Rating: 
Summary: This is where it gets good
Review: We leave college and we grow as people. "Buffy" goes to college and we see the show grow from a seedling to a tree in a summer. This is the strongest series so far when it comes to writing, story telling, character development, philosophical depth and individual episodes. Though it is the season people stopped watching (blame it on Marc Blucas if you must give someone the blame). This season was the most lauded so far. Hush nominated for an Emmy. Living Conditions, Something Blue, Beer Bad, Superstar, A New Man show how funny the series is when it focuses on comedy and lets drama ride in the back. But drama comes full swing in The Harsh Light of Day, which made me hate guys and I'm a guy. The cool season arc conclusion, Primeval...wow! And Restless which could be the single most important work in television...in visual media. This is the best episode of the series when it comes to the philosophical depth the show goes in. Listen to the commentary! Go right ahead. If you must own one Buffy season...this is the one!
Rating:
Summary: Season Four Shows Initiative
Review: In some ways it's easy to understand why Buffy season four was critically bashed in some way by almost every fan of the show. For example: Angel and Cordelia (David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter) were absent and Oz (Seth Green) left after the first five episodes, and in were these two new characters: Tara, and the not so new Anya (Amber Benson, Emma Caulfield) so some people were skeptic. The fun that there was when the gang was in High School is now gone, hence college. And the gang start a downward spiral.The season starts with the great episode "The Freshman" which is a great season opener! Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) soon starts to realize that she no longer has a watcher, and college is different. She is now starting to drift apart from her friends. But by the end of the episode, the gang come through and their all the Scoobies again. But it's not all that simple. The season continues into "Wild At Heart" This is a turning point for Willow (Alyson Hannigan) When Oz cheats on her with a fellow werewolf named Veruca (Paige Moss) he leaves abruptly, but not before utterly breaking Willow's heart. Then the gang are introuduced to Adam, the unstoppable robot killing machine designed to stop mankind and ensure the rise of the monsters to overule the Earth. Adam turns out to be one of the deadliest foes. This season, Buffy also gets a new boyfriend! Riley (Marc Blucas) and this causes some jealousy when Angel visits for a few crossover eps. I won't ruin how Buffy defeats Adam for those fans who haven't seen season four yet. But it has to do with Buffy having to rejoin the core group of her friends, and by the end of the season, everything is alright.
Rating: 
Summary: Caught in the middle....
Review: This edition of 'Buffy' has so much extra that you almost forget the season as a whole is chunky and full of banal fare. Granted many of the episodes are great and clever but the season as a whole is caught in the middle of two exceptional seasons. The season three 'Buffy' is stellar and the best was yet to come in season five. In other words season four is the lost middle child.
The extras and commentaries especially on the creepy, and too good for the season, masterpiece 'Hush' are worth a 'Buffy' marathon.
Everything about this DVD set is fantastic and perfect for any fan as a gift or addition to a collection. The tranfer to DVD is flawless and there is even a nice disclaimer from creator Joss Whedon about the lack of widescreen.
All in all a great collection of the finest series to ever grace television screens.
Rating:
Summary: Joss Does it Again!
Review: What more is there to say? Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, has produced an excellent form of television that has found its way to DVD. While the fourth season of the show was not my favorite, it deserves five stars. And here's two reasons why: "Hush" - the emmy-nominated 'silent' episode of the show that captivated its viewers by taking risks that no ordinary show could. Who could ever forget the Gentlemen? "Restless" - the season finale that depicts what dreams and nightmares are most like. Never have I seen an episode of television, or a film for that matter, capture the essence of the style of dreaming and place it on a screen. The picture quality, as mentioned in previous reviews, seems to improve with every season of Buffy. The audio quality is much better than what you would hear if you saw any of the episodes on cable. The only downside, and I guess it's not much of a downside, is that the episodes were not released in widescreen format. However, if you buy the DVD you will notice that Joss has included a little insert explaining why. His reasoning for not releasing any of the Buffy episodes in widescreen is that he didn't shoot them to be released that way, and he wanted the audience to capture the show the way he meant it. While I am a huge fan of the widescreen format, and can hardly watch a DVD that isn't letterboxed, I can understand him! Go out and buy this boxed set of the fourth season. You won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: Pure gold(almost)
Review: Joss Whedon and the gang come through once again!I watched and enjoyed every single episode the first night.I loved the return of Oz,Angel and even the rather psycotic Faith.My only gripe is Riley.What a crybaby.The big manly man who can't live with the fact that his tiny girlfriend can kick his whiny butt.The only reason he is tolerable is that I know he leaves next season!That tiny complaint aside I would still give this product 6 out of 5 stars!
Rating:
Summary: Worst Season? Please.
Review: It becomes apparent while watching this handsome DVD package of the Fourth Season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer that the hatred everyone has for these 22 episodes is completely unwarranted. Season Four was the best season of Buffy because it simply had EVERYTHING (well, except maybe a Xander-centric ep): a movie-worthy arc in the Initiative, a new boyfriend and TWO new girlfriends for the core characters, and a few Angel crossovers and Faith appearances for good measure. Spike became a regular and Oz left. There was, quite simply, a whole lot of STUFF going on in Season Four. What really stands out about this season to me is that not only do the arc-specific episodes work on a level higher than just advancing the season (Goodbye Iowa being a personal favorite), and not only are the stand-alones fantastic (Superstar is as funny as New Moon Rising is heart-breaking), but they all truly fit together as one final work. We finally get a scary Halloween episode in Fear Itself, a spectacular season finale in Primeval (I thought the folks at Buffy had no money for special effects, but this episode definitely would make you think otherwise), and, mostly importantly, we see Joss Whedon truly come into his own as a director. He was always the creator, the visionary, the superb writer. But by this time one would start to think that the episodes he directed were memorable purely because they were pivotal to the story (hey, could any director really get Angel turning evil wrong?). But, with the final episode Restless, and a little piece of almost disgusting brilliance called Hush, Joss Whedon really came into his own.
And ok, so Adam was kinda lame as a Big Bad. But you gotta admit that, if nothing else, he was an interesting character. Tara was much like Oz in that fans went from disliking her to totally loving her. Spike was still brilliant without becoming too overpowering, as later seasons (especially six) would basically become the Spike Show. And gosh darnit, Riley was a better boyfriend to Buffy than Angel ever was and you know in your heart that it's true!
What also becomes apparent while experiencing Season Four is that, frankly, Buffy should have ended after this season. The events of Seasons Five, Six, and Seven would have worked much better as a movie.
The picture quality of this DVD was noticeably clearer and more vibrant than past Buffy DVDs. The Menus are getting cooler and cooler, although there is still a lack of any real worthwhile mini-docs. A real treat for this DVD, however, is that we get Seth Green not only in interview clips for the Oz mini-doc but also for a commentary on Wild At Heart. Sure, Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon tag along, and the commentary is pretty much devoid of any actual worthwhile information, but it's nice to have Seth Green back in any way possible. Oz was a fan favorite for many, including myself, and it's nice to see him shed some light on his departure. This also marks the first time an actor has participated in a DVD commentary. How ironic is it that the actor who left the show was the first one to do so? C'mon you guys, don't tell me Mr. Green can be making Austin Powers 3 and The Italian Job and still have time to do this but you can't. Aside from Seth's commentary, I find that, as this DVD series goes on, Jane Espenson gives the most interesting and informative commentaries out of anyone, including Joss.
Gotta go, little sister is calling.
Rating:
Summary: Great television, much better than most
Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been one of my favorite television programs for quite awhile now and the Fourth season is no exception. As in all television series you'll find a wide variety of episodes, some stories better than others, some written better than others.
With Buffy you alway's get a lot of action, plots & subplots (some of which will be hopelessly confusing if you don't start at the beginning of 1st season), even some weird humor. Most shows, if the story is bad just forget the whole thing with this series almost anyone will find something that's good in every episode.
#4 Fear itself was one weird episode, I didn't really care for except for the ending in which the fearsome demon turns out to be only 6 inches tall (Giles miss read his book caption in which the illustration was described as actual size). while the demon makes his threats Buffy says "yeah, yeah", and stomps him, that was one of the most unusual episode endings in the 7 year series run.
#10 Hush was a very different story, actually pretty good, in which The Gentlemen steal everyone's voices in town and then begin killing people for their hearts (I'm not sure what they wanted hearts for), it is almost completely done without dialog. Buffy and Riley each discover that the other has a secret identity when they meet each other in battle with the Gentlemen (nice touch in which Riley misunderstands Buffy's handsignals to destroy the magic containing everyone's voices). The only real weakness I saw in the story is the one in which Riley and chums almost get killed in their voice controlled elevator (which runs from their fraternity house to the secret Initiative base under Sunnydale)only to be shown a sign reading in case of emergency use stairs, you never saw that again.
The Initiative that Riley belongs to is a new plot line for Buffy in which the U.S. Govt. has established a secret underground base for the capture and study of demons, that part is O.K. but it soon gets weird with the addition of the Super evil of the season. Dr. Walsh (who also doubles as Buffy's psych teacher) is head of a Frankenstein type program in which she and others build a warrior out of human, demon, and artificial parts. She names her creation Adam and naturally looses control of him and her life in the process. I could have done without a lot of the Initiative story stuff but I did like the point at which Dr. Walsh ,fearing that Buffy is gaining too much influence over Riley, decides to send her into a trap to be killed (this is son after Buffy joins the Initiative)by some demons under Walsh's control. Buffy survives and sends Walsh a message which Riley sees just as Walsh tells him Buffy is dead,"If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a Slayer is. Trust me when I say you're gonna find out".
#21 Primeval is kind of a mixed bag in which Xander gets the idea of giving Buffy a magical boost to fight Adam. The gang breaks into Initiative headquarters and are caught immediately. The base commander is telling them off when Adam releases every demon in the base confinement area. Buffy has told him that "This is not your business, It's mine. You, The Initiative, the boys at the Pentagon, you're all in way over your heads. You're all messing with primeval forces you have no comprehension of". He says"And you do" to which she replies "I'm the Slayer" Very nicely done sequence in which magically charged Buffy takes Adam on, you see the fear in his eyes just before she rips his heart out. The closing has a Pentagon review board going over what happened (along with some of the battle), they sufered 40% losses it would've been worse without the civilians.
#22 Restless is the season finale and involves the gang all going to Buffy's house after the battle and relaxing with videos, they all fall asleep and have weird dream experiences as a result of their using magic to help Buffy. This episode has some of the strangest stuff in the whole season in these dreams including Buffy battling the First Slayer, and several hints of what's to come in 5th season.
Rating:
Summary: least favorite season
Review: This sesaon is definately a transition period from high school to college and it sows with each episode more and more scattered no real congruity to them. I still like it but not my favorite year. Definately should be seen with Angel Season 1.
Rating:
Summary: All Hail to Joss Whedon! ;)
Review: The Man is a Master Story Teller. Simple as that. In my sweeter opinion, he should win ever damn award there is.
Now to the episodes, of my choice:
1.Something Blue. I just adore this truly hilarious masterpiece. I about pissed my pants when we watched it first. Go Spike!
2.Pangs. Ohhh. Loved the line from Spike"don't care if its playing, bloody,'rock the kazbah', just get it out". and whew, the smirk at the end of the show. Have Mercy!
3.Wild at Heart. Go Oz! You could almost hear....its gonna be a heartache tonite. One of the best sex scenes, I think!
And just for good measure. I liked "Beer Bad", & also "Hush". We all want more romance/sex/love. But, I have to say, I did like the Willow/Tara arc. Just wished, that after Tara ,that Xander & Willow, would have gotten back together. Maybe, just maybe (my fingers crossed really tight) on "Angel". Wouldn't that be nice!
Rating: 
Summary: A major letdown after seasons 1-3
Review: Let me start by saying that I didn't think this season was really bad. I just thought it paled in comparison to the first 3 seasons. While some of the individual episodes were phenomenal, the overall story arc lacked the cohesion that carried the first 3 seasons. The positive aspects:
1.The development of characters other than Buffy this season was outstanding. Losing Angel was tough on one hand, but on the other, it really allowed for some of the other characters(Spike, Willow) to step up and fill the void.
2. Episodes like "Hush" and the two-part Faith crossover remind me of why I love this series so much. Brilliant.
3. The extra features for this season were much better than those in the previous seasons. Some very nice commentary is provided. And the negative:
1. Adam has to be the worst big bad in all of the show's 7 seasons. He just lacks that personal aspect that makes you want to see him defeated. Ultimately, I didn't care much what happenned to him.
2. The Initiative was pretty hokey. I didn't hate them as badly as some of the reviewers, but I thought it was a bit over the top. I'm in the military myself though, so maybe I'm just being too judgemental.
3. Some of the episodes were just plain bad. "Beer Bad" was laughably horrible. I was actually tempted to not finish it after the first half. The episode where Buffy and Riley are going at it in bed the entire time(can't think of the name right off hand) seemed rather pointless and was very redundant to watch. I hated "Superstar". Some would disagree with me on this one, but I just didn't care for Jonathan as a character. Finally, I didn't care for "Restless." Maybe I just didn't see the artistic vision in it, but it bored the heck out of me, and I thought it was a pretty lame way to end a season. All in all, season 3 is of high quality, but it doesn't stack up to the other seasons in my opinion.
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