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| The Office: Season Four | 
 enlarge | Actors: Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, B.j. Novak
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $23.99
You Save: $25.99 (52%)
New (45) Used (16) Collectible (1) from $22.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  146 reviews
Sales Rank: 35
Format: Ac-3, Box Set, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 405
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.4 x 0.9
MPN: MCAD61102114D
UPC: 025195017329
EAN: 0025195017329
ASIN: B001AEF6AY
Theatrical Release Date: September 2, 2008
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: NEW AND SEALED!!!!!!!!FAST SHIPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Another brilliant season for one of TV's most intelligent comedies June 15, 2008
17 out of 28 found this review helpful
My love for THE OFFICE is definite but complex. There are funnier shows (for instance, 30 ROCK), but few comedies are more rewarding. I've long argued that while nothing in the NBC version of THE OFFICE is as brilliant as the absolutely transcendent performance by Ricky Gervais in the BBC original, the NBC series is superior simply because of the way that we have gotten to know the entire group of characters in the Dunder Mifflin Scranton office. Although Steve Carrell is brilliant, the greater virtues of the show lie with the wonderful collection of workers we've gotten to know. Due to this, the NBC version of the show has a depth that the BBC original could never hope to achieve.
I love that in Season Four the producers and writers of THE OFFICE tried taking the show in new and challenging directions. First and foremost, they attempted to negotiate the most difficult obstacle in all of television: how to keep things interesting once you get the show's main romantic couple together. While the dynamics of each episode is always primarily driven by the antics of Steve Carrell's Michael Scott, the emotional center of the show has always lain with the deep attraction between Pamela Beesley and Jim Halpert. But ever since the ratings collapse of MOONLIGHTING after David and Maddie ceased chasing each other and ended up sleeping with one another, virtually every show has striven to keep lovers apart, rather than exploring their relationship together. (Shows that started off with couples together are a different matter. Eric and Tami Taylor on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS have a completely different romantic dynamic than Pam and Jim.) In Season Two we all knew how deeply Jim and Pam were attracted to one another, even though she was engaged to Roy. In Season Three Pam was free, but Jim was emotionally distant after she rejected him in the Season Two finale. The Season Three finale, however, saw Jim asking Pam out on a date to end the season. Season Four begins with them a happy couple, a status that they maintain for the entire season, much to Toby's regret. But the amazing thing is that the writers managed to keep it fun. The season ended with Jim making elaborate plans to propose to Pam, plans that were dashed when the oafish Andy proposed to Angela at the precise moment Jim was about to pop the question to Pam (Angela's reply -- "OK. Just OK." -- was one of the funniest lines of the season).
Although romance blossomed for Pam and Jim, Angela and Dwight ended their secret office romance after he euthanized her cat by placing it in her freezer. Her involvement with Andy was one of the least passionate romances in TV history. (The "OK" reply pretty much summarized it, Angela refusing to give the more positive "Yes" reply to Andy's proposal.) Personally, I found the Michael/Jan relationship to be intensely unpleasant to witness. I'm not a sadistic person and I don't really enjoy seeing it on display in a relationship.
One interesting decision that they producers made concerned Angela Kinsey's real-life pregnancy. I'm sure it had to be a momentary temptation to have her pregnant by Dwight, but in the end they decided not to work her pregnancy into the story. The season's final episodes were filmed shortly before Angela gave birth. Most of her scenes were shot with her standing behind chest high barriers or sitting so that her torso was largely hidden.
On another real life note, it was good to see Jenna Fischer moving around without too much difficulty early in the season. In the June 2007 Up Fronts in New York, she took a nasty spill down a staircase, breaking several discs in her back. Sadly it appears to have been a very painful injury, but luckily one that did not result in any nerve damage.
I've told many friends that I believe that the 2008-2009 television season could well be the finest in TV history. This is partly because so many great series that are at their peak are returning (series like PUSHING DAISIES, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, DEXTER, LOST, 30 ROCK, 24, ELI STONE, and THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), partly because one truly great series is wrapping up (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), and some potentially great new series are debuting (mainly DOLLHOUSE, but also THE FRINGE). And part of this is because THE OFFICE, I'm confident, will continue to be one of the most interesting shows on television. It is going to be a very, very good year.
Why It Costs So Much July 13, 2008
17 out of 22 found this review helpful
This was a great season, and I see a lot of complaints about this kind of price for such a short season. There's a reason: MANY of these episodes were a FULL HOUR, as opposed to other seasons where almost all episodes were a half hour. Compare the full running time of this set to seasons 2 and 3 and you'll see it costs less, even though it's only a bit shorter in overall length.
Special Features June 11, 2008
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
Special features for anyone interested:
133 minutes of deleted scenes.
4 commentaries.
22:38 blooper reel.
53-minute Writers' Block panel from The Office convention held in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
A few shorter things like the 23-second faux "The More You Know" PSA about rabies.
put the office back in the office August 15, 2008
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
Season 4 got weird for me. In part it was the network week after week giving a one hour slot to a series that has always thrived on the short and sweet 22 minute format. The hour long episodes all felt by turns bloated with unnecessary silliness (as opposed to the usual necessary kind) or just stretched too thin. Then of course the second half of the season felt like a mad dash to get somewhere after the writer's strike. But what has really been lost for me is the importance of the setting. The best episodes of "The Office" take place in the office. Pretty much all of season 2 happened right there. The setting is crucial, and yet seasons 3 and 4 wander farther and farther away. An episode like "Phyllis' Wedding" (season 3) is special, and it should feel special, like a refreshing fieldtrip, and a chance for Michael to make a fool of himself in front of new and greater numbers of people, but it gets lost in a series of changing settings. This show is not called "The Beet Farm" or "Times Square" or "The Condo"; part of what is great, even essential, about The Office is the slightly claustrophobic, fluorescent-lit familiarity of the office itself.
 You gotta be joking July 23, 2008
15 out of 43 found this review helpful
I love every episode of this show but having to pay full price for a shortened season is a joke. When they wise up and lower the price to a reasonable number i'll buy it but not till then.
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