ABC's "Castle" sizzles
By: Alyssa de la Garza
Issue date: 3/23/09 Section: Entertainment
Notoriously dull Monday nights are now about murder, mystery, money, and sexual tension. ABC's newest primetime thriller "Castle" provides these and so much more, including characters that intrigue as well as entertain. There's not much else a primetime audience could want.
Nathan Fillion - previously memorable for his role in the sci-fi series "Firefly" as well as a stint on "Desperate Housewives" - now plays Richard Castle, a wildly successful crime writer with plenty of money and charm to spare. Despite living with his mother and precocious 15-year-old daughter, his ego is well intact.
After killing off his hero in his latest novel, Rick finds himself bored with life and crippled with an ugly case of writer's block. With a blood-sucking publisher/ex-wife on his trail, things aren't exactly looking up. Fortunately for him, an NYPD detective has the solution.
Stana Katic, fresh off her roles in "Quantum of Solace" and "The Spirit," plays the accomplished and intelligent detective Kate Beckett to the hilt. When it becomes apparent that two crime scenes have been staged to mimic those from two of Castle's novels, she brings in the writer himself for questioning.
Much to her surprise, Castle offers much more than insight into his books: his discerning eye turns to the killer himself. An intense familiarity with criminology puts Castle right in the middle of the case, much to Beckett's annoyance as they track down a dangerous killer.
When everything is said and done, it's not only a killer that Castle has managed to catch: out of his experience with the strict and alluring Beckett, his new book's lead character, Nikki Heat, is born.
Don't let the label of "procedural drama" fool you - more than theories fly between the two unlikely partners. Tangible sparks of attraction kept me sweating through the commercial breaks and teetering perilously on the edge of my seat.
Fillion and Beckett's onscreen chemistry takes on a life of its own and fits well into the show's premise. The shows "Moonlighting" and "Bones" come instantly to mind, but you should be careful not to write them off so easily.
The real test is time. Almost every show on TV now has its "it-couple" and "Castle" is one of many in that tradition. The difference here is that the sexual tension evident between Castle and Beckett is punctuated by fascinating cases that defy reasoning up until the very end - even after ten guesses in one hour, I was wrong - and a quick wit that kept me laughing well after the credits had rolled.
If the premiere was any indication, "Castle" is going to be one for the books. Castle airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Nathan Fillion - previously memorable for his role in the sci-fi series "Firefly" as well as a stint on "Desperate Housewives" - now plays Richard Castle, a wildly successful crime writer with plenty of money and charm to spare. Despite living with his mother and precocious 15-year-old daughter, his ego is well intact.
After killing off his hero in his latest novel, Rick finds himself bored with life and crippled with an ugly case of writer's block. With a blood-sucking publisher/ex-wife on his trail, things aren't exactly looking up. Fortunately for him, an NYPD detective has the solution.
Stana Katic, fresh off her roles in "Quantum of Solace" and "The Spirit," plays the accomplished and intelligent detective Kate Beckett to the hilt. When it becomes apparent that two crime scenes have been staged to mimic those from two of Castle's novels, she brings in the writer himself for questioning.
Much to her surprise, Castle offers much more than insight into his books: his discerning eye turns to the killer himself. An intense familiarity with criminology puts Castle right in the middle of the case, much to Beckett's annoyance as they track down a dangerous killer.
When everything is said and done, it's not only a killer that Castle has managed to catch: out of his experience with the strict and alluring Beckett, his new book's lead character, Nikki Heat, is born.
Don't let the label of "procedural drama" fool you - more than theories fly between the two unlikely partners. Tangible sparks of attraction kept me sweating through the commercial breaks and teetering perilously on the edge of my seat.
Fillion and Beckett's onscreen chemistry takes on a life of its own and fits well into the show's premise. The shows "Moonlighting" and "Bones" come instantly to mind, but you should be careful not to write them off so easily.
The real test is time. Almost every show on TV now has its "it-couple" and "Castle" is one of many in that tradition. The difference here is that the sexual tension evident between Castle and Beckett is punctuated by fascinating cases that defy reasoning up until the very end - even after ten guesses in one hour, I was wrong - and a quick wit that kept me laughing well after the credits had rolled.
If the premiere was any indication, "Castle" is going to be one for the books. Castle airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.