Search - Melrose Place - The Fourth Season on DVD

The Season of ~ Super-Sexxxy Estranged-hubbies, Impromptu

JGC | 12/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Melrose Place" was my very favorite show during my teen years. I absolutely obsessed over this show because it was so addictive. Each Season, it got better and better and more dramatic and over-the-top. Also, unlike most primetime shows, "Melrose" produced many more eps per season.

Click here to see a picture of the back of the cover of the Season 4 set, as well as a picture of the Season 4 girls!

Season Four of "Melrose" was in full swing. Throughout Season Four the storylines just got more and more outrageous. The Season Premiere starts out with a bang, literally! It picks up exactly where Season Three left off - with that kook, Kimberly (Marcia Cross) in the middle of the courtyard threatening to blow everyone to smithereens! When Kimberly presses the detonator all pandemonium breaks out!

Incidentally, what was up with the Season Four haircuts? IMO some of them were really hideous. Especially Jane's. Yuuuuck! According to the site, "Melrose Space" they have dubbed Season Four, "lawnmower hair," explaining that, "The horrendous Season 4 haircuts of Jane, Jake and Matt that look like they were done by a blind man using a weed wacker." Very true!!

Overall, my favorite character is Kimberly. Because, Kimberly is like the Cartman of "Melrose." You just love her because she is such a horrible person with zero redeeming qualities. She is a conniving, spiteful witch. Oh, but you say she's crazy? I say crazy like a fox. This woman knew how to go nuts whenever it was most convenient for her. And, the fact that Kimberly became a psychiatrist was absolutely mindboggling; she really should have bottled that nerve because it was such an anomaly.

I also thought it was hilarious when Kimberly tried to go out of her way to be sweet and nice. In Season Four she desperately tried to befriend some of the tenants in the building. I loved when Matt (Doug Savant) said to her (probably the only clever line out of all 153 eps that he was in!,) "a lot of people can't get passed the fact that you tried to blow us up." So funny, because it was absolutely surreal that Kimberely was living there! And, I loved it when Kimberley befriended Syd (played the fiery redheaded, Laura Leighton). By the way, I still can't figure out who was crazier for going along with those foolish counseling sessions; Sydney or Kimberly...? These two were like Baby Jane and Blanche Hudson! Take one guess who Baby Jane was!

Interestingly enough, this is the first Season where Marcia Cross is included during the opening credits. In prior Seasons her name was only shown as a guest star. I always found that fascinating because her part was much more important than many of the other "stars" of the show and Kimberly always had at least three times as much screen-time as a lot of the other "Melose" residents (namely, Matt.)

I also loved all of Amanda's (played by the little vixen, Heather Locklear) problems and affairs. She hopped from bed to bed to bed to bed. Amanda was the type of woman who enjoyed the chase just as much as the game. Perhaps, to her the chase was what it was all about? I was a little disappointed that Jack Parezi (played by the super-sexxxy: Antonio Sabato Jr.) didn't stick around too long. He was only on 6 eps. (By the way, am I the only one who thought Amanda was a little long in the tooth for this super-hottie? She looked a good 10 years older than Jack.) And I never could understand why Amanda wanted nothing to do with him. This man was rich, young and devastatingly beautiful! But Amanda was really hot and heavy for Bobby (John Enos III.) Compared to Jack, Bobby was downright ugly.

Never one to be understated, Brooke Campbell (née Armstrong,) (Kristin Davis) makes a huge splash in Season Four. Literally! For the first quarter (or half?) of the Season I despised her with a passion. Because she was a b iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch. But after Billy (Andrew Shue) and everyone deserted her I started to feel bad for her because here was a lonely, tragic lost soul. And as Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) put it, "she doesn't have a friend in the world."

Speaking of Alison, I got so fed up with her during Season Four. Because as far as Billy and Brooke were concerned she totally tried to play both sides of the fence. She would try to be Brooke's friend one minute and then go on a date with Billy. No matter how nasty Brooke was that's still her man; Alison played a big part in the separation between Brooke and Billy. And this only made Alison come off as incredibly phony and dishonest.

The only negative quality I can assert to Season Four is that this was really the beginning of the exodus. This was the final Season for one of my favorite characters, Jo Reynolds. I hated the way she was written off because it seemed like it was done in such a sloppy, hurried rush. And I couldn't stand that stupid know-nothing that played her love interest (Brad Johnson played Dr. Dominick O'Malley); he was no Jake Hanson (who was played by that very manly-man, Grant Show!) According to many published reports, Daphne Zuniga couldn't get out of there quick enough. She absolutely despised her final two seasons on this hit soap. And after Jo took off, Kimberly, Syd, Jake, Alison, Matt and eventually even Billy all departed in one way or another over the following two seasons! I also read elsewhere that all of the main actors who left wanted to leave, except for Andrew Shue, who was fired from the show at the end of Season Six.

These are the Season Four Characters:
Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith) - main cast
Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga) - main cast
Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear) - this is the "Star" of the show
Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett) - main cast
Jake Hanson (Grant Show) - main cast & the coolest man in the universe!!
Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) - main cast
Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue) - main cast
Dr. Peter Burns (Jack Wagner) - main cast
Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton) - main cast
Dr. Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross) - main cast
Brooke Campbell (née Armstrong) (Kristin Davis) - main cast, not on entire Season
Matt Fielding (Doug Savant) - main cast
Alycia Barnett (Anne-Marie Johnson) - supporting/recurring, not on entire Season
Richard Hart (Patrick Muldoon) - supporting/recurring
Bobby Parezi (John Enos III) - supporting/recurring, not on entire Season
Shelly Hanson (Hudson Leick) - supporting/recurring, not on entire Season
Hayley Armstrong (Perry King) - supporting/recurring, not on entire Season

Another Season Four character that I enjoyed was Alycia Barnett (Anne-Marie Johnson). Of course she wasn't a main character but I did find her addition to the cast to be a much needed shot of in-your-face narcissism. I liked how she had the gumption to go up against Amanda (more than once,) and perhaps this was one of the only times in the entire history of "Melrose" where Amanda was put in her place? But eventually Amanda got her man; or maybe I got that wrong? I suppose it would be more accurate to state that eventually Peter (Jack Wagner) got his girl and Alycia was left alone to contend with her bony self.

Can we talk about the pr*ce of this set? As of today, the price of this set is 41 . 99 which is a very good price. If you're interested in buying this, I'd say place your order ASAP because I suspect the price will go up. Am@z**.com has a history of structuring their prices in a very odd way; they will offer low prices one day and the following day the prices will go up! (It reminds me of Expedia or Priceline.) None of the other "Melrose" sets are this cheap, either!

Here's all the eps from Season Four:

Post Mortem Madness, 9/11/1995
Most of the victims have minor injuries. Except for Alison who is left blind and Mackenzie Hart who is killed. Jess dies from the fall he took with Jake.

Melrose Is Like a Box of Chocolates, 9/18/1995
Some of the tenants have to double up. I love it when Brooke pops into Jane's apartment (where Alison is staying) to warn her to keep her mitts off her man at the company event that they're all going to. Brooke even says to Alison in such a hateful way, "pardon the pun, but I guess we won't be seeing you there..."

Blind Ambition, 9/20/1995
Alison regains her sight. And when she catches Brooke snooping in Amanda's office she pretends like she's still blind. I love it when Alison asks if anyone else is in the office and Brooke says to herself as Alison closes the door, "nobody you blind b itch" (said, with an emphasis on "b itch.")

Simply Shocking, 9/25/1995
Brooke goes to Miami to dig up dirt on Amanda, then she uses the info to blackmail her. I especially got a big kick out it when Amanda put up that pathetic attempt to choke Brooke. She says to her in this really warped-sounding monotone voice, "THOSE-WERE-MY-PERSONAL-FILES," as she has her hands wrapped around Brooke's neck. And with each syllable, Amanda walks forward (still keeping her hands tightly around Brooke's neck,) eventually pushing her up against the wall. Finally, she lets go, prompting Brooke to say in a startled way, "I'm willing to respect that, I'm with you Amanda, a secret this good deserves to be kept..."

Drawing Henry, 10/2/1995
Kimberly makes some progress when her mother, Marion Shaw (Janet Carroll) comes to visit her. Back in normal-people's land, Jack comes to L.A. in search of his (estranged) wife. Incidentally, did you remember how Amanda looked at the very end in the airport when Jack finally caught up with her? The woman was enjoying every second of this little cat and mouse game. She loved the idea that this big, strong man was chasing after her.

The Jane Mutiny, 10/9/1995
Jane and Richard decide to stay engaged. As usual, Jo can't leave well enough alone and decides to stick her nose where it isn't wanted.

Let the Games Begin, 10/16/1995
Brooke recruits Jack as a D&D client. Jack also shows his hot face at Amanda's impromptu party in the courtyard. Peter brings Kimberly to the party so she can "apologize to everyone" and Amanda says, "have all the demons in hell come out to torment me." I love it when the always-forgiving Jake says to Amanda "let her talk Amanda." Then after Kimberly apologizes like a good little lunatic (for blowing up the building and committing attempted mass-murder, not to mention murdering Mackenzie Hart...but no one cared about her) Amanda says, "the damage has been done Kimberly, but if it means that much to you I accept your apology..." No, you did not just enter the Twilight-Zone...

Dial M for Melrose, 10/23/1995
Amanda and Jack get into a fight with him falling. Maybe this ep should be titled: Dial M for Murder?

Amanda Unplugged, 10/30/1995
After getting drunk at a Halloween party, Amanda goes to bed with Peter.

El Syd, 11/6/1995
After Jack dies, Syd tries to blackmail Peter and Amanda. And she forces Michael to let her move back in. Alison marries Haley, becoming Billy's mother-in-law and Brooke's step-mother!

Free Kimmy, 11/13/1995
Alison gets suspicious of Haley while on their honeymoon.

Kimberly Does L.A., 11/20/1995
Kimberely is the victim of Vic's torment. This man really picked the wrong person to mess with. But wasn't it funny when he referred to has as a "sleepy sl ut...?"

Hook, Line and Hayley, 11/27/1995
In a drunken stupor, Hayley falls off the boat. Kimberly has Peter "smooth things over at the hospital" so she can become a psychiatrist. Whoever said the patients are running the asylum sure got that right!

Two Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 12/4/1995
Brooke maliciously has the police investigate Alison in conjunction with her father's death. Meanwhile, Jake learns about Shelly's tricks and she is arrested. I love it when Jake goes to visit her at the jail and she comes out looking so different! And, when Jake says to her, " go to hell," Shelly says, "you're so screwed Jake," as she dramatically kisses the window separating them at the jail. So over-the-top!!!

Oy! To the World, 12/11/1995
Brooke learns that she was never pregnant but can't find the right words to tell her hubby.

Holy Strokes, 1/1/1996
Jane has a stroke and looks absolutely repugnant with that butchered canary-blonde haircut.

The Brooke Stops Here, 1/8/1996
Billy goes back to Brooke after her suicide attempt.

Sydney, Bothered and Bewildered, 1/15/1996
Brooke goes crazy and trashes Alison's place.

The Bobby Trap, 1/22/1996
Amanda's life is put on the line, thanks to her father-in-law.

No Lifeguard on Duty (1), 2/5/1996
Amanda tells Vince that Jack wasn't the man he thought he was.

No Lifeguard on Duty (2), 2/5/1996
This is one of my favorite eps. Brooke stays with Alison because she has nowhere else to go. When Amanda pops in and says to Alison, "what's she doing here," Brooke retorts, "there's always something I wanted to say to you Amanda, kiss my a ss." This is immediately followed by Amanda saying, "your fired." I loooooove it!! Towards the end of the ep, Brooke resurfaces; totally snockered! When Billy and co. leave her she falls in the pool and bangs her head!

Devil in a Wet Dress, 2/12/1996
The gang all go to Brooke's funeral. Incidentally, I never understood why Syd went? I don't think she ever even knew Brooke, the two never spoke once.

Circle of Strife, 2/19/1996
Alison is outraged when Billy humiliates her in front of a client.

Run Billy Run, 2/26/1996
Billy goes to bed with a rival agency's executive so he can steal her ideas.

Ruthless People, 3/4/1996
Jo blackmails Jane into working with Richard again.

The Burning Couch, 3/11/1996
Bobby is arrested for hitting Peter.

Triumph of the Bill, 3/18/1996
Alison quits her job at D&D (what is this like the 5th time?) because as usual her nose is a little out of joint when Billy bangs Mandy.

What Comes Up, Must Come Down, 4/1/1996
Alison goes to work for Jake, at Shooters.

True Fibs, 4/15/1996
Kimberly argues with Betsy (her "other self") who clocks Michael on the head.

Melrose Unglued, 4/29/1996
Amanda gets Teri Carson (Loni Anderson) to drop the charges against Peter. Bobby lures Alycia to Peter's office to confront her. BTW, I love the way Bobby says to Alycia (as she comes storming into Peter's office) in this almost-playful voice, "it's Booooooby." He sounded so cute and timid. I guess Bobby liked role-playing, because when he left a message on Amanda's voicemail he also spoke in another sexy voice. This time he spoke much faster; talking in almost 1 syllable: "It'sBobby!" After fleeing the crime scene (Peter's office,) Alycia calls Wilshire Memorial looking for Peter. As Peter is being interogated by the cops he is paged and then dramaticaly goes running up to the nurses counter. And, Alycia tells him that she's leaving town, but agrees to come back to give the cops a statement and as she turns around she is hit by a truck!

Peter's Excellent Adventure, 5/6/1996
Kimberly resurfaces to take Peter capture at her coo-coo's nest. Meanwhile, Sydney was distraught over Bobby's death. It was cold, although oddly comical when Michael says to Syd, "will you stop mourning over that dead gangster."

Full Metal Betsy, 5/15/1996
Michael and Amanda join forces to go looking for Peter. Kimberly plans to have Peter lobotomized!

Dead Sisters Walking (1), 5/20/1996
Amanda and Michael disguise themselves as patients in the nut hospital (where Betsy/Kimberly is holding "Mr. Peters" hostage!) BTW, did you notice how well Amanda managed to blend in? (She really makes a good kook.) Speaking of going bonkers, I LOVED it when Amanda and Michael finally found Peter (he was strapped to a wheelchair) and they quickly try to leave (they were in some type of wreck room where all the lunatics congregate.) Amanda is literally rolling for her life and poor Peter is totally out of it (Kimberly must have given him something to heavily sedate him.) All of a sudden Kimberly enters and Amanda and company all get this horrified look on their faces (especially Amanda, as she dramatically pulls the wheelchair back!) And Kimberly says to them in her best Betsy voice, "end of the line, psychos." Now if that ain't the psychotic-pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is! Kimberly goes even more nuts and has Michael, Amanda and Peter locked up in the hospital boiler room. I love it when Amanda says, "someone should have her lobotomized." The King's ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, shows up as Nurse Benson in this nut-house. I'm not sure which is worse, her horrible dye-job (that looks like it was done with a mixture of Crayola crayons and an old bottle of fire engine red nail polish) or her horrific acting. Take special notice when Priscilla Presley comes to the boiler room to bail them out, she messes up her lines at least 2 or 3 times! My Gawd...! I wonder how many takes Charlie Correll (the director) had to do just to get that? But in a way, I enjoyed it because it adds an extra element of drama (drama queens like me can never get enough of this!)

Dead Sisters Walking (2), 5/20/1996
Peter is arrested for Bobby's murder and his only alibi is that whack-job, Kimberly, who, conveniently drifts into a coma! Jane blackmails Sydney into being her coconspirator so she can kill Richard. I especially like it when Jane says to Syd, "I believe in the devil and you're gonna help me kill him." The second-parter is nowhere near as good as the first part (this was actually 1 show that's 2 hours long.) Because it tends to "tie" everything up into a neat little package and explain some of the storylines that weren't as "tidy" in the first half of this ep. IMHO this should have been saved for the Season Five Premiere, instead.

I look forward to getting the Season Four set and subsequent other sets of "Melrose" (it was on for Seven racy Seasons.) And, I can't wait for Season Five of "Melrose" to come out. In Season Five, we meet Taylor McBride (Lisa Rinna.) This big-lip, hot-mama is not to be missed! Here's hoping Paramount will finally release "Models." Do you remember this short-lived soapy drama? It was a spin-off of "Melrose," and was almost as provocative and sensational. But it was gone after just one Season.

With the help of "Melrose Place," Mondays can still always be a real...
...B-i-t-c-h!






"

So addictive ;-O

Little Miss Cutey | Melbourne, Australia | 02/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't stop watching Melrose. I used to watch it religiously on TV and now as soon as it's released on DVD, I'm one of the first to grab a copy. I love seeing these episodes again after so many years.
In case you've forgotten how the fourth season unfolds, here are the recaps for each episode.

POSTMORTEM MADNESS - The morning after Kimberly blows up the Melrose apartment complex, everyone is in the hospital suffering from some form of injury. Alison is temporarily flash-blinded and Billy postpones his honeymoon with Brooke to move back into his ruined apartment to support Alison. Richard Hart, who's wife was killed in the blast (and the only fatality), is comforted by an unusually callous Jane who proposes to continue business at the company as usual. Meanwhile, Kimberly is arrested and is so bewildered that she can't remember anything about the bombing the night before, while Peter prevents Michael from sending her to a county psychiatry ward in order to take care of her himself. Jake wakes up in the hospital after surviving the fall and is hurt with the news that Jess did not, leading him to take out his frustrations on Jo. In jail, Matt contacts his parents for help in facing a murder trial and they hire Alycia Barnett, a professional criminal lawyer, to help him. But skepticism knows no bounds for in a recycled storyline, not only Matt's lawyer but his own parents, refuse to believe him that he's innocent of the murder he's being charged with.

MELROSE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES - The bomb damage spawns strange new living arrangements: Amanda moving in with Sydney, Matt with Jo, and Alison with Jane. Alison then starts using her condition to manipulate Billy to care for her, while Jane plays office power games with Richard. Meanwhile, Peter lobbies on behalf of Kimberly, who must be declared mentally competent to stand trial for the bombing. Alison demands her job back at D&D and an unusually sympathetic Amanda agrees with her. Brooke freaks out when she finds out that Alison is coming back to work, and an inheritance from her deceased mother that she expected after her marriage to Billy turns out to be much less than she thought. Brooke's father offers her a full some of money, but only after she divorces Billy whom Mr. Amrstrong has never approved of in the first place. A mentally unstable Matt gets released on bail and gives everyone a hard time having lost his trust in mankind over being framed for murder and now facing a murder trial. Jake has a hard time getting over Jess' death and continues pushing Jo away. Also, Sydney gets a job as the receptionist in Peter and Michael's newly opened private practice.

BLIND AMBITION - Alison continues to deceive Billy by exaggerating her state of health, even after she regains her eye-sight, in which his attention to her sends Brooke to threaten Alison. Peter calls a second psychiatrist to evaluate Kimberly before her court hearing about her mental condition. Meanwhile, Matt gets in mortal danger when, against the warnings from his lawyer Alycia, he decides to set up a sting operation by himself for Paul to admit that he framed him. While Jake and Jo rekindle, Jane fears she may have overstepped her bounds with Richard after she hires Jo as the new staff photographer at his company without consulting him first.

SIMPLY SHOCKING - Brooke travels to Miami, Florida on a secret mission to dig up information on Amanda's past and she finds Jack Parezi, Amanda's shady mobster ex-husband who believes her to be long dead. Brooke then returns to Los Angeles and uses what she found to blackmail Amanda for a promotion at D&D. Kimberly is committed to a maximum security asylum and receives electro shock therapy under Peter's supervision, while she is haunted by the mysterious Henry again. Michael romances Sydney to get her help to keep Kimberly in the hospital. Meanwhile, Jess' ex-wife, Shelly, arrives in L.A. and moves in with Jake, making Jo uncomfortable. Matt is approached by Tom Reilly, the leader of a Gay Rights group, to sue Dr. Calvin Hobbs, the hospital's Chief of Staff, because of discrimination after he fired him. Jane gets a marriage proposal from Richard and shortly after, announces taking credit for a new line of dresses to get more control of Richard's firm, which is officially renamed Hart-Mancini. Also, Billy learns that Alison has regained her eyesight and is not pleased that she did not tell him the truth sooner.

DRAWING HENRY - Anxious to get to the bottom of Kimberly's mental problems, Peter contacts her mother who arrives in Los Angeles to visit where she finally reveals the origins about the mysterious Henry to Kimberly. Brooke's father, Hayley, approaches Alison and asks for her help in breaking up Brooke and Billy and a mutual attraction between the two of them develops. Meanwhile, Dr. Hobbs tries to settle Matt's lawsuit privately with $30,000 and a better job, but Matt refuses. Jack Parezi arrives in Los Angeles to find Amanda, while Brooke tries to keep his presence under wraps and Billy learns what Brooke did to get ahead at D&D. Also, Jo becomes all the more jealous when Jake continues hanging out with Shelly, and Jane confides in Jo that she may not be ready for marriage with Richard.

THE JANE MUTINY - Despite the support of Tom and his Gay Rights group, Matt still becomes unsure about suing Hobbs. But during a deposition, when Hobbs blurts out his hatred of gays, it all turns out well for Matt. Kimberly is released from the mental hospital and Peter takes her home to his house and keep her in his custody, but Michael and Sydney are not pleased with the news. At Jane and Richard's engagement party, a drunken Jo confronts him about Jane not being in love with him. Meanwhile, Brooke is upset when she discovers that her father is dating Alison, while she has problems to come up with a new account. So, Brooke ask Alison to help her land her father's account with D&D to get her get part of the credit. Also, Jack confronts Amanda and tells her he just wants a quick divorce, but she correctly suspects that he's up to something.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN - Sydney and Michael hire an actor to play Henry to Kimberly, hoping she will go off the deep end again. Jane confession to Richard of not loving him only makes their relationship suffer and as a result, Jane terminates her friendship with Jo. Meanwhile, Jack hires D&D for an ad campaign while Amanda still fears for her life and Billy after she tells him all about Jack. Alison changes her mind about being involved with Hayley and lets him go further, and an unhappy Brooke tries to intervene. After Matt and his father have an argument over what Matt wants to do with his life, Mr. Fielding suffers a heart attack and Matt tries to make peace to his father before he dies. Also, Shelly tries to seduce Jake at Amanda's big "survivor" pool party at the newly renovated Melrose complex.

DIAL M FOR MELROSE - After Jack tries to kill Amanda, he falls off a balcony and lands in a coma. Amanda goes to Peter for help who promises to help her avoid attempted murder charges, but Michael sees a chance to find some dirt on Peter to use against him and cuts in, making Jack his patient. Meanwhile, Kimberly fills her boredom by calling Dr. Joyce Brothers' radio call-in show to talk of her problems and when she learns from Sydney about Peter spending time with Amanda, she violates her parole. But Kimberly eventually faces her fear and confronts the actor hired to play Henry and is happy to be over him for good. Hayley and Alison reveal their engagement to Brooke and Billy. Also, Shelly buys a computer to help Jake with his accounts at Shooters while he tries to make up for lost time with Jo.

AMANDA UNPLUGGED - When Billy find's Brooke's birth control unused, she declares her omission had the usual consequence. Alison moves into Hayley's mansion where she discovers a locked room belonging to his late wife that she cannot enter. Meanwhile, Matt asks help from Michael for his entrance test to medical school. Richard asks Jo to come with him to Hawaii to do a photo shoot, while he sends Jane to New York. Jake becomes furious when he learns about Jo wanting to go to Hawaii and he seeks comfort with Shelly. When Amanda expresses her feelings to Peter, hoping that the comatose Jack shall never recover, Sydney's there to record it on tape. Also, Kimberly gets invited as a guest on Dr. Joyce Brothers' radio show whose special topic deals with psychotics. But Kimberly must find a way to get the monitoring bracelet off her wrist first.

EL SYD - After the comatose Jack dies, Sydney starts blackmailing Amanda with the tape she said about him for half of his estate. Meanwhile, Jo joins Richard in Hawaii and they immediately begin an impassioned affair. During a business trip, Alison and Billy are stranded at a small airstrip in the hills where they swap stories about her coming marriage to Hayley and Brooke's unexpected pregnancy. Matt is excited when he learns that he has been accepted to medical school, but not after finding out that Michael did some altering of his entrance test score. Also, Kimberly moves into Melrose and into Sydney's apartment, prompting Amanda to throw Sydney out for trying to blackmail her, while Peter tries to get back together with Amanda.

FREE KIMMY - Kimberly tries to get Peter to remove her monitoring bracelet so she can begin a new life for herself while he continues to try to win back Amanda. Meanwhile, Jane becomes angry after learning that Richard and Jo are now a couple, so she begins to temp Michael for her needs hoping to make Richard jealous. Matt gets a job at Shooters and uses Jake's computer for information on his accounts and discovers some suspicious transactions made by Shelly. Sydney throws a surprise 30th birthday party at the beach house for Michael, who tries to get the blackmail tape away from her. On their honeymoon in Mexico, Alison sees another side of Hayley when she witnesses him getting angry over some business of his. In Miami, Florida, Jack Parezi's body is flown in for his burial. After the funeral, Jack's mafioso father Vince (who's even more deranged and misogynist then Jack), tries to persuade Bobby, Jack's older but more passive brother, to kill Amanda for Jack's death.

KIMBERLY DOES L.A - Kimberly becomes the new host for her own radio call-in show and gets a strange frequent caller, named Vic, who harasses her about his troubles. Jake refuses to believe Matt's suspicions that Shelly is embezzling money from Shooters, until he catches her after learning first-hand about his low bank account level. Meanwhile, Alison suspects something's wrong with Hayley's finances when he puts his mansion up for sale. Bobby Parezi arrives in Los Angeles under orders to kill Amanda, but he doesn't have the heart to carry it out. Peter also begins to have second thoughts about breaking up with Amanda. Jane invites Michael over at her place for dinner and to show him off to Richard and Jo. Also, Billy and Brooke decide to move into Alison's vacant apartment.

HOOK, LINE AND HAYLEY - Bobby meets with Amanda and reveals that he has a crush on her since his childhood. But she wants nothing to do with him or his mafioso family, while Peter becomes jealous over Bobby's presence. Meanwhile, Kimberly is held captive by the psychotic Vic in a condemned building where he threatens to kill her since he is revealed to be a serial killer. Hayley takes Alison for a cruise on his yacht to Mexico where he tells her that he is now on the run from bill collectors after a number of failed business deals. Jane continues dating Michael, while Richard tells Jo about his idea of both of them starting another clothing design business, excluding Jane. Shelly is sent to prison, but literally gets the last laugh when she tells Jake of all the money she embezzled to ruin him financially as payback for Jess' death.

TWO FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST - Matt meets Alan Ross, a gay film actor in the hospital recovering from a broken hand, whom he spends some time with. Meanwhile, Kimberly comes back to work at the hospital in the psychiatric ward and Sydney reluctantly hires her as her therapist over her problems with Michael and Jane back together. Bobby befriends Peter and tries to use him for his own needs. Alison has a hard time getting over Hayley's drowning and relapses into alcoholism when she learns that she has been excluded from his will. Also, Jake discovers that he is broke as a result of Shelly's successful embezzlement scheme and meets with a loan-shark for help.

OY! TO THE WORLD - Billy reluctantly helps Alison salvage her business accounts, while Brooke discovers that she isn't pregnant and hesitates on telling Billy. Jane finds out about Richard and Jo planning to oust her from Hart-Mancini. Meanwhile, Amanda and Bobby get together to do business with the family TV cable company, but FBI agents approach Amanda and warn her to stay away from him. Matt spends more time with Alan who discover that they have lots of things in common. Also, Sydney helps prepare the annual hospital Christmas fund raiser at Bobby's house where she becomes insanely jealous about seeing Jane and Michael together and gives ends up giving a drunk Jane a glass of champagne spiked with Sydney's tranquilizer medication.

HOLY STROKES - Jane is paralyzed on her right side after suffering from a stroke caused by drinking too much drugged champagne at the Christmas party, while Kimberly helps a guilt-ridden Sydney cover her tracks in the incident. Brooke tells Billy that she had a miscarriage, but when he learns the truth that Brooke was never pregnant, he threatens her with divorce. Meanwhile, Peter gets cranky when he is faced with a malpractice suit, so Bobby invites him, Amanda and Alison over as his house in Palm Springs where he professes his love to Amanda. Also, Matt asks Alan to spend New Year's Day with him, but Alan wants to go to New York for an acting job.

THE BROOKE STOPS HERE - Brooke makes a suicide attempt by slashing her wrists, but survives and Billy is divided over to be with her or Alison. Alan moves in with Matt where Kimberly fills him on Matt's past history. Sydney plants the tranquilizers she used to drug Jane in Richard's office, and Jo hesitates on what to do when she finds them out of her love for him. Amanda is caught in the middle of Peter and Bobby's personal conflict for her attention. Jake sinks more and more into debt when he's asked by his loan-shark, Monty, to collect money from one of his deadbeat clients as part of interest for the loan. Also, Sydney becomes upset with the crippled Jane staying at the beach house and Michael becomes more upset when he learns that Jane's flirtation with him was all an act just to make Richard jealous.

SYDNEY, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED - Caring for the crippled Jane becomes too much of a burden on Sydney, in which she plans a new scheme by placing Jane in a convalescent home. Amanda, now reconciled with Bobby, tries to tell Peter that it's over between them, where as Bobby threatens him. Meanwhile, Brooke becomes more jealous and hysterical after she discovers Alison getting intimate with Billy, so she breaks into Alison's apartment and trashes it. Jo learns from Matt that the pills she found have the same substance found in Jane's bloodstream, but she loves Richard too much to report him to the police. Also, Peter reluctantly lets Michael stay at his house while he plots to get back at Bobby for stealing Amanda from him.

THE BOBBY TRAP - Alycia Barnett returns as Bobby's lawyer where Peter flirts with her wanting to invest in Bobby's TV cable company. Jake looks after Jane and a renewed attraction between them develops. Jo and Richard ask Jane to return to Hart-Mancini after she saves a major client from leaving, but she refuses and decides to start her own design business. Meanwhile, Billy has had enough of Brooke's hysterics both at home and at work, in which he throws her out of his apartment and files for divorce. Anxious to find out what Kimberly is up to, Michael gives her a shot of truth serum where she tells him that it was Sydney who poisoned Jane, in which Sydney moves out of his beach house for good. Matt feels uncomfortable about Alan being a ladies man in his acting career and spends time with David Erikson, the hospital's new Social Services person. Also, Vince Parezi arrives in Los Angeles and again tells Bobby to carry out his order to kill Amanda. When Bobby refuses, Vince and his thugs end up taking Bobby and Amanda hostage where Vince again threatens Bobby to kill Amanda or he will kill Bobby instead.

NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY - In this two-hour episode, Alycia tells Bobby that he owes $2 million to operate his TV cable company. Amanda offers to help Bobby while Peter hires Sydney as his date at a hospital fund raiser to break up Bobby and Amanda, but it doesn't work, and Sydney just ends up with a wine-splattered dress. Meanwhile, Jake offers Jane his garage to start her new business, much to Jo's dismay. Determined to sink Jane, Richard makes his employees, including Jo, work overtime to put out a new line. The serial killer/rapist Vic, released from jail by a computer error, kidnaps Kimberly in her car until Michael arrives to rescue her in a high-speed car chase, which ends with Vic's fiery death and a renewed romance between Michael and Kimberly. Matt, still uncomfortable about Alan not wanting to reveal his homosexuality to the public, threatens to break up with him if he doesn't come out of the closet. Brooke's life falls further apart after she is evicted from her hotel room when Billy cancels her credit cards. Then Amanda fires Brooke from D&D for her tardiness and hostility, in which Alison finds Brooke, broke and alone, living in her car and lets her stay at her apartment, much to Billy's chagrin.

DEVIL IN A WET DRESS - After Brooke is found dead in the Melrose pool after she accidentally fell in while drunk, Billy has a hard time getting over her death and he begins seeing her ghost who vows never to leave him. Matt becomes jealous when Alan is rehearsing a romance scene with an actress named Valerie. Meanwhile, Jane asks Alison to help her start her new design company, and in the process lands a big account with a client that Richard was after. In an effort to ease tensions between Peter and Bobby, Amanda arranges a double-date with her and Bobby, Peter and Alycia. Also, Michael asks Kimberly to stay at his beach house so they can be together, and Sydney moves back into her old apartment.

THE CIRCLE OF STRIFE - Michael proposes to Kimberly again and she gets him to fire Sydney from their practice. But Sydney decides to even the score by filing a lawsuit against both Peter and Michael for sexual harassment. Peter convinces Alycia that he loves her and asks for her help to entrap Bobby in a monetary incident with a U.S. Senator. Meanwhile, Jane becomes peeved when Jo accidentally takes her sketch book of her latest designs and leaves it in Richard's office where he takes advantage of the incident and steals the ideas for himself. Billy starts acting more aggressive at work when he uses Alison to look bad to net a new account to land it for himself. Also, Alan finally discovers the intimate relationship between Matt and David.

RUN, BILLY, RUN - The increasingly reckless Billy bribes Amanda into doubling his salary if he gets another major account, which he does by stealing a campaign idea after seducing the female executive from a rival advertising company. Peter sends the photos Alycia took of Bobby and the senator to a TV station to air them with a fabricated story about Bobby bribing the senator for TV license permits. But Peter discovers too late that Amanda was also part of Bobby's TV cable company and she is soon the target of the press as well. Peter has an inside contact, named Lou Chandler, to suppress any involvement of Amanda with Bobby's cable company so she will not face bribery charges. Amanda also refuses to believe Bobby's true claims of not knowing anything about the bribe scandal and she breaks up with him. But when Alycia discovers that Peter used her to destroy Bobby's reputation and win Amanda back, Alycia (turning into yet another greedy and amoral character) blackmails Peter by telling him that she wants full control of Bobby's cable company. Meanwhile, Jane and Jake go to Richard's fashion show where Jane finally gets even when she sets off the sprinkler system, ruining the show. While on their honeymoon, Kimberly and Michael receive harassing phone calls from Sydney.

RUTHLESS PEOPLE - Alison refuses to stoop to Billy's hardball level to gain a new winery client, but she jumps in mud, literally at a strip club, to help land it anyway. Kimberly starts having strange episodes of a multiple personality and thinks she's a free-spirited 1950's housewife named Betsy Jones. Meanwhile, Richard blames Jo for his fashion show mishap, until she finds out that it was Jane. Matt becomes troubled by Alan's wedding plans to Valerie and seeks comfort with David. Also, Peter and Alycia ask Amanda to sign over her share of Bobby's cable company to them.

THE BURNING COUCH - Kimberly continues to have bizarre delusions as Betsy when she torches the beach house sofa, and eventually goes to Peter for help. Sydney tries to help Bobby who's facing battery charges against Peter and they learn that Alycia now owns 100% of his cable company. Meanwhile, Peter tries to get the $2 million for Alycia to run Bobby's cable company in order to escape from her control, and meets with Billy's winery client for the money. Jake becomes angry at Jane when Jo tells him that she was responsible for causing the disaster at Richard's fashion show in which he becomes drunk and spends a wild night with Clare Duncan, Jane's new assistant. Also, Matt becomes upset when a tabloid magazine features him with Alan. But at the end, Alan approaches Matt and tells him that he as decided to let the world know of his homosexuality, even at the expense of his acting career and wishes that it would have worked out between them.

TRIUMPH OF THE BILL - During a business convention, Billy again resorts to hardball tactics when he steals some compromising photos of actress Julie Newmar, so he can get her as a client and get Amanda to give him the power of working with other clients than to Alison. Meanwhile, Richard schemes to break up Jake and Jane by paying Clare to tell Jane about her and Jake's night together and Jo breaks up with Richard after learning of his plans for Jane. Peter discovers that Kimberly has developed yet another personality: a biker girl named Rita. Also, Sydney finds a bankrupt Bobby, now working as an airplane mechanic, to move in with her at Melrose on a "platonic" basis.

WHAT COMES UP, MUST COME DOWN - At Kimberly's request, Peter takes Michael on a getaway to San Diego, where both of them are pursued by a conniving woman named Teri Carson who wants them to vote first place for her teenage daughter, Brandi, in a beauty pageant. Meanwhile, Jo babysits Tyler, the abused 5-year-old son of Sydney's old college friend Lori. When Amanda's power at D&D is threatened, Billy offers to help her, but he is hurt when she rebuffs his advances. Alison, having enough of the unethical business attitudes at D&D, resigns from the agency for good and gets a new job as a waitress at Shooters. David leaves Matt for good when all he talks about is his lost relationship with Alan. Jane gets angry at Jake after he meets with Richard to ask him to take Jane back to his sagging company. Also, Sydney decides to get a tattoo for herself and gets a drunk Bobby to do likewise.

TRUE FIBS - Teri Carson arrives in Los Angeles determined to get revenge against Michael and Peter for her daughter's loss in the pageant when she blackmails Michael by threatening to tell Kimberly that he slept with Brandi and has Peter arrested for statutory rape after he refuses to give into Teri's demands for blackmail money. Meanwhile, Richard and Jane take a business trip to New York where he forces himself upon her. Jo meets with Dr. Dominick O'Malley, an expert doctor on child abuse, regarding Tyler's condition. Bobby doesn't want to invest in an old friend's movie offer as the producer, but the greedy Sydney does, unaware what's in store for her. After botching an account, Billy finally realizes his self-destructive nature and comes to his senses when he visits Brooke's grave to say his goodbye and return to his good self. At the end, Kimberly's multi-personality becomes worse when she (as Betsy) hits an unsuspecting Michael on the head with a hammer.

MELROSE UNGLUED - Amanda and Peter finally reconcile after she intervenes and solves his legal problems with Teri. Michael, still unaware of Kimberly's multi-personalty, confesses his infidelity to her about Brandi and she throws him out of the beach house, not for his unfaithfulness, but because she fears for his life. Meanwhile, Jane tells Alison about the incident with Richard in New York. Dr. O'Malley requests a date with Jo in exchange for him to find out more about Tyler's condition. Sydney learns that Alycia and Peter were behind Bobby's cable-business fiasco and informs him of the news. When Bobby confronts Alycia, she murders him by pushing him through a high-rise window in which Peter becomes a suspect, and Alycia too ends up dead in a car accident when she attempts to flee town.

PETER'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE - Peter finds himself in a living hell when he is charged with Bobby's murder and shortly after, he's taken captive by the schizophrenic Kimberly who places him in a remote insane asylum and subjects him to electro-shock treatment headed by the Nurse Benson, the head clinic nurse, and her brutal orderlies. Meanwhile, Amanda and Michael search for Peter after he misses his appointment with the police to turn himself in. At Jake's urging, Jane sees a prosecutor regarding Richard's assault on her, but she backs out and plans something else, involving a gun. Dr. O'Malley's sexist comment about how difficult single mothers are angers Jo, and Matt accidentally gets pricked with a tainted needle while giving a rebellious homeless boy an injection.

FULL METAL BETSY - In the asylum, Peter charms Nurse Benson to plan an escape before Kimberly/Betsy has surgery to be performed on him, while Amanda and Michael continue their search for Kimberly and Peter. Meanwhile, Jo and Dr. O'Malley become more close, but Matt's sudden collapse due to meningitis from the tainted needle drives a wedge between them. Billy fails in another attempt to get Alison back. After accidentally learning from Michael that it was Sydney who poisoned her during the Christmas Eve party, Jane blackmails her to get her help to murder Richard.

DEAD SISTERS WALKING - In the two-hour season final, Michael and Amanda put themselves in danger when they break into the asylum in an attempt to rescue Peter from Kimberly/Betsy, only to end up as captives themselves. Then, during a struggle to escape, Kimberly falls from a balcony and is once again put in a coma. Back in Los Angeles, Alison becomes attracted to Jake when he attempts to get her and Billy back together. Dr. O'Malley proposes marriage to Jo and wants her to leave Melrose and come with him to Bosnia for a medical/photo tour. Matt gets into a bad habit of taking pep pills while recovering from his illness. In the second part, Peter gets arrested by the police where Amanda refuses to testify against Peter and even marries him on the spot in jail to avoid testimony. But later, the police tell Amanda that they have uncovered something from Peter's past: Peter Burns is not his real name. Meanwhile, Jane looks into buying a boutique shop to re-start her own design business and offers Samantha Reilly, one of the young workers, a job as the assistant manager and space in her apartment. Jane thereafter sheds her pushover image and plots to kill Richard, with Sydney's help. But after Sydney hesitates to carry out the murder, she and Jane end up beating Richard to death and burying him in the nearby woods.... but is he really dead?

This season has a bit of everything. Sure it's trashy; but in a good way. It's my guilty pleasure and I really enjoy watching it over again. It's highly addictive so be warned - and if you are a fan of any kind of soap opera or late night trash serial show, then this is for you. It's so much fun and I can't wait for my copy to arrive. I love it."

Rating based on Packaging

Mr. J. Benge | West Hollywood, CA United States | 04/20/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Rip off packaging. Show does not deserve the sub par marketing treatment. The previous seasons were so nicely done. The plastic pole which holds all the disc "pages" in place was already broken on arrival. Discs look plain and generic, clatter together as they are all stacked on top of each other in these flimsy disc plate holders. Disc 1 does not even stay mounted and already has a scratch. It's not like they passed on the savings to the consumer in the steep price point. Why bother? After the beautiful fun and colorful packaging they presented with the first 3 seasons... I'm glad they have not done this with 90210, which continues in season 5 with classy colorful packaging and episode notations. For collectors, the packaging is part of the joy. Contents B+, Package F."

The cat-fighting continues.

ADRIENNE MILLER | TENNESSEE | 03/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Melrose Place - The Fourth Season is a pure guilty pleasure. Created by Darren Starr and produced by the late Aaron Spelling, this show is 100% melodrama done right. I was a fan from day one, Melrose Place had a vibrant and ever-changing cast, outrageous storylines, and never took itself too seriously. They don't make shows this campy anymore! I just adore this season so I highly recommend purchasing season four. Happy viewing!"