Outlander: Season 4 [DVD]

Why, in God's name, didn't I invest in that eye-wash concession catering to reviewers, when I had the chance?'Historical' inaccuracy in pig-feeding depictions; the improbability of a young 18th Century man knowing better how to handle an 18th Century problem than would a 20th Century 'history professor'; a director's choice to inject some actual music of the time represented, rather than sticking with 100% original sounds as one would have it done - These are the complaints some of you people want to register?! Oh, & please don't forget that exorbitant opening price ( ...the nerve!!!!! ). Has anyone ever seen the opening price on anything from Amazon stand up clear to release day? Hold your water until Black Friday, if you can; it'll go for a whole 10 bucks, if every season to date gives any indication. I waste precious time once again to point out that a 'PRODUCT REVIEW' is supposed to address the qualities, good & bad, of the thing itself; it's not just a whining board to air your disfavor over choices made by writers, directors, show runners, etc. who have failed to show a proper deference to YOUR personal vision of what THEIR show really ought to be.

Ignore the naysayers. They just wanted it to follow the book more....and the show did...just can’t get in over 800 pages. The story is expanding, so there’s more time spent expanding each characters’ lines. So sadly, yes, less J and C. But thats how it is in the books, too. The acting is the best on TV. the costumes are phenomenal. the sets remarkable. Buy the dvd, support the show and STARZ. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get all ten books made for the screen. Wouldn’t that be something? Naysayers need to stop comparing the book to the show. My non-book reader friends absolutely loved this season. and so did I! Sure, there were scenes I wish they could have included and maybe a few additions that I didn’t like. But wow, how can you give this a one rating? What is wrong with you? The acting and story is heart wrenching, the show is definitely a five plus...

I love this series and appreciate wanting to provide an opportunity to new writers, but such opportunity should be reserved for those who can actually write. This past season is a testament to the quality and talent of the actor's ability to hold the audience's interest. And while I'm not a 'die-hard' stickler for historical fact, some nod to reality would be appreciated (our pigs are fed scraps, not a complete salad bar. When Claire dumped that bucket into the trough all we could say was 'what kind of dressing would you like with that?') It may not have to be as 'gritty' as Last of the Mohicans, but it shouldn't be Little House on the Prairie either. The musical composer for this series is genius; there was no need to borrow classical music attached to another movie score; especially one so iconic and recognizable. Let your composer do their job! I would rather wait longer for a more character developed, well written season. It was a depressing take on the potential provided. $45 is a laughable price. How sad that this opportunity to present a rich and anticipated season became trodden underfoot by those only looking to capitalize on its name.

The price on this will go down. It hasn't even been released yet...this happens every year...don't freak out people. When it goes down...we'll all buy it and be VERY HAPPY to have the best show on TV in our home.

I am a reader of The Big Huge Books, and a lover of the series, as well. I appreciate that it won't be word for word, because that's patently impossible within the guidelines of the time allotted. I sincerely appreciate the time, the talent and the attention to detail that the series gives. The work involved, and the blood, sweat and tears put into it make it far superior to anything else available right now. In an era of churning out the most product possible in the shortest time possible-this series gives it their all, every single time. You'll never please all the people, all of the time, but speaking from the perspective of a long time fan of Diana's work, this series, and this season-are fantastic. It's a changing world for Jamie and Claire-it's going from the gasping, grabbing sexual tension of the first season-to the comfort and abiding love between two mature people moving forward in a difficult life. The focus changes from their new, fresh love-to the next generation and their fresh, new love. It's how life works. I sincerely hope to see them continue the series for the remaining books-even the ones not released yet. It's a testament to enduring love and commitment, and I love that. My husband and I have been married almost 30 years, and love just gets better and deeper thru time. I relate to this Jamie and Claire perfectly.

I can't recall a more boring episode in this series than this one. The pace was excruciatingly slow, the dialog was lackluster, as were most of the performances, Heughan looked terrible, mostly because of his ridiculous bangs, and the editing was horrible. Even the town set was off - every single building looked brand spanking new and all the streets nice and smooth. All this was polished off with completely out of place music from modern times played during the last scene. Pathetic, the whole episode was pathetic from start to finish. Season 1 was great, most of season 2 was good, very little of season three was worth watching, and I can see they're still on a downward spiral. What a waste of an hour of my time.

Don’t believe the hatters, this was a wonderful season that grew the world of Outlander!Relax ppl the price will go down!

I won't be pre-ordering (or ordering) at this price.

The story wandered in and out of the book, and at the end of each disc were "extras" when the writers & producers tried to explain their reasons for rewriting the story. They were more irritating than informative. They seemed incapable of controlling their habit of inserting "you know." One woman actually managed to get three "you know"s into one sentence! I stopped listening to them. On the plus side, the Canadian 'Mohawks' were terrific actors, especially in the scene where the priest was burned at the stake, and his Mohawk lover joined him in the flames. Braeden Clarke's shock and grief were completely convincing, and I'm sure his reaction was mirrored by many of us who were caught up in the horror. The background scenery, as always, frequently stole the show; and the props and costumes were as authentic as ever. Outlander thus continues to be compulsive viewing.

I have loved all the books and the DVD's. My only criticism is the hair. I would sack whoever was responsible for the horrible wigs. Either they did not see the other earlier series or read the books. Brianna's hair is the worst, it has changed colour and lovely straight hair is now too red and horrible curls. Clair's hair was known for never staying under her caps which she gave up wearing.She had wild curly hair like in the early series ,now she had a wee bit of grey.It is a shame because I find I am looking at the hair too much. The Indian's English was too good as well.

Although I enjoyed watching Outlander s4, I was also disappointed by some aspects of the production. One of the extras provided with the DVD concerning the production of this series mentioned that they wanted to make the Native Americans as authenticated as they could. However, particularly they do not seem to have gone very far, even to correct the errors in Diane Gabaldon’s book, also poorly researched in this respect. For example, the Mohawk village was portrayed as a collection of bark dwellings, including an very odd leafy shelter in which Roger is installed, amongst trees at the edge of lake. In reality at this period Mohawk village were surrounded by extensive corn fields and the houses were log cabins, stated to be of better quality than those of colonial neighbours. As well as a retained longhouse for social and ceremonial use they also supported a church. The New York Mohawk were subject to Anglican Protestant missionaries not Catholic from the beginning of the 18th century. The whole episode with the Catholic priest and Roger is pure nonsense. The result of the gauntlet which both Roger and Ian run would not have been decided by a man but by the women of the town. The Mohawks also spoke English with a thick American accent. In the eighteenth century it was said the accent was akin to an English West Country accent. The actors playing characters of Scottish origin spoke with a Scots accent so why not the Mohawk with the appropriate accent.Other annoyances include, although a better than most effort by the designer, costumes that are only partially accurate. It was good to see a lot of silver ornaments but why did not the Mohawk characters not change or remove items of their dress, especially items with ceremonial or ritual meaning whilst ‘at home’, European coats had diplomatic meaning as do headdresses. The colourful roach headdress worn by a few of the men are modern powwow roaches and stick out a mile. Traditionally these were red and smaller at this period. The tattoos were also clumsy and chunky compared the fine line work of the originals. And whats with the black eye make up! The 1992 Last of the Mohicans movie has still not been bettered for costume design and that was not totally accurate.The other issue with series 4 is the decision to shoot it in Scotland. Whatever was said in the extras Forestry Commission plantation of Norwegian spruce does not look like North Carolina woodland except perhaps for a passing resemblance at a distance. Even so the ‘atmosphere’ is not the same. Clare would have difficulty in finding any diversity of herbs in such an environment. In addition the Fraser’s cabin would not be surrounded by trees. These would have been cleared not less because of the actual or imagined fear of Indian attack, not only to allow a clear field of fire from the cabin built for gardens, extending to fields.I hope that these ‘annoyances’ can be corrected for the next series, which I am looking forward to.

Welcome here an exceptionally well stocked box set. Thirteen episodes of 50+ minutes. Commentaries on each. Not only a generous collection of bonus features, but four extra scenes especially created for DVD. (These give an extra dimension to certain subsidiary characters who had so impressed the makers. All four work out extremely well, "Tea for Two" a particular delight.)It is over twenty years since the adventures of Claire and Jamie began, the two now convincingly aged. In North Carolina, Jamie has purchased ten thousand acres of land - setting for a home built by themselves, crops hopefully to render them self-sufficient, the aim in due course to be surrounded by tenant farmers similarly inclined. Much is to happen, including encounters with Cherokees and Mohawks (their traditions and ways of life interestingly depicted).From 1970, Claire's daughter Brianna and her suitor, historian Roger, separately come seeking - both have discovered an archive newspaper article with grim news indeed about her parents....Although greatly enjoyed, Season 4 proves somewhat uneven. Arguably it is at its best when concentrated on Claire and Jamie (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan as ever excellent). Also with impact are those playing blind Aunt Jocasta, Murtagh, and infectiously enthusiastic young Ian (complete with hound Rollo). Working less well are some of the sequences concerning Brianna and Roger. How they arrive from the future seems rather loosely contrived, as do some of what happens when here. It takes a while to warm to Brianna, she at times intensely irritating - especially in her treatment of Roger. In fact it seems Roger who is destined this season to suffer most, he perhaps the one with whom many viewers will empathize most of all. (Full marks to Richard Rankin for his portrayal.)Much to applaud. An evocative recreation of the times (Scotland doubling for North Carolina), ominous hints of future major conflict. Unfair taxes are an invitation to rebellion, the stage set for America's War of Independence, this no doubt to dominate the next season.This is one of those shows where people so inclined may find much to ridicule. It is also one of those shows where others will find much to admire. Despite certain reservations, Season 4 well deserves these five stars.

First, let me tell you I read all books before I saw the DVDsThe DVDs for book 1 were brilliant. Book 2 and 3 were well interpreted. This dvd falls well short of expectations. Jaimie and Claire seem to have become peripheral figures, and wee Ian became an 'also ran'. Too much good stuff from the book was left out, and too much invented material was added. Murtagh???!!! Excellent performance by Stephen Bonnet actor.Need to do better for book 5. What little there was of Jaimie and Claire, was ,as usual, brilliantly acted.