I can't wait for Hastings to open this a.m.! Got mine reserved & I'm looking forward to a very Buffy evening. Simon, yes, 'Hush' is one of the best episodes ever, of ANY television program, but being a BtVS fan, I'm sure I am a tad biased. :D

The Lady Pele | June 10, 17:07 CET

I've had the DVD since Thursday - God bless the illicit DVD retailers of Greenwich Village!

As a recently-ordained fan, I've enjoyed Season 4 more than any other. It edges out 3 for me because of the masterful Oz-Willow-Tara love triangle, the very realistic heartbreak over Parker (by Buffy) and Oz (by Willow), the increased use of Spike, and, to my surprise, Riley. I never much cared for Angel-Buffy, so I'm finding myself more involved than ever with these plots. Thus far I've seen up to "The I in Team" ... maybe it gets worse from here. But watching Spike beg Willow and Xander to fight evil was mythical: "Come on, vampires! Raagh! Let's fight that evil!"

It's worth owning the DVD, of course. As Virginia Postrel says, the lack of commercials and cliffhangers (just click the remote and you're on the next episode) do wonders to enrich the series. "Hush," for example, is even better when there are no blaring old Navy ads in between silent horrors. When Buffy finally screams, after 30 minutes of watching these characters just react to the Gentlemen, tears just shot out of my eyes. I didn't cry - it was more like a sudden emotional sucker punch. That happens a lot in this set.

The features are good, too. Seth Green comments on "Wild at Heart," and he sits down for a fluffy Oz featurette. The music documentary, which nails down Chris Beck and Nerf Herder, is actually very informative.

My one qualm thus far: It gets old listening to the theme rom "Hush" every time you open a menu. But that's one qualm.

DaveW | June 10, 21:35 CET

Wasn't Lindsey Crouse in the next-to-last episode, as one of Adam's zombies?

mgldan | June 10, 21:44 CET

I went at lunch from work to HMV for my DVD. All this so I could get optimum watching time tonight. This day rocks

Hembie | June 10, 21:46 CET

I got mine on Saturday. Thank god for e-tailers! I really enjoyed Season 4 up until the last 1/4 (save of course for the lyrical and brilliant "Restless") which I feel completely fell apart. I had always wished that Maggie had been the ultimate Big Bad instead of Adam who was in my opinion dull and rather boring. Maggie was a far more compelling and interesting character to explore. The ultimate showdown between technology and magic would have been better if it was Maggie in the final few episodes they were trying to stop and Adam was just cog in the greater plan (world domination anyone?) while Maggie goes over the edge, envisioning herself perhaps as a mother-Eve to her creation.

It's those last couple of episodes focusing on Adam that detract from the overall scope of the season...

Jace at Televisionary | June 10, 22:27 CET

The S4 DVD released on my birthday. How sweet it is!!

voodoo_daddy | June 10, 22:38 CET

Just wanna say: I'm not a big fan of Season 4. I didn't enjoy a lot of the Season's humor at the expense of Xander, Giles and yeah, even Spike. Thought Adam was lame. Thought Maggie as mother-figure-gone bad was never quite defined properly. Constantly prayed for a sudden world conflict that would ship the Initiative out of Sunnydale.

Nevertheless, Buffy's final confrontation with Adam remains one of my favorite moments from the series. When the bullets burst into doves everything just clicks for me; and yeah, Hush and Restless are pretty damn near perfect.

wren | June 10, 23:10 CET

I've always been a big fan of season 4, I like it just as much as 2 or 3 (I appreciate a LOT of people didn't like s4, but wouldn't it be boring if everyone had the same opinion). Now I just need to work out whether the extra features and the 4:3 framing makes it suffiently different to the region 2 dvd to buy it again... hmmm... :)

Yorky | June 11, 00:22 CET

Happy Birthday voodoo-daddy! :D

The Lady Pele | June 11, 00:33 CET

The Joss-Marti-Seth commentary for "Wild at Heart" is hilarious. It gives you an idea of what it must have been like to be around the ME office back in the days when they didn't all hate each other.

Vamp_Insurance | June 11, 07:21 CET