Product Details

• Actors: Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford
• Directors: Thomas Schlamme, Chris Misiano
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 5, 2005
• Run Time: 1000 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007OY2N0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,430 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The winning streak for this veritable show continues through its fourth year. As with many long-running series, The West Wing faces the inevitable--a cast member chooses to leave. But this show handles Rob Lowe's exit with such well-executed grace, a could-be-harmful experience (or at least sudden) is turned into an asset. The season begins with three staff members marooned in the heartland (played mostly for laughs) and ends with a dramatic cliffhanger even more powerful than the initial season's shooting. In between are 20 excellent episodes packed with the series' trademark wit and pace, and an uncannily ability to create excellent moments for the entire cast. The election nears and West Wingers brace for the final onslaught including a make-or-break debate. There's a horrible genocide in Africa changing the course of the Bartlett administration and a covert assassination with effects lingering throughout the season. There's also the now-annual flashback episode, this time to the first days at the White House (with another comforting appearance by Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. Landingham). The series also has its first episode set mostly outside the West Wing when C.J. (Alison Janney) goes back to Ohio for a high school reunion and visits her father (Donald Moffat) who is starting to feel the effects of Alzheimer's.

Lowe's Sam Seaborn picks a new fate at the spur of the moment and is eventually replaced by the very person whose verve he was swept up by--a harried, vastly intelligent campaign manager, Will Bailey (Josh Malina, best known for his work in creator Aaron Sorkin's previous show, Sports Night). He's an excellent fit for the West Wing, both fictionally and for the series. Part of the show's success belongs to the continuity, helped immensely by high-caliber guest stars continuing long runs on the show, including Mary-Louise Parker, John Amos, Marlee Matlin, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield, Lily Tomlin, Anna Deavere Smith, and Ron Silver (hey, that's a pretty good cast for their own show). One-time guest stars are also used to the fullest. Notice how a single-episoe appearance by Christian Slater (as a naval attaché who strikes Donna's fancy) turns into a three-episode arc. Matthew Perry delivers an Emmy-nominated performance in a key role in the season's final arc. This fourth season was capped by the departure of creator-writer Sorkin and producer-director Thomas Schlamme, plus another Emmy win for Best Drama, its fourth straight. Many were surprised or even angered that the series kept up the winning streak. Perhaps the series was not as relevant to the times as four years earlier, but the proof is in the pudding--the series was still in rarefied air by the end of this season.

Luckily, Sorkin and Schlamme were invited to air the commentaries for the DVDs, here on three episodes. It allows them to talk about their departure, a subject barely mentioned in the two making-of featurettes. One deals with speechwriters and other with Stockard Channing's role on the show. Note: the documentaries and deleted scenes are hard to find. Look for the pointer (>) at the bottom right of the special features menu of the sixth disc. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

Ensemble show about the inner workings of the Bartlet presidential administration.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 04/05/05
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 213 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars End of an Era, February 15, 2005

By 

Adam Dukovich "colts_19" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)

This season saw the end of a bright but sadly short-lived era. The West Wing was THE show to watch for four glorious years. There are those out there who might say that the show somehow lost steam in the final year of the Sorkin era, but I say unto you, listen not to them. When a highly regarded show undergoes (or is about to undergo) a major change, it is nitpicked to a great extent, and some people feel compelled to invent problems with it, for whatever reason. It is fortunate for the non-crazy, then, that this year proved so able to produce challenging, powerful drama. This season opens with presidential politics in full swing, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) campaigning for a second term facing a suspiciously Dubya-looking Republican contender portrayed by James Brolin (okay, he's more like a Bush caricature). After several great campaign-themed episodes at the season's beginning, politics-as-unusual would once again turn up in the halls of power at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

This season's biggest change was Rob Lowe's departure from the show, but that was alright, because we got the super-talented Joshua Malina to replace him. We met Toby's and CJ's dads in "Holy Night" and "The Long Goodbye", respectively. The former continues in the show's tradition of powerful, moving Christmas episodes, the latter is a greatly underrated family drama centering around CJ and her Alzheimer's-stricken father. These episodes pack plenty of emotional power, and there were other great episodes like "20 Hours in America," which tracked Josh, Toby and Donna through Indiana after they lost the motorcade, and "Life on Mars," which led to the departure of John Hoynes as Vice President, thanks to Matthew Perry's guest turn as Joe Quincy. These episodes, in addition to the pulse-pounding final two shows of the season, were only a few of a memorable and consistent year of television that called to mind the show's first season--no grand arcs, just stories and characters and the delightful political mess the White House staff would sort through on a weekly basis. This season brought the series back to its roots and was an appropriate send-off for one of the medium's masters, although it's sad indeed that the send-off in question was needed in the first place. Where have you gone, Aaron?

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THEY'RE THERE!, April 8, 2005

By 

Chris (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)

The Special Features are on disk 6!

1) Put in Disk 6

2) Click "Special Features"

3) Next to "Main Menu" is this symbol ">" click on it and you got em!

Talk about non-intuitive design. Yeesh.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Episode List, April 1, 2005

By 

D. Meanea "carpe-dm" (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)

Since they don't list the eps in the technical details, here you go:
01 - 20 Hours in America (1)
02 - 20 Hours in America (2)
03 - College Kids
04 - The Red Mass
05 - Debate Camp
06 - Game On
07 - Election Night
08 - Process Stories
09 - Swiss Diplomacy
10 - Arctic Radar
11 - Holy Night
12 - Guns Not Butter
13 - The Long Goodbye
14 - Inauguration (1)
15 - Inauguration (2): Over There
16 - The California 47th
17 - Red Haven's on Fire
18 - Privateers
19 - Angel Maintenance
20 - Evidence of Things Not Seen
21 - Life On Mars
22 - Commencement
23 - Twenty Five

As far as a review, I don't have anything more eloquent to write than what has already been written, so I'll just agree with the reviews that call this one of the greatest seasons of one of the greatest series ever created.

I also wanted to chime in on the debate of seasons five and six. I'll certainly stipulate to the fact that season five was awkward, but I'm very glad I stuck with the show because season six has been quite impressive in my opinion. As great as the Sorkin seasons? No, I wouldn't say that, but maybe as good as anything else available on TV this year (except reruns of seasons one thru four!) :)