User Reviews

Those of us longing for a new Castle or revisiting some of the USA Network kind of shows from 5-10 years ago saw this as a possible solution.

It was kind of entertaining. Some of the dialogue goes even beyond cheesy and corny, and few of the jokes landed, but there may be something there.

If you want good summer fun this show might be that, but I don't know if it will become more.

When I heard that the creative team that produced Castle (Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller) had developed a new show I had high expectations. Moreover, the pilot was written by veteran Castle producer and screenwriter David Amann and directed by John Terlesky another Castle reliable. It should have been outstanding. Unfortunately, it was just ... average. I was really let down. I observed a number of elements that Castle and Take Two have in common, beginning with someone from the entertainment industry shadowing a detective for creative inspiration. Next, the Take Two pilot begins with a clip of a supposed series "Hot Suspect," in which Sam, the actress/detective, uses a special kicking gimmick to take down the villain. The first episode of Castle also featured a gimmick for him to disarm the villain.

The scene transitions to a rehab center where we find the actress recovering from drug abuse. Enter her friend with hope of a new gig, but it will require working with an actual private detective, Eddie. We are supposed to believe that Sam, who had a successful detective TV series and fallen from grace because of drugs could be believable shadowing Eddie. Instead Sam constantly acts like she knows more than Eddie, a former LAPD detective, and refuses to follow his instructions. Sam treats the case Eddie is on as some kind of lark. Right off the bat I don't like her. Her whole manner is off-putting. Toward the end the pair defeat a bad guy with the kicking gimmick copied from her TV show that began the episode.

Then the show ends with her getting the credit for reinvigorating Eddie's business, which leads to her continuing the investigative relationship. Of course, Eddie is not without his faults. He and his office assistant (apparently a hacker) break the law to accomplish their investigative goals. The portrayal of the medical examiner was also pathetic and not even up to Castle standards. Actually, Marlowe and Miller should watch NCIS for how an ME should be portrayed. I also did not like the presumption of a couple of characters that the LAPD is corrupt, which may reflect the negative attitude that liberals have toward law enforcement.

Take Two will have to improve significantly to be anywhere as good as Castle. Maybe they could take some lessons from the Canadian series "Private Eyes," which is an outstanding series in my view. What Castle and Private Eyes have in common is that the characters are likable. The lead characters of Take Two don't come near that standard.