Soap: The Complete Fourth Season

After ushering in a new era of primetime TV expressiveness with regard to hitherto taboo subjects, this wacky, irreverent, groundbreaking sitcom finally came to a close with the 1980-81 season. Throughout, the series maintained a loyal fan base and the producers honestly expected ABC to pick it up for a fifth season (which is why the finale is loaded with unresolved conflicts and cliffhangers). The year opened with Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) being revived from the dead while her sister, Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon), was busy giving birth to a baby boy she feared had been spawned by aliens who abducted her. Things got stranger from there: Jessica's daughters Eunice (Jennifer Salt) and Corrinne (Diana Canova) drew cards to decide which one would wind up with ex-con Dutch (Donnelly Rhodes), while her son Billy (Jimmy Baio) found himself being shot at by his former teacher and lover, Leslie (Marla Pennington). As the season progressed, Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) became embroiled in a custody battle, Jessica took up with a Latin American revolutionary named El Puerco (Gregory Sierra) while her husband Chester (Robert Mandan) steamed, and Mary's husband Burt (Richard Mulligan) once again became a target of mobsters. The 21 episodes here grew progressively crazier, making nervous wrecks of network executives worried about the show's lightheartedly dismissive view of contemporary values. Presented with a decent transfer, but no extras, this set is a fitting swansong to one of the most influential TV series ever. Recommended. (E. Hulse)