Rating: 
Summary: Buffy goes to college in solid season 4
Review: The 4th season of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER proved to be a matter of transition for both cast and crew. For one thing, the show had removed itself from the high school setting when Buffy and her gang blew up the school fighting the demonized Mayor in season 3. Also, David Boreanez's moody vampire-with-a-soul Angel had moved on to his own series, taking with him a major plot point that helped drive the series. For the most part, BUFFY rebounded quite well with some of the best single episodes on the show to date. Of particular mention is the classic "Hush," where Sunnydale is under a spell of silence. Its inventive use of the lack of dialogue just reaffirmed the show's growing reputation as one of the best TV had to offer. However, there were uneven moments as well. The "Big Bad" of the government-run Initiative was too much of an X-FILES rip-off. The cyborg-demon Adam lacked the flair of the Mayor or the Master, and commando Riley, despite an ernest portrayal by Marc Blucas, seemed a poor substitute for Angel as Buffy's beau. Also, beloved characters like Giles and Xander were pretty much adrift that season as the college setting put more emphasis on Buffy and Willow. Overall, though, the season still had its share of entertaining and funny moments, while introducing former villian Spike (the always-solid James Marsters) as an uneasy ally/comic relief. The DVD features, while still on the skimpy side, are upgraded in quality with solid audio commentaries on key episodes including creator Joss Whedon's take on "Hush," with actor Seth Green (the werewolf Oz) joining him in "Wild at Heart." As always, BUFFY still manages to entertain, thrill and provoke its audience, which is a mark of great TV....making this DVD set definitely one worth recommending.
Rating: 
Summary: Still a strong season, but not the best
Review: Buffy's 4th Season was, until Season 6, the "scapegoat" season. That is, the year that everyone could bash on mercilessly without fear of retribution. Between Riley, the Initiative, and ADAM, there was enough for fans to hate. Of course, what it all boiled down to was that Riley wasn't Angel, and the Initiative and ADAM didn't work as well as the villains from Seasons 2 and 3 (possibly the best years of the show). Throw in lots of change (and not necessarily happy change, either), and you get a year everyone hates.However, Season 4 is still quite good. The early "college life" episodes ("The Freshman", "Living Conditions", and the Parker episodes) are excellent deconstructions of college life, and stand up to the best of the "high school life" episodes. The breaking up of the Scoobies works well, although the changes would lead to not-so-good things in the future. The biggest change (besides the loss of Cordy and Angel) is the addition of Spike. In this year, he's great, serving less of an ally as an enemy forced to help (which he only does grudgingly, at best). Later years would see Spike toe-ing the "Fonzie line" between key supporting character and character that takes over the show, though. Second is, of course, Willow's relationship with Tara (which begins at mid-season) and the revelation that Willow is, in fact, bisexual. (Things would also get ugly when the W/T relationship ended, but that's another story for another time.) Xander begins dating Anya, and while the "ignore Xander" plotline this year works, it'd eventually backfire when the writers began to happily ignore him. And, of course, Buffy ends up with Riley, the normal boyfriend who isn't really normal at all. Other than the maligned Riley, the new additions to the show fill the gap left by David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter (and then some). The problem, though, is that (as I've implied), the changes that work this year don't necessarily work in future seasons, causing a scapegoating effect on how Season 4 is viewed. (Especially given that the debates about the changes first seen here-debates about Spike, the Buffy/Spike relationship, the neglect of Xander, the shifting of Giles' role in Buffy's life, and the debate as to whether Willow is gay [as she vehemently states after this season on occasion] or bisexual [the answer seemingly backed up with the most evidence] will be fought for years to come.) However, given the quality of the individual episodes and elements of the overall plot, this is selling Season 4 extremely short. The special features are much more plentiful this time, with commentaries on the most pivotal episodes (including the first-ever appearance by a cast member on a commentary) and a number of featurettes to explore once you've finished watching the episodes themselves. Also of note is the message from Joss Whedon in regards to the fullscreen vs. widescreen debate over the DVD sets, which is hilarious (and sets the record straight that fullscreen Buffy is the way to go). All in all, an excellent release for Buffy fans casual and hardcore alike.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is certainly a handsome set with the discs housed in the same fold-out not as good as streetbrawls.com but packaging as the three previous season sets. A different character portrait is pictured on each of the discs and the start up menu's for the discs also feature a different member of the cast. Curious however is the fact that the character depicted on the cover of the disc does not correspond to that on the main menu. Interesting, but certainly a minor quibble...
Of the three other commentaries the best by far is those provided for "This Years Girl" and "The Initiative" by Doug Petrie. Fellow crew member Jane Espenson also shows up for the episode "Superstar...
The picture quality of this set shows a continued improvement over Season Three with strong colors and no sign of niches or scratches. The audio is also impressive with a nice balance and the title sequence fairly booming through the speakers.Great stuff
Rating:
Summary: Buffy review
Review: This season of Buffy is truly magnifecent, but it seems to lack the charm of the first 3 seasons. Xander has a smaller role, which is a real shame because I thought he was one of the best aspects of the show. Willow being gay was an unexpected, but not unpleasent shock. It puts a new and interesting spin on her character. The villian, Adam, wasn't that great, but how can you follow villians like Angelus or the mayor? What I did love about the season was the introduction of Spike as a main character. He makes everything a lot funnier and makes up for the loss of Faith in the naughty humor part of the show. I also really enjoyed the fact that Harmony is suddenly Spike's girlfriend. I definetly think this is a valuble addition to any Buffy fan's collection
Rating:
Summary: one of my favorite seasons
Review: I realize that a lot of people didn't like season four for various reasons. I agree with a lot of them. Adam was probably my least favorite big bad, Riley was at times irritating, and Oz left. I think, however, the good far outweighs the bad in this season. Some of the funniest and most creative episodes are from season four. Hush, obviously. But also Superstar, Something Blue, and the whole Faith two parter-all inspired. Especially Superstar, which I thought was hilarious mostly because I just had no idea what was going on for the first ten minutes. I loved how they changed the credits for that episode. It was really clever. Restless also encapsulates one of the reasons I love this show. It is constantly hinting and foreshadowing, keeping the viewers engaged by giving us the chance to try to figure out what's going to happen next, and never talking down to us.
Rating:
Summary: Initiative a little off the wall, but whatever
Review: Alright, so I like this season, but I didn't really like the Initiative. It seemed kind of dorky. I like the whole gothic thing. That's what vampires are made for, you know splash grime on an old candle abra and you have scary vamp-town. I like how they handled Spike's visectomy, but The Initiative was SO LAME!!! I like everything about this season, except the Initiative. Did I mention I don't like the Initiative? It seems like one of those things that would make people not want to watch the show. That's just my opinion though.
Rating:
Summary: Oh NO!!
Review: I was so looking forward to Season 4 as in the other regions its in 16x9 format, here in the US they hacked it to 4x3 so depressing. Still a Great Buffy season and worth getting.
Rating:
Summary: Buffy Kicks...
Review: Well I just got Buffy Season 4 yesterday and let me say that it kicks... Seeing that Season 4 was my least favorite season, I wasn't expecting a lot from it but it was a whole lot better than expected. The special features are the best out of all the seasons so far. The season overview is very good and almost as long as an entire episode. Also, seeing that Spike is my favorite character on the show, the whole special feature about him was very cool. Some more cool things I found was when I read on one of the things inside that season 5 would be coming out in 2003. It didn't say exactly when in 2003 it would be coming out but now I do know that my favorite season is coming out this year. Another of the little inserts on the inside was very cool as well. I read a review on here about someone who was complaining because the dvd's aren't in widescreen. Well for that person and others who are mad about that, Joss has a special insert just for you. It basically says that none of the Buffy seasons are going to be in widescreen because they weren't shot to be shown in widescreen so get over it. As far as the season goes, I already said that it's my least favorite season of Buffy, though that doesn't mean it's bad. It's still better than Angel Season 1, in my opinion. There are some classic episodes in this season like "Hush" and "Restless" but I also enjoy watching some of the other episodes like "Pangs" and "The Yoko Factor." Buffy season 4 is still better than more than half the shows that are on right now. I definately recommend getting Buffy season 4.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!
Review: I guess (if this website is correct) my local Wal-Mart made a misktake because on this site it saya this item won't be realesed until June 10th but i was at Wal-Mart last night(June 5) and they had the fourth season so I bought it. It is great. Like all the other seasons of Buffy (except for Season three which i hate but still have on DVD for sentimental value) is great. Season 4 is my faveorite Buffy season so Ive been loooking forward to this since Janurary. Incase you haven't noticed the seasons have been coming out in Janurary and June of a year so far but the little card that came in this box said that Season Five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer(THE BEST SHOW EVER, do I hear an AMEN!!?) was to come out in 2003 it didn't tell what month and that is weird. I assume that since the show ended in May(WHY!!) the seasons will start coming out on DVD faster(HALLILEUIGH[guess i spelled that right] knock on wood[*knock knock*] we can only hope so. So all you fans of Buffy(and you stupid people who aren't fans[WE HATE YOU!!!]) prepare to be BLOWN AWAY by the fourth(and best) season of the BEST television show EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING!! Thank you for listening to my rants and raves(talking about Buffy gets me a LITTLE worked up sorry) now don't waste any time go out to your local WAl-Mart to see if their as dumb as mine is(thank God) and see if they already have the Fourth Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD on the shelves!!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst seasons
Review: Season 4...let's call it the mediocre season. The Faith/Buffy story arc, which crossed over into Angel (the far superior Season 1) and the incomparable Hush episode shined while virtually everything else...well [was bad]. Whether the bland Riley Finn character, the Initiative nonsense, or infamously the worst major villain in the entire Buffy/Angel mythos: Adam, the cyborg, (or whatever the hell he was) Season 4 could not retain the steam of the brillantly creative Season 3. Not even close. Wait for Angel Season 2, it puts this season to shame.
**1/2
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