I was initially intrigued by the premise of “The 4400” when some of the early promos started up on the USA Network earlier this year. It was to be a five week mini-series that delved into the idea of what would happen if all the people who have disappeared, presumably abducted by aliens, were to return Earth. Having somewhat of a passing interest in the subject of UFOs, I thought I’d give it a shot. I caught all five episodes when they originally aired and was quite taken in by it. Along the way, I had learned that the plan was to turn it into a full fledged series if it was well enough received. By the fifth episode, I was crossing my fingers that it would get picked up, (by the Network, not by aliens…), especially since it ended on kind of a cliffhanger. “The 4400” refers to the number of people who come back. It is what they are called, at first by the government, then by the media and eventually the populace at large. Needless to say their return causes quite stir. They all come from different eras, yet none of them have aged a bit; nor can they remember what happened to them. To make matters worse, some begin to demonstrate unusual powers and limited abilities to control them.

All of these add up to trouble for “The 4400” as a group, eliciting mistrust and alienation (so to speak) from just about everyone.

As it worked in the five episodes that have aired, it comes across as somewhat of an anthology series focusing on different ‘returnees’ in each. There are a few crossover characters, whose link to the mystery as a whole appears to be stronger than most, so they show up in each episode bringing more and more pieces of the puzzle to light. They are aided by two Federal Agents, tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie), and to some degree their boss Dennis Ryland (Peter Coyote).

The series offered some great storylines, which were punctuated by some really nice looking special effects. These effects were kept to a minimum, so it seems in order maximize the budget and deliver quality over quantity. This also served to make the series more character driven, then effects driven.

The DVD release fro Paramount of “The 4400” was extremely welcome, if not a tiny bit disappointing. All five episodes were present on the 2-disc set, and they were presented in glorious widescreen, but there were no extra features to be found. It would have been nice to see some interviews with the cast at the very least.

Aside from this little nitpick, I do highly recommend the set. In part, because the mini-series was good enough to warrant a viewing if you hadn’t seen it, but now more so because it was announced that the series has been picked up and will continue in 2005. This set will allow new viewers the opportunity to see the first ‘season’ as it were.

Episodes:
Pilot
The New and Improved Carl Morrissey
Becoming
Trial by Fire
White Light

Starring: Joel Gretsch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Peter Coyote
Extras: None
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 12/21/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The 4400 a B.