I’m a huge fan of the Castle TV series, a wonderfully entertaining crime/drama/thriller with a good amount of comic relief thrown in.
Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Two Guys and a Girl) plays Richard Castle, the author of over 20 best-selling mystery books and the cool singer father of a teenage daughter.
Castle starts consulting NYPD with their murder cases, first as an obligation and then voluntarily, as he uses the cases and his relationship with the beautiful cop Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) for inspiration.
This article focuses on how fun Castle’s life is (excluding the murders) and how writers can benefit from it.
The Glamor:
Richard Castle lives in a stylish and spacious loft in New York. He is pretty well-off and he has all the gadgets needs.
We see great parties (book launches, charity events and more), fancy restaurants…If we writers ever need motivation, it doesn’t get more fun than this.
The Reality and Humanity
Yes, Rich is rich but he is no Tom Cruise or Donald Trump. He is not in limos all the time, he takes of his teenage daughter Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) and his highly active, actress mother (Susan Sullivan).
But even he is constantly pestered by his publisher. Well, you are never off the hook when it comes to deadlines, even if you are a best-selling writer.
Oh, another part of the (fun) reality: real life authors occasionally guest star as Castle’s regular poker bodies. They talk about novels, fiction, writing and they help Castle brainstorm about real murder cases.
The Murder and The Mystery
I mostly write dramas and romantic comedies. But it is not because I don’t want to write mystery thrillers. I love them. But it takes more than a good idea: attention to detail, hard work and sometimes spending time with some real gruesome facts all add to a masterpiece. Castle might be a fictional character but remember, he is written by real writers who come up with a good story week after week. The show is currently in its 3rd season. So we watch Castle gather clues, brainstorm and work on both real and imaginary cases. Each episode is great for inspiration.
The Characterization and Chemistry:
Castle has great characters. They regular cast all add comic relief. The relationships between Castle and his daughter, his mother, partner/crush/cop Kate Beckett, friends, Beckett’s friends, the captain and his relationships with the suspects…Castle is a good combination of characters and plots that all fit nicely together. It has good amount of clichés but more than enough originality to compensate for them.
The Gadgets
Shows like playing with technology but in this day and age, Castle’s everyday gadget is more than affordable. He has a good phone with internet connection. He can google stuff right at the crime scene.
However he can turn his house into a Frankenstein mode, fence with his daughter or play with laser toy guns in a sci-fi mood. The toys money can buy…
It is a very relevant show. Characters joke and talk about tweeting. And if a model suggests she sat next to Perez Hilton (yes, this happened in one episode) on the plane as an alibi, Castle can check the blog during interrogation.
The Fun
Oh, and it shows you a good time. You see family, the writing world, murder department, romance and friendship all in one. He is also full of information on everything. Having written over 20 bestsellers, he has done his research. A lot. And the one-liners are also pretty entertaining.
Check out this show that is based on this fun-loving writer. It might be as inspirational as it is entertaining.
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You summed up quite nicely, the reasons I love this show. In fact, I don’t think it’s out of place to say that Castle has become my favorite drama. I wish it had a different timeslot though, unfortunately I’m always at work when it comes on so I started watching it on dishonline (dot) com. It’s a live streaming site with a ton of content that my employer (DISH Network) makes available completely free. A lot of it’s even available to non-subscribers so I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
Hi Andrew, thanks for the comment!
I watch Castle online too, my timezone is different from its broadcasting time. I’ll definitely check the link you are suggesting.
Castle is by far one of the most likeable characters, and TV shows. The thing is, I was initally disappointed by the first couple of epsiodes of season 4. It became too dark and cynical. But with the fifth episode, they got back the old chemistry! Did you see the promo for the next episode, Demons? It looks like it will be a hilarious watch!