Castle: The Complete Second Season
DVD Reviews | Sep 18th, 2010
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Molly Quinn, Jon Huertas, Tamala Jones, Seamus Dever
Directed By: Bill Roe, Bryan Spicer, David Barrett, Dwight H. Little, Helen Shaver
Created By: Andrew W. Marlowe
Studio: Disney/ Buena Vista
Buy On Amazon.com
I knew Castle would be a show I loved. It was just a matter of finding the time to sit down and watching the series. The second season offers more of the same from Season 1, it’s just a far better season! Fans of Monk, House, and even Las Vegas will really like Castle on ABC (if you’re not watching already)!
The show is about Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), a famous mystery novelist/playboy who ends up being called into the NYPD to consult on a case. Seeing that Castle and detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) work well together, the Captain decides to hire Castle as a full-time consult and work with Beckett and the other detectives. While consulting, Castle gets inspiration for a new book which is centered around a character similar to Beckett. At the end of the first season, Castle tells Beckett he looked into the murder of her Mother, which resulted in her not wanting to work with him anymore.
Cut to Season 2, she’s still bent out of shape about the latest news about her Mother’s murder but has no choice but to work with Castle one more time. Of course, things work out in the first episode that Beckett realizes that Castle is a great asset for the detectives and keeps him around. The entire second season is great and has different story lines. The second episode is about Castle making a bet with detectives Ryan and Esposito on who solve their cases first. It’s one of my favorite episodes of the second season and show. Other investigations on the show include: the murder of a con man posing as an Arctic explorer, a vampire kid gets a stake through the heart, a popular singer is found dead in a similar position she was in the band’s video, a guy is found dead in the garbage chute and ends up having a wife and fiancee at the same time, and a lovely two part episode where a serial killer is obsessed with Nikki Heat from Castle’s books. This season offers a lot of exciting episodes that most people will enjoy. The ongoing plot of the season is how much Castle and Beckett have feelings for each other, but things just keep getting in the way of them hooking up.
I’ve gone from not seeing an episode of Castle to seeing both seasons in under 2 weeks. I just can’t get enough of the show. It’s one of those shows that offers something new each episode, but keeping with the show’s standards. The standards being a death, cops investigate, Castle makes jokes, Beckett scoffs at them, Ryan and Esposito tease Castle or Beckett, team finds suspect, suspect is a douche, person isn’t the right suspect, Castle discovers something while talking to his daughter, they catch right person and they solve the case. Okay, so most of the episodes are like that, but obviously it’s more entertaining than what I just wrote out.
I like how the show mixes comedy and drama. It’s a nice balance between the two. This season, I liked we got to see Beckett come out of her shell. The first season she was just kind of stern and didn’t really have much of a personality. Stana Katic is the reason why Beckett seems more likable this season. Just little facial expressions and her chemistry with Nathan Fillion sets this season apart from the first. I like how Ryan and Esposito were more involved with some of the cases. But I think the reason why I like the show so much is Nathan Fillion. Been a fan of his since Firefly and the TV series really brings out the best in Nathan. The way he acts on the show, I have a feeling he’s like that in real life to an extent. Just watch behind the scenes stuff and you see how much of a goof he is. It’s nice to finally see a show he’s on isn’t going to be canceled after a few episodes (ie. Firelfy, Drive). I also loved the Firefly reference for the Vampire Weekend episode. Castle dresses up as a space cowboy and his daughter teases him that he wore that 5 years ago and to let it go. Was still nice to see Nathan dressed as Captain Reynolds.
I think the best episode(s) of the season was the two part episode with the crazy serial killer. I think the show needs to throw in some serial killers and extend the plot over a few episodes. It helps to mix it up and I think next season they should have a year long investigation where they can’t seem to solve. But I think the approach with the show is to have one-off episodes so new fans can check it out without feeling totally lost. I don’t think they should change up the show too much but would be nice to switch gears sometimes.
The special features were pretty good and worth watching if you really love the show. There’s a funny on set featurette with Seamus and Jon, who play Detectives Ryan and Esposito. There’s a on location featurette with Nathan, where he interviews behind the scenes type of people like prop and sound guys. He’s done this sort of thing with other series he’s been on and you can just see how likable Fillion is. The guy’s a schmoozer that’s for sure. Other features include a short blooper reel, featurette on the murders of the season, music videos and some deleted scenes. There’s a nice batch of stuff here, especially for a TV show DVD.
If you like comedy, drama, mystery and who done it type of shows, Castle is your show! All you have to do is see one episode and you’ll figure out if you’re going to like this or not. I have a feeling you’ll like it though. The new season of Castle starts this Monday at 10pm on ABC. Just make sure to watch the first two seasons or at least read some episode guides before jumping into the show.
Features:
On the Set with Seamus & Jon – Go behind the scenes with Cast’s resident comedians, Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas, as they reveal secrets of the set.
On Location with Nathan – Nathan Fillion introduces us to some of his favorite crew members and demonstrates some interesting tricks of the trade
Manhattan’s Most Unusual Murders – Discover how the production team stages murders using research, props, and special effects with inside stories from the producers, actors, and set designers.
Deleted Scenes
Misdemeanors: Bloopers & Outtakes
And Much More
Video:
Widescreen
Subtitles:
English, French, Spanish
Bottom Line: Excellent series, good cast, funny dialogue and just an awesome season!
Running Time: 1018 mins
Rating: NR
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
