DVD Release Date: November 14, 2006 (Warner Bros. Home Video)
Color/1996-97
MSRP: $59.98
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 1002 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: N/A
Audio: English Stereo
Subtitles: French & Spanish; Closed Captioned
Special Features:
• Kryptonian Kronology Interactive feature hosted by
Dean Cain
• Justice League Heroes: Video Game Trailer
Introduction:
Lois Lane and Clark Kent saved the best for last! In
their final season, they finally get married. And we
swear to god they are not kidding this time! However,
there are a few roadblocks along the way to martial
bliss. You will have to buy the set and see for
yourself, as all 22 final season episodes are
available from Warner Home Video. It is time to
fly…and say goodbye!
The show stars Dean Cain as the mild-mannered reporter
Clark Kent and the visitor from another planet &
super-hero, Superman. Teri Hatcher also stars as Lois
Lane, the news hungry reporter who loves Superman ever
since she first saw him. Rounding out the excellent
cast is Lane Smith as Perry White the chief of the
Daily Planet where Lois & Clark are reporters for,
Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen the paper boy of the
office, K Callan as Martha Kent who is Clark’s mother
on Earth, and Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent who is
Clark’s dad on Earth.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
The fourth & final season have some very good
episodes. The show was still going strong quality
wise, so I think it could have gone for another one or
two seasons, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Some of
the memorable episodes of the season include the
season premiere “Lord of the Flys” and “Battleground
Earth” where we continue where we left off last
season, Clark heading to New Krypton. “Swear to God
This Time We’re Not Kidding” is the one where Lois &
Clark get married…seriously. “Soul Mates” is the
wedding night episode, but they get interrupted by
H.G. Wells. “’Twas the Night Before Mxymas” is the one
where Christmas Eve keeps happening over and over
again. “Sex, Lies, and Video Tapes” is the one where a
photographer catches Lois & Superman in a compromising
position. Then there are great multiple part episodes
about Tempus running for president, and someone is
trying to recreate Lex Luthor. And the series finale
“The Family Hour” is where Lois & Clark wonder if they
can have kids…a surprising ending.
This season had a of named guests guest starring!
Leeza Gibbons (“Lord of the Flys”), Justine Bateman
(“Lord of the Flys” & “Battleground Earth”), Delta
Burke & David Doyle (“Swear to God This Time We’re Not
Kidding”), Caroline McWilliams & Jack Larson (“Brutal
Youth”), Jasmine Guy (“The People vs. Lois Lane),
Christopher Titus (“Dead Lois Walking”), Drew Carey &
Kathy Kinney (“Ghosts”), Howie Mandel & Keene Curtis
(‘Twas the Night Before Mxymas”), John Spencer & Nancy
Dussault (“Lethal Weapon”), Fred Willard (“Meet John
Doe” & “Lois & Clarks”), Dwight Schultz (“AKA
Superman”), John Shea (“Shadow of a Doubt”), Staci
Keanan (“I’ve Got You Under My Skin”), and Harry
Anderson & Brian George (“The Family Hour”).
Recurring are Lane Davies, Terry Kiser, Hamilton Camp,
Harve Presnell, Beverly Garland, and Kenneth Kimmins.
Packaging:
The packaging is quite neat and similar to the last
few sets. It is a nice digipak box set. The box’s
front cover has a photo of a sexy Lois & Superman with
the Daily Planet logo in the background. The show’s
logo and The Complete Fourth Season are also present.
A nice gold/red color scheme is there. The back of the
box has three different screenshots from the season:
Superman & Lois, Lois, Clark & Martha, and Superman.
The back also has a brief synopsis of the show.
Superman’s picture is in the little goldish box that
contains info on the special feature.
The case’s front cover is the same as the box cover.
The back of the case has a shot of Lois & Clark James
Bond style and the credits are on the bottom. When we
open the case once, we get to the disc one & two
breakdown on the left and the disc three & four
breakdown on the right. The disc breakdowns have
episode numbers, episode titles, writer, director,
original air date, and a brief synopsis. And special
features, if any. There are nice photos in the
background on each side of a breakdown as well along
with a snapshot of a character on the bottom left. For
disc one & two’s breakdown you see Clark in the
background and there is a snapshot of Clark & Zara
(Justine Bateman). Disc three & four’s breakdown you
see a photo of Jonathan in the background and it has
shot of Superman and Perry. When we open the case a
second time, we get to 4 sides. There is a disc five &
six breakdown on the left with a nice photo of Martha
in the background and two snapshots this time, of
Delta Burke and another of a married Lois & Clark.
Then you see a spot for discs one & two, discs three &
four, and discs five & six.
The discs are on top of each other. For example, disc
one is on top of disc two; disc three on top of four;
and disc 5 on top of six. Same style as before…and
again, I hate that! It is hard to take out and easily
can be scratched, so be careful! Discs one and two are
in red and it has a photo of Superman. Discs three and
four are in blue and it has a photo of Lois & Clark.
Discs 5 and 6 are in yellow and it has a photo of
Lois. There are nice photos on the case when you take
out each two disc page. I won’t give that away though;
you’ll have to see yourself. Disc one holds episodes
1-4, disc two holds episodes 5-8, disc three holds
episodes 9-12; disc four holds episodes 13-16; disc
five holds episodes 17-20 and disc six holds episodes
21-22 & the special feature. A Warner Home Video
catalog also comes in the set, it looks old, because
it says Lois & Clark Season 4 coming in October, and
that changed of course, as this set is coming Nov. 14.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menu screen is a little less exciting this season,
just like the set. There again is no special effect
when the main menu starts, but the theme is playing in
the background. Three nice photos are on each menu:
Lois, Lois & Superman, and Clark (The same photos for
each, if you are wondering). The main menu has a blue
background. The options are: Play All, Episodes,
Special Features (D6 only), & Languages. Play All is
self-explanatory. Episodes takes you to the episode
list for the given disc and you can choose which
episode you want to view. Special Features is only for
disc six, and the option is NOT present on each disc.
The Languages option tells us that the only spoken
language on this set in English, but you can have
subtitles in French and Spanish as well.
There is no scene selection screen but there are
chapters present on each episode, which you can access
through your remote. There are 6 chapter stops per
episode. The navigation on each sub-menu and the main
menu is very easy. The design is also quite nice and
creative. Good job again by Warner Bros. and very
similar to season one, so consistent. Just the
animation is missing, just like season three.
Video and Audio Quality:
The video looks very good and clear. As I said
before…widescreen would have been nice though, but it
probably wasn’t available at the time. This show would
be better in widescreen. Nevertheless, the video was
still good. The audio is fine. A nice stereo quality
sound and is not low at all. Each episode runs about
45-46 minutes, give or take a few seconds. The last
four episodes or so are lower than that, though. They
are not edited though I’m sure, they just probably ran
short. Scenes are easy to find, using chapter stops.
The Superman bumper, which airs at the start of an
episode, started during the middle of the third
season, is intact for every episode for the final
season! The runtimes of each episode follow:
Disc one
1. Lord of the Flys, Part 1 (45:58)
2. Battleground Earth, Part 2 (45:02)
3. Swear to God, This Time We’re Not Kidding (46:02)
4. Soul Mates (45:29)
Disc two
5. Brutal Youth (46:00)
6. The People vs. Lois Lane, Part 1 (46:00)
7. Dead Lois Walking, Part 2 (45:33)
8. Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark (45:32)
Disc three
9. Ghosts (45:02)
10. Stop the Presses (46:00)
11. ‘Twas the Night Before Mxymas (46:00)
12. Lethal Weapon (45:58)
Disc four
13. Sex, Lies and Videotape (46:03)
14. Meet John Doe, Part 1 (46:00)
15. Lois & Clarks, Part 2 (46:05)
16. AKA Superman (46:00)
Disc five
17. Faster Than a Speeding Vixen, Part 1 (45:58)
18. Shadow of a Doubt, Part 2 (45:56)
19. Voice from the Past, Part 3 (44:56)
20. I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (43:59)
Disc six
21. Toy Story 44:01
22. The Family Hour 43:59
Special Features:
The extras are not as much in quantity as previous
sets. All we have is a Kryptonian Kronology timeline
hosted by Dean Cain. There is a 47 second intro by
Cain explaining the history and the content of this
feature, then we get to the timeline and you can
choose historic Superman moments from 1938-2006. When
selected, Cain comes up via video and explains the
history of what you chose. From the Superman movies,
comic strips, various TV series, and even Superboy.
It is very informative, but big fans know it all I’m
sure. There is also a trailer for Justice League
Heroes: Video Game running 1:47.
Final Comments:
That is a wrap! We got this series complete on DVD
faster than a speeding bullet! I’m so happy we have
got every episode on DVD. I think Warner Bros. did a
good job with this series. Other than the disc layout,
I was very pleased. They have given us good quality
episodes, unedited episodes and delicious special
features--though the extras this season lacked quite a
bit from previous sets.
I wanted to see Cain & Hatcher do an episode
commentary together, but I guess it was not meant to
be, as Teri Hatcher is probably very busy these days
on Desperate Housewives. So fly to your local video
store or better yet click on the link at the bottom of
this review to buy the fourth and final season on DVD
today! Hurry before you see the various sitcom
villains (Delta Burke, Harry Anderson, and Drew Carey)
take over!
