Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34894 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen, Box set
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 990 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In its fourth season, Buffy the Vampire Slayer had to change its formula radically. Two major characters--the vampire-with-a-soul Angel and Cordelia, the queen bitch of Sunnydale High--had gone off to be in their own show, Angel, and soon after the start of the season Willow's werewolf boyfriend Oz left when Seth Green needed to concentrate on his film career. Buffy and Willow started college, where they met new characters like Riley, the All-American Boy with a double life, and Tara, the sweet stuttering witch; but Xander and Giles found themselves at something of a loose end. Several characters were subjected to the radical re-envisioning possible in a show that deals with the supernatural: the blond vampire Spike came back and soon found himself with an inhibitor chip in his head, forced into reluctant alliance with Buffy; the former vengeance demon Anya became passionately smitten with Xander.

Not all fans were happy with the central story arc about the sinister Dr Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) and her Frankensteinian creation Adam, though Crouse's performance was memorable. The strength of Season Four was perhaps most in impressive stand-alone episodes like the silent "Hush", the multiple dream sequence "Restless" and the passionate, moving "New Moon Rising", in which Oz returns, apparently cured, only to find that Willow is no longer waiting for him. This was one of the high points of the show as a vehicle for intense acting, perhaps only equalled by "Who Are You?", in which the evil slayer Faith takes over Buffy's body and Sarah Michelle Gellar gets to play bad girl for once. --Roz Kaveney

On the DVD: Buffy Season 4 was a hit and so is this sublime box set. The commentaries for "The Initiative", "This Year'sGirl", "Superstar" and "Primaveral" are all well above average, but are nothing compared to "Hush" and "Restless" where Joss Whedon gives out all the information and insights any fan would dream of. The four featurettes included are a pleasure to watch, especially the evolution of the sets for the show. The scripts, trailers and cast biographies complete the set and make for a decent addition to your Buffy archive. The soundtrack is in 2.0 Dolby surround, but the image is as grainy and dark as the previous seasons on DVD. --Celine Martig

Special Features

• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen 16:9 anamorphic version
  Language: English Dolby 2.0 Surround
  
• Subtitles: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, English for the hearing impaired
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Total Running Time: 990 minutes approx.

Synopsis
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the Scoobies continue their battle against the ever-present evil in Sunnydale. The fourth season features budding romance between Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and the ex-demon Anya (Emma Caulfield), as well as Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and the new witch on the block, Tara (Amber Benson). Oz (Seth Green) departs, Buffy falls for military guy Riley (Marc Blucas), and sometimes-villain Spike (James Marsters) begins to aid the gang. The collection includes all 22 episodes, plus bonus features.

Customer Reviews

The Best Season of Buffy!
Many fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer have condemned season four as the weakest in terms of central story-arc and overall style, but I have to disagree, finding this the best season of Buffy ever (having watched the disappointing season seven).
Okay, so the departure of Angel and Cordelia at the end of season three left a void in the show, but Angel was disposable, lets admit it, and Anya and Spike provided more than enough comic relief in Cordelia's place.
The destruction of the High School also posed a problem, but in a show that is forever changing, progress is good, and I rather like the university and Giles' house as hubs for the scoobies activities.

There is everything to like about season four, and not really much to hate, as it contains some of the best stand-alone episodes produced, excellent character development, and the return of the hilarious Spike, Harmony (who is now a pathetic excuse for a vampire!), Anya, Jonathan, Ethan Rayne and even Angel and psycho rogue slayer Faith (who awakens from her coma and wants revenge in "This Years Girl and "Who are You?"). We are also introduced to new characters Tara, who is extremely likeable, and Buffy's new love interest Riley Finn, who may be considered annoying, but is a strong addition to the cast, and definately necessary for the story-arc, considering he is an agent for the Initiative. All characters are at their best, with Willow and Spike in particular shining in their roles. Spike is most definately at his funniest, as there is none of season five's "I'm in love with Buffy" nonsense. Instead, he remains a fickle enemy of the "scooby gang", who he must form an exciting and hilarious bond with after the chip that prevents him from hurting humans is implanted in his brain. James Marsters as Spike is a joy to watch throughout, particularly in "The Initiative", "Something Blue", "Hush", "The 'I' in Team" and "The Yoko Factor", where his character traits are fully exploited. It is priceless to watch him chained in Giles' bathtub, complain about staying in Xander's basement and "watch him and Anya s*@g", and request weetabix to give his warm pig's blood texture.
Perhaps the most surprising character development is with Willow, who is an improving witch, breaks up with Oz in the excellent "Wild at Heart", before causing mayhem in her depressed state in "Something Blue" (when Buffy and Spike decide to get married!), and later realises she is a lesbian when she falls in love with the wonderful Tara.
The drifting apart of the scoobies is not disappointing, but rather a vital and necessary part of the shows character development, and this only betters their reunion in the penultimate epiosde "Primeval".

The story-arc is completely different from anything Buffy fans are used to, bringing in elements of science fiction and government conspiracy (a step-up from the conspiracy in seasons two and three). Though admittedly not the strongest story-arc, it kept me interested, and we do see the introduction of the wonderful Professor Walsh (Lindsey Crouse), who must be one of the most notorious Buffy villians ever. She is put to excellent use in the under-appreciated, though brilliant "The 'I' in Team", when she tries to have Buffy killed, and her Frankenstien project "Adam" is completed, before he stabs the evil prof ("mother") with his 'skewer'. Adam himself is not a bad creation, but it is refreshing to see that he is not given too much screen time. Season four is instead fleshed out with brilliant stand-alone episodes, and some very funny, very scary storylines.

The best episodes in this season are (in viewing order);
"Living Conditions", "Wild at Heart", "Something Blue", "Hush" (scariset episode!), "The 'I' in Team", "Who are You?", "Primeval" and "Restless" - (extremely original and very clever), although every episode in the boxset is a classic, and each are very good indeed. "Hush" deserves special mention because it is almost entirely silent, and instead relies on spooky background music, even spookier "monsters of the week" (the Gentlemen), and wonderful storytelling and acting. The best bits of this episode are when Anya asks if Olivia is Giles' s*@g buddy; when the scoobies wake up (and Xander blames Spike, who in reply gives him an amusing hand gesture); when Giles gives the gang the slide show (and Buffy mimes how to kill them, whilst Anya is eating popcorn); when Xander thinks Spike is feeding on Anya; and when Buffy and Riley come face to face in the clock tower...

Overall this season deserves and rightfully achieves 10/10, and I am not easily pleased! So what are you waiting for, go buy it!

Go Fourth And Buy This - Buffy At Its Most Innovative!
Buffy Season Four got many bad reviews. There were moans about some of the core cast leaving, the fact that the gang were no longer in high school, that Buffy's new boyfriend was dull, and that the main villain of the season was poor. The only one of these niggles I agree with is the latter one - Adam wasn't the best villain and the arc of the season, concentrating on the Initiative, was not the strongest either. However, open your eyes and look further and you'll find that this season is one of the best Buffy seasons ever when it comes to consistency. It changes the formula drastically but with success, unlike Season Six - while the new setting and new characters are disorienting, the change is for the good. If the characters had remained the same, then the series would have gone rapidly stale. Instead of this, though, we get a number of classic episodes - Pangs, Something Blue, This Years Girl, Who Are You?, Superstar, New Moon Rising, Primeval and Restless being just a few. Oh, and could this review not include a mention of Hush? Of course not! Release it in a cinema and it would scare the pants off any non-fan who went to see it. Joss Whedon and his team have done themselves proud - in terms of acting, direction, writing, production and pure quality, this season lags just a little behind Seasons Three and Five. However, I find it way more appetising than the totally overrated Season Two. Anyway, that's my rant over and done with. Now, what about the pesky discs?

This DVD set is remarkable. The episodes themselves are pure class but the extras make them even more enjoyable. We've never had six commentaries before but if the standard of the ones on this set keep up, we should have one for every episode! Doug Petrie's enthusiasm for the show seeps over during both of his talks, whilst Jane Espenson is a delight during her commentary for one of her fave episodes Superstar. David Fury and James A. Contner are interesting but don't compare to Joss Whedon's double dutch of Hush and Restless. He speaks rapid-fire and lets us in on anecdotes, hidden meanings, and influences. He should be knighted! Meanwhile, we have five featurettes - these are not that fulfilling but offer up some interesting info such as interviews with Chris Beck (the man behind the musical scores) and an updated look at sets. After this, we get the usual scripts, biographies, trailers, and stills. However, this time around, the scripts (well, three out of the four) are actually interesting to read - because the three Joss Whedon scripts all have their own gimmick and 'special' twist, it's fun to read Whedon's stage directions and to get a sense of how he wrote a silent episode, for instance. The interactive menus are gorgeous, and the same thing can be said for the exquisite packaging.

So, you've probably seen the episodes before. See them again! While the quality of the season is bought down a little due to the overall arc, ninety per cent of this season is top and the extra features just compliment it even more. Watch as Faith emerges from her coma, see the Scooby Gang fall apart and then get back together even stronger than before, witness their dreams, their loves, their failures, and watch as their town is plunged into silence as part of The Gentlemen's sinister plan. And, after doing all this, hear the cast and crew chat about their roles, watch a live performance of the Buffy theme music, get a free tour of Sunnydale, read up on the cast's extracurricular activities, and listen to the rip-roaring commentaries. This is brilliance, through and through. So get it NOW! What are you waiting for? The end of the world? Again?!

The season that gave us Hush and Restless
There was a lot of criticism about season 4, mostly from fans who didn't like the change in the Buffy formula and Angel and Cordelia's departure. Buffy couldn't be a schoolgirl for ever and season 4 introduces us to the challenges of becoming a young adult, living in a dorm, falling in and out of love, exploring sexuality, facing an insecure future.
This is a difficult year for Xander, desperate to escape his parents basement and trying to keep up with his college-going friends and Giles, who loses his job.
We are introduced to the lovely witch Tara, whom Willow falls in love with. When Willow's ex Oz comes back in 'New Moon Rising' he discovers she's not waiting for him and this brings pain to all concerned.
Xander's girlfriend, ex-demon Anya, brings fun to the show with her ignorance of society's rules and her rude behaviour.
Bad guy Ethan Rayne is back in 'A New Man' and rogue slayer Faith in the excellent 'This Year's Girl' and 'Who Are You'.
There is an episode centred on Jonathan (the student who tried to kill himself in season 3), the very enjoyable 'Superstar'.
Buffy's new love interest is Riley, a soldier in the Initiative, a secret government organisation hunting and experimenting on demons.
I didn't particularly like the Initiative/Adam storyline but looking back, this was probably the best Buffy season ever with strong episodes as well as good storylines in the background.
Spike is back with a twist as a conflicted, 'neutered' vampire with a chip stopping him from hurting humans. This season sees him trying to find his new place in the world. Spike's situation brings humour to this season when he teams up with Harmony and while he lives with Giles and then Xander.
This introduces a new aspect of Giles character, for the first time we see his paternal feelings towards Spike.
'Hush' has the scariest villains in the form of the gentlemen and an excellent storyline never done before in a TV series.
'Restless' is outstanding, a must-see for any Buffy fan including Joss Whedon's commentary.
Buffy's writers have always enjoyed teasing the fans with clues as to what will happen next and Season 4 is particularly strong on this. There is foreshadowing of major storylines in both season 5 and season 6. All Buffy fans need this DVD set!