Castle – What do any of us know about our neighbors?

Now that Castle’s copycat killer is out of the way, and isn’t it nice that they dispatched with that story in the first episode, we get our first shot at what it looks like for him to shadow Beckett as he works on his next book. Really, that’s where we’re at with this show. There isn’t a big mystery to find clues for. And we don’t need a refresher on our biblical texts to play along. It’s a pretty simple concept that has been done over and over, and it all comes down to whether or not you like this latest version. It’s early, but so far, I do.

Most of that is due to the chemistry between Castle and Beckett. They already have a great rapport. Sure, at the moment, it’s based mostly in sarcasm and button pushing, but little signs of growth in the relationship are already popping up. We got a peek at that tonight as Castle filed away Beckett’s line about men for future use. “Guys can be like that, and break your heart.” There are also signs of Beckett’s begrudging respect for Castle’s innate investigative ability.

Getting to the case of the week,  it was pretty solid. My years of investigative training (watching crime shows) led me to suspect the husband or the wife before we even met them. Because, as Martha pointed out, Sarah was a pretty hot nanny. That was too simple though, and there were many turns to be twisted. My one little complaint? The cell phone. Just sitting right there under the bed the whole time. Nobody thought to call the number? Where Castle’s discovery of the extra time in the elevator was very clever, the smoking phone was just a little convenient.

That’s OK though. It was still an entertaining hour. And in a sea of cop/crime shows, where it’s becoming increasingly hard for a show to set itself apart, Castle‘s take on the formula is new enough that I’m still interested. That’s half the battle.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Mar 17, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT