Castle: A goofy love story with good crime drama – Series Review

You have seen crime drama, you have seen light hearted gigs, you may have also liked a few romcom dramas. But Castle differentiates itself by giving an all in one package. The Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic starrer series hit the small screen in 2009, people had very little idea of what to expect thanks to Fillion’s previous serious work in Firefly & Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Stana Katic on the other hand has had comparatively smaller roles before this, but is undoubtedly a very good actress. It is important to note that both of them have voiced various DC characters in their past works.

Castle is a story of famous fictional crime novelist Richard ‘Rick’ Castle. He is as ‘ruggedly handsome’ mystery writer looking for inspiration in order to write new books. Katherine ‘Kate’ Beckett is the youngest ever woman New York City Homicide Detective in the 12th precinct. She is a smart, strong and not to mention a beautiful looking young woman who grabs your attention in an instant. Their paths cross when a someone starts murdering people in the exact fashion as described in Rick Castle’s novels. The NYPD brings him in for questioning hoping he could shed some light, and that’s where it all starts. Thanks to Castle’s friendship with the Mayor (He is a big fan of Castle’s books), he gets onboard with the investigation team to help solve the murders (and many others after that). 

Over the next episodes as the story arc progresses you will see these characters develop in a positive way, and as Kate puts it, Rick will remain to behave like “a 9-year-old on a sugar rush”, and that boosts the series heavily. Additionally, as the episodes kept coming in I have grown to absolutely LOVE the character of Kate and with extension,  Stana Katic (The growth of affection was directly proportional to the length of her hair per season). The acting, the beauty, the strength, the charm, will totally make any guy (or gal) fall for her. But this strength comes with a lot of skeletons in the closet. Kate has a past which has morally forced her into the line of duty and she will do any and everything to get to the bottom of it. She will fight like David fought Goliath and you get to watch if she makes it to the other side of the tunnel.

While the series tried to give you a daily dose of mystery and humor at the same time, it also follows a set format. At the very core, is the mystery of Kate’s past, and they deal with it one clue at a time in every episode. Other than that you have a new murder mystery per episode (or two) on a daily basis. The only flaw with the series in general is that over the last few seasons, the plot seems to be the same. So much so, that as I mentioned in my review of Lie To Me that I can almost guarantee you that the first person / relative of the victim to get interviewed by the cops is the killer in EVERY single episode.  But nothing in this world is perfect, so you may choose to let this one slide (or not).

It is good to see more and more female character centric movies and series since a good part of the entertainment industry’s history has been male dominated, whereas many argue that a woman’s resolve is stronger than that of a man’s.

I love the supporting characters of Castle’s mother Martha Rodgers (Susan Sulliva) and daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) and the special bromance between Javier (Jon Huertas) & Kevin ( Seamus Dever). Overall, it’s an amazing casual watch. You can almost pick out any episode out of the lot for some quick lighthearted murder mystery. Or you can get committed to the main arc from Season 1 itself. Knock yourself out. Here’s the trailer to get the taste. Let me know how you liked it.

Series Name: Castle
Episode Name: Pilot
Season Number: 01
Episode Number: 01
Director & Creator: Andrew W. Marlowe
Actor:Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Jon Huertas, Tamala Jones, Seamus Dever, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Penny Johnson Jerald, Toks Olagundoye
Air date: 09 March 2009
Official URL: http://abc.go.com/shows/castle
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Cheers!