Jolie RobersonMy Thoughts on ABC's Castle
April 10th 2009 00:55
Now I'll fully admit, I like watching Nathan Fillion on the screen, big or small, so my liking this show should come as no surprise, since it show cases Fillion's talent and adds to it. But, it's not just Fillion, Stana Katic does a damn fine job, too. In their respective roles, as novelist Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett, we get an interesting chemistry between the two, which starts out more terse and grows into a respect. Now it might seem formulaic, in that you expect the two of them to grow interested in one and other, but I don't think, not fully at least, that that is the lesson we're going to see here.
See, both Castle and Beckett started out underestimating each other, with Castle just seeing Beckett as hot "lady cop" and Beckett seeing Castle as this lascivious hack, but then they look beyond the surface and see more than what they first judged each other about. In fact, it seems to be a double wordplay, in that the show is about looking beyond the cover of a book.
Joining Fillion and Katic is an interesting and talented cast, each in an important supporting role to the titular character and his foil. One stand out amongst this impressive cast is that of Molly C. Quinn as Alexis Castle, Richard's saged teenage daughter who seems more mature and grounded than her father, even though Fillion is very believable in the role as single-parent. The father-daughter interplay is one of the better subplots of the show, interplay that often leads Castle to a moment of epiphany in his current case or new series of novels, based on Beckett's character, that are replacing his prior series, of which he just killed the hero within and ended.
In addition to Fillion, Katic, and Quinn, the supporting cast is full of excellent actors, such as Susan Sullivan as Castle's eccentric mother, Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas as members of Beckett's team, with Tamala Jones and Ruben Santiago-Hudson who, respectively, are the medical examiner and Captain that Beckett works with the most. While the show is not an ensemble show, there are times that it feels close to it, as the supporting characters each, as well as often, fill a scene quite well.
While on the surface a show about a writer who needs a new muse, yet finds it in the unusual place of working with a team of detectives solving real crimes, might seem a bit odd, or even like Moonlighting with a twist, but it's not. As the show plays out, it has a different feel or vibe to it and I think, given time, the viewers will not only want to see where it goes, but like it.
I know I want to know.
See, both Castle and Beckett started out underestimating each other, with Castle just seeing Beckett as hot "lady cop" and Beckett seeing Castle as this lascivious hack, but then they look beyond the surface and see more than what they first judged each other about. In fact, it seems to be a double wordplay, in that the show is about looking beyond the cover of a book.
Joining Fillion and Katic is an interesting and talented cast, each in an important supporting role to the titular character and his foil. One stand out amongst this impressive cast is that of Molly C. Quinn as Alexis Castle, Richard's saged teenage daughter who seems more mature and grounded than her father, even though Fillion is very believable in the role as single-parent. The father-daughter interplay is one of the better subplots of the show, interplay that often leads Castle to a moment of epiphany in his current case or new series of novels, based on Beckett's character, that are replacing his prior series, of which he just killed the hero within and ended.
In addition to Fillion, Katic, and Quinn, the supporting cast is full of excellent actors, such as Susan Sullivan as Castle's eccentric mother, Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas as members of Beckett's team, with Tamala Jones and Ruben Santiago-Hudson who, respectively, are the medical examiner and Captain that Beckett works with the most. While the show is not an ensemble show, there are times that it feels close to it, as the supporting characters each, as well as often, fill a scene quite well.
While on the surface a show about a writer who needs a new muse, yet finds it in the unusual place of working with a team of detectives solving real crimes, might seem a bit odd, or even like Moonlighting with a twist, but it's not. As the show plays out, it has a different feel or vibe to it and I think, given time, the viewers will not only want to see where it goes, but like it.
I know I want to know.
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Comment by Ben Whitcomb
Extreme Critic