TV Review: CASTLE – Season 4 – “Once Upon a Crime”

By ANNE LOUISE BANNON / Contributing Writer

Posted: February 29th, 2012 / 05:35 PM

Stars: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Tamala Jones, Seamus Deaver, Jon Huertas, Penny Johnson Jerald
Writer: Kate Sargeant
Director: Jeff Bleckner
Network: ABC, Monday nights, 10 p.m.
Original Telecast: February 27, 2012

At first, “Once Upon a Crime” feels like CASTLE has bought into Disney’s infamous synergy (not unlike some of the references that pop up with appalling regularity on ONCE UPON A CRIME, also on the Disney-owned ABC). You’ve got a woman dressed as Little Red Riding Hood turning up dead in Central Park with what looks like gashes from a wold all over her. The Snow White shows up dead with the apple in hand. But in this case, Snow’s got long hair and is wearing a different dress, and the connections are much closer to the original Grimm’s Fairy Tale.

In the meantime, author Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) finds his study being taken over by his mother Martha (Susan Sullivan), who is doing a one-woman “autobiographical” show, which Castle claims is mostly fiction. Det. Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) is less than sympathetic. Being the muse for Castle’s character Nikki Heat, she knows what it’s like to be fictionalized.

But back to who’s killing women and dressing them up in fairy tale costumes. Oh, do we have to? As has often been noted, the crime element of this show is usually the weakest and since the vast majority of the story is wrapped up in identifying the women, then finding the connection between them, most of which play out with Beckett telling Detectives Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Deaver) to go check something out, then talking to Castle, then Esposito and Ryan butting in with a convenient discovery that magically applies to just what Castle and Beckett were speculating on. This happens, like, three or four times in a row, which is the usual pattern for the show, but not this many times. Usually, you get at least three more suspects in the questioning room scenes.

In the meantime, Martha’s project has completely taken over Castle’s apartment to the point that she throws a big party in the apartment for the first reading, including inviting Beckett. Think Mom’s trying to move things along on that front? And it’s probably a good thing she does because Castle really needs the support. He’s not coming off too good in Martha’s show.

Overall, it’s a very weak episode of CASTLE. The puzzle is a little too ridiculous and the crimes really push the limit on believebility. Well, they often do on Castle, but this episode not only stretches it further than normal, the fact that the script is weaker than normal points up the weaknesses – namely, it’s really, really tough to dress an unconscious and/or dead person. Oh well, they can’t all be winners.

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