The case is a red herring; the real motive is romance TV

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Stana Katic, left, and Nathan Fillion have a flirt-fight cycle that fuels Castle. (ABC)

FORGET the crimes. Ignore the clues. Never mind the cops and criminals.

When it comes to a show like Castle, the only thing that really matters is the chemistry.

At first glance, this new ABC series -- which premieres Monday at 9 p.m. -- seems like a police drama, filled with all the requisite murder and mayhem and investigative mumbo-jumbo leading to an episode-ending, climactic application of the cuffs.

But a closer look reveals that, at its heart, Castle is a romantic comedy in the grand tradition of Moonlighting and Remington Steele and Pushing Daisies and, as such, its success depends wholly on viewers' willingness to fall in love with its sparring/flirting romantic leads.

Edmonton product Nathan Fillion stars as Richard Castle, a wildly successful and appropriately wealthy and well-connected mystery novelist whose biggest concerns seem to be fending off the advances of female fans and trying to keep his terminally flirtatious faded-actress mother out of trouble.

That is, of course, until the early moments of the series premiere, when tough but sexy NYPD detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) turns up to question him about a pair of recent cases in which the killer seems to have borrowed heavily from the murderous methodology in Castle's books.

From their first moments together, sparks fly -- naturally, the first ones are prompted by annoyance rather than amorous intent, since Castle's something of a cad and Beckett's got something buried in her past that makes her believe that most, if not all, men are pigs.

Whether she likes it or not, she needs the author's help -- particularly after a third corpse turns up in a Castle-inspired crime scene. Beckett asks him to examine photos of the victims to see if there's any light he can shed on the case; Castle, for his part, is more concerned about securing copies of the pictures for his own use, to impress his poker-game pals.

"(Crime authors) Patterson, Grafton, King -- you have no idea how jealous these would make them," he muses. "I have a copycat? Oh, my gosh -- in my world, that's the red badge of courage; that's the criminal Cooperstown."

Beckett, unimpressed, demands that Castle turn over his fan mail to see if it holds any clues. And it does, providing a solid lead that ends in an arrest.

"Is that it?" says the confounded crime writer. "It's too easy; the reader would never buy it."

"This isn't one of your books," Beckett blasts back. "Out here, when we find a guy standing over a body with a gun, he's usually the guy who did it."

That should be the end of things between the cop and the novelist, but it isn't. Even as the case is being wrapped up, Castle can't let it go. Something isn't right, and he keeps insinuating himself into Beckett's business until she finally believes him and re-examines the evidence.

Of course, Castle's right. And of course, Beckett's forced to develop a grudging respect for him. And of course, of course, by the first episode's end, the show's producers have concocted a wildly illogical premise that will allow Castle and Beckett to coexist uncomfortably well into the foreseeable future.

If, that is, viewers buy into the romantic tension and make a viewing commitment that generates renewal-worthy ratings. The betting here is that they will -- or, at least, they should -- because Fillion and Katic generate some legitimate small-screen heat, and it might be fun to stick around to see how far it goes, and how long its writers can keep it from going too far (remember David and Maddie's ill-considered mambo?).

The cases in the first two episodes previewed are interesting, and the supporting cast is able. But the Castle-Beckett coupling is the only thing that really matters, and it works.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

TV WORTH WATCHING:

Breaking Bad (Sunday at 9 p.m., AMC) -- Best-actor Emmy winner Bryan Cranston returns for a second season as Walt White, a once-mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher whose terminal diagnosis sent him into the dark world of drug dealing in an effort to provide for his family.

Less Than Kind (Monday at 8 p.m., Citytv) -- If you missed it the first time around, you really should check out this first-season rerun of a strange but likable locally produced sitcom about a weird North End family that runs a none-too-successful driving school. It's oddly charming, in a very Winnipeg way.

Combat School (Tuesday at 9 p.m., Discovery) -- This six-part documentary series gives viewers unprecedented access to Canada's armed forces, following a platoon of 40 men and women from basic training to battle-ready deployment to Afghanistan.

NOT-QUITE-TV PICK:

Harry Shearer's Found Objects (www.mydamnchannel.com) -- The veteran actor (This Is Spinal Tap) and longtime Simpsons voice-cast member introduces a collection of revealing and inevitably embarrassing lost-video clips featuring various celebs and journalist in decidedly not-for-broadcast moments.

Top TV Shows

1. The Academy Awards (CTV) -- 4,465,000

2. The Academy Awards Pre-Show (CTV) -- 2,888,000

3. House (Global, Monday) -- 2,425,000

4. Grey's Anatomy (CTV,) -- 2,352,000

5. American Idol (CTV) -- 2,312,000

6. American Idol (CTV) -- 2,219,000

7. CSI (CTV) -- 2,156,000

8. Criminal Minds (CTV) -- 2,145,000

9. CSI New York (CTV) -- 2,037,000

10. Survivor: Tocantins (Global) -- 2,025,000

-- Source: BBM Nielsen Media Research, week of Feb. 16

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 5, 2009 E5