The 4400 Season 4 (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Adams]

Did anyone else think that Curtis Peck somewhat resembled Tony Soprano's son?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Remember when Kyle was "infected" with the other person and the "other person" shot Jordan Collier? Assuming its the same technology that just infected Tom, maybe Shawn could cure him.

 

[NeilO]

One thing that occurred to me last night about the episode and maybe they'll do something about it down the line. Why didn't they get the services of April to talk to Imroth? In story terms she could have been off somewhere and not available at the time, but it should definitely be something for the characters to think about.

Neil

 

[BrianW]

That's a good question, Neil. I wonder if the writers have created too many abiliries for them to keep track of and use optimally.

I also wonder if Peter Coyote's character will make an appearance.

And with all these abilities being thought up, I can't help but imagine how difficult it would be for the writers of this show to avoid overlapping abilities created by the writers of Heros. We've seen some overlap already with healing (others as well as self), shape changing (though likely through different mechanisms), seeing the future, mind control, ability to freeze stuff, and, of course, telekinetics, and probably others I can't remember. Luckily, the two shows are creatively very different, telling very different stories. But I do wonder if there is something of an "Abilities Arms Race" between the two camps.

 

[Chris]

Considering we're four seasons into 4400, and only 1 into Heroes, it's not really that the two camps are racing each other at all Heroes has a bigger platform, sure, but most of the abilities have been fleshed out on tons of shows before, and 4400 has went out of it's way to play things very differently. Everyone knows about the abilities, they arne't hidden or disbelieved. And 4400 is more about how society reacts then how those who have the abilities view society around them.

 

[BrianW]

Completely agreed. Saying the two shows are similar because they depict superhuman abilities is like saying that Smokey and the Bandit and IMAX: Super Speedway are similar because they both feature fast cars. (It also didn't occur to me that The 4400 is already on its fourth lap. thanks for the reminder.) It is also true that most of the abilities portrayed in The 4400 are far more complex than those portrayed in Heros. Being able to bake cookies which allow those who consume them to conversationally resolve painful outstanding issues with dead relatives is a lot more complex than, say, being able to fly.

 

[Garrett Adams]

I agreed with you all the way up to your comparison. While difficult to conceive and a stretch either way, I think it would be easier for the pharmaceutical industry to develop such a cookie than it would be to teach a man to physically fly unaided.

 

[BrianW]

For a second, there, I thought you meant my Smokey And The Bandit comparison. Don't be dissin' my Smokey And The Bandit comparisons.

But, yeah, when you put it that way, you're right. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm quite sure I've known people who had that very ability, but with brownies.

 

[Joe_H]

Wow, they've been cranking some consistently great episodes so far this season.

 

[BrianW]

That was easily the best episode of the season. The conflict is building in a very dramatic fashion. I liked Shawn's short, but very effective, speech. And the Jordan Posters were downright creepy. They made me wonder whether Jordan can actually see what they see. That would be a strange ability.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yeah, things are definitely getting interesting. I liked the way Maia managed to manipulate things to her own ends.

I also liked Tom's response to Kyle finding him tied onto a drainage pipe.

 

[Chris]

Jordan's ability to send back the government troops back sans power was a great scene... he's definitely building his own cult of personality. The way they expanded the borders at the end.. that was great.

I really had high hopes for this episode once I noticed Robert Wolfe wrote it, and he definitely didn't let me down.

This season has just been gangbusters, but this is a great way to add to the pressure. Is Jordan good? He is making all the right moves.. but that doesn't mean that power still doesn't corrupt.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Another good episode. Hopefully they can keep cranking out this ;evel of quality because it's great TV right now.

 

[JediFonger]

haven't watched last night particular ep yet but i'm glad i didn't ditch out after last few seasons. this season is really good!!! =)

 

[NeilO]

I finally watched Sunday's episode. I'm sure we all figured out that what was going on wasn't "real" relatively early, though exactly what was going on was a mystery for a while. The first time PJ said something along the lines of "this isn't supposed to happen" we knew he was somehow behind it. I expect we'll see some ripples from this episode. Just 5 episodes left in the season and as seen in the previews for next episode Richard finally returns. I wonder whether he'll be there for the rest of the season.

Neil

 

[Patrick Sun]

This week's episode felt a little like that David Cronenberg film, eXistenZ.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It felt like a dream episode (or what Trekkies I believe call "Holodeck episodes") but was much better than the majority of offerings in that episode type. The only cheap part was killing really important characters and having them wake up. Otherwise, even if it was all in their heads, it was all real.
The show has evolved to a place where we can't realistically see all of those people in one place voluntarily — at least not for an indefinite amount of time. It was a great moment for Jordan to realize that the agents at NTAC are, after all, autonomous human beings too — and for Tom to be reminded that Jordan was after all a man before he was a messiah. It also gave Tom and Kyle a moment together that is no longer possible outside of the dream.

The only person I didn't see the point of being there from a strategic point of view was Maia; her presence reminded Jordan that an NTAC agent loved and cared for a 4400, certainly, and brought things to a head between Diana and Isabelle. But Maia herself had already had it out with Isabelle the week before, and more than anyone else has straddled the lines between all sides. It seemed to me like PJ was dragging a twelve-year-old kid through unnecessary terror.

Probably the weakest episode of the season so far, because of the cheap deaths and the heavyhanded foreshadowing that Neil mentioned. That said, this has been far and away the best season yet — and this episode would rank among the top episodes of any of the earlier seasons of the show.

 

[NeilO]

By the way, did anyone else here ever read "No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Exit

Neil

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I love this show. Just when I get on top of the current iteration of things, they bring a character back out of the blue and reset his daughter back two seasons. It's an absolute rollercoaster, and the preview for next week looks like we're just getting started.
Also loved the storyline in the diner. About the only part of the episode that felt stale and prefunctory was Tom's affair with his boss. Like they haven't been forcing the foreshadowing for THAT down our throats all season...

I didn't realize how far we've come from the roots of this show, until some very early elements were thrown right back into the limelight.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Felt bad for the "older" actress playing Isabella, losing her role to a kid and then a baby.