Castle

[seriousfic]

Okay, is it just me, or are they cribbing rather a lot of notes from Life? You remember, Life, Charlie Crews, Dani Reese? Backstory with corrupt cops, obsessed detective hero(ine), wacky banter, and now a supporting cast member who was in on it all along despite being a mentor to the heroine. And it's a safe bet that the "mystery man" is that crime lord from one of those arc episodes a while back, the one who seemed really suave and badass and then he just walked away all "I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again." Can we just call him the black Garrett Dillahunt so I don't have to look up his name?

Nothing against Castle, but it goes down a little hard when Life was so ignominiously canceled. It makes me look at Castle a little like the generic version of Life's name-brand. Charlie Crews is kinda morally gray and weird and he's got the Zen thing and he doesn't always do things you like, while Castle is just wacky and he has the perfect life and his daughter is awesome and the ladies love him. Technically, you could argue that Charlie has as many Gary Sty qualities, but he had more issues so it didn't seem like the world was his playground so much. Maybe there's more escapism in a world-famous rock star novelist who has all his books made into movies where the lead actresses try to sleep with him, and maybe the public wants escapism instead of a wrongfully-accused cop still smarting from prison, but it's still not a favorable comparison.

Gone is the novelistic storyline, the complex characters, the complicated relationships, and in its place is a tried-and-true formula, the Moonlighting thing. Don't get me wrong, it works, but does anyone really think Beckett is dead? Life is the kinda show that would've killed her off, because that's just how it rolls.

Although to its credit, Castle's never done an episode where the team has to play Prince of Persia to expose a drug dealer, and the day is saved because girls play video games.