The police consult bad-boy author Rick Castle when a series of murders seems copied from the pages of his books. Castle is paired with straitlaced Det. Kate Beckett. The premise is familiar. The dynamic is familiar. Or maybe these seemed familiar because I'd seen all the punchlines in commercials and online. Any lasting interest will come from how well the writers flesh Castle out and how well Fillion plays him.
There isn't much to ground Castle in the pilot besides his oddly responsible daughter, and we don't see what's made her so level-headed. As a writer, I like to see fictional writers portrayed more or less accurately, but more often than you'd think, characters who are writers just go through the motions and don't otherwise show many writerly traits. (Recent examples include Bones's Temperance Brennan and NCIS's Timothy McGee/Thom E. Gemcity.) I mean, screenwriters are writers themselves. You'd think writer characters would be easiest for them to write. I hope Castle's screenwriters and Fillion make the most of this opportunity, and I hope people watch.
5 comments:
For me Fillion is the Captain from Firefly which is just about the most original show ever. However, I will take a gander at some point. Thanks for the review.
I'm a fellow Firefly fan. Mal Reynolds really showed Fillion's range, so I'm optimistic he'll grow into Rick Castle if the writers put enough on the page.
Be careful what you wish for. Writers generally sit around and think a lot. Frankly, I think the idea of the FBI calling on a mystery writer to help solve crimes (I'm guessing a long series of crimes is planned, not just one killer who needs tracking) is pretty much preposterous. Only way it could happen is if the writer used to be an agent or homicide detective. Don't know if that's the case here. Didn't look like it.
I'd like to see some sitting around and thinking, Steven. Just enough to add to his character. I agree that a writer helping with investigations isn't believable on a regular basis. The show's pretext is that Castle is observing Kate as the basis for a new series character, which sounds plausible to me.
My initial fears were that this was Murder He Wrote.
While Castle clearly is intended to be comedic is nature, they at least have given us a premise that is not totally assinine.
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