Looks like based on the changes they are already making to the characters background and story they are already leaning towards the number one option here.  Castle is not a cop, he’s an ex-soldier who’s family is slaughtered by mob crossfire in the park.  He then puts on the black Kevlar and white skull and sets out to finish the war they drug him into.  Any alteration to that is a huge mistake on their part.

There is enough cop crime drama’s and murder mystery of the week shows out there to sink a battle cruiser.  A story about a hero soldier who takes up arms against crime syndicates and injustice in the big city, someone who works outside the law, outside the lines society draws for us.  A guy who wages his war in the grey area between the black and white system of cops, courts, and crime lords… that’s a show I’d like to watch.

One other thing,  they need to get it away from Fox and Disney, it needs to be on FX after 10PM and it needs to make the shield look like Mr Rogers new neighborhood.  Or a premium cable network like HBO or Showtime.  Keep it away from Stars though, they had one good show that hit the mark called Spartacus: Blood and Sand and then had the terrible luck of the lead actor dying.  All their other shows have pretty much failed or suck and should.