I love, love, LOVE Nathan Fillion, but I find Castle to be completely unwatchable. The "chemistry" between the leads is painfully bad. The lead actress is just awful, and the writing is just yikes! I tried to watch this. I watched it for about 6 episodes, but I just couldn't do it. I want to like it so much!

I think the acting is the strongest part of the show. Nathan Fillion especially, and Stana Katic are really great. The downfall of the show is the writing. To date, no crime has been particularly compelling. Hopefully the story with Beckett's mother will be a step in the right direction. Full review of the episode on my blog.

http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-castle-season-2-episode-1-deep.html

One of the elements I like about this show is how the camera will stay with an actor when they don't have a line to say. This group does a very good job with facial expressions. They aren't over the top and many times are only for the character and the audience.

I was happy to see the return of Authors Poker, but Russian Poker was just pretty stupid all around, between Castle's behavior and Beckett having to dress like a skank. Sigh. And was it just me, or did her Russian accent sound better in the van than out in public?

That said, Castle's revelation that all he needed to do was APOLOGIZE (aw, Alexis) was pretty awesome.

Thought it was hilarious when he asked if he should start some music when the dr. was getting the fingerprints off the inside of the glove because "that's how they do it on CSI"

I hate to admit it but Beckett is fourth in the list of characters of interest on this show for me. Castle, his mother and his daughter are more interesting than Beckett. I put Beckett, only slightly above the M.E.--who I think could shine if given the proper material. Beckett remains too closed, rigid, and too much of a mystery for me.

After watching season 1 of The Mentalist (another cop/notcop buddy show) all summer, the stark difference in production quality between these shows is so huge, its striking. Castle just oozes quality, from the superb writing to the beautiful and slick look and feel of the cinematography, to the total lack of stunt casting that ruins so many procedurals (that includes you, CSI). Did I mention the writing? It's so nice not to be introduced to a character in the first 10 minutes and realize explicitly that they're the killer, only to wait through all of the red herrings and twists to find out that - SURPRISE - the person who so painfully stood out from the beginning was The Guy (as Monk would say). I love this show, and they just can't make enough of them for me.

Nathan is so dreamy! I laughed when he couldn't take his eyes off of Beckett's bare legs as she was putting handcuffs on the Russian guy. I would love more of Castle's mom and daughter.

Nathan Fillion is the reason to watch "Castle." His intelligence and wit inform everything he does. I would watch a Nathan Fillion reality show -- just follow him around with a camera.

I really enjoy Castle - it is kinda of like Bones in that it is a light procedural only it is much more charming. I think the toning down of the mother and the continued use of the delightful daughter coupled with the development of the supporting characters in the police department are all very positive steps for this season (although I still am not wild about the ME).

I really got a chuckle out of the little jab the show got in on Ryan Reynolds. Castle and his mom were talking about no new original ideas and Castle said they were remaking some invaders game and Ryan Reynolds was going to play the triangle. Ryan Reynolds got the part of Green Lantern but there was a Nathan Fillion fan movement (even some youtube mashup) to have him considered for the role. Just a little inside thing.