Because we are dedicated to honest customer opinions Ally McBeal - Season 4 (M-Lock Packaging) (DVD), we have also included Amazon's customer reviews for this item (of which 5 are displayed below). Amazon customers have given Ally McBeal - Season 4 (M-Lock Packaging) an average rating of 4.0/5.
Top Amazon Review
The beginning of the end for me.. The two star rating might seem a bit harsh, but for me, this is not a patch on the previous seasons. During the first two this was one of the best shows on TV: innovative, funny, moving; and the third just about made the grade. However, by the fourth season a lot of the original characters have started to move on and the show just doesn't have the same spark about it.
One of the positives is the introduction of Larry (Robert Downey Jr.), he's a really appealing male character something which I always found to be a bit thin on the ground in Ally McBeal, however due to the actor's personal problems his character was brought in and out of the show in a way that really messed with the narrative. Apart from this the new characters brought in just weren't as carefully crafted. Some of the story lines were a bit weird, such as Mark dating a transvestite and some of the episodes were just horrible - quite a few on this DVD are completely forgetable or even skipable.
Oh, and for some reason, for the first few episodes they have a voice over for Ally which is completely lazy and superfluous and doesn't fit in, as they'd never had it before.
So, I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting this series as I got the first three and held off on this one for a while. In the end, as I loved the first three so much I decided to go for it, but after watching the whole thing I kind of kicked myself for not sticking to my gut instinct.
Customer Review 1
Losing it, just a little. Seasons 1-3 of Ally McBeal are really special- original, smart and snappy and heartwarming. So imagine my disappointment when, after watching my way through those, I reached season 4 to find that it becomes a very different show. There is the feeling that David Kelley feels Ally has become boring so he tries to bring the story right back to her character, relegating the other characters in the process. Big mistake! The early part of the season goes right back to us even hearing Ally's whingeing in her head, its unbearable. The charm of the show was that it was also about the other people in her life rather than just Ally's whining, but the other associates suddenly fade back to relative obscurity.Thankfully Larry makes her much easier to watch and the series does improve, but the firm seems to go from one silly marriage annulment/sexual harrassment case to another. Nelle and Ling become two dimensional characters with occasional plotlines, Mark is given no character development, and watch out for a particularly bad episode called The Getaway.However that's not to say it's not a good season, its just not a great one. It is interspersed with the kind of random, quirky humour we've come to expect from the show and of course, we need to know where the characters are going to end up before the next and final season. Watch out for Anne Heche's performance as Melanie, a woman with Tourette's Syndrome, it's fantastic.Overall still a great show but missing that special something that it just used to have.
Customer Review 2
BEST SEASON!. This season, in my opinion is the best one! When Larry joins the gang, he makes Ally slightly more bearable, it was a shame that they broke up. Nelle's father thinks he's Santa, Elaine is sued for sexual harassment, Mark not knowingly dates a transvestite, Ling's ex comes back and she still loves him and Elaine sings a song from Annie. Best episodes are Love on Holiday, The Man with the Bag, The Pursuit of Unhappiness, Mr Bo, Reasons to Believe, Boys Town and Tis the Season. John and Melaine drove me CRAZY!!! Elaine and Mark get together, and Elaine, as always is the BEST! She's funny, great etc! shes a FABULOUS character! And Jane Krakowski portrays her without the slightest of a flaw! Ally is 100% annoying! But Larry makes her 99.999999999999999999% annoying. Larrys cute and hes ok. Nelle gets a little worse but Ling is really funny, but Elaine remains #1! Mark is pretty ok and he and Elaine werent bad for a while, on the short term. I recommend this season a LOT!
Customer Review 3
ALLY MCBEAL SEASON 4. THIS IS DEFINATLEY THE BEST OF ALLY MCBEAL. FUNNY, POIGNANT AND SENTIMENTAL. THE GORGEOUS, FANTASTIC ROBERT DOWNEY JR IS AT HIS BEST AND IS BASICALLY WHAT MAKES THIS SERIES. IT JUST GETS BETTER THE MORE YOU WATCH. LONG LIVE ALLY MCBEAL.....
Customer Review 4
The best series ???. Argueably the best series of ally mcbeal. For any fan of the show that has not purchased this dvd yet, what are you waiting for?! you know you want it! I mean who doesnt...this series introduces larry paul (the fantastic robert downing jr) to the familiar setup. Along with ally they possess the same chemistry that was felt between herself and billy, however this time the relationship is obtainable, sit back and watch the laughter follow the tears and enjoy that feel good factor inevitable from the viewing!
