Gossip Girl: The Complete Fourth Season

Gossip Girl remains as materialistic-minded as ever, but when the fashions are this fabulous, it's hard to complain. Before beginning their freshman year at Columbia, Serena (Blake Lively) and Blair (Leighton Meester) frolic in Paris, where the latter falls for a prince. Blair is unaware that ex-flame Chuck (Ed Westwick) is also in the City of Lights, having taken up with a do-gooder (Clémence Poésy) who returns with him to New York; but after Blair meddles in their affairs, Chuck declares war. The scheming continues with blackmail, deceptions, seductions, and assorted romantic entanglements involving Dan (Penn Badgley), Nate (Chace Crawford), and a slew of other friends and frenemies—particularly Juliet (Katie Cassidy). Among the other multiple story threads are ones involving Blair's coveted internship at W magazine and Chuck's last-ditch efforts to rescue the family business from real estate magnate Russell Thorpe (Michael Boatman), who happens to have ties to Serena's mom, Lily (Kelly Rutherford). Fashionable guest stars include everyone from Isaac Mizrahi to Rachel Zoe, and the show winningly re-creates scenes from the Audrey Hepburn films Roman Holiday and Wait Until Dark. Utterly frivolous, Gossip Girl is also absolutely entertaining. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 2010–11 fourth season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)