"Castle" season 4 begins tonight

[Neroon]

"Rise"

This has been a long wait, not so much because of the way S3 ended but simply because I have enjoyed this show immensely for most of its run so far. To be honest, I don't expect the plots to become any deeper. However, it will be interesting to see who they integrate this new captain into the overall run. From the write up in the link above, I get the impression she's a no-nonsense uncompromising figure. That alone spells trouble for Castle's continuing presence in the precinct.

 

[TheSeeker]

I haven't seen any promos for the new season and I haven't read up on it so it should be a nice surprise for me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to watch it though SINCE 10:00 is past my bedtime these days. *sigh*

Looking forward to it!

 

[Admiral_Young]

I just re-discovered "Castle" during the summer and have fallen in love with the show so I will be around this season. It's been a very short summer for me in that regards. Basically have been catching up on the summer re-runs and watched the season three finale a couple weeks ago. This series is amazing and I'm very much looking forward to this coming season.

 

[Random_Spock]

I'm looking forward to watching the new episode tonight. So, so nervous... hope things turn out well for Beckett and Castle and her.

 

[JiNX-01]

I'm so happy Castle is back!

Kate 'n Castle



And GIBBS tomorrow!

 

[Locutus of Bored]

That was the best season finale of the previous television season by far, and I can't wait to see how they follow it up tonight.

We're all still on board with the big bad being Mayor McCheese, right? I've always had a sneaking suspicion that guy was no Gouda (that pun's in honor of you, Neroon).



Penny Johnson Jerald is a great addition to the cast, though I hope the usual breaking up of the Castle/Beckett team doesn't last too long with her disliking Castle's presence in the squad. If Castle uses the Mayor's influence to get him back on the inside, and the Mayor plays a larger role this season, then they'll definitely be setting him up for an eventual takedown by Castle and Beckett.

 

[Kirby]

I re-watched the finale on Saturday night and it still gave me a "Holy Fuck!" feeling. This is my most anticipated season cliffhanger since TNG's Best of Both Worlds. I'll miss Captain Montgomery, but looking forward to seeing Penny Johnson Gerald.

 

[Neroon]

Oh this is going to be a fun season! Glad we got the "new captain opposed to Castle being there" out of the way quickly, though not at the cost of potential future friction between them.

The ending was interesting, with Castle's humorous interplay with Alexis... then his retreating to his den to continue investigation of Beckett's case.

Nice to see Beckett has what everyone needs - a Klingon psychiatrist!

 

[Sheep]

The writers certainly have things going to a darker place for the characters...I like!

As long as they can balance it with the crimes of the week (which I assume aren't going away judging from next week's trailer), I'm all for this move.

Just one question: Wasn't Alexis supposed to be going away to college? I can't remember what decision she came to last year.

 

[Christopher]

I felt this restored things to status quo a bit too handily, but I guess it's the nature of this show to be episodic and driven by the case of the week. And at least they came up with a somewhat credible contrivance for putting off the romance a while longer.

I am very glad to see Beckett voluntarily seeking out psychiatric help, instead of just falling into the cliched, foolish pattern of treating mental health care as some kind of stigma. When she was denying that anything was wrong earlier in the episode, I wanted to say to her that you make yourself weaker, not stronger, by refusing to admit and confront your problems. So I'm glad she figured that out on her own.

The research seemed to be pretty good. The medical dialogue in the opening had a believable quality to it, and they seemed to understand that a defibrillator is meant to stop a heart that's beating irregularly (i.e. fibrillating) and let it resume normal function on its own, rather than the usual TV/movie mistake of using it to restart a stopped heart. And it was nice to see the new captain point out the conflict of interest in a detective investigating her own assault.

 

[Admiral_Young]

That was an awesome episode. Captain Gates is a fun if stern character, and Michael Dorn! We do seem to be going in a darker direction this year.

 

[TimmyWl]

I saw the Michael Dorn in the credits. Man that was a great show!

Nooooo Castle! You are supposed to go with Beckett! Nooooooo!

 

[intrinsical]

Neroon you're right, everyone needs a Klingon psychiatrist. I can just imagine him telling Beckett, "You will find the petaQ who killed your mother and Captain Montgomery, and you face them in combat like a true Klingon warrior and you kill them with your Bat'leth!"

 

[Neroon]

I felt this restored things to status quo a bit too handily, but I guess it's the nature of this show to be episodic and driven by the case of the week. And at least they came up with a somewhat credible contrivance for putting off the romance a while longer.

That's pretty much the was I saw it. The show's popularity was built upon the brilliant interaction between the characters, bolstered by an excellent cast chemistry. While I like it when shows try different things, I also don't know that it'd help this show to deviate from what works best. Given that, I think they handled it all about right.

 

[Christopher]

Neroon you're right, everyone needs a Klingon psychiatrist. I can just imagine him telling Beckett, "You will find the petaQ who killed your mother and Captain Montgomery, and you face them in combat like a true Klingon warrior and you kill them with your Bat'leth!"

I am so glad that's clearly not the direction they're going; Dorn is evidently playing a much gentler, more thoughtful character here, and it's great to see him doing something so different instead of just rehashing something he stopped doing years ago. Heck, even Worf had grown beyond that tedious Klingon stereotype by the time the DS9 writers were done with him.

Michael Dorn has a rich and versatile career beyond Star Trek. Most of it has been in animation voice work, though, so it hasn't been as high-profile (except among animation buffs like me). I'm glad to see him in a live-action role that lets him rise above lazy typecasting.

 

[Sheep]

Michael Dorn has a rich and versatile career beyond Star Trek. Most of it has been in animation voice work, though, so it hasn't been as high-profile (except among animation buffs like me). I'm glad to see him in a live-action role that lets him rise above lazy typecasting.

As long as he's not later revealed to be sinister and part of the conspiracy...

 

[FPAlpha]

I felt this restored things to status quo a bit too handily, but I guess it's the nature of this show to be episodic and driven by the case of the week. And at least they came up with a somewhat credible contrivance for putting off the romance a while longer.

I'd not call it status quo.. it definitely has changed. Castle has admitted his love to himself and to her (although it took a maor event to do that) and she knows yet can't admit it openly right now.

The dynamic has definitely changed and kudos to the writers for not taking the easy way of either falling into each others arms the first scene they meet or have her really not remember anything thus slamming down on the reset button.

It is one of the best examples of a little continuation of the will they/won't they game so many shows like to do and in this case it seemed natural and believable.

The show certainly took a darker tone.. a not so likeable new chief, Beckett in serious trouble and Castle on the brink.. i like it but i hope it won't be this dark forever.. i like Castle especially for its humor and Castle's antics and this has to return (and i bet it will.. season premiere was just too soon).

And when i heard that she dumped Dr. Motorcycle-Boy i first clapped and then absolutely knew that she heard him.. my inner shipper is content with the development

And Castle's back! (it was a long summer)

 

[Forbin]

Wait - THAT WAS MICHAEL DORN?!?

Damn, I must have been half asleep or something!

Anyhoo - I couldn't help but notice how Becket's low neckline DIDN'T reveal a huge honking scar from having her chest cracked open. That's gonna bug me all season.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Yeah she should have had a visible scar even two or three months removed from the surgery. Perhaps she does and was one of the reasons she was wearing that grey turtle neck...although I think I've seen Stana wear that on the series before. I agree as well that the dynamic is different between them, especially with the reveal that Kate remembers everything and was lying that she didn't. I love this show. I don't know why I didn't stick with it from the start or ignored it for so long!

 

[Christopher]

I felt this restored things to status quo a bit too handily, but I guess it's the nature of this show to be episodic and driven by the case of the week. And at least they came up with a somewhat credible contrivance for putting off the romance a while longer.

I'd not call it status quo.. it definitely has changed. Castle has admitted his love to himself and to her (although it took a maor event to do that) and she knows yet can't admit it openly right now.

I was talking mainly about how fast and easy it was to solve the problem of the new captain expelling Castle from the precinct. And while there have been some subtle changes, Beckett's (feigned) amnesia provided a convenient excuse to walk the characters back from Castle's admission to Beckett and put off dealing with its consequences.

Wait - THAT WAS MICHAEL DORN?!?

Damn, I must have been half asleep or something!

With that voice, how could it be anyone else? I didn't recognize his face at all -- he seems to have lost a lot of weight -- but there's no mistaking that polished basso of his.