The Office: Season Four - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 09/02/2008

Amazon.com
Is a season of The Office with less episodes still a great season? That seems to be the debate among the Emmy-winning sitcom's faithful audience in regard to season four, which like every program in 2007 and 2008 suffered due to the Writers Guild strike. But even a truncated season can't dispel the fact that The Office remains one of television's funniest and most consistently inventive programs. If a theme can be grafted upon season four, it's Things Fall Apart: former temp Ryan (writer-producer B.J. Novak) is promoted to executive position and then squanders that power, while Dwight (series MPV Rainn Wilson) attempts to recover from his breakup with Angela (Angela Kinsey) and her apparent relationship with the hapless Andy (Ed Helms). Elsewhere, HR's Toby (writer-director Paul Lieberstein) finally flees Dunder Mifflin for that long-threatened vacation to Costa Rica (and is replaced by Oscar nominee Amy Ryan), and Stanley (Leslie David Baker) reaches his own breaking point in "Did I Stutter?" The center of office entropy is, of course, boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell), who is knocked off his pedestal throughout the season; his sweetly naive television spot is disparaged in "Local Ad," he's passed over for the executive outing in "Survivor Man," and in the season's highlights, he is forced to twice endure humiliation at the hands of his own girlfriend Jan (Melora Hardin), first in the heartbreaking "Deposition," and then immediately after in the Emmy-nominated "Dinner Party," which puts their disintegrating relationship in sharp focus. Even office lovebirds Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) experience some rocky moments as Jim anguishes over the right time to propose to her. But don't let that laundry list of disasters fool you into thinking that season four is a downer; if anything, many of the episodes are among the funniest the show has produced to date. Most notable among these are the opener "Fun Run" (the Scranton team participates in Michael's charity race for rabies prevention), "Job Fair" (Michael attempts to hawk Dunder Mifflin to high schoolers, while Jim struggles to land a client), and the aforementioned "Dinner Party" and "Goodbye, Toby." Longtime viewers may wince at some of the broader gags in the season, like Michael and Dwight driving into the lake in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity," but the best episodes are so strong--and Carell and his fellow players so dead-on in their performances--that it's hard to make a case against the season for those relatively few low points. Extras in the season-four set are fewer than in previous releases, though that may have to do with the reduced number of episodes. Deleted scenes are offered for every episode, and many are real gems, most notably those in "Dinner Party" and "Goodbye Toby." A smattering of commentaries is also included; Carell and Krasinski are noticeably absent, but Wilson, Fischer and the writing and directing staff more than make up for their absence. And the featurette "Writer's Block," which includes footage of the writers' panel at an Office convention, gives an amusing alternate to the usual behind-the-scenes coverage. Michael's complete ad for Dunder Mifflin, a battery of amusing faux PSAs for rabies, and a gag reel do much to fill out the supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

Stills from Season Four of The Office (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews: Read 140 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Target version with 5th disc Q&A September 2, 2008
77 out of 86 found this review helpful

Disappointing season compared to 1,3, and especially 2? Probably. Overpriced box set considering the shortened season due to the writer's strike? Definitely. Still one of the best shows on tv and still worth owning? Ye-esh. So should you buy it now or discounted later?

Well, i'm a fan of The Office and have all 4 seasons on dvd(recently addicted so i had to play catch-up). This was a day-1 purchase for me only because i love the show; and because i had a gift card and some discounts coming to me. I bought the special edition at Target with the bonus 5th disc being The Office Q&A convention in Scranton, PA with the supporting cast. If you don't know what to expect(i didn't), above all else don't expect professionalism or anything fancy. The convention looked huge and was packed with Office fans! The camera-work had a very "we coulda done this with a camcorder"-look to it. It has the standard host/audience's questions format. It lasts about an hour and is fun if you're a die-hard fan. However, i thought it was going to be the support cast for 30 minutes, then the main stars for 30. But Steve, Rainn, John, Jenna, and B.J.(he's in the writer's convention extra though) NEVER appear. Oh well.

As for the other discs, haven't gone through it all yet(episodes or extras-bloopers, deleted scenes, etc) but i was disappointed to see there appears to be only 4 audio commentaries. Now, with a shortened season(which is not their fault) i would think they would try to put as many extras as possible to help make up for it. And with such a large and great ensemble cast, they have plenty of people to choose from to help do this. Yet only 4 commentaries? I only nit-pick about this cause i love the commentaries with the cast and crew and find them(& the deleted scenes) as enjoyable as the shows themselves.

The bonus script is, uh, nice. But you're gonna have to put it in with the dvd's everytime or the outer casing will be too big/loose(you'll see what i mean). The Office sticky notes bonus are also included(yay?). All in one big box for $37 this week at Target. The standard version is on sale for $30 this week minus the big box, 5th disc, and notes. I think Best Buy has their spec.ed., but that comes with a t-shirt/water bottle combo(?).

Anyway, i hope this helps a little as to whether you want to fork over for the Target 'deluxe' edition or not. Honestly, after all my credits, i only paid $26 for mine but still feel slighltly jipped on the commentaries and no Michael, Dwight, Jim, Pam, Ryan, or Toby at the convention(but that might be my fault as i didn't research who was included). Overall 4 stars for dvd set, minus one for price and lack of extra extras to make up for shortened season. Having said all that, i'm gonna hang on to my copy and watch it over and over again, but i'm biased that way. And before you reach for that not-helpful button... FACT: my preview is still better than most reviews like "office rox", "office sux", "my shipment hasn't arrived".

(edit: besides the (great)deleted scenes for each episode and 4 commentaries, the other two standard major extras of note are the bloopers which run about 22 minutes and the The Office "Writer's Block" Convention which runs about 52 minutes. Greg Daniels, Jen Celotta, Mike Schur, Mindy Kaling, BJ Novak, and Eisenberg & Stupnitsky are notables there, but still no Paul Lieberstein)

5 out of 5 stars

A truncated, but great season June 25, 2008
57 out of 68 found this review helpful

It's that time of year again - a magical time when television studios release their most successful shows from the previous season in deluxe and frequently expensive DVD sets. But this last seasons was, of course, different. The writers strike cut the season down to 16 episodes and, as expected, many are starting to complain that the price hasn't been discounted. Paying the same price for less product does seem unfair. That is, to everyone but the media industry. As for me, I'm not surprised in the slightest. I expect to be exploited by the media - it's nothing new. The real question is, with all Office season four episodes already available on NBC's website, will people feel cheated enough to forgo this collection altogether?

Season four seemed like something of a departure from the usual style. Earlier seasons featured many episodes with a more-or-less self-contained story that came to some sort of resolution within 21 minutes. Season four seemed to be mainly episodes dealing with larger story arcs. Yeah, there were always little stories going on (e.g. they lose their parking lot, etc.) but they now feel firmly in the background, totally dominated by the more personal stories going on.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. In one sense, I'm happy that the Office is flourishing and moving beyond a simple (but awesome) comedy show. At the same time, I sometimes miss the lighthearted format of the earlier seasons. It's definitely a matter of personal preference.

Regardless, it's definitely a strong season and it's essential viewing for fans of the series because of all the major plot developments. For those who are considering skipping the season on DVD, I would argue that the bonus features make it worth the extra money. You get plenty of deleted scenes, commentaries, and all that good stuff. Sure, you could watch them online for free, but then you have to use NBC's less-than-stellar video player and you still have to watch advertisements.

1 out of 5 stars

Send a message - don't buy it July 5, 2008
28 out of 63 found this review helpful

The Office is a terrific show. Many folks, including myself, would consider it one of the best of this decade.

No doubt that NBC took a bath this past television season when the writers struck and season series' were truncated. So there is also no doubt that NBC has big plans to recover some of these losses from us by selling less product for full price. I am a good capitalist, and I do not question their right to do so; but the consumers also have a right (obligation?) to send a message to NBC that we are not going to take it.

I am overseas military, and for a lot of reasons, I have little opportunity to watch television. Accordingly, I have only seen 2 or 3 episodes from season 4. Watching a DVD here and there on my schedule is the only way I get to watch the few shows worth watching. Nevertheless, I will forego buying this set, at least until the price is fair.

If we all buy this now, like the good little sheep NBC wants us to be, you will see the same thing for other short seasons, and the studios will continue to take advantage. Wait them out, if sales are poor, the price will eventually drop.

1 out of 5 stars

Too expensive July 1, 2008
24 out of 65 found this review helpful

The Office is a great show, but there is no way I am paying full price for a season cut short by that joke of a strike.

1 out of 5 stars

Bend Over July 6, 2008
21 out of 71 found this review helpful

$32 for 14 episodes? That, plus the fact that this wasn't their best season means it's something of a ripoff. Based on what a "full" season set costs, Season Four should be closer to $22. I'll not buy it until I see it in the discount rack.

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