My “Best Shows I Never Heard Of” List must now include The 4400. I started watching it several weeks ago and loved it from the very beginning. The plot revolves around 4,400 individuals who are abducted over a 60-year period and returned all together in a ball of light on a lake near Seattle, Washington. The strange thing is that none of them has aged a day. They are taken by a government agency called NTAC and placed in a detention center for several months. When they are released, it is found that some of them have developed amazing abilities. NTAC is charged with handling any problems relating to the 4400 (what the abductees are now called) and their abilities.
The show focuses on new NTAC agents, Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris, but Tom has apotential conflict of interest because his nephew Shawn is one of the 4400 and his son Kyle is in a coma brought on during Shawn’s abduction. Another major player in this series is Brandon Collier, a wealthy 4400, who sets up a center to help other 4400’s and to try and develop abilities in people who were not abducted. As people become fearful of the 4400 and their abilities and some of the 4400, in fact, become dangerous, NTAC’s role changes from that of protection for the 4400 to that of containment. This switch brings them in conflict with Collier and his 4400 Center.
The 4400 was aired on USA for 4 seasons, starting in 2004, but having missed it, I was lucky enough to find it on Netflix. Tension, action, mystery, and love kept me watching throughout all 54 episodes. It was also fun for me because I noticed a lot of familiar faces from other sci fi series, including Summer Glau from Firefly (River), Peter Coyote from The X-Files (the Smoking Man), and Jeffery Combs from Enterprise (Shran). The series was canceled in 2007, ending on what many consider a cliff-hanger. I admit I would have liked to have seen more, but I think the finale cleared up a lot of things, and gave more than a hint of what the future would hold.
Imaginative, thoughtful, and provocative, The 4400 is a show to remember. Watch it on Netflix, buy the DVDs or rent them. Do what you have to do. Just be sure to watch The 4400. You won’t be sorry.