THE PLOT THUS FAR
After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard “Rick” Castle gets permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
Castle and Beckett want to turn show into “Moonlighting” in the worst way. The setup of Beckett’s character as a bitter, lonely, unhappy and sexually unfulfilled workaholic might work better if it weren’t such a overused stereotype, especially in the police world. In a high stress job like hers, I imagine it’s worth minimizing energy loss to get through the day, yet she gets surprised, ruffled and upset by Castle’s every little trick, like knowing the mayor and the judges. Castle gets to be the unfulfilled but happy dude he gets whatever he wants. There’s some screwed up gender dynamics at play here.
The fourth season is more of the same, but it’s fun. I can’t say that much has changed other than Beckett remembering getting shot. The show is very light on forceful plot development, as we follow a very standard crime show formula. I know that this is entertaining for older people, but we’re living in a post Lost/BSG/HBO world. I need to have contained stories that allow characters to develop on a proper stage. Not this same old shit that Chuck Connors and James Garner were working back in the 1970s.
The DVD comes with commentaries, featurettes, podcast material, deleted scenes and outtakes. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp, but it pales in comparison to the ABC HD broadcast. Why is ABC so scared of putting their really well-rated shows out on Blu-Ray? There is a market for it. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to fans.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
