Castle on ABC - The Best Show No One's Watching

Nathan Fillion Stars in Broadcast's Most Underrated Crime Drama

Oct 28, 2009 Kimberly Shumway

This fun ABC series follows Nathan Fillion as the charming Richard Castle, bestselling mystery author who finds his muse in an NYPD detective. Together, they fight crime.

Castle strikes the perfect balance between tongue-in-cheek cleverness and real heart. On the surface it's almost precious – bestselling writer of murder mysteries finds his muse in an NYPD homicide detective – but the show takes advantage of its own absurdity; it laughs at itself. Nowhere was this more evident than in its Halloween episode, "Vampire Weekend," where it dressed up its stars in some familiar costumes. Yet Castle is not simply another light procedural; there's remarkable nuance to the show. In spite of the humor and smarts, it's merely surviving on ABC's Monday nights, largely overlooked by viewers. They're missing out.

Nathan Fillion Charms as Richard Castle

Nathan Fillion is simply marvelous. He breathes life into Richard Castle, bringing the wit and intelligence and magnetism so essential to the character. One moment he's the devil-may-care playboy and the next he's the caring father everyone always wanted. One moment he's the suave millionaire and the next he's geeking out over Frank Miller comic books. And through it all he's so eminently likable that it's instantly clear why Joss Whedon keeps putting Fillion in his projects.

Not Just a Light ABC Series

Some critics have dismissed it as fun, but insubstantial – essentially implying it's some kind of cotton-candy procedural with the substance to suit. While casual viewers certainly may see it as such, it takes only a few episodes for some remarkable trends to emerge. The show paints its characters as people, just trying to do the best they can. It takes a nuanced look at cops, victims, and suspects; it doesn't fall back on easy stereotypes.

Women are treated as real characters – they have friendships with other women, they exist as people aside from mere eye-candy. This is most exemplified in heroine Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic, but she's hardly alone. Castle's mother and daughter hugely influence his life, have relevant storylines, and he learns from them just as they learn from him. Beckett's confidante, Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, gives as good as she gets from the NYPD's boys club. Even Detective Roselyn Karpowski – who has appeared in all of two episodes – somehow manages to be present and authentic. This show is so good at writing women, it seems like there might be some women writing for the show. To Castle's credit, there are.

Halloween, Richard Castle-style

It's the subtleties that make Castle so extraordinary. "Vampire Weekend" is a prime example; as a Halloween episode it had an excuse to go light and meaningless, but it didn't. The sultry "vampire" they meet immediately delineates fantasy from reality, mourns the victim's death, and even tips her hat to the legalities of drinking blood. The show doesn't condemn her. Instead it portrays a mature, responsible adult…who just happens to have fangs, drink blood, and practice polyamory. The male victim's bisexuality was not only a non-issue, it wasn't even a revelation. They could've been talking about his eye color for all the detectives reacted – a rather enlightened portrayal of the police. And a single, indirect throwaway line condemned spiking girls' drinks and date-rape…and unless viewers were paying attention, they probably missed all of it.

The key to the case – the victim's memory of his mother's murder – acknowledged the real, lasting negative impact of violence on people's lives. This was paralleled with Beckett's mother's murder and her questions to Castle about his tragedy. The message: violence makes a lifelong impact, for good and ill. It plagued the victim and ultimately ended his life. It gave Beckett focus and spurred her into becoming a detective. For both it was fundamentally transformative. And it left the audience with the unanswered question: where does Castle fall along that spectrum? That's hardly insubstantial.

Simply Fun – Nikki Heat, Tall Tales, and Puns

At the same time, this ABC series just has fun. During summer hiatus, the show published a tie-in novel, Heat Wave, written by the fictional Richard Castle and detailing the exploits of Detective Nikki Heat. The second season wove the book into the storyline – with Beckett wanting to read it, the release party, a new book deal, and so on. Amazingly, the tie-in novel has become a real New York Times bestseller, even with copyediting errors so numerous they'd make Richard Castle's eyes bleed.

Castle also makes full use of its lead's status as a notable writer. Castle peppers the detectives with grammar snark, who vs. whom, and the correct use of the word 'irony.' He often weaves a fantastical tale about what could have happened, based wholly on the fact that it'd make a great story. The detectives use the same tactic to mess with him – viewers might recognize one of their yarns as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles origin story. "Vampire Weekend" even went so far as to meaningfully use puns, the most notable of which – "I'm giving you the bird" as he physically hands her a bird – seemed designed specifically to get one over on the censors.

Playing Dress-up: Captain Mal, Dr. Horrible…and Other Soldiers and Doctors

"Vampire Weekend" was most anticipated for its in-jokes. The Internet half-imploded at Nathan Fillion dressing up as his character, Captain Mal, from Firefly – "Because I like it." He later impersonated Dr. Horrible from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, in which he starred with Neil Patrick Harris. But even actors who are not Nathan Fillion got in on the fun. Seamus Dever dressed up as a doctor; Dever spent several years playing a doctor on General Hospital. And Jon Huertas dressed up as a Marine. Huertas brilliantly portrayed a Marine in HBO's Generation Kill. He himself spent 8 years in US Special Ops before he became an actor.

Castle rewards viewers who pay attention. It's fun and funny and entertaining on the surface, but it also operates on a deeper level for those who care to look. It's the best show no one's watching. That should change.

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'Castle' on ABC: Nathan Fillion's Fun Crime Drama