SYNOPSIS:
Richard Castle is a famous author of mystery novels and a divorced father, creating his own teenage daughter as her Broadway diva mother keeps him grounded – and he is suffering from a terrible case of creativity block. But when the NYPD questioned him about a series of murders that emulate scenes from his books, Castle found his inspiration in the form of Detective Kate Beckett, a smart and tough police Homicide Division, who has a fascination with cases strange and unusual -., and this is due to the unsolved murder of his mother years ago . They instantly hit the front, but soon sparks of another sort began to emerge, leading both to danger and a hint of romance as Castle Beckett to help find the killer that he copied.After this first case to be solved, Castle gets permission (through his friend, the mayor of New York) to accompany Beckett and his squad in their cases, in order to do research for his new series of books about the character Nikki Heat, based in Beckett. Thus, the double follows investigating the strangest homicides in New York, combining Castle intuition writer with creative intelligence Beckett.

 

RICHARD CASTLE:

Richard Alexander Rodgers was born to Martha Rodgers and a spy known by Castle as Jackson Hunt on April 1, 1969, just after midnight. Given his birthdate, Martha called him her April Fools’ baby, and on his birthdays, she would sit him down and solemnly tell him that he was adopted before taking it back as Richard got serious, and yelling, “April Fools!” His maternal grandparents had a successful “mind-reading act” on Coney Island. (“Suicide Squeeze”)

Given the very active social life and short-lived career of his mother, he had grown used to his mother’s antics and lifestyle to the point where he was the one taking care of his mother, who was often in trouble. He also had several nannies look after him who, on his account, spent most of their time watching daytime television, with One Life to Live becoming the inspiration to write his first novel.

Richard never knew who his father was and initially had no intention of finding out who he was, reasoning that he never met his dad or even had a father figure in his life (which Richard jokingly denies, saying he had lots of father figures because of Martha’s various relationships) so he doesn’t really feel the loss. According to his biography at RichardCastle.net, Martha would always gently tell Richard on his birthdays that she had no idea who his father was, which never bothered Richard as it allowed him to imagine that his father could be anyone he wished. However, Martha also once told Richard that she “had loved a lifetime” the night she met his father. (“Suicide Squeeze”) Richard becomes annoyed when his colleague Javier Espositospeculates that his father was among several that she had slept with at a time, making their dilemma like that of Mamma Mia. Police captain Roy Montgomery thinks Richard might have a little cop somewhere in his family tree.  (“Suicide Squeeze”)  As an adult, Richard finds it plausible that his father might be in the C.I.A., since that would explain why his father disappeared. (“Linchpin”)

Rick apparently spent his days as a child in the New York City Public Library, where he had picked up his ability of speed reading and his love for classic books, mostly those by Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Carolyn Keene.

As a child, he had written several stories for his own, personal amusement, and sometimes for his friends, beginning with “gross” thriller stories, to non-fiction, which left Richard feeling constrained. He returned to his old imaginative thrillers which scared his school friends enough to make Rick realize his ability to manipulate human emotion as a good storyteller of thrillers. When he hit puberty, though, Richard lost all interest in reading, which then began his days of being a teenaged, stubborn boy. Eventually, obviously, he went back to his old reading and writing habits in a matter of a few apparently unremarkable years.

When Rick was in the eighth grade, he had a crush on Sherry Ort, who “broke his heart, stole his lunch money and then laughed about it with her friends. (“Fool Me Once…”)

At 14, he was transferred to Edgewyck Academy. Homesick and without friends, he turned to writing. Damian Westlake, the literary magazine editor at Edgewyck, took Rick under his wing. He was the first person to recognize Rick’s talent, and encouraged and mentored him. Since then, Castle had looked up to his friend as a hero. Even decades later, Castle still gets choked up as he recounts the story. Richard also claims to have been kicked out of New York’s finer academic institutions at least once. (“Hedge Fund Homeboys”)

In his junior year of high school, Richard had a sweet girlfriend named Lizzie, whom he broke up with. (“Anatomy of a Murder”)

During his first year of college, Rick fell in love with a girl named Allison at a party, but never saw her again, even though he spent a year trying to find her. He still thinks of her often. (“Suicide Squeeze”)

At one point, Rick changed his legal name to Richard Edgar Castle, with his new middle name a homage to Edgar Allan Poe.

During his college writing career, he has held the Old Haunt in high regard, seeing it as the legendary pub with the aura that helps him write. He wrote his first book, In a Hail of Bullets, in a stall in the bar. A photo of him was since then hung on the wall of fame over the booth.

In a Hail of Bullets was first rejected multiple times before Black Pawn finally published his book. Soon enough, it became a bestseller. Apparently, he blew through all the money he got for his book in a matter of just six months. Also, he kept his first rejection letter and had it framed in his home office as a reminder and for motivation.

Rick then embarks on a relationship with Kyra Blaine, Castle’s apparently first true love. Although Kyra’s parents strongly disapprove of Castle’s relationship with their daughter, their relationship goes on for three years until Kyra decided she needed space and went to London. She apparently expected Rick to follow her, but he never did. It is evident that even years after their last encounter, they still harbor feelings for each other.

Richard with young Alexis. “Thanks for being my nanny.” -Nanny McDead
After college, Richard met Meredith, an impulsive and free-spirited actress. Richard suggests that he married the red-headed Meredith because she reminded him of his mother. (“Always Buy Retail”) After their whirlwind romance, they have Alexis and get married. A little into the marriage, Meredith cheated on him with her director and moved to Malibu before asking for a divorce between them. Richard gained custody of Alexis, due to her mother’s spontaneous lifestyle, and has since been raising her while Meredith travels, looking for her next career ventures, and occasionally visits to stir up trouble as Richard’s deep-fried twinkie, a guilty pleasure who is over-all bad for him. Meredith thinks of Richard as a “deliciously sweet souffle” but says sooner or later souffle always fall. (“Significant Others”) Not wanting a nanny to mess up raising Alexis, they never hired one and Richard took care of her himself. Although they had both agreed to no nannies, she did have the occasional babysitter, one in particular is Rina.Also, after Alexis was born, Richard stopped going to the Old Haunt.

While writing his Derrick Storm series, he shadowed Sophia Turner, a covert operative for the CIA and his first muse ever that became the basis for the character, Clara Strike. Their relationship began much like how his and Beckett’s began apparently, filled with tension and immediate intense attraction. After months of fighting the urge, the two give in eventually, but the relationship barely lasts as they realize that the only thing that could have held them together was the tension that was keeping them apart in the first place. Sophia stated that she hopes she had just never slept with him so that they could have at least kept that longing. Even after the breakup though, the pair still somehow cared for each other.

Eventually, Rick meets Gina Cowell, his book publisher and (former) agent. Martha introduced them. (“Anatomy of a Murder”)  and was on good terms with Gina, unlike with Richard’s first wife, Meredith. (“Always Buy Retail”) Castle proposed to Gina in a hot air balloon in February. (“A Rose for Ever After”) There was tension in his marriage with Gina because of Rick’s tendency to keep Alexis to himself and to resent Gina’s efforts to bond with his daughter. (“Anatomy of a Murder”) There also apparently wasn’t much sex during the marriage. (“Famous Last Words”) Although much of the history of their relationship is unknown, they do marry but eventually get a divorce. The divorce settlement was costly for Castle. (“Flowers for Your Grave”) Despite this, they continue to work together on Castle’s books.

Meanwhile, as a family man, Richard Castle has proven himself to be a great father and son to the beloved women in his life: his daughter Alexis, who, due to her own evident maturity, acts like the parent among the duo, and his mother Martha, who Richard takes in after she is swindled by her recent ex-husband. They currently live in his large loft apartment at 595 Broome Street in Soho. (“Lucky Stiff”)

Castle also plays regular poker games with fellow best-selling authors James Patterson, Stephen J. Cannell, Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly. He is also good friends with the mayor, Robert Weldon, who, because of their friendship and Robert’s love for Castle’s books, often heeds Castle’s many requests.

Evidently, Richard Castle gained universal acclaim as a mystery writer for his Derrick Storm books, amongst his 26 bestsellers, and as a rich socialite known for his parties and rather wild lifestyle.

In 2003, Richard Castle was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. During the incident, he stole a police horse while he was naked. The charges were dropped because of his friendship with the Mayor. (“Flowers for Your Grave”), (“Heartbreak Hotel”) During one visit to The Sapphire in Atlantic City, Castle accidentally set a mattress on fire and the drapes were covered in jam. Castle recalls it as a “fun night.” (“Heartbreak Hotel”) He once “drank every meal for a week” after a girlfriend cheated on him, even though he didn’t like her. (“Nanny McDead”)

At one point, Richard realizes that he no longer enjoys writing about Derrick and he kills him off, thus ending the series, resulting in several disapproving comments among his readers and peers, many of them stating that he could have just crippled Storm instead of killing him.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

 

TECHNICAL DATA: 

  • Original title: “Castle”
  • Creator: Andrew W. Marlowe
  • Executive Producers: Andrew W. Marlowe, David Amann, Rob Bowman, Armyan Bernstein, Laurie Zaks
  • Producers: ABC Studios ,MilMar Pictures
  • Cast: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas, Tamala Jones, Penny Johnson Jerald-, Ruben Santiago-Hudson
  • Premiere: March 9, 2009
  • Seasons: 7

 

BIBLOGRAPHY:

Derrick Storm ?novels

  • Storm Front
  • Gathering Storm
  • Storm’s Last Stand
  • Storm Rising
  • Storm Warning
  • Storm’s Break
  • Storm Fall
  • Storm Approaching
  • Driving Storm
  • Derrick Storm
  • Wild Storm

Derrick Storm eBook novellas

  • A Brewing Storm
  • A Raging Storm
  • A Bloody Storm

Derrick Storm graphic novels

  • Deadly Storm
  • Storm Season
  • A Calm Before Storm
  • Unholy Storm

Nikki Heat novels

  • Heat Wave
  • Naked Heat
  • Heat Rises
  • Frozen Heat
  • Deadly Heat
  • Raging Heat

Other novels

  • In a Hail of Bullets
  • Death of a Prom Queen
  • Flowers For Your Grave
  • Hell Hath No Fury
  • A Skull at Springtime
  • At Dusk We Die
  • When It Comes to Slaughter
  • A Rose for Everafter
  • Kissed and Killed
  • One Bullet One Heart