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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English - Hearing Impaired, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
  Extras
  • 2 Teaser trailer
  • 2 Audio commentary - The Initiative - writer Doug Petrie, Hush - writer/director Joss Whedon
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • 4 Featurette - Hush, The Sets of Sunnydale, Spike, Me, Buffy - Inside the Music
  • 2 Original screenplay - Fear Itself, Hush

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 4 Volume 1

20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox . R4 . COLOR . 464 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

As we enter season four, it seems a tad pointless to go over the basics of what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is all about yet again, so if you’ve somehow been deprived in a Buffy-less bubble thus far, there are links to reviews of season two and three below right which should help bring you up to speed...

Right, so what’s in store for us this time around? Well, the days of high school, kind of like the high school itself, are well and truly gone, with most of the gang heading off to college. Cordelia has moved on to LA along with the broody one for his eponymous spin-off series, and as things progress a few familiar faces from seasons past become much more familiar. There’s a new love interest for Buffy in the form of Dudley-Dud Dud Riley, and what equates to a rather silly story arc involving a little organisation called The Initiative.

Regardless of a few plot lines that some may find questionable, the basics of what have made Buffy arguably the best and most vital show on television in many a year remain. The continued exploration of personal issues faced when growing up continues to be handled both expertly and realistically, as does the superb quality of writing which manages to effortlessly combine emotion, passion, drama and horror with a unique and often biting wit unlike anything that has ever gone before it.

So what’s in store in this first half of the season?

The Freshman
High school’s gone (in more ways than one) and college is in – full of spurting knowledge, spurting jello shots and a place where everyone’s got a brain – well, almost everyone. Still, at least Willow’s excited. Buffy meets her super fun new roomie, Kathy (who thinks Celine Dion rocks), and finds wherever she goes she’s a vamp magnet. Freshmen disappear and a nice boy bites it while an icky yukky blot on the landscape in the form of dork boy extraordinaire Riley is introduced.

Living Conditions
Buffy’s got the roomie blues, and Willow isn’t doing much better - still, a constant party zone is preferable to constant Cher-time any day. With demons of non-specific origins invading her dreams the slayerific one deserves some distraction, perhaps an attack of random adorableness will help? And what’s with those army guys?

The Harsh Light of Day
While a certain poophead shows his true colours to Buffy, others make their return. Harmony’s back and my how she’s changed... Anya’s back, and she’s come a courtin’ – will she and Xander interlock? But most importantly that big blondie bear Spike (MMMmmm) is back – and he’s got a plan to do with a little trinket called the gem of Amara...

Fear, Itself
October 31st – Halloween – although if you check with Giles – who seems to have turned into a lamp - perhaps it’s actually the 13th? Buffy’s sad, but there’s nothing like a Mum-erific pep talk to help, while the gang are dressing up and off to some frat boys’ scary house. But if you play with pentangle-type thingies you never know what may materialise – or the size of what you may be left to deal with... Is Anya auditioning for Hugh Hefner?

Beer Bad
Buffy’s still got the poophead id-boy blues, and a visit to Xander in his new job as on-campus bartender turns tempting – after all, what girl could turn down a chance for discussing socio-economic and psychological problems over copious amounts of beer? MMMmmm, foamy! But then there are the after effects of a bad night of badness to contend with – and that’s before the questing for fire. Proof that too much beer can turn you into Metallica... Meanwhile, what’s with Oz going all groupie on us?

Wild at Heart
Ooh, the big bad Spike is back – oh, or is he? The toy soldiers return, but there’s more important stuff to worry about – after all, Oz is more monosyllabic than usual and is going all blushy-eared around Veruca, and now that it’s that the time of the month for him, well, who knows what he’ll get up to? He should remember that hell hath no fury like a witch scorned...

The Initiative
Spike wakes in a white room that goes “ZAP!” – is it a Batman invasion, or something all the more sinister? Still, a touch of 007 later and... well then he has performance problems to deal with. Still, at least we find out more about these commando guys, don’t we? Xander’s GI Joe days come in handy, and blah boy Riley realises he has a thing for Buffy. Sadly she seems interested, but little does she know...

Pangs
Xander goes all Village People, uncovering an old mission in the process – isn’t it amazing what can be hidden right under their feet? Buffy is under siege, what with thanksgiving dinner to prepare and a batty avenging spirit and his buddies to deal with. Spike is rather peckish, and mushy peas just won’t quite cut it – and who’s that brooding in the shadows?

Something Blue
While doofus boy tries to puzzle out Buffy, even playing the let’s have a picnic card, Mr Pointy’s keeper does a spot of interrogation on Spike to try to discover more about the toy soldiers that have been spotted on campus, also taking the opportunity to tease a little. Meanwhile, Spikey just wants to watch Passions... Our brave little toaster Willow isn’t coping too well at all with a lack of Oz-ness, and kind of does a spell kind of wrong – so be careful what you say. Still, it gets her an offer from a Smurf demon. It’s alright though, Giles has more Scotch. And Wind Beneath My Wings? Seriously!

Hush
Can’t even shout, can’t even cry, The Gentlemen are coming by... and these icky manic grinned floaty creepy guys are out to steal some hearts – they have scalpels and they’re not afraid to use them... Willow goes to Wicca playgroup and meets a girl named Tara, there’s too much talk, then no talk, then nothing to talk about when everybody actually can talk...

Doomed
Oh, as usual, dear – it’s the end of the world, again. Meanwhile, it’s time for Buffy (who certainly isn’t a heavy metal band) and loser dork boy to talk, and for a while it looks like the former is finally seeing some sense. Poor Spike is depressed, as he’s just not feeling vampy enough, until...

  Video
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OK, so what’s the what in the video department then?

Well, the answer to the big “will they or won’t they?’ question can finally be answered – and the news is great, with Fox Australia delivering us what was the first series of Buffy actually made for the widescreen format in its intended 1.78:1 ratio, and anamorphically enhanced as well. YAY!!!

It would be nice to say that all is perfect, however if you are a little more Buff-fussy you may be alarmed at the amount of white flecks that appear throughout these eleven episodes, as the prints aren’t quite as clean as those used for season three. They’re not shocking by any means, but some may be distracted simply as the intruders become all the more noticeable due to the predominance of dark locations used. It is these that raise another slight concern, in that shadow detail is fairly good, but not as well handled as Buffy’s sister show Angel’s transition to DVD, so at times some of the dimly lit scenes can be a little murky.

Still, these niggly points aside, things look infinitely better than we’ve ever seen on television, with beautiful colour, defiantly black blacks and a virtual complete absence of grain.

After some research it is also extremely pleasing to report that there don’t appear to have been any inflicted upon this season, and all the ‘previously’ introductions are also left in tact.

  Audio
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Well, there’s nothing at all to worry about in the sound department. Once again we get a Dolby Digital stereo mix, which sounds great and does all that a good audio mix should do, and it also converts well on a Prologic receiver to utilise the five surround channels as well as the subwoofwoof. Dialogue is perfectly balanced with the soundtrack throughout, and other than the very occasional instance of what looks like ever so slightly dodgily looped dialogue, synching is spot on.

Once more Christophe Beck returns to the scoring fray, and he gets many a chance to demonstrate his not inconsiderable talents throughout these eleven episodes. The much talked about mostly dialogue-free episode Hush is as great an example as any here, wherein his fairytale-like, almost Danny Elfman-ish score really sets the tone for proceedings when so much is riding on the music alone. As we’ve come to expect from Buffy there are also a selection of popular songs dotted throughout the episodes, this time including the likes of Luscious Jackson, Blink 182 and Moby, plus a few bands get to strut their stuff at The Bronze – including the absolute goddess Angie Hart’s post-Frente combo Splendid, which is basically just her and her hubby Jesse’s project.

  Extras
Contract

A short collage of imagery from the series, accompanied by suitably dramatic and Buffyesque music, makes way to a static menu on each disc, with these three featuring Buffy, Willow and Xander. Brief animated transitions then lead to the sub-menus. Features-wise this time around we get some great quality stuff to munch on...

Scripts - Fear, Itself and Hush: Presented in a black typewriter-styled font on a background that looks remarkably like a close-up on a bowl of trifle, these are the complete scripts including all character info, required sets, locations and production information, plus a few bonus tpyos just for the hell(mouth) of it...

Audio commentary - The Initiative (writer Doug Petrie): Wow, this guy can talk! Scarcely managing to stop for breath at times, and able to change a subject expertly in a mere nanosecond, Douglas gives us a fun commentary experience covering all manner of influences, intentions, inspirations and inside info on this episode of Buffy. There’s some fascinating stuff that fleshes out scenes, news of cuts made, some future spoilers which are a tad annoying (like season six type future) and a simply fabulous quote, “We do Shakespeare with ray guns and shit”.

Audio commentary - Hush (writer/director Joss Whedon): As anybody who has sat through a Joss commentary before should testify to, they are always a fabulous way to spend 40 minutes or so, and this one is no exception – especially as this is easily one of the most intriguing episodes of Buffy ever. Full of did you notices, lots of technical information, and much about the concepts behind creating an episode in which a large proportion of air time contains no dialogue, the always opinionated Joss even finds time to comment on hairstyles and dress. He even confesses to having been inspired to do this episode because he felt he was becoming a bit of a TV hack and needed the challenge!

Featurette - Hush (5:08): A further look at the Emmy nominated (for ‘outstanding writing’) episode, featuring numerous brief interview segments from production staff Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, David Fury, Christophe Beck and FX guy Loni Peristere plus actors James Marsters and Nicholas Brendon. Be warned that this, and in fact all the featurettes, contain a number of spoilers for both the rest of the fourth season and sometimes beyond...

Featurette - The Sets of Sunnydale (9:28): An updated look at what is almost an entirely new collection of sets that were created for season four, such as the university, Spike’s lair and The Initiative’s facilities. Interview grabs are featured once again from Nicholas, Joss, Jane, Doug, David as well as Marti Noxon, James A. Contner and production designer Carey Meyer, the latter of whom gives us a great behind the scenes tour of the updated Buffyverse.

Featurette - Spike, Me (11:20): Ah, a featurette devoted to the cutest sociopathic vampire in Sunnydale! Brief interview snippets come from Joss, Jane and David, plus there are many with Spike’s alter ego James Marsters, although sadly with a West Coast accent that completely kills the allure. Sniff!

Featurette - Buffy – Inside the Music (13:34): You guessed it, more interview stuff is included here, the culprits this time being Joss, Marti, Jane and Doug, plus composer Christophe Beck and music supervisor John King. As well as featuring much interesting stuff about the general score, the featured bands are covered and we also get interviews with Nerf herder and a live rendition of their fabulous Buffy theme.

Trailers: Simply two forgettable trailers for the European home releases of seasons two and three. The first (51 seconds) is for the DVD set and shows the alternate packaging they get over there, while the second is a tad longer at 59 seconds and doubles as a video advertisement, with that box set the product that is shown.

Biographies: Brief information about Buffy creator Joss Whedon, plus actors Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Kristine Sutherland, Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, Mark Blucas, Amber Benson and Emma Caulfield. Those that appeared on earlier releases have generally been updated a little.

  Overall  
Contract

After the revelation that was season three, this continuation of Buffy delivers some absolutely classic stand alone episodes, but falls down a little with the rather dud-like and just plain stupid at times Initiative plotline which tends to start dominating proceedings. Whereas previously Buffy’s quests revolved around the more supernatural or mystical, this foray into what essentially equates to a cross between science fiction and the world of 007 just never quite seems to sit right, something that’s not helped at all by possibly the only example of questionable casting and writing in the series’ history, that of the ultra-geek soldier boy extraordinaire Riley - if only he'd fall afoul to a stray Mr Pointy...

Still, there are also big pluses – the first and most critical for some will be the fact that the set has been released in its correct screen ratio of 1.78:1, rather than being cropped like the first two seasons of Angel were locally, giving things more of a cinematic look and also less of a claustrophobic feel. Add to this the facts that two of the show’s best ever characters, Anya and Spike, become regular cast members, plus the much mentioned above episode Hush is here – and you have reason enough to rush out and get this set for your collection. Not that fans will need any such encouragement anyway, of course.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1555
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      And I quote...
    "Despite the rather stupid and dominant Initiative plot, this first half of season four has plenty of Buffytastic thrills to have fans glued to their seats, and is easily the best presented set on DVD so far. Plus there’s lots of Spike, too!"
    - Amy Flower
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Pioneer DV-535
    • TV:
          Sony 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS494
    • Speakers:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse RBS662
    • Centre Speaker:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECC442
    • Surrounds:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECR042
    • Subwoofer:
          DTX Digital 4.8
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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