When "4 gegen Z" was originally broadcasted in 2005, I was already in my early twenties, but my neighbors' kids, 6 and 8 years old at that time, loved the series, and since it sometimes frightened the little one, I often stayed and watched along as "mental support" - at least that's what I used as an excuse to watch it myself.
To be honest, "4 gegen Z" was one of the very few children series at that time which provided a well-written script and good actors altogether, that's why I even enjoyed it despite my age.
Of course, being an adult, you always know that everything will be fine again at the end of an episode, but the kids don't know that, and since the stories are so enthralling, and the villains are portrayed so convincingly by Udo Kier & Andreas Pietschmann, you can't help but to share the thrill with the four guardians. Even the four children actors of the first two seasons (I think I've never watched the third!)grow into their characters within the first few episodes and become very believable, not as wooden and drawling as most of the German children actors nowadays.
Actually, the only censure I'll give this series is one for the very cheap set design in the underworld. Sometimes, I felt a bit sorry for Mr. Kier & Mr. Pietschmann, when they had to show their acting skills in front of cheap sets, unrealistic special effects, or these awkward Zanreloten with their ridiculous papier-mâché helmets.
Anyway: If you manage to overlook this flaw, then "4 gegen Z" was one of the most enthralling children series of the past decade, and I wish German TV would broadcast it again (or upload all episodes to Youtube like it was done with "Die Pfefferkörner"), because if I zap through children's TV nowadays, I have to switch channels within moments to keep my head from banging the wall from all that stupidity.
