Poker in the Media: Castle

by Bodog Poker | Feb 15 2011

The ABC comedy-drama-mystery series “Castle” has been on for three seasons now and shows no signs of slowing down. Starring Nathan Fillion (famous for playing Captain Firefly of the show of the same name,) the series is centered around Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist suffering from writer's block (ever since killed off his most popular character). He's called in to help the NYPD solve a copy-cat murder based on one of his own novels and soon forms a bond with detective Kate Beckett, whom he decides to base the main character of his next book series upon after shadowing her for a few weeks.

The series is funny and fast-paced with some genuinely great writing in both the comedy and procedural departments, but for poker fans who enjoy reading, the highlights have to be the regular poker games that feature real-life writers like James Patterson and Michael Connelly. They've been used in a way that manages to integrate both the humorous and plot-important into storylines and honestly, they're just plain fun.  Seeing someone who's made millions writing facing off against an actor playing a character who has had real-world bestsellers.

However one problem arose a few months ago with the untimely death of writer and frequently-featured poker opponent Stephen J. Cannell. Cannell, creator of TV series such as The Rockford Files, The Greatest American Hero, The Commish and The A-Team also wrote quite a few novels including the critically acclaimed Shane Scully series, making him a perfect part of the poker games and the series - he even endorsed the fictional writer's bestseller - but his passing left a gap.  The production company wanted to wait an appropriate amount of time before replacing Cannell.

"We do plan to have another poker game after an appropriate amount of time has passed. We are aiming toward the end of season. No word yet on who else will be joining us. Would love to hear the fans' suggestions," said Castle creator Andrew Marlowe to TV Guide. He did reveal two people he'd love to see facing off against Castle, though.

"I'd love to see Stephen King in one; I'd love to see Sue Grafton in one. The last time we approached [King's] reps, there wasn't that level of interest, so [there were] complications with scheduling. What people don't realize is that these guys are really busy and that selling books these days is a full-time job, and they're often on a book tour."

Once you start watching Castle, you begin to appreciate how easily they added poker to the program in a way that only adds to the stories being told. I for one eagerly await the return of the game to the show's scripts, even if this means we run the risk of seeing Stephenie Meyer doing to poker what she's done to vampires.

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