Castle - The Complete Eighth Season

Castle limps to the finish line in its final season which separates the show's couple by installing Beckett (Stana Katic) behind a desk and pushing Castle (Nathan Fillion) into the field as a private detective, often with the assistance of Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) and/or new recurring character Hayley Shipton (Toks Olagundoye).

Limiting Castle and Beckett's time on-screen in several episodes removes much of the show's trademark chemistry leading to a very up-and-down final season. The season is also saddled with another grand season-long conspiracy that is not fully resoloved. That said, Castle and Alexis' father-daughter bonding proves entertaining and there is some fun to be had when Caskett is allowed to solve a few cases together.

Highlights include a beheaded tomb raider, the introduction of Angélica Celaya as Esposito's (Jon Huertas) ex-wife, Beckett returning to the police academy, the murder of a El Salvador police officer, Castle working against guest-star Summer Glau a spot in a prestigious underground community, and the bizarre Saw-like kidnapping episode.

Available on DVD, extras include deleted scenes, bloopers, featurettes on the locked-room mystery episode and Castle, P.I., and audio commentary for select episodes.

[Walt Disney Studios, $45.99]