Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season
October 2003 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

I never saw this terrific TV show until it came out on DVD. I heard a lot about it, but since it was broadcast on a night that found me attending a regular event, I always missed it. Now, I’ve become a big fan. I am watching the seasons in order as they come out, avoiding the temptation to view any reruns on television. You see, a lot changes with Buffy from season to season as well as within each season. Watch anything out of order and the experience is liable to throw you completely off kilter.

The biggest change at the beginning of the fourth season is venue. Though she still kicks vampire ass as a new-style 21st-century heroine, Buffy is no longer a high school student, but a freshman in college. Her best friend, Willow, is also a first-year student at the same school, which does happen to be in their hometown of Sunnydale, California. At least the city stays the same. Rupert Giles, Buffy’s Watcher, is no longer the high school librarian, but seems to have gone into a semi-retirement that is never fully explained. Xander Harris has not gone on to college, but lives in his mother’s basement, and ekes out a living working odd jobs ranging from bartender to Good Humor man.

Several characters from past seasons reappear. Angel, Buffy’s vampire boyfriend, walks on briefly in a clever crossover from his own show. Oz, the boy who changed into a werewolf every full moon and was in love with Willow, comes back to school, now cured (at least for a while). Willow herself has jumped the fence and fallen in love with Tara. Spike comes back so often that he is given a regular spot on the opening shot credits. A brand new character, Riley, becomes Buffy’s new, true-blue, hunky boyfriend.

One can see from just a quick read through of the previous paragraph that one of the great things about Buffy is that the characters grow, change, and interact in very complex ways. This approach completely avoids stereotyping. By the fourth season, the cast members all seem completely into their characters and deliver some astonishingly accomplished solo and ensemble acting. The signature episode is "Hush," in which several fairytale monsters, collectively called "The Gentlemen," glide into town and steal everyone’s voices. Over half of this episode is acted without voices, and the result is quite impressive. Other episodes are almost as impressive. "Fear Itself" is set in a frat house on Halloween, a building that becomes a haunted house as everyone’s innermost fears emerge. Faith, the bad slayer, awakens in a two-parter, "This Year’s Girl" and "Who Are You?" Through a magic device, she changes places with Buffy, which puts Gellar’s acting chops to the test, since she must convey Faith's persona in Buffy’s skin. She passes the test successfully.

The video quality, already greatly improved for the third season, looks even better on these episodes. The colors are rich and accurate, dark scenes are clear without being over-lit, and flesh tones are entirely natural. The sound is excellent. The singularly satisfying music score is presented with wide dynamic and frequency range, and is quite exciting. Sound effects are perfectly integrated into the overall audio mix and the surrounds are used effectively and with imagination.

Extras include director-producer commentary on selected episodes, an overview of the season, selected episode scripts, five featurettes, and a still-frame gallery. The set is housed in one of those accordion foldouts that I find rather hard to handle, but it does allow for some handsome artwork. Overall, the presentation smacks of the quality required to represent a quality show. But though it is a curious thing to say in a review, this is necessary: Don’t start with this season. Go back to the beginning. Buy the first season, then the second, then the third, and then this one. Trust me, it is well worth the effort. You really must be involved with Buffy from the very beginning to enjoy the show to the fullest.

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