Los 4400

The 4400 pays homage to a number of different science fiction shows, but manages to consistently put its own unique and original spin on the story lines week after week.

The tone and the atmosphere of the show hit just the right notes. The acting is good all around with standouts Billy Campbell playing a totally different kind of character than in "Once and Again" and Conchita Campell convincingly playing equal measures of cute and creepy.

After seeing the first couple of shows in Season 2, I am looking forward to seeing where the 4400 is going to take us.

i didn't watch "The 4400" from the beginning, but when I tuned in, it hooked me and reeled me in, in a quick 60 seconds. What interested me the most was how the people left behind reacted to the people who had returned. Some freaked out, shouting crude and spiteful remarks to some of the returnees; others just were afraid to go near them. They couldn't seem to handle a person whose disappearance was mystifying, and whose reason for returning, place from which they had returned, and a source of a power, so extraordinary...could just not been explained. Those returning from a past unknown don't remember where they came from--where they had been for so many lost

years...They come back unchanged, physically and emotionally-fully capable of functioning, fully remembering the life they last saw before they vanished. But when they come back, they realize the life they had left behind was not the life that re- greeted them was landing on the place called home.

People grew up. People changed. People died. And the returners felt an emptiness like never before---like, they lost out on some wonderful life they knew they would have had, if only, they never left.

it's like coming back from heaven and realizing that everything has changed. But you're still the same. You're still you. An old man, married for 20 years. A little girl with parents still well-alive. A brother and a son, in high school, tall, handsome and healthy. In your heart and mind, you have taken these memories with you--memories of the life and the people you once loved have embedded themselves deep within your heart, and you wonder why the world has kept spinning without you. You were gone, but can't quite remember where you had gone to and what you were doing in that period of time...you don't remember....you can't remember, and you feel like an alien on your own planet. A stranger to your own world....your own home...Earth.

I actually quite enjoyed the first series. I was compelled to watch through to the final episode to see the characters story arc's develop.

Yes there are the typical Sci-fi clichés (maybe 4400 by the time the show is finished?). But I would say that this is a Sci-fi show and not a Sci-fact show, and by it's very nature it's a work of fiction, thus real world science doesn't really matter or nessecarily apply.

The scene the first post was alluding to was (I'm sure) not intended to be a dazzling display of the script writers grasp of near and outer orbital rocket science, but a characterization of both the governmental paranoia and hopeless desperation that humans can exhibit when faced with seemingly futile situations.

Personally, I don't think the acting is too bad, yes it does smack of countless other Sci-fi shows and draws heavily on many common themes running through all Sci-fi series, but what shows don't? There is little originality in Sci-fi these days, but the premise of this show is at least relatively unexplored.

How many shows do you know that effectively try to portray the multitude of challenges that face abductees when they try to re-integrate into a society that seemingly doesn't want them, can't understand them or are jealous of them?

Comparisons are inevitable, but when you're subconsciously thinking "Mulder and Scully" or "Rouge and Wolverine" while you are watching supposedly new characters then as a script writer you've got to try to distance yourself from what could easily be considered as stereotypes. This is probably my greatest (and only real) criticism.

If the script writers were just a little less derivative, and a bit more adventurous then I think we have a winner.

P.S. Oh, and they need to stop the re-caps at the start of every darn episode, the fast forward button on my Tivo's getting worn out as it is.

Mqark.

I hadn't heard of the show before seeing it pop up on my Netflix feed, but it immediately drew my attention with the classification of Time Travel and Sci-Fi. Some of the writing annoyed me a bit. The idea that U.S. government would basically treat it's citizens like it was North Korea or Iran and no one would say a thing was a bit odd. Were none of the writers aware of the constitution? Anyway, aside from that it's a good show. I was a bit concerned that the final season would end at a cliffhanger with no reconciliation in sight like other shows have done when they were canceled, but I think they ended it well. They left the possibility of a restart while also leaving it with a satisfying ending. Sadly they didn't restart the show, but I hear CW is planning a reboot soon. Bottom line, if you like sci-fi with a heavy dose of drama, give it a watch. You won't be disappointed.

Watching the 4400 is a bit like going to quiet café for a quick bite to eat and, unexpectedly, having one of the best meals of your life.

Hard to follow, and occasionally borderline kitsch, somehow The 4400 keeps you hooked with the fascinating characters, deep plot and unpredictable turns.

The storyline is highly original. The actors and the characters that they play are highly engaging. It tests some scientific and moral boundaries and makes some other programmes seem like music videos in comparison.

I think it is a sci-fi classic which, like Dune, will be loved by a small hardcore of fans, whilst most will just scratch their heads wondering what it is all about.