Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season
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Details
- FormatClosed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
- ContributorAdam Kaufman, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Clayton J. Barber, Dagney Kerr, David Grossman, David Solomon, David Tuchman, James A. Contner, Joss Whedon, Michael Gershman, Michael Lange, Nicholas Brendon, Nick Marck, Paige Moss, Roger W. Morrissey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Tucker Gates, Walter BorchertSee moreContributor
Adam Kaufman, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Clayton J. Barber, Dagney Kerr, David Grossman, David Solomon, David Tuchman, James A. Contner, Joss Whedon, Michael Gershman, Michael Lange, Nicholas Brendon, Nick Marck, Paige Moss, Roger W. Morrissey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Tucker Gates, Walter Borchert
- LanguageEnglish, Spanish
- Number Of Discs6
- Runtime16 hours and 30 minutes
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Having battled a hellish vampire master, an evil boyfriend, a rogue slayer, a giant man-eating demon-snake thing, and a particularly nasty high school principal, Buffy Summers embarked on one of her biggest challenges in the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: college. With boyfriend Angel out of the picture (and on his own show) and Sunnydale High destroyed, new horizons were to be tackled for Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang. There were cute guys (Buffy's new boyfriend Riley), cute girls (Willow's new girlfriend Tara--yes, Willow's gay!), frat parties, irritating roommates, harsh professors, and, oh yes, a secret military initiative that was experimenting on the demon population (Riley's part of it).
Buffy truly hit its golden years in the fourth season--just when you thought this show couldn't get any better, Joss Whedon and his creative team pulled out all the stops and took Buffy and co. into rich new territory. By far, the highlight of the season (and the entire series) was the Emmy-nominated "Hush," a nearly dialogue-free episode in which the creepy "Gentlemen" rob Sunnydale of its collective voice, and Buffy and Riley finally come face to face with each other's hidden identities. While Frankenstein-esque monster Adam wasn't the show's best villain (you'll have to wait until next season's Glory for that), he was a worthy adversary for the biotech age, and the military milieu was a nice contrast to Buffy's previous gothic outings. Season 4 also marked the return of blond vampire Spike (who developed a crush on Buffy), the ascension of vengeance demon Anya to full-time cast status, and the brief return of bad slayer Faith (in a fab two-part body-switching episode). Throughout, the entire cast, headed by the unparalleled Sarah Michelle Gellar, worked television magic of the kind rarely seen on the small screen. This is Buffy at its best. --Mark Englehart
Product Description
Buffy begins college feeling completely overwhelmed. But once the monsters show up, its just like old times. Then she strats dating Riley, a handsome commando battling the same monsters. Hes part of a secret organization called The Initiative and Buffy is all too happy to join the team. But she soon suspects The Initiative may be more dangerous than the monsters they are supposed to be battling . . .
Product information
| Format | Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC |
| Contributor | Adam Kaufman, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Clayton J. Barber, Dagney Kerr, David Grossman, David Solomon, David Tuchman, James A. Contner, Joss Whedon, Michael Gershman, Michael Lange, Nicholas Brendon, Nick Marck, Paige Moss, Roger W. Morrissey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Tucker Gates, Walter Borchert |
| Language | English, Spanish |
| Number Of Discs | 6 |
| Runtime | 16 hours and 30 minutes |
| Publication Date | June 10, 2003 |
| UPC | 024543070023 |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00024543070023 |
| Manufacturer | WB Television Network, The |
| Language | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) |
| Actors | Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Nicholas Brendon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green |
| Dubbed: | French |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 |
| Studio | WB Television Network, The |
| Release date | June 10, 2003 |
| ASIN | B00008K2XP |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 883Reviews |
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- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
making with the grown-up talk
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2004It is a year that contains some of the show's best-ever episodes ("Hush," the two-part return of Faith, "Superstar" and the astonishing "Restless"), and its very worst (two words-- Beer. Bad.). Narratively, the overall arc is probably the show's weakest, but on a technical level, the show has arguably never looked or sounded better than it does here, as Buffy's secret weapons-- cinematographer extraordinaire Michael Gershman and composer Christophe Beck-- reach new levels of sophistication. Right off the bat, the show loses three of its most intriguing and popular characters (to spinoffs like ANGEL and movie deals), yet the ensemble acting grows tighter and tighter as the season progresses. College is not always a clean fit, for the characters or the show, but by the end of the season, the stage is set for a two-season arc that will prove to be the show's most difficult, complex and rewarding.
Season Four is the great, big, baggy season of the BuffyVerse, a sprawlingly ambitious and occasionally incoherent year that nevertheless maintains a surprisingly high level of quality throughout. As the comments above suggest, it is a paradoxical, transitional year, the bridge between the more popular, streamlined high school stories, and the knottier complexities of seasons five and six. It arrived at the crest of Buffy's popularity and media profile, and to a significant degree, it continues the witty perspective the show developed in season three, but its black DVD casing (and the eerie, Barbie-Doll-in-space expression of Sarah Michelle Gellar on the boxfront) also hints at a creeping darkness that will become more intense as the series progresses. Not everything in the season works, and some of the elements introduced this year (such as Tara) make more sense as they develop in future seasons, but give the producers credit: just as Buffy finds that she has to adjust to new surroundings, friends, and adventures, the show's creators recognized that, in order to tell stories in this new setting, their style had to change. In the words of a supporting character on the show's spin-off, ANGEL, "High school's over-- time to make with the grown-up talk."
That "talk" would consist of a darker look, full of grays and blues and velvety-rich shadows; a more expressive style of camerawork, with longer takes and flowing tracking shots; a more skillful and fluid integration of pop songs into the storylines; daring editing that, along with the darker storylines and the eerie sets of The Initiative, nudge the show towards the funkier tones of seasons five and six; and, of course, the words.
It's still WhedonSpeak (regardless of who's writing it), full of pop and zing, funny references, slapstick that shifts without warning into tragedy or romance (or both at once), and it's still as generous as ever towards all its characters, but it's stretched here, along with the characters whose adventures it delineates. It's a bit more melodramatic, occasionally more somber, and even more ambiguous than in previous years. We're not always sure of character motivations, or what certain bits of dialogue mean, we're not always cognizant of why certain plot twists occur, and certainly the finale asks as many questions as it answers. Like a freshman experimenting with lots of styles and viewpoints in her first year, BUFFY Four takes risks, some of which are disastrous (I repeat-- beer. bad. Really, *really* bad), but many of which pay incredibly rich dividends, here and down the road.
Every season of Buffy contains at least one plot twist, but Season Four throws them at its audience like fast-balls: between the final episode of Season Three and the tenth episode of Season Four, the show has made itself over to a significant degree-- still Buffy, but Buffy 2.0. Since I don't want to spoil any of this for the Season Four newbie, I will try to give a sense of these changes by zeroing in on the character most at sea this year (and, to my mind, the show's best character): Giles. Compared to the tweedy, somewhat imperious Giles of Season One, this one seems adrift, confused-- and very, very funny. Whether answering the door on Halloween in a too-large sombrero, carving into haunted frat houses with a chainsaw, playing "Hugh Hefner" (in Buffy's words) with his new girlfriend, or imbibing far more scotch than a watcher really should before battle, Giles (and his real-life alter ego, Anthony Stewart Head) is nothing less than a delight here. That the show would even keep a high school librarian as a character after graduation speaks to how different BUFFY was from the various teen clones that surrounded it on the WB. To put it simply, BUFFY was a show about teenage- and adulthood, not a "teen show." It could make the transition to a post-high school world in a way that 90210 or DAWSON's CREEK could not because the perspective and voice of its writers-- that of older folks looking back with sympathy and horror-- was far more ironic, generous and complex than those of other shows (it might have filmed on 90210's old high school sets, but it was not stuck on them). It didn't condescend to teens, and while it certianly loved them, didn't feel the need to cater to the prevelent cultural fantasy that life is never better than at 16. Giles fits in here (or rather, is stuck in the same kinds of confusion as the younger characters) because BUFFY chooses to treat all of its characters-- be they a confused young slayer, an unemployed, living-with-parents slacker, a confused werewolf, a sexually ambiguous witch, an ex-vengeance demon, a murderer in a coma, an empty-nesting mother, a grad student supersoldier, an ambitious scientist, an unemployed librarian, or a neutered vampire-- with a respect and well-roundedness that is rare on contemporary television. Grown-up talk, indeed.
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
In My Opinion, One of the Best Seasons
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2003Ok, I'll admit it: there are a few things I disliked about season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The main thing being: Riley. Could they have invented a more boring love interest for Buffy? Don't get me wrong, Riley was a very nice guy, I just didn't really care for him. Nor did I really care for that season's "Big Bad", Adam. He wasn't a very interesting villain, like the Master, or the Mayor, or especially the latest one, The First Evil.
HOWEVER - Buffy's 4th season had so much to offer. Beginning with the very welcome return of Spike, who became a series regular that season. But more than that, there were some really great, classic episodes. Here are the ones, in my opinion, I thought were the best:
"Something Blue" was a hilarious episode that foreshadowed two things: the future "relationship" between Buffy and Spike, and Willow's magic getting out of hand. In this episode, Willow's spell to help her get over the departure of boyfriend Oz goes terribly wrong and ends in chaos - with Buffy and Spike getting engaged, Giles going blind, and Xander being chased by demons. I think this may actually be the most humerous hour of Buffy ever produced.
"Hush" was a television first: almost an entire episode of no talking. When The Gentlemen come to town, everyone in Sunnydale loses their voice, so that when The Gentlemen rip their hearts out, no one will hear them scream. Despite the silence, or maybe because of the silence, this is one of Buffy's creepiest episodes ever.
"Restless" is actually one of my favorite episodes of Buffy. It almost needs multiple viewings to digest everything. Even to this day, when I'm watching reruns from other seasons, I see a new connection to this episode. After their final battle with Adam, the Scooby gang head over to Buffy's house for a movie night. But before the first movie even begins, they are all fast asleep in front of the TV. That's when the nightmares start. I won't get into any details about any of their dreams, but they range from comical to downright frightening. And the episode is a lot more complex than you think, because it reflects on things that have happened in the past, and it foreshadowed events that were to happen in the future (for instance, Tara's warning to Buffy to "be home before dawn" was actually a reference to the arrival of Buffy's "sister" Dawn in season 5).
I know, I only listed 3 episodes. This does not mean the rest were bad; those were just my favorites. I will say that I'm more excited for the release of this season out of all of them so far, mainly because the above 3 episodes are ones I'm likely to watch again and again. I can't say this is the best season of Buffy, because I don't think there really IS a best - they have all been excellent. However, I do think it is one of the finer seasons. A lot of people didn't like it as well (a lot of people agreed with me on the Riley issue, I think), but I think it was great. The performances were all-around stupendous, and the scripts were well written as usual, with the same hip wit and humor, and with many, many, many quotable lines. This has got to be on every Buffy's fans' wish lists. Even if you don't agree that it was a great season it's a must-have. It will definitely be spending A LOT of time in my DVD player. Now, my only wish is that they would put more special features on these discs. Not that the episodes alone aren't worth the money; it would just be nice if they added more interviews, and maybe some more commentary, especially from cast members. Either way, I'll take what I can get.
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Four
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2006Show: Buffy and friends go to college, and endure some major changes in life. This would have killed any other show. But not so with "Buffy!" Many fans regard Season Four as a let-down, but I fail to see it that way. Season Four is all about change, which I think is handled admirably. This must have been a tough season to write, but I think it came out beautifully. Joss Whedon couldn't have handled it any better. I do have to jump into the majority over the character Riley Finn (Marc Blucas). He was a somewhat boring character who was given a little too much screen time (And should not have been in the opening credits.) Along with the departures of Angel and Cordelia, we also see the heart-breaking departure of Oz. However, fear not Willow fans, for she soon meets Tara, one of the finest characters ever put on the show. The Willow and Tara relationship is my personal favorite relationship in the "Buffy" universe. We are also treated to the hilarious Xander and Anya relationship. The idea of The Initiative is pretty cool, as is the "Big Bad" named Adam. It is also quite fun when Spike gets "neutered!" The sight of the scoobies charging into The Initiative in "Primeval" sent chill down my spine. Then there is the Emmy-nominated "Hush" (and just why Joss Whedon never won is beyond me. Also, where are the Emmys for the cast?! Has the academy ever even seen the show?!) "Hush" is absolutely brilliant. Lets not forget "Restless." The entire rest of the series is spelled out in this essential episode. Its brilliant television that shows off the genius of this show. Here each episode will be rated. A star (*) means that episode is a must-see. (Ten Million/5)
1. The Freshman - (4.5/5)
2. Living Conditions - (4.5/5)
3. The Harsh Light of Day - (4.5/5)
4. Fear, Itself - (5/5)*
5. Beer, Bad - (3.5/5)
6. Wild at Heart - (5/5)*
7. The Initiative - (5/5)*
8. Pangs - (5/5)*
9. Something Blue - (6/5)*
10. Hush - (20/5)*
11. Doomed - (4.5/5)
12. A New Man - (5/5)*
13. The I in Team - (4.5/5)
14. Goodbye, Iowa - (5/5)*
15. This Year's Girl - (6/5)*
16. Who Are You - (10/5)*
17. Superstar - (5/5)*
18. Where the Wild Things Are - (3.5/5)
19. New Moon Rising - (6/5)*
20. The Yoko Factor - (6/5)*
21. Primeval - (10/5)*
22. Restless - (20/5)*
Overall: Again, "Buffy" is the best. Just buy it! Now, onto Season Five....
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Season Four of "BtVS" provides the initiative for changes
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2003In Season Three of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Joss Whedon and the show's writers proved that the series could survive Buffy killing Angel. For Season Four the task was to prove that "BtVS" could survive losing Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley, who were spun off into their own film noir vampire detective series. The surprising success of their effort is displayed in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season," a season that is more impressive with each viewing.
When last we left our heroes most of them had just survived graduating from high school. Now Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and Oz (Seth Green) are off to UC-Sunnydale while Xander (Nicholas Brendon) tries to survive in the real world and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) twiddles his thumbs in his apartment. Instead of the "high school is hell" idea, the underlying symbolism of the season is now the brave new world of college. Buffy has moved out of the house to live in the college dorm (surprising), but with somebody other than Willow (more surprising), and is trying to move beyond Angel (sad, but not surprising). After a dalliance with Parker Abrams (Adam Kaufman), the personification of that horrible "transition" person your friends always warned you about after your first big breakup, Buffy hooks up with clean-cut Iowa farm boy Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), charming psychology graduate assistant by day, Initiative super-soldier by night.
By now we are familiar with the double-story arc structure of a "BtVS" season. For Season Four the first half story arc has to do with the mystery of the Initiative, while the second half is the confrontation with Adam. More importantly, there are several monumental character changes inspired by the desire to keep a couple of actors and the decision of another cast member to leave. Wanting to keep James Marsters around, the idea of putting that bloody chip in Spike's head, neutering the vampire when it comes to putting the bite on human beings, was a masterstroke (and, dare I say, surprising). Suddenly, Spike is a de facto Scooby. Meanwhile, with Emma Caulfield sticking around as Anya, she becomes the show's comic relief in place of her boyfriend Xander. Then, when Seth Green left the show to concentrate on films, what we thought was an offhanded comment in "Doppelgangland" suddenly comes to fruition for Willow when she meets Wicca wannabee Tara (Amber Benson). All of these changes end up having much more significant impacts on the show than the addition of Riley Finn as Buffy's new love interest.
Season Four begins with a lot of interpersonal issues, from trouble with dorm mates ("Living Conditions") to getting dumped ("The Harsh Light of Day," "Wild at Heart"), before getting caught up in the mystery of all those soldier types running around the campus in the dark ("The Initiative"). Buffy and Riley finally discover the truth about each other in the landmark episode "Hush," the only episode ever to earn Joss Whedon a well deserved Emmy nomination for Best Writing of a Drama (insert outrage over snubs of "The Body" and "Once More With Feeling" here, please). The second half of the season finds Riley learning to work with Buffy ("Doomed") and Buffy enjoying working with the Initiative ("A New Man") before Professor Maggie Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) tries to kill her ("The I in Team") and her stitched together uber-demon Adam (George Hetzberg) breaks free and sets up the final confrontation ("Primeval").
Ultimately, the strength of a season is judged by the episodes that are essentially off the main story arcs. For Season Four this means a Halloween episode with one of the best punch lines ever ("Fear, Itself"), the great Buffy and Faith mind-switch ("This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You?"), the discovery that the coolest and most important in the world is Jonathan Levenson ("Superstar"), and the hilarious insanity of Willow's wish list ("Something Blue"). Of course on that last episode once again the joke is on us as the alternative reality give us a preview of what is to come down the road. One of the most unique aspects of this season was that the climatic battle with the year's big bad happens in the penultimate episode and the season finale, "Restless," serves as an actual epilogue as Buffy and friends encounter the First Slayer (Sharon Ferguson), and sets the stage for significant develops to come.
The fact that Season Two ended with the greatest episode ever of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in "Becoming, Part II," when Buffy has to kill Angel to save the world, obscures the fact that on balance Season Three and Season Four were both stronger seasons overall. The operatic finales might not reach the same heights, but the lows are higher and the on average score is higher. The worst episode of Season Four is probably the season premier, "The Freshman," which suffers because like all first episodes in a season of "BtVS" the goal is to have Buffy rededicate herself to being the Slayer so that new viewers can feel like they understand the gig. If anything, Season Four reaffirms that the strength of this show is character development and not just vampire slaying.
Final Comment: It is nice to see that the extras for Season Four contain twice as many commentary tracks as we have been privy to for each of the previous three collections. In a perfect world it would be great if all of the episodes had commentary, provided by shifting tag-team combinations of writers and actors, in the tradition of the very early episodes of "Farscape" on DVD, but I have long had the feeling that the cast of "BtVS" is rather intimidated by the encyclopedic knowledge of the show enjoyed by its fan base.
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Some really amazing work
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2003Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 4th season was the first season when I actually said to myself, "Joss Whedon is a genius..." It's not that I didn't think he was a genius beforehand, but this was the season with the episodes that really pointed that out to me. The episodes of which I speak are "Hush," Joss' creepy response to critics who thought that he'd [smell] without his snappy dialogue, "Who Are You," where Faith inadvertently starts down her long road to redemption by literally walking in Buffy's shoes (my personal favorite episode), and "Restless", Joss' meandering walk through Buffy, Giles, Xander and Willow's dreams, to insightful and more frequently humorous effect. These three episodes stand to show what an amazing and imaginitive mind Joss Whedon has and why his writers consider him a "benevolent dictator" over them. And since this DVD comes with Joss' commentary on both "Hush" and "Restless", I must say it's the Buffy DVD set I've anticipated the most so far.
The rest of the season also has some gems. "Fear, Itself" is simply the best use of anti-climax that I have ever seen on TV or film. "Beer Bad" treats us to the more primitive side of Buffy. I'm particularly looking forward to "Wild at Heart", which will feature a special commentary track by Joss, Marti Noxon (writer/producer), and Seth Green.
There are a lot of changes in the cast in season 4. Angel (David Boreanaz) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) have moved to LA (their further adventures are chronicled on Angel), and Oz (Seth Green), fearful of the wolf within, leaves to find himself. Their void is filled quite well by Spike (James Marsters), the former bad boy who unwillingly takes his first steps towards being a better man, Riley (Marc Blucas), Buffy's Army stud, Anya (Emma Caulfield), the ex-vengeance demon with a unique view of the world and incomprehensible obsession with Xander, and Tara (Amber Benson), a sweet Wicca with a little mystery.
The season is a little shaky as a whole. The whole Initiative and Adam story arc is kinda [weak], but those amazing episodes are so great that it's easy for me to take a "forest for the trees" approach to season 4. Still, check out the DVDs. Those three Joss episodes alone will be worth it (but I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time with the whole thing).
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
My favorite season
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2005I'm always puzzled when I hear season 4 referred to as the weakest season, a let down after the scoobies' high school years. If forced to choose, I'd rate this as my favorite of all 7 seasons. It's definitely a period of transition and of growing apart for the characters which is perhaps where some people's disappointment comes in - however I find it makes them all the more real and endearing.
Xander becomes more than the goofy side-kick we're used to as we see him relegated to the basement by his parents (and forced to pay rent no less!) and struggling to figure out how to make a living while his best friends start their college careers. Giles has lost his purpose now he's no longer Buffy's Watcher. This leads to the rare treat of a Giles-centric episode, A New Man, in which he is turned into a Ffioral (sp.?) demon - a metaphor for his feelings of alienation from the group. (And he has a girlfriend! And he can sing! Who knew it?!) After the departure of Oz, Willow discovers another side to herself when she meets fellow-witch Tara. Buffy is recovering from Angel leaving town and tentatively starts a relationship with a "normal guy" (This being BtVS things are never are they seem.) Spike is "neutered" and much to his disgust can no longer harm humans. I could go on...
The Emmy-nominated Hush appears in this season - a truly creepy episode taking place in total silence after the first 15 minutes. It's a good episode to entice newbies to the show (and contains the most hilarious 10 minutes you'll find anywhere). Restless, the season ender, is my favorite all time episode - surreal and portentous, I can rewatch this over and over without getting bored. There's always something new to pick up on.
There are many other wonderful episodes but I'll end with mentioning that Faith, the rogue slayer (and Buffy's dark side?) appears - with a couple of scenes that you won't forget!
So buy, rent, or borrow this set - you won't be sorry!
- 4 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Buffy's weakest season (I think), but it's still Buffy
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2008Ok, so I've been a fan of Buffy for a while now, but I've only recently begun buying and watching the show in boxed sets. So far, I own seasons 1-5 and I saw seasons 6 and 7 on TV a while back (I'll buy them soon). I've watched each season that I own at least twice, and I've watched the first three seasons at least four times each.
Season 2 is my favorite. Seasons 1, 3, and 5 are also very strong (5 seems to be unpopular, though). Season 6 is fairly good, and I like seasons 7 and 4 least. Keep in mind this is my own personal rating, and that I like the whole series. These rankings are just for comparing Buffy seasons to each other.
Good things about season 4:
*Buffy is maturing and learning to be an adult in a convincing way.
*Willow's character goes through a lot, and she changes and develops a great deal over the course of the season.
*The final episode is a bizarre impressionistic train-of-thought rollercoaster that is very confusing. However, it goes a long way in demonstrating the true nature of every Buffy character and features references to many great novels and movies (especially Apocolypse Now/ Heart of Darkness).
*The Big Bad is intimidating, smart, and has a reasonably strong motivation for his actions. Adam is less obviously "evil" than Angelus, the Master, or The First, but he's still not as deep or interesting as the Mayor or Faith.
*"Hush" was a genuinely scary episode. It was a very good micro-horror movie, and horror movies are rarely "very good!"
*Riley's character wound up being more interesting than I expected.
*Xander's character becomes deeper. He finds a role in the group that goes way farther than comic relief.
*Anya and Spike turn into real characters and remain as interesting and likeable fixtures in the show for the following seasons.
*Oz leaves (I didn't find him very interesting), and a more interesting character, Tara, moves in.
Bad things about season 4:
*Some episodes feel like random fluff. The main plot of the season doesn't go anywhere, the main dilemma of the episode comes across as stilted and silly, and the actors feel like they're just repeating lines.
*There is almost no primary plot line for the season as a whole. The Big Bad shows up late in the season, and the lesser villains up until then are barely enough to keep things interesting.
*Riley's character (I think) starts out very weak. Marc Blucas didn't seem to be doing a very good acting job at first. Late in the season and in season 5 he does much better. I took a while to get to like Angel's character in seasons 1 and 2, but I eventually accepted him. I had no issue with the acting. With Riley, it took me a while to even consider him much of a character at all.
*The Initiative was interesting when it was menacing and mysterious. Things just got sillier and "cheap Sci-Fi original movie" feeling. The soldiers went from using real-looking guns and actual Tasers to some very silly costume-store looking lightening guns. I think that the makeup jobs on Adam and his minion Forrest were a little too colorful-looking and not all that scary.
*I know Giles was bothered by being unemployed and that he struggled with feeling useless, but his character just didn't go anywhere beyond that. He was much more interesting in other seasons.
And I just can't make up my mind about some things:
*Spike's little behavior-modification brain implant bothers me a bit. It's kinda silly, but James Marsters actually does a good job making it convincing, and it allows everyone to get to know Spike a bit better.
*The final battle was both really awesome and a bit cheesy. Part of it was because Adam looks a little silly and pulls some guns out of nowhere in a way that would make the Transformers laugh. But, the battle-royal between soldiers and demons is pretty cool, and the way in which Adam is defeated was more interesting than just blowing him up with a big bomb like the the Scoobies did to the Mayor.
In summary:
Though a whole lot happened in this season in terms of character development and personal drama for the characters, the supernatural problems faced by Buffy and the gang were not as frightening or interesting as in other seasons. Some episodes are still excellent, but many are far weaker than even the worst episodes of previous seasons. Season 5 wound up being a major relief for me because it felt like a return to the stronger plot-driven episodes of seasons 1-3. Season 4 didn't measure up to other Buffy seasons in my book, but the weakest season in a really great series is still well worth my money.
- 5 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A very fun season with moments of brilliance!!!
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2004Season Four of Buffy introduces a new environment for the characters that we've grown to love in the first three seasons, but one thing season four is missing is a main location the characters gather. In the first three seasons, the library was the sanctuary where the characters would gather. With the new college environment, the library is no longer there and having no sanctuary makes this season seem a little more distant than the past seasons. This season also marks the first season without Angel, which is a huge hole to be filled. All these things considered, this season of Buffy has moments of brilliance. First of all, it contains the episode "Hush" which was nominated for an Emmy for best writing. "Hush" alone is worth the purchase of this season.
There are many milestones in this season along with several of my favorite episodes of all time. There are more character departures and arrivals than any other season of Buffy in this season. We see the arrival of Spike as a full time member, the arrival of Riley Finn, the arrival of Tara, and the departure of Oz.
There are some wonderful episodes in this season including "Something Blue", "Hush", "Superstar", and "Restless". Another thing season four offers that is incredible, is cross-overs with Angel season one. It is amazing to watch the two exactly in the order that they were viewed on their original airdates and see the cross-overs. This is a very fun time in the series, despite the fact that the characters are what carry the show alone without a firm place.
Top reviews from other countries
Isabelle5 out of 5 starsVerified PurchaseThe season that gave us Hush and Restless
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2002There 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!
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Jenjn5 out of 5 starsVerified PurchaseExcelente serie
Reviewed in Mexico on February 16, 2020Me encanta Buffy muy a pesar que la 4ta temporada me parece un tanto lenta y sosa, sin embargo amo la serie y es “vital” tenerla completa
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SC5 out of 5 starsVerified PurchaseThank you!
Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2026Came in good condition, no scratches on the dvds and looks new like described
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M5 out of 5 starsVerified PurchaseProducto nuevo
Reviewed in Mexico on February 22, 2017En realidad la retroalimentacion va para el estado en el que se encontro el producto ya que la serie pues es en gusto de cada quien, todo llego en orden, nuevo.
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Amazon Customer5 out of 5 starsVerified PurchaseBuffy
Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2025Super cool plaisir à écouter en français merci
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