Alias: Season 4

This boxed set is packed with special features. Not only does it have several featurettes, but also audio commentaries for four of the episodes, including the two part Season opener. There are also lots of deleted scenes.

The features include a very interesting director's diary, featuring writer/director Jeff Bell and various stars of the show chatting to the camera. My favourite was Marshall's World, in which Kevin Weisman, who plays Marshall Flinkman, takes us on a tour of the set and talks to cast and crew.

Anatomy Of The Scenes look in detail into how they created two scenes from the series - The Train fight and The Copter rescue. Of course, we also get a blooper reel.

While these extras are occasionally entertaining and funny, there is far too much stuff about what a great actor Jennifer is, or what a genius J J Abrams is. Although I am not going to deny that these people are very good at what they do, I got annoyed with this kind of self-congratulatory nonsense. I want factual, or funny, not sycophantic chitchat.

The commentaries are amusing, but, unlike many people, I find them a little irritating. Usually I ignore them, but at the behest of the editor of this fine webzine, I took a look at some of them. I am glad I did so. The first episode has Jennifer Garner, Abrams, Ken Olin and an English girl called Sarah, whom I presume is a member of the production team, or a writer. The conversations are amusing and occasionally enlightening, but again it is marred with too much " Oh, doesn't Angela Basset look sexy?", and "Isn't (insert name of actor) just the best?" This gets old fast and I switched off after a while.

The deleted scenes are, for the most part, nothing special and did not seem to have any real value, or interest, adding little or nothing to our appreciation of the episodes.

In general, the featurettes are varied and occasionally excellent, the highlights being Marshall's World, Editor's Diary and Anatomy Of A Scene. The on-camera chats with the stars are seldom very revealing, although we do see a different side to them during the blooper reel - who knew Ron Rifkin was such a funny guy?

This boxed set has plenty for everyone and is recommended for fans and first timers alike.