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Richard Castle is famous for his best-sellers mystery novel, based on the character Derrick Storm. In search of something new, he kills his character and looks for a new source of inspiration. Thanks to his connections with the mayor, he becomes a consultant to the NYPD. At first, detective Kate Beckett finds him insufferable, arrogant, annoying, clumsy, a real pushover. But he’s able to think outside the box, and quickly delivers surprisingly good results. Gradually, the police team becomes accustomed to this incongruous collaboration, and and the spark of love soon appears.
The plot isn’t original, the scenario often basic, sometimes ridiculous – the police discussing cases casually in front of anyone, for example. However, the series was a resounding success, no doubt thanks to its likeable characters, foremost among them Castle. “Ruggedly handsome”, as he describes himself, the guy is rich. He also has a fighting, positive temperament. An attentive father and an eternal child at the same time, he’s the husband we’d all like to have, because we would never get bored with him. Esposito and Ryan, Martha and Alexis, Lanie, all second roles bring something interesting. But the series never really delves into the lives of the secondary characters, and that’s a real shame. Fillon’s next series, “the rookie” is much better on this point. During last seasons, conspiracy theories drag on without making the plot any more interesting. On the whole, Castle is still a good series for relaxing without thinking too much.
I also appreciated the fact that the series made a choice of colors, a real signature : blue (police sirens, police district, abandoned places…) and orange (red heads, sunsets, lights…). It was not a song of ice and fire, but this contrat between cold and warm colors was an interesting artistic choice.
8 seasons, 173 episodes (40 mn), 2009-2016, ABC, currently on Disney
With : Nathan Fillon / Richard Castle, Stana Katic / Kate Beckett, Jon Huertas / Xavier Esposito, Seamus Dever / Kevin Ryan, Molly Quinn / Alexis Castle, Susan Sullivan / Martha Rodgers, Tamala Jones / Dr Lanie Parish…