Time for a third-episode verdict on Castle, in which Nathan Fillion is the eponymous bad boy novelist, researching New York cop Stana Katic so she can be the heroine in his new novel – while simultaneously helping her to solve crimes and maybe get inside her pants.
Three episodes in and it’s pretty unremarkable fare. Fillion’s supposedly flirtatious dialogue is still more like a sexual harassment suit, waiting to happen; the plots are reasonably predictable; the characters other than Castle are still a little undefined and two-dimensional, particularly Katic’s, who hasn’t had an ounce of development since the first episode; and the supposed revelations of the differences between police work and fictional police work tell us nothing we didn’t know already.
However, Fillion and Katic are both good actors; there’s a nice sense of place, with New York not just a backdrop of generic locations, but with plots revolving around particular aspects of New York life and geography; the relationship between Castle and his daughter is surprising; and it’s enjoyable – you can put it on, watch it and be mildly entertained, all without having to engage your brain once.
If you’ve nothing better to do and nothing better to watch, Castle‘s a mildly diverting, mildly interesting show thanks to its leads. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but you could do a lot worse.
Carusometer rating: 2
Prediction: It will probably be cancelled before the end of the season, given it’s ABC, with remaining episodes left dangling with no air date. Or they might just keep it a push since they’ve nothing else to replace it with.
