Season 4 of Babylon 5 really is superb both on an episodic and arc level. True, it's unlikely that you'd be purchasing it not having seen the first three seasons, but even so (most of) the episodes work well outside of the bigger picture. Certainly, when compared to its contemporaries (notably Deep Space Nine) one realises how B5 is in a totally different league. Everything about it oozes quality: from the political intrigue to the sweeping space battles, the character developments to the humour that hits the mark more often than not.

The season answers some questions and poses others - it covers a broad range of the story arc including the end of the Shadow War (which could only be considered an anticlimax if one hadn't been paying attention to the story thus far), the fight to reclaim Earth (a salutory lesson in the true nature of democracy), and the growth of characters into new and interesting realms.

On the downside there are still a few times when the picture quality becomes poor, but these are few and far between (certainly less so than previous seasons' DVDs).

It's a real pleasure to watch (some years since I last saw it on the television) and the quality of everything; the effects, the acting, the storyline; is evident. This is, to paraphrase a certain brand of lager, probably the best sci-fi in the world (sic).