I got hooked on this show a few months ago. Kind of goofy, but still a good crime drama with romantic tension in the air. What more can you ask?
I tend to be a TV snob, watching mostly documentaries and movies that have some artistic or social quality. That doesn't mean I'm too good for some basic, fun to watch entertainment, and this does the job. Castle's character is a successful millionaire, but just goofy and vulnerable enough, plus ok looking but not over the top good looking to keep him from seeming somewhat believable. Beckett's character is so good looking, confident, and successful that it's hard to imagine her ever seeing anything in Castle, but the chemistry is undeniable and they use that to tease the viewer into coming back episode after episode and season after season.
The plots are, for the most part, original and refreshing, but far enough from reality that you have to just go along and stop reminding yourself that these things would never happen in real life and that nobody would survive the predicaments that confront the characters on each episode. I am former law enforcement and know that none of the things on this should would ever happen, but again ... I don't care. Sometimes you just need to escape reality for an hour or two.
One of the real surprises for me has been Susan Sullivan. After watching her as the uptight Kitty Montgomery on Dharma and Greg, I couldn't have imagined her playing any other character. In Castle, she plays Martha - Castle’s whacky mother, who is an over-the-top, past her prime actress, with a multitude of character flaws, but who is nonetheless lovable.