Felicity: Senior Year Collection (The Complete Fourth Season)

If your looking for consistently amazing acting, then "Felicity" is the show for you. Sadly the fourth was the last season of "Felicity" and thus the graduating season. Nonetheless, many fans would have loved to see Felicity's life unfold outside of collage. This season of Felicity deals with the hardships of commitment. Many characters this season deal commitment issues, such as relationships, education, and with following a particular career path. Most viewers would assume that by now Felicity would know exactly what it is that she's meant to do, and who she is meant to be with, however this is not the case. No show has come closer to displaying this sense of regret and uncertainty as "Felicity" does this season. Just because we get older doesn't mean we know everything. Felicity's confidence has grown with each passing season, but much of her season one and two uncertainties come back to haut her. So just when you the viewers think they know her, she does something completely out of character. It keeps the show interesting, and along with the funny and charismatic cast, this show deserves much praise.

Because Felicity was only signed on for 17 episodes this season, like season three, the writers and directors wanted to make sure that the fans got their graduation episode. However, the show was picked-up for another five episodes. Because of this, the writers decided on a neat twist, and unrealistic twist of Felicity going back in time. Many complained of the unrealistic direction this took, others like myself enjoyed the lightness and comedy that these episodes portrayed. It was a nice change from the dramatic, and often melancholic undertone of the first 17 episodes. My piece of advice is to have fun with these 'extra' episodes and not dissect every piece of inconsistency, it was meant to be 'far reaching'. In the end, something may be learned from all this silliness, that no matter how much you may think you could have done better, or changed things for the better, on the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter, because you're always where you're suppose to be, and who you want to be with is a decision you must make considering where you've been, and everything you've overcome- together.

Also, we are spoiled with another spectacular quest appearance from John Ritter, "Ben's father". He and Scott Speedman share many touching scenes.

Lastly, I came across a quote from a "Felicity" Website (www.felicitypage.com/lessons.html) that sums up why so many people love this show:

"I think the reason that so many people love the show is because it mirrors our own lives at times. Although our circumstances may not be the same, we can appreciate the emotions and situations of the characters. Life's lessons are hard, but it helps to know that you're not alone in it all."

Just found out what kind of bonus material we could be seeing on this DVD box set. This is what is being reported on the trusty site www.tvshowsondvd.com:
1)"The Lost Elena Scenes: This exclusive, never-before-seen footage provides the long-awaited answer to Felicity fans' biggest questions." (this may make the inconsistencies that I was talking about a bit clearer to the audience.)
2)"Fade Out: Behind-the-scenes reflections on Felicity with Keri Russell and the show's creators."

I'm sure they will once again have some episode commentaries, but that's just me speculating, anyway for now that's all they're saying, I'll let you know if it changes.

I am a big Felicity fan, but the Senior Year really hit a terrible wall. One of the creators admitted in interviews later that he had already moved on to Alias, and it shows. This is a mess. He and all the producers and writers should be ashamed to have let their fine project peter out like this. The scripts no longer make any sense. Characters act out-of-character, many things go unexplained, plotlines are dropped right and left, minor characters are played by the same person, and so on. Apparently, people at NYU have multiple jobs, working in the mailroom one month and in counseling the next, working in the health center one month and in the library the next. The producers can't even take the time to hire separate people to play these parts. But the worst is having Felicity copy her final paper and then be allowed to graduate. This after they had a show about cheating in season 2, making it a very big deal. Now, suddenly, there are no consequences. It is apparently OK to plagiarize papers and throw library books in the garbage and steal dissertations. I am not being a moralist here, I am just pointing out that all this completely goes against Felicity's character, a character developed over three long seasons. The Senior Year has many similar examples, which show that the new writers could not even be bothered to become familiar with the previous material. The scripts don't just have a different feel, they are nonsense. There is no continuity even week to week. And this is before all the additional mess caused by extending the season. I own all four years now, but I think I will stick with the first two. I doubt I will ever subject myself to the 4th year again. It is too depressing in too many ways.

I am a huge Felicity fan. I have loved and will always love this series. I do not normally write reviews, but I just finished a 3-night marathon of watching this final season. Do not read any more if you don't want to know what happens.

I was at first skeptical about the time-travel storyline, but found that it brought a much-needed lightness to the show which was very heavy in this final season.

This is where I have my main complaint. Felicity and Ben were facing very difficult times due to her insecurity about the future and Ben's dad illness (by the way, an outstanding dramatic performance by John Ritter). The added sub-plot with Lauren's pregnancy and Ben becoming a father, was too much. For me, this was the element that spoiled this series from being perfect. I don't think they really needed to include this in the show, for many reasons, but mostly because in our dream world it would have been nice to imagine what the show could not give us, their life after college. It would have been nice to imagine Felicity and Ben getting married, and experiencing the joys of parenthood together and for the first time for both. For me, this sub-plot is a dark cloud that will stay with them forever.

Another problem with the show is the final episode's omission of the scenes which explain how Elena is present at Noel's wedding after we know she dies. Before seeing the bonus material, I thought it was her spirit, even though I could not explain Tracy's presence. This was a huge thing, and it was very disappointing to see the creators explain that they had to cut out some scenes from the last show because it was too long; when they used many clips from previous shows that we did not need to see again. This said, I was glad for this twist. I was glad to have Elena alive again.

In any case, this was one of the best series on television. In my perfect world I dream with Felicity Again...a new series five or ten years after graduation. A new Thirtysomething with the whole cast. J.J. Abrams, I hope you read these reviews, but I'm sure you're too busy with Alias.

Thank you Felicity and Good-bye.