Little note: I'm really angry right now. I typed up this whole rant about Season 4 and then my dumb computer thought it was a good idea to delete it all while I was working on the LAST PARAGRAPH. So please forgive me if you notice my temper in my writing. Heaven knows why I am not just taking a break!
SPOILERS AHEAD
So Season 4 was a different Season. One thing I have to point out is it was the first River Monsters Season that made use of more epic sounding music. I mean, I really feal like that helps. At the same time, I don't listen to music and I do not feel like it is fair to give this season extra points for its music, I'll just say that when your seeing Jeremy battle epic fish and you hear epic music it really helps as compared to when you see him battling epic fish and all that is playing is- is bongo drums, or whatever they used in the previous three seasons. Anyway, that aside I will just run you through how this works even though at this point you probably already know how. I'll grade this the way Admiral Warsilver created, using six categories. The categories are location, Monster variety, Monster origionality, Mystery, Culture, and Monster size.
Ratings will be in stars out of five
Location- So I mean, there are those episodes in River Monsters that just make you HOT watching them. The thing about Season 4, it had two kinds of HOT. It had wet HOT and dry HOT. That was good since we got to see the outback. It also had a little cold in Siberia and Mongolia, but for the most part it was HOT. So... sorry *tries to cool self down*. I mean, it is the dead of January right now and looking out of the window all I see is a barren land. But thinking about that is making me HOT right now, so I'd better not think about it more. Still, the views were vivid, so I'll give it 3/5.
My Rating - ***
Monster Variety- All fish, like most seasons. Yet at the same time there were some new ones. I'm especially thinking about the Groupers. We got a taste of Freshwater and a very little saltwater. There were a lot of Catfish though, but different kinds. The Sareng Catfish for instance gulps air. There was also a predatory salmon (speaking of the Taimen), and the extremely rareGlyphis Shark . Speaking of rare, we did get to see the Chinese Seerfish , although it was not a suspect, it is a very rare fish and it was cool to see. So I give 4/5 here, which may seem odd since Season 6 had way more variety and it also had 4/5, but think of it as 4/5- and 4/5+.
My Rating- ****
Monster origionality- Now a LOT of the monsters I mentioned in the monster variety section are very original too. There were not many returning monsters. TheArapaima did show up agian, but I mean it is starting to be the stuff of legend as it shows up in like 80 river monsters episodes. I'll give higher originality.
My Rating- ****
Mystery- Now Mystery is really where this season gets its charm. I am specifically thinking of Invisible Executioner. That episode was one of the very most memorable. I never really get tired of it. I would seriously recommend watching this Season for the mystery. Also, the one in the Okavango Delta was amazing. And again, I'm not sure how amazing it would be if they just used bongo drums, but we'll not discuss that further. The thing is, the Okavango delta in this episode was HOT while in Season 7 is was more... you know what, I'll stop talking about that. One more thing, the mysterious Russian fish that was over a ton was awesome. And one more 'one more' thing, the legend of the giant fish in the distant lake in Lair of Giants was really captivating. And Jeremy's new Arapaima- loved it!
My Rating- ***** Perfect Score!!!!!!!!!!!
Culture- Another thing about Invisible Executioner, the culture was really amazing. I really liked to see some of the African beliefs. Speaking of beliefs, Jeremy basically immersed himself in culture in the episode about the Sareng catfish. Although he ended up getting bumped around for no gain, it made Malaysian Lake Monster a lot more epic. We also saw a SHAMAN in action. That was pretty cool. Jeremy also joined some rituals, so I give this area 5/5 too.
My Rating- ***** Perfect Score!!!!!!!!!!!
Monster Size- Monster size was one area that I really feel like this Season needed a bit more. Its kindof... well, we'll say 'weak' when there is an epic episode (without bongo drums) and in the end all that is caught is a 40 pound fish when you expected a 15 foot long wopper that weighed 250 pounds. I mean, I was speaking about Invisible Executioner, an episode that is flawless except for one thing. The fish in the end is a littttttle too small. The Goliath Grouper s and Arapaima were big, but still.
My Rating- ***
Over All Rating 5/5- Almost a Perfect Score!!!!!!!!!!!
I give this Season 100 percent recommendation.
And to add to that, the Official River Monsters episode commemorative poll (created by Animal Planet) scored Lair of Giants second and Pack of Teeth third. both were in Season 4. Again...well, actually I haven't said this before so not again, I'll say that means nothing, cause they offered 20 episodes and 6 of them were from Season 4. I mean, they didn't even offer Demon Fish, one of the most legendary River Monsters episodes. Or Man Eating Monster. *huh*. But still, at least that shows that people liked them.