Martin is a situational comedy (sitcom) television series that ran for five seasons from 1992 to 1997. The show featured comedian Martin Lawrence and his over-the-top behavior and kooky mannerism with a few others in a somewhat standard sitcom. The general premise deals with Martin and his friends getting into sticky situations as they go through the ins and outs of life. For more details about this series, refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, and season three.

The fourth season has a similar quality of humor as the past seasons, Martin acting goofy and blowing situations out of proportion. He and the rest of the cast tend to turn simple situations into craziness with their overzealous personalities. For the most part, it has little appeal and tends to be more annoying than anything else. There is also very little variety episode-to-episode.

At the end of season three, Martin and Gina tied the knot. Season four picks up with the two getting used to the newlywed life. As a result, they get into a lot of goofy and absurd newlywed-focused situations. For instance, the season begins with "Martin In The Corner Pocket". Martin convinces Gina that he has an important meeting back home. They leave their honeymoon early and return to Detroit. Gina is surprised to find out Martin's important engagement involves Tommy, Cole, and a pool house. Not a great episode. Another dull newlywed episode is "Kill Him With Kindness". Martin is suspicious that Gina is going to kill him for insurance money. It plays out just as bad as it sounds. The rest of the episodes focused on the newlywed life offer just as little excitement.

Another big change (also relationship related) deals with Pam and Tommy. In earlier seasons, they started a romantic relationship, which had its ups and downs. In season four, they take a big leap and move in together. They get sick of each other pretty quick and decide its best to just be friends. It is a sad development for the oddly matched couple. Cole's romantic life is also up in the air. Big Shirley dumps him and he tries to fill the empty void in his heart, to no avail.

As for the season in general, the comedy feels very much the same as past seasons. There are far too few laughs with several episodes that are downright awful. Personally, I was not surprised. Similar to my opinion of season three, Martin is a television series that has not aged well. Martin Lawrence will either crack you up nonstop or leave you wondering what else is on. For the most part, it will be the latter.

A prime example of the season four at its worst is the episode "Uptown Friday Night". Gina and Martin leave for the weekend. It happens to be Gina's birthday and Martin had diamonds put in a pair of earrings. Cole was tasked to pick them up. Unfortunately, when Cole and Tommy go to opening night of a casino, hosted by Jerome (one of Martin Lawrence's ridiculous and annoying personalities), the casino is robbed. Cole, Tommy, and Jerome go to the robber's hideout to get their stuff back. Fortunately, Jerome defuses the situation by convincing the female robbers to become dancer. The episode is just too much and plays out in an uneventful, unexciting manner.

Overall, Martin's fourth season is not a great collection of episodes. The show is too reliant on Martin Lawrence, who is rarely funny. The fact of the matter is that the show has little content to hold your interest or even spark it. As I watched the season, I rarely found myself laughing. In short, it is best skipped.

Episode Guide

1. Martin In The Corner Pocket
2. Kill Him With Kindness
3. Blow, Baby, Blow
4. Ring A Ding, Ding, Gone
5. Love TKO
6. He Say, She Say
7. Uptown Friday Night
8. Old School Loving
9. Cole On Ice
10. Housekeeper From Hell
11. Three Homies And A Baby
12. Headin' For Trouble
13. Swing Thing
14. The Bodyguard
15. Green Card
16. You're All I Need
17. Kicked To The Curb
18. The Best of Martin
19. The Love Jones Connection
20. Where The Party At
21. Homeo & Juliet
22. The Cabin Show
23. The Tooth Will Set You Free
24. Martin, I Want To Sing
25. DMV Blues
26. Why Can't We Be Friends, Part 1
27. Why Can't We Be Friends, Part 2

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is acceptable with a noticeable grain and roughness. While not outstanding, the visual representation is still good enough.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is an English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound track. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as found with most TV on DVD releases it's not necessarily bad, since the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. There is also support for closed captioning and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
Martin is a television sitcom starring the comic/actor Martin Lawrence. The series focuses on his life, girlfriend, and closest friends. In season four, Martin and former girlfriend Gina are a newlywed couple. As such, many of the episodes deal with their new lifestyle. The other cast members and their relationships are also at the fore. Nevertheless, not a whole lot worth watching happens. It is too over-the-top and Lawrence is more annoying than funny. In addition, the other performers fail to produce laughs. In the end, Martin's fourth season is not worth your time. It has not aged well and probably won't have much to attract new viewers.