during the first season of the series Heat Wave has been published by ABC using the pen name (of course) Richard Castle. I plan on checking it out soon.