by Lorie Lewis Ham

When I first began to see promos for the TV show Castle in 2009, I knew it was something I had to check out. Beyond the fact that he was a mystery-solving mystery writer a la Jessica Fletcher on Murder She Wrote, which would have been enough by itself to get me to try it, it stars the gorgeous Nathan Fillion who I know and love from his days on Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The premise of the show is that mystery author Richard Castle is so famous he can get the mayor of New York to let him tag along with one of the police department’s female homicide detectives for research. Castle creates a character based on NYPD Detective Kate Becket and follows her along to all of her crime scenes. His knowledge of crime becomes useful and he immediately becomes involved in actually solving the cases.

While not hard-edged like many of the crime dramas of this day, it has just enough of a mystery to it to draw in and satisfy mystery fans and, for me, it’s a welcome contrast to the intensity of shows like the CSIs and Law and Orders, which I also enjoy. There are also fun cameos by famous real-life mystery authors like James Patterson, Stephen J. Cannell and Michael Connelly, who often join Castle for a poker game.

The relationships in the show are delightful. Castle lives with his teenage daughter Alexis and the relationship they have is so true to life and awesome. It’s nice to see such a positive parent-child relationship depicted on TV for a change. Also living with him off and on is his actress mother played by actress Susan Sullivan, who is the definition of a drama queen.

Then there is Kate Becket. While she isn’t thrilled with Castle tagging along at first, you soon begin to see a relationship developing — one that blossoms into friendship with enough sexual tension to make the viewer hope it becomes more.

For Joss Whedon fans, there’s a little something extra special in this show. Whedon created Firefly and Buffy and there have been many references to both shows, including small items on the set that connect to those shows and Nathan wearing his costume from Firefly during a Halloween episode. It’s absolutely wonderful!

Castle just finished its second season and has been renewed for a third. This show has quickly become my favorite current TV show. I love Castle’s wit (which, if his tweets are any example, is much like Nathan’s), the mystery, the relationships and just plain everything about the show.

Airing on ABC on Monday nights, Castle first aired in March of 2009 and had its season two finale in May. Season one of Castle is available on DVD with season two being released September 21. Their third season is set to air on September 20, 2010.

Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds.