Do you miss Nathan Fillion on the small screen? Do you wish that he was still fighting the Alliance and leading the crew of Serenity? Then I've got a show for you. ABC's series Castle, which is currently in its first full season, is stepping up to - at least partially - fill the void.
Castle started off as a midseason replacement in March last year. The first episode features famous mystery novelist Richard Castle (Fillion), who is called on to help investigate a series of murders that parallel the plots of his books. Castle immediately finds himself taken with Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), and so he receives special permission from the mayor to continue shadowing her on cases. Having just killed off his most famous protagonist, Derek Storm, Castle is looking for inspiration for his replacement. As the series progresses, Castle takes a more active role in helping investigate and solve cases and becomes a valuable member of the team. He ends up creating a new character, Nikki Heat, based on Beckett, who accepts her role as Nikki's source of inspiration with some reluctance.
The biggest highlight of the show by far is the chemistry between Fillion and Katic. There is some rather explicit sexual tension between their characters throughout the show, and the repartee between them is priceless. Their clashing personalities - Beckett is more straight-laced while Castle is the somewhat stereotypical arrogant party boy - makes it even more entertaining.
Castle also is an intriguing character because, even though he is sometimes reminiscent of a typical fraternity boy, he morphs into a completely different person when around his teenage daughter, Alexis (Molly Quinn). In spite of her parentage, Alexis is a fairly mature and responsible kid and sometimes is as much of a parent to Castle as he is to her. She also brings out the softer, protective side of him, which makes his character much more complex and sympathetic.
Also living with the father and daughter is Castle's mother, Martha (Susan Sullivan). Martha is a lot like her son; she is an on-and-off Broadway actress who has a bravado about her but cares deeply about the people close to her, as well.
These characters shine in Castle's well-written, creative plots. The cases frequently take the viewer on twists and turns and explore often untouched and unfamiliar territory, such as one episode that involves a vampire coven or one that involves a dominatrix business. One of the biggest dangers of a detective show such as this is that it can fall into predictable patterns and feel the same every episode. Fortunately, Castle throws enough new wrinkles into the plot to keep that from happening. The writers also take advantage of Fillion and Katic's chemistry by occasionally introducing a guest character to whom one of the leads is attracted for some reason. For instance, in a two-part episode this season, Castle is intrigued by a female FBI agent who helps him and Beckett apprehend a serial killer. The I'm-telling-you-I'm-not-jealous-but-I-really-am interplay between Castle and Beckett is priceless.
Castle airs on ABC Mondays at 10 p.m. and has just been renewed for a third season. If the first two are any indication, this show is in it for the long haul.
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