Scandal: Season 4

Perfect condition

Let us bow down to the Queen of Thursday nights on network TV. Three smash hits in a row is nothing to sneeze at. Shonda Rhimes has hooked the TV viewing audience with "Grey's Anatomy", "Scandal" and most recently "How To Get Away With Murder" and she owns Thursday like no single producer has ever owned a single night before. And as the fourth season of "Scandal" progressed there were increasing signs that, alas, success is going to Shonda's head.The season started off predictably enough with Olivia and Jake enjoying a blissful hiatus on an unnamed island in the middle of nowhere, hidden even from her psychotic dad Rowan, when they are unexpectedly tracked down by Quinn to let Olivia know that Harrison Wright has turned up dead. OPA has been disbanded; Quinn is off doing her thing, Huck is working in a computer store and is in a snit at feeling abandoned, and Abby is the White House press secretary and acting very bitchy at Olivia running off without telling anybody. The first half of the season proceeds satisfyingly enough, with OPA getting partially back together (Olivia, Quinn and Huck) solving various cases while Mellie is in a drunken stupor most of the time over the death of her son. But for some reason I am at a total loss to fathom, Shonda threw in four episodes dealing with Olivia being kidnapped and auctioned on the Dark Web at the instigation of Vice President Andrew Whats-His-Face (I can't even remember the guy's name), Fitz's old buddy who turns out to be boinking not only Mellie but also the head of the Republican National Committee, known as Lizzie Bear (the purpose behind the kidnapping was evidently to hold Olivia hostage while blackmailing Fitz into undoing some of his more moderate acts which cause his right-wing constituents to have spasms and heaves), and the season disintegrated into absolute chaos. Not even a couple of good episodes after Olivia is rescued by, of all people, her former OPA colleague Stephen who left to get married and have a normal life (of course that didn't work out but who expected it would, given what a womanizer he was?) could save the season at that point. I was almost glad when the season ended before it imploded out of sheer idiocy.A lot of the problem is Shonda herself thinking she can do no wrong. This is her show and she is running it, and if her audience doesn't like the direction she is taking it in, too bad for them. But Shonda's arrogance is going to be her undoing if she doesn't rein it in. Her audience is what made her show so popular and when they tell her enough is enough, she needs to start listening. This was especially evident when Rowan and the whole B613 story line kept getting dragged into every other episode to the point of sheer exhaustion, never mind ennui. Shonda should have kicked B613 to the curb last season; that story line was already old and stale. But no, she had to keep dragging it along like a desiccated corpse as if anybody still cared about it, and Joe Morton, who I had always respected as an actor, became absolutely godawful, turning each speech into a Shakespearian rant and Wag.ging. His. Head. With. E.ve.ry. Sin.gle. Syl.la.ble as if this is some new kind of method acting he invented all by himself. Whatever it is, it's a crashing bore to watch. It got to the point where I had to change the channel during his interminable rants. It was either that or throw a shoe at the screen. Another problem was Shonda threw so many WTF moments into this season that they became annoying. A few WTFs add interest to a series; too many is like a 10-course dinner that is 9 courses dessert. It's sensory overload and ultimately ends up being sensory deprivation. Never mind the WTFs, just tell the story.A third problem is that Shonda seems to be letting her characters run away with her. We always knew Mellie was shallow and spiteful but this season she turned absolutely soulless, telling Fitz their son died to ensure his re-election and going along with a busload of people being killed to ensure her senatorial nomination. Cyrus is a straight-up demon, passively acquiescing to Olivia's kidnapping and hoping she will be killed because she knows too much about him. And Huck... I can't even. Shonda has turned Huck into a bloodthirsty ghoul whose favorite pastime is killing people. He's become an absolute monster. I don't even know if he's redeemable at this point. The only character who has become more interesting is Quinn, who went from being a whiny pest in the third season to going total badass in the fourth season. Nobody better mess with this girl because she is BAAAAD. She's a lot more fun now.Shonda ended the season by doing a total unexpected re-set. Mellie and Cyrus finally went too far even for Fitz and both of them are sacked -- Cyrus from his job as Chief of Staff and Mellie as First Lady. (Fitz has put Lizzie Bear in Cyrus' place, an act of transcendental stupidity that is going to bite him in the butt before the fifth season is off the ground.) Jake has finally come to his senses and realized Olivia is never going to leave Fitz, and has walked away from the whole hopeless relationship. And Olivia has ensconced herself back into the White House and into Fitz's bed, and it's nice to see them back together while it lasts, which almost certainly won't be for more than an episode or two next season before they have a major fight and everything blows to smithereens. Lather, rinse, repeat.So -- how to rate this season? I'll give the first half four stars, the kidnapping interlude a big fat zero, and the second half two stars (I'm being generous here) which rounds out to three. Let's hope Shonda gets the series back on track before it's too late.Judy LindP.S. I'm editing this review to add a brief note: be sure to watch the extended version of episode 22, the season finale. There's some really good stuff in here that had to be omitted from the finale shown on TV due to time limitations.

like my scandal season 4 and it will good to watch

Netflix or Prime may be running Scandal, but I wasn't able to find it. So I bought it for myself. This is my second favorite TV series, and if you love political drama, this show can't be beat --- great script, direction, and acting. I highly recommend it. The DVDs were delivered on time and in excellent shape. (By the way, my favorite TV series is The West Wing.)

My favorite show in the beginning . I watched the whole series, but not as closely as the first 2 seasons . Buying the remaining seasons allowed me to see everything and tie up any loose ends .

The best series to binge on!

When I went to unwrap the DVD case I noticed it was cracked. Discs inside looked ok except for Disc 2. there is a tiny scratch on it. It will probably play though. doesn't look real bad. Looks like it was handled roughly while being shipped. Another item in this order was actually broken which was a soap dish. I had to throw it away. not worth the hassle of returning it. Apparently this whole order was handled roughly.

It left me wanting more. I couldn't stop watching it. From the beginning to the end.

I loved the first series of Scandal and the second was excellent too. However, the drop-off in both believability and acting, unfortunately, accelerates with this series. Too much shouting adds to the sense that this is a season where the decline sets in.

This is the best season yet. Brilliant and very well acted. Full of surprises and some new characters as well as returning ones. Highly recommend. The script just gets better and better. Hope there is a season five. Can't wait.

I love Scandal and it's very addictive. I bought this for a friend as a Christmas gift. It came quicker than expected.

Addicted! Had to wait months for season 4. Began to watch and couldn't stop for a whole weekend. Wasn't disappointed by the ending.

Perfect price!