I used to truly enjoy the campy mysterious goodness of “Castle.” Or, to be more precise, I used to truly enjoy the campy mysterious goodness of Nathan Fillion in “Castle,” because the mysteries themselves weren’t all that tricky. It wasn’t difficult to spot the killer in the first 15 minutes, which made for pretty stress-free viewing.
The thing that made “Castle” fun to watch was the interaction between mystery writer Richard Castle and cop extraordinaire, Kate Beckett. Their romance was really the engine of the show; the rest was standard procedural fare, populated with fun characters you didn’t mind inviting to your house once a week.
In summary, “Castle” wasn’t exactly enlightened viewing. It’s no “12 Monkeys,” for example.
So when I read that Stana Katic — the actor behind Beckett — was out for a possible season 9, I was disappointed. And then more so when I heard Tamala Jones, who plays a snarky medical examiner, was also out.
The two major female characters were cut from the show.
I’ve always loved Nathan Fillion, a) because I am a straight human female, and b) because he has always exuded the effortless, humor-packed charm of a man who has a highly-functioning brain, which is also appealing.
But all of that vanished when this show, reportedly due to conflict between the stars, dropped not only the female lead, but the second most-prominent female character as well.
Was a unique character like Beckett simply disposable? Replaceable? After eight years?
I literally stopped watching the show as soon as the news broke. I’d loved that this strong, intelligent, brave detective-turned-captain was an equal partner to the crime novelist. But by firing her, and the only other major female actor, the show told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was wrong.
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I am also a Nathan Fillion fan. He made the show, and as you said the main draw of the show was the sparks that fly between Castle and Beckett. The finale was such a disappointment. I will continue to view my boxed DVD sets of previous seasons along with Firefly.
Way to let down your fans producers, way to go!
This Browncoat can’t wait to see what is next for Fillion – a class act.
“Take my love.
Take my land.
Take me where I cannot stand.
I don’t care,
I’m still free.
You can’t take the sky from me.”
No power in the ‘verse. – can’t wait to see what’s next.
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I actually didn’t even watch it…I haven’t watched for about the last 4 or 5 weeks, however long it’s been since they announced that Stana Katic had been fired. I’m sure I’m not the only one, I bet a drop in viewership contributed to the cancellation.
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This Browncoat always thought Castle was a bit of a waste of Fillion’s talent. Pleasant enough show, but fairly routine stuff. Give the guy a top script (again).
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That was the entirety of the show. It was fun and pleasant. Some shows need to be, though, I think. And he made it fun to watch. But so did Katic.
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I’m a Nathan Fillion fan, but I was shocked when I read that Stana Katic was let go. I thought the show was about her, and he was the sidekick. Imagine my confusion. Now that ABC has ditched the entire shoe, I hope that we see NF again soon. I heard a rumor that he might be the next Dr. Who…! How cool would that be?
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Are you serious??? That would be AMAZING. Though would they have a non-British Doctor?
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I read this a while back. Maybe on The Mary Sue? The idea was that NF is Canadian and that’s close enough. The current Doctor is Scottish, so…?
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That is true, as was Tennant…He would make a marvelous, swoony Doctor. It could be a fun change.
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I, too, enjoyed watching Castle, but the writing for the 8th and final season of the show was pretty dismal. However, I was surprised that it ended fairly well. I was disappointed to learn that there was tension and conflict between Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion. It ruined the feel of the show for me, and the tension and dislike between the two actors was plainly visible on the show. I’m disappointed the show is finished, but at the same time also relieved because the writers were really terrible and I don’t think the show would have gotten any better had the network renewed it for a 9th season.
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I totally agree on the writing. Now we know why they were trying to keep them apart, but really, at that point it was ridiculous. It probably didn’t need the 8th season, and we all would have remembered it fondly.
I wasn’t really saddened that they ended it, it wouldn’t have been the same without Beckett or Lanie.
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I was so happy to hear they cancelled the show instead of running it without Katic. I didn’t even mind the finale despite its cookie cutter-ness because I really didn’t want to see anyone die.
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I haven’t watched it…I’m not sure if I will, but I agree, that would have been horrible. I think it will live on in syndication, and the actors can move on to something new.
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