Castle/Mondays at 10:00PM EST on ABC
Castle reeks of wretched ’70s TV, a Bill Bixby or Robert Urich series pitched to executives after an extra-long martini lunch. Bixby or Urich would commit, of course, but it’d have to get the green-light before either one admitted to any interest. The green-light would actually work twofold then, as it would also usher in that interest. In other words, both Bixby and Urich wouldn’t have shot the pilot. One of the writers, maybe, down the road – but not the pilot episode.
Now, to be clear, I was a huge fan of both Bixby (The Incredible Hulk, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, My Favorite Martian) and Urich (Vega$, Soap, Spenser: For Hire), and I am even a fan of Castle star Nathan Fillion. I’m glad the show garnered him overdue national recognition (he already achieved cult status via the short-lived Firefly, soap star status on One Life to Live, and sitcom cred on Two Guys and a Girl) but Castle has long since served its purpose. What was once an amusing smirk in the tireless previews for upcoming episodes on ABC is now only irksome and does little to spark interest in what appears to be yet another quirky installment of the Murder She Wrote knockoff.
Simply put, what began as a cute premise has overstayed its welcome. How could it not? How long could an author possibly continue to work alongside a homicide detective – nevermind in New York – anyway? It was a leap for one episode, yet here we are at season six! Sure, that has a lot to do with the aforementioned smirk, and Fillion’s likability. Plus, TV viewers never seem to tire of the “will they or won’t they,” from Moonlighting to Cheers. But, Richard Castle and Kate Beckett (a blah Stana Katic) did, long ago. Was there chemistry (or should I rephrase that – “is there”)? Nah. Just Castle’s zingers and comical clumsiness, the former lobbed into crime scenes like grenades or the latter living up to the age-old TV adage, “chaos ensues.”
Like Lois & Clark before it, and on the same network no less, Castle ran on the steam of one star’s likability and now only makes most folks exclaim, “That’s still on!?”
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Vinnie Penn (@VinniePenn) first hit the airwaves as co-host to Glenn Beck. By 2001 he was a regular on Howard Stern, and his work has appeared in national magazines such as Maxim, Hit Parader, and Cracked. He currently writes for MSN. Visit his website VinniePenn.net.
I still really enjoy this show, unlike say, Bones. They’ve already gotten married and had a kid (not in that order) and I still feel their relationship hasn’t progressed past work partners.
Good points. I’m a huge Castle fan and I tend to agree. I still enjoy the humor of Fillion’s character which is practically what made me watch from the beginning.
The problem with all these shows with the main side story being that the two main characters have this sexual tension is once they hook up, the show goes flat. I think the most satisfying thing to do as a viewer is just have them hook up in the last season and let them hump into the sunset or something.
Bones jumped the shark and became a soap opera when she got preggo. It’s difficult for me to watch any episode past that point.
I got to a point in I think season 4 of Castle where I was like “just hook up already!!” Got a bit ridiculous. Now that they are together, I can still watch but its almost a different show now.