Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 4 (Box Set 1) [1998]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sunnydale high school is left behind in smoking ruins and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) becomes a college freshman at the (fictitious) University of California Sunnydale campus. The major arc of the season involves a semi-sinister Man from U.N.C.L.E.-type government agency known as The Initiative which has its Bond-style HQ under the campus. Their nefarious plans involve capturing vampires and demons, including the now-regular character Spike (James Marsters), and hacking them to pieces for assembly into a Frankensteinian supermonster or fitting them with chips that mute their killing urges. Buffy's plank-like new boyfriend Riley (Mark Blucas) is deadweight, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) is shoved into new corners of irrelevance (and turns folkie!), Willow (Alyson Hannigan) breaks up with the werewolf (Seth Green) and comes out, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) whines about not being a student but starts dating a former demon (the amusing Emma Caulfield), Angel (David Boreanaz) has his own series but drops in for crossovers (you'll need to buy the Angel box set to find out how some key plotlines pay off) and previously killed or comatose semi-regulars pop in for dreams or revivals. A run of shaky episodes starts off this season, with the show seemingly uncomfortable with the new setting as it treads water with the same old monsters. This set starts to pick up with a few well-above-average episodes, the stand-out being "hush"!. This is a rare attempt for the show at being truly scary, featuring Nosferatu-like demons who glide around robbing people of their voices and force all the characters who have been evading the truth to open up to each other through non-verbal communication. The big plot, spread over the bulk of the episodes, is less interesting than the major arcs of the last two seasons, perhaps because Buffy's new love interest and new nemesis both fail to make much of an impression. This also tends to leave Sarah Michelle Gellar in the shadows of the show she is supposed to be starring in--her best 42 minutes in this series ("Who Are You", not included in this set) comes when she is possessed by bad girl Faith and can cut loose a bit. Mildly wobbly after the last two years, Buffy is still hanging in there and making its absurd premise pay off. --Kim Newman

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2002-05-01 rating:
good but not as good as in school
In the first 2 episodes it concentrates on Buffy settling down in college. These are two of the best because it shows Buffy in a different way. Then after that is Faith there are the episodes that dont concentrate on the story this time being the initiative. Fear itself is good and beer bad and hush. There is a couple characters gone from last time and have been replaced. All in all it is a good season. It just doesnt have the same thing anymore when in college for one thing there is no library.

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review by: date: 2002-01-03 rating:
Uh-oh...not exactly at her best in this one
Season One of Buffy was a very good start for the show; Seasons Two and Three were excellent. It's just a shame that everything fell apart here.
Season 4 Set 1 is probably the worst Buffy boxset, featuring the poorest episodes from the show's five season run. The stories feel stale, the plot's going nowhere, Riley is the most unlikeable character possible and don't even get me started on the Initiative! Trying to squeeze in an X-Files style Government conspiracy involving genetic experiments just didn't fit into the good old spiritual/mythology themed seasons, and it let the show down. Thankfully, Joss Whedon has redeemed himself with Season Five.

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review by: fannysmashingaz date: 2001-11-07 rating:
Buffy finally shows signs of weakness!
I suspose it had to happen....a Buffy set that is less than perfect. After three great seasons (each better than the last,) expectations for season 4 were high and as often happens in life expectations were left unfulfilled! Season 4 starts weakly with the first couple of episodes. There is some attempt to duplicate the dichotomy of the slayer/schoolgirl relationship that worked so well in the first threes seasons. Buffy clearly feels uncomfortable with the new college surrounding, but it never quite works as well. Likewise, new beau Riley is at best unconvincing and at worst slightly irritating. It seems unlikely that Buffy would find attraction in such a damp squib after her tempestuos relationship with Angel. It is a clear sign of weakness when the best episodes rely on some Angel reference or season cross-over. Worst of all is the introduction of "The Initiative" which seems an ill-conceived and poorly focused "villian." Some of the episodes here are clumsy and some just plain silly. Earlier Buffy was often flippant but never silly.

So why 4 stars? Well Buffy below par is still far better than most TV and there are still a handfull of great episodes in this season including the classic "Hush." The show and it's stars still look great and there are other plusses too. The transition of Giles from (arguably) core of the show to somewhat side-lined figure is nicely handled. Spike is developed in a novel direction and has many great lines. The appearances of Angel and Faith recall the heights this show can reach at it's very best and Sarah Michelle Gellar is as good as ever.

Season 4 had a very hard act to follow and this is still very good if not quite great TV. Whether this show will be able to return to it's former glories will depend on whether the shows producers and writers can rediscover their best ideas and enthusiasm. Quite a challenge, but if anyone can rise to it Buffy can!

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review by: date: 2001-08-01 rating:
Buffy's the best
Although not the best of the seasons, series 4 is still better than anything else on televison. Making the transition from High School to College is a tricky one and Joss handles it well, though I was little disappointed in the obvious demon roommate episode. Giles and Xander are a little at a loss and hopefully theie lives will take some direction soon, instead of just waiting for evil to happen in the hope that they can help. The introduction of Anya as Xander's love interest is fantastic, she is absolutley hilarious. Riley is a good, solid boyfriend for Buffy, if a little on the boring side, but that's probably what she needs right now. And Hush is a masterpiece!


review by: kevpartner date: 2001-04-18 rating:
Best episode ever
This boxed set contains the best ever episode of Buffy and the worst, which says all you need to know about season 4. Beer Bad is rubbish. Hush is a masterpiece: it's worth buying the boxed set for that episode alone. Bet you can't sleep after watching it. "Can't hear you scream, can't hear you cry, the Gentlemen are coming by..."

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