Let me start me off by saying that primetime shows are not typically my thing. I gravitate more towards a single season sci-fi; however, I always enjoy a good performance by Nathan Fillian. Now when I first saw adverts for Castle about a year ago, I was weary. I had the feeling that Nathan was beginning to go back to the dark-side of TV, in the direction of his soap opera roots. I was hooked on the halloween episode featuring Mal's "space cowboy" cameo. After a couple of episodes, the entire cast begins to draw you in. With an executive producer list featuring talent from "The X-Files," "A-Team" and "Saturday Night Live" there is no lack of production talent. The combination of the writing, Nathan's freedom to use his witty one liners, and the rest of the talented cast really bring the show together to a cohesive, enjoyable experience.
I am pretty new to the whole murder mystery genre, but I think I have the formula down. Start off with a dead body, a pinch of foreshadowing in the first ten minutes, a healthy dose of some twists and turns, and finally an interesting side story with the main character that conveniently contributes to the lightbulb moment of understanding for the good guys, and bam, you have a murder mystery drama. This is not a bad thing, but you have to have something that sets you apart from the other shows. Most will use one or a combination of two things: creative/inventive killings or interesting characters. While Castle has a little of the first, its nothing special enough to glorify it. Where the show really exceeds is the characters. But I won't spoil the fun of discovering that for yourself.
Now, the episode itself...
