Castle: The Complete Second Season

This ABC series starring Nathan Fillion as bestselling mystery writer Richard Castle, who tags along with tough and sexy New York police detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), settles into its formula very comfortably during this 2009-10 second season. Each episode still features high-concept cases with splashy victims, enigmatic clues, oodles of suspects, and tangled trails of evidence, but unlike the many dark, geek-speak procedurals on the airwaves, Castle thrives on the playful dialogue and romantic tension between the hopelessly flirtatious ladies man and the guarded investigator, who takes a liking to the wisecracking author (it may help that Castle has modeled his new fictional character on Beckett). Castle is also a doting father to whip-smart teenage daughter Alexis (Molly C. Quinn), bantering son to drama queen mother Martha (Susan Sullivan), and just-one-of-the-boys buddy to Kate's two assistants, Javier and Kevin (Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever). The colorfully improbable plots basically serve as backdrops for the verbal sparring, with creator Andrew W. Marlowe honing in on the Castle-Beckett chemistry even more in this 24-episode set. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)