I actually though S4 was a cut above everything else; the episodes in S4 had everything - bleakness, humour, sadness, gripping storylines - "The Stranger", "Check Your Head", "Viuda Negra", "Rage", "More Than This" were in my opinion some of the best episdoes that "Without A Trace" offered up during its run.
Everyone also complained about the introduction of Roselyn Sanchez, but TBH I actually thought that until midway through S5 she did a pretty good job of what was a rather thankless role where many fans who liked the original characters were inevitably going to complain about the introduction of a new character. Her arrival gave the series a new diorection and a shot in the arm it had been crying out for.
The new writers and producers for S4 onwards also had the hard task of following the well-established Hank Steinberg and Ed Redlich, but the new direction really worked for me - TBH I was bored to tears by Hank Steinberg and Ed Redlich's repetitive storylines by the end of S3.
I didn't enjoy S3 that much anyway, and thought that the introduction of a new character was a good thing, it moved away from the rather formulaic and repetitive approach that the series was taking by the time of S3, by the end of which I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to watch S4 because it was like watching the same episode over and over again, but if anything S4 was what convinced me to keep watching to the end
Perfection is boring - flaunt the imperfection!
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saiprakash0315
14 years ago
I agree first three seasons of the show are good. Not only the main characters/ actors were interesting but also a lot of guest actors did an excellent job whether they were good characters or bad characters.
It won a couple of emmys / golden globe awards during those season which were well deserved.
Season 4 started becoming boring. It was more like a soap opera than a crime TV show. and i stopped watching it regularly in the middle of the season.(i haven't watched it much since then with the exception of few video clips from youtube and a couple of episodes online where my favorite actor guest starred etc.). I thought this show should have been cancelled right away after season 5.
No i don't think Roselyn Sanchez's addition hurt the show. She is fine actress. The problem is not the actress or her character but the sloppy writing and poor direction is what hurt the show. As for poppy, she is a good actress but her character became boring and
unintersting.(not her fault but the writers screwed it up when they decided to team her up with Jack.).
As for Eric Close. (i remember him from Santa Barbara days and Magneficent 7/ATF shows. His character no way as exciting as those shows.) Martin started off as a promising character and later became a dud. Same thing can be said for Danny.
Only Vivian Johnson is the one i found remotely interesting for me after season 3.
Well there is a site called fanfiction.net where the fans posts a lot of thier own stories. I suggest people to read those stories which are far more better than the real episodes.
Instead of complaining, fans should be thankful that this show ran for 7 complete seasons rather than pulling the plug after season 4.
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alpfanatic
14 years ago
You hit it on the head! All of these things contributed. I think it really fell apart when they started to ignore FBI rules and regulations and decided "anything goes". It was really sad what they did to Jack. He became a character that was very hard to watch and since he was the focus of the show, it was disasterous.
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koffeenkreame41-1
13 years ago
I agree, it was so sad to see them do that to Jack.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens.
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DarcyBrandon
13 years ago
Also I think Vivian's character was totally turned into this horrible parody of her former self!
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Kal_Ell
13 years ago
Personally I didn't see much of a decline compared to the other series, you get that up and downs to a show, but this was still so much better than some tripe we see on TV.
Every episode I enjoyed. It was one of my faves.
Everyday I Hear People Crying Out For A HERO!
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spetscal
13 years ago
I think S4 was harshly judged by many - it wasn't perhaps just quite as good as the first 3 Seasons but it was still better than most other shows and there were some great episodes.
Most agree that the show had declined somewhat with the lack of team interaction and the ridiculous Sam baby storyline but as has already been mentioned the ratings if not as high as previosuly were still bigger than other shows which were continued and it was quite simply the costs involved which made CBS decide to pull the plug.
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