The DVDs
Fifteen discs make up this complete series set, seasons one through four. There’s a bonus disc full of new special features that we’ll talk about in the special features section. None of the menus or features have been redone from the previous individual season sets.
The Quality
Each episode is presented in widescreen 16:9 format. There have also been no digital enhancements or remastering of the individual seasons, so if you owned the previous seasons you know what to expect when it comes to sound and video quality.
For those who haven’t ever owned or even watched a season of The 4400 you’re in for a treat. The colors are muted, but not too much. There are some shots, like in the pilot episode when the ball of light is coming down to earth like a comet, which are shot at twilight, giving it an eerie sci-fi effect. The DVDs' video quality conveys that eerie sci-fi tone with lots of muted blues, grays, and blacks.
The Packaging
The packaging is pretty standard fare as far as complete series sets go. It will save you some shelf space, but the hubs inside are awkward. There are seven swinging hubs that contain two overlapping discs each. There is also a special individual hub at the back for the bonus disc.
The plastic hubs are only held together with a strong piece of adhesive tape down the back making them turn like pages in a book. But it’s awkward to flip the hubs over, and when you reach the last hub you can’t just close it. Each of the hubs has to be lifted up and placed back where it was in order for the cover to close correctly.
It also comes with an extremely underwhelming insert that simply states the names of each episode, and its synopsis. Other complete series try to make their inserts worthwhile, adding something new to the experience, whether it be new information, pictures, or interviews. But this insert lacks all of that.
The Special Features
The First Season: There are no special features on this season. It would’ve been nice to see something added to the discs for this set, but there wasn’t.
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