“watched fans move from the invisible margins of popular culture into the center of current
thinking about media production and consumption” (12).
Castle’s writers introduced a new term in the episode “One Life to Lose” (3.18). Castle and
Beckett investigated the murder of a TV soap opera star. In reply to the proverbial detective’s
question, “Is there anyone who comes to mind that was angry at the victim?” A cast member
replied, “Sara had this crazy obsessed fan kicked off the show. She writes an unofficial blog
about the show. She is a shipper who goes by the name Fox Canelo Shipper.” Castle queried,
“shipper?” Beckett answered, “It’s a person who invests in the relationships of the show” (3.18).
Relationships
Marlowe referred to Castle and Beckett’s powerful chemistry as the “dance” (“Bonus
Features” 1.1). Sometimes it was a stately waltz, other times it was a fierce Paso Doble, and
occasionally a torrid Tango. The progress of their relationship formed the narrative line of the
show. Fillion believed viewers would not connect with “an immature rich childlike murder
mystery novelist.” He thought people “would relate to two people who are meant for each other,
but can’t get it together” (Images). Fans saw the couple’s relationship as paramount from the first
episode when the writers coined the term “Caskett” (“Murder He Wrote” 5.4).
Marlow faced two related challenges. How long should he keep the sexual tension between
Castle and Beckett going and, once they became an item, how would it affect ratings? One ABC
executive suggested Marlowe cool things off between the two because it looked like they were
going to jump into bed by the second episode. Katic didn’t think this was a problem. She
declared she would grab Castle and snog his face off if they did not get together soon (Castle-
Beckett). Jim Garner of TV Fanatic asked his readers what they thought. Their consensus was
that Castle’s writers should let the Castle-Beckett relationship develop naturally, advice the
writers followed (Garner Review).
The executive that expressed fear of precipitous intimacy referenced the “Moonlighting”
curse. He alleged that after Cybil Shepard (Maddie) and Bruce Willis (David), stars of the hit
comedy/drama TV series Moonlighting (1985-1989) acted upon their mutual attraction, fans
grew bored and restless. This led to a drop in ratings and the show’s cancellation. Reviewer Jim
Garner argued that the show’s demise was not due to a jinx, but to bad writing, production costs,
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