Customer Reviews

X-Files:S4

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With season four of the series, the stand alone episodes and mythology episodes took a creative leap forward. While this isn't the best season, it still caught the show in peak form. Among the stand out episodes this season are"Paper Hearts" and "Memento Mori" The first captures everything that worked well on "The X-Files". It's about a child serial killer who has more victims than he's admitted to killing. Mulder and Scully become involved when Mulder begins having dreams telling him where another victim is buried. The killer maniuplates Mulder using information he's learned about his sister's abduction and Mulder's guilt to arrange to get out of jail and lead them to one of his victims...Mulder's sister (or so he claims). It's an intense, emotionally powerful and scary episode all wrapped up into one.

The second "Memento Mori" focuses on how Scully deals with some very bad information about her health. The show focuses much more on the rich characterizations of the show. Also, the tongue in cheek episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" suggests that the CSM was involved in everything from JFK's assassination to why the Bills kept losing the Superbowl.

Other episodes such as that involving Leonard Betts which leads to some bad news for Scully and even the convoluted mythology episodes all have resonance and power. We also meet Jeremiah Smith (the marvelous Roy Thinnes who was in one of my favorite shows from childhood "The Invaders"--by the way Fox where is that one DVD?)who cures with the touch of a hand. Strangely, though, there's more than a handful of Jeremiah Smiths and they all work in the social security office gathering information. For what you ask? You'll have to watch the episodes to find out. The grand finale for season 4 was a suspenseful cliff hanger that threw everything you knew about the show into a torando of new information and misinformation. Mulder, Scully and the audience really didn't know which way was up at the end of "Gethsemane".

Picture quality on season four is actually better than on seasons one and two. I have to disagree with Mitch who wrote that season four is something of a let down. For me, it continued a string of outstanding seasons that became the foundation for one of the best shows on television. Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, Frank Spotnitz, John Shiban and Howard Gordon all contributed great scripts during this season (frequently co-writing many of them). I'm not surprised to see that Spotnitz and Shiban had the same writing instructor at the AFI. It's clear these talented writer/producers learned a thing or two that helped focus their tremendous talent during this season.

The imperfections of season four are few and far between. There are a few episodes that just barely missed the boat in the quality department and those few that did only missed it by a beat or two. "Home" a controverisal episode that got Fox into hot water is a tad overrated and, for my money, one of the lesser episodes this season. It pushed the envelope but dramatically didn't have the pay off it could or should had. It's an example of an interesting concept that just doesn't gel as an episode.

The extras include two episodes with commentary, deleted scenes (which can be viewed as part of the episode if you go to the special features menu for that particularly episode), a documentar/featurette (depends on how you define it) on the series and a booklet with the titles (which is helpful for me since I can rarely remember the titles of these episodes),credits and a photo from the episode as well as a listing of the full episodes and their air date through season 7.

The show continued on with a string out strong seasons through season 6. Season 7 had a number of great episodes but the show was beginning to run out of steam and the uncertainty about Duchovny's part in the show clearly had an impact. Season 8 picked up steam again with a pair of fresh characters (Agent Dogget played by Robert Patrick does a great job being the skeptic to Scully's believer. Agent Reyes introduced mid-season acts as a nice counter balance to both). While season 9 didn't quite live up to the other seasons, it had a number of fine episodes in it as well. Luckily, Carter pulled the plug just at the right time for the show.

With "The X-Files" movie set for release in 2006 (Carter and his crew are in pre-production as of mid-2004), ther's bound to be renewed interest in the series. Hopefully, Carter can come up with a movie that can stand up to the best two or three part episodes that ran throughout the best seasons.

First, let me say, that I am a huge fan of the X-Files. I do love this season but I do tend to watch Seasons 1 - 3 sets more frequently. Pros: Small Potatoes (great funny David Duchovny episode. Nerdy guy who transforms into Mulder.), Home (scary, really scary episode. Banned from Fox after one showing. Inbreeding family bury their deformed child. Very violent but funny in ways that I should be embarrassed about.), Demons (Mulder receives unorthodox treatment into his memories regarding sister Samantha. For some reason I like seeing Mulder in a tortured state. Get to see Mulder naked.), mytharc Tempus Fugit/Max (I don't usually like mythology episodes, but I like the character of the constantly abducted Max. Hated seeing Agent Pendrell get shot though...he was sweet on Scully.), Unruhe (another scary episode. Serial killer can see demons inside people and tries to remove them by performing labotomies. Scully gets kidnapped...again), Paper Hearts (another Tortured!Mulder episode. Serial child molester/killer may have killed more...including Mulder's sister Samantha), and Elegy (people who are dying can see others who were just murdered. Scully sees one but does not tell Mulder until later...annoying Scully habit). Cons: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (too little of M & S), and Sanguinarium (gross episode about evil in a hospital specializing in plastic surgery. I had the beginnings of a migraine prior to the show, had a full blown migraine after seeing all the blood and the shrunken head.). Most overrated episodes: Memento Mori (I did not like the mytharc of Scully's cancer) and Never Again (not alot of Mulder. Dr. Scully picking up a stranger in a tattoo parlor in a bad neighborhood...right. Maybe she wanted to be a bad girl. Did she sleep with him? Who knows. Interesting, almost revealing conversation at the end between M & S.). There a very few episodes that I would not recommend watching. This season has very few comedic episodes though--very gloomy season (Scully's cancer began here). I think Anderson won an emmy in this season (Memento Mori). Both lead actors won Golden Globes. I would highly recommend Season 4.

This 7 disc DVD boxed set contains International Clips, Deleted Scenes and all the 24 episodes of the fourth season -Disc one contains the episodes Herrenvolk, Home, Teliko and Unruhe. -Disc two contains the episodes The Field Where I Died, Sanguinarium, Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man and Tunguska. -Disc three contains the episodes Terma, Paper Hearts, El Mundo Gira and Leonard Betts. -Disc four contains the episodes Never Again, Momento Mori, Kaddish and Unrequited. -Disc five contains the episodes Tempus Fugit, Max, Synchrony and Small Potatoes. -Disc six contains the episodes Zero-Sum, Elegy, Demons and Gethsemane. -Disc seven contains a 30 minute Documentary The Truth About Season Four, Interview Clips from Herrenvolk, Unruhe, Home with James Wong, Paper Hearts and Tunguska. Special Effects Clips with Audio Commentary of Herrenvolk, Leonard Betts, Momento Mori, Unrequited, Max, Synchrony, All Additional Deleted/Extended Scenes Re-presented with Optional Audio Commentary by Chris Carter, 13 Behind the Truth Spots, and the DVD-ROM game Urbs Tertia.

For better or for worse this season tweaked forever the original style of the X-Files, which had maintained a rather closed-in, claustrophobic feel. The producers decided to make a change, perhaps in light of the X-Files feature film they had been working on, to give the show a more movie-like look and feel. So now we see more open spaces, more light and colour, and much larger settings. A hardcore fan would likely resent this change, as something special and atmospheric is lost, however what is gained is a more present-time, present-place visual reality which opened up new possibilities for storytelling and artistic concepts. In another controversial move they decided to kill off the much-loved X (or sometimes "Mr. X") character in the premiere. On the plus side they do delve deeper into Cancer Man's world, his past and present, and this gives him an even stronger presence in the series. Ratings for the show continued to rise, perhaps because this season took on some heavy themes and kept them rolling, such as Scully developing terminal brain cancer and Mulder dealing with the demons of his past.

Up until recently, I never watched a single episode of the X-Files. However, now that the DVD sets have been reduced in price, I had the opportunity to start watching the show. After watching the first three seasons of The X-Files, I was hooked and I became a big fan of the show. I also noticed the growing trend, that each season seemed to be better than the last. Unfortunately, the fourth season seems to take a step back from the stellar third season. Don't get me wrong. The fourth season of The X-Files is still very good and filled with plenty of solid episodes. But the reason that I feel season four is slightly overrated, is because it is considered by many to be the best season of the entire show. It did not quite live up to season three, because the third season was great from start to finish.

The mythology episodes usually serve as the best episodes and really drive the show. However, the mythology of season four for the most part, turned out to be quite boring: "Tunguska", "Terma", "Tempus Fugit", and "Max". What really ended up saving the season overall, was top notch stand alone episodes like "Home", "Small Potatoes", "Leonard Betts", "Paper Hearts", "Never Again", "Synchrony", and "Zero Sum". There were four really good mythology episodes however. "Memento Mori" focused on Scully's cancer, "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" in which we learn all about the CSM's past, "Demons" in which Mulder tries to learn more about what happened to his sister Samantha, and the season finale "Gethsemane" in which Mulder's beliefs are put into question.

Overall, this is definately a set worth owning for fans of the show. The season as a whole turned out to be very good, and the DVD set was great once again. The fourth season DVD set offers top notch picture and sound quality. You also get a documentary discussing season four as a whole, deleted scenes with commentary from series creator Chris Carter, commentary on "Home" and "Small Potatoes" from the writers of those particular episodes, and behind the truth spots from F/X. The only thing I missed that the three previous sets provided, was Chris Carter going over his favorite episodes from the season. It is a shame that this was done for the first three seasons only.

Solid 4 stars....

Once again, this show is taken to a whole new level with Season Four. The mythology is expanded and goes deeper than the other seasons.

We get the exciting conclusion to the last season's cliffhanger.

We get the most controversial episode of the entire series: "Home"(stand-alone episode).

We dive deeper into the plot of Mulder's sister. We also find out more about the black oil.

We find out that Scully has cancer in this season. It's only hinted at in the third season, but the truth comes full circle in this season.

Lastly, we end with a cliffhanger that, if you haven't seen the next season, will surprise and shock you.

Great season, great DVD.

The emotion of the show starts coming out in this season. Without a doubt,"Home" is the best episode this season.

Though not as memorable as the brilliant third season, the fourth season of The X-Files is one of the best seasons of the series. Full of pivotal events such as when Mulder (David Duchovny) becomes infected with the Black Oil and Scully (Gillian Anderson) discovers she has cancer, Season 4 had storyline developments that would continue to echo throughout the series' entire run. Standout episodes include Herrenvolk, Tunguska/Terma, Memento Mori, and Zero Sum; all of which expand the series' mythology, while stand alone episodes such as "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man", which features the Cancer Man (William B. Davis) being involved in a number of conspiracies, and "Home", an episode that actually was banned from being played on Fox due to it's surprising splatter like violence and story content which involves inbreeding. All in all, the fourth season of The X-Files is fantastic, and this is when the series was in it's prime.

The X-Files is an awesome show and season 4 has many great episodes including one of my favorites which is an episode called Leonard Betts and guest stars Paul Mccrane who playes Dr. Romano on ER.

I would love to own this season and all of the seasons on DVD but it's a real bummer that my mom won't let me buy them as she thinks it's silly to buy TV shows on DVD when you can watch the reruns on TV so someday I hope to be able to buy them as I think it would be so cool to be able to wach them without commercials and see the episodes unedited. If you can buy this set go for it! Yes I know my review is probally not very helpful and I will probably get a lot of unhelpful votes but whatever!

I'm glad to know that even though the current episodes of The X files [...]horribly, good episodes are forever documented in history. When the sci fi channel fails me I will at least have the Dvds.