TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Review of The 4400

The 4400 (2004–2007)

Another sci-fi show cancelled before its time... the execution killed it

[6/10 · 31 December 2007]

I've watched every episode of this. After months of uncertainty, The 4400 was cancelled. Possibly a victim of the writers' strike, probably not the only one... but it would be unfair to put all the blame on said union act. Yes, this show definitely had its ups. Yes, there were occasional great episodes, such as the season two finale(which shall remain nameless in this review, to avoid spoilers), and even the rare extraordinary one, such as Life Interrupted. Yes, some of the show was fantastic. Some of the writing was intelligent, realistic. Several points made, themes explored, were very interesting. There was genuinely good and worthwhile science fiction found here. How often do you find that on television? Among the action and the special effects there were parts that were truly impressive. The drama wasn't without accomplished moments. No, this show wasn't all bad. But all the wasted potential is just difficult to overlook. The problem is, the very concept is flawed... it's partially overreaching(twelve episodes per season), and it's also just not limited enough. The obvious gaping plot hole, the logic problem, was never addressed(I cannot reveal what it is here, because it would be a spoiler)... in fact, the show always seemed unwilling to limit itself, for purposes of concise story-telling(and never run out of material... and for an inestimable amount of such, not to mention only having 42 episodes in total, for four seasons, they had far too many episodes that... just weren't all that good). Said storytelling did have something to offer, but not very much. There were too many things that they seemed to never really explain. Plots and ideas were introduced, seldom developed enough, and they either were not concluded, or it was done in an abrupt and unsatisfactory manner. Characters were presented, explored(if even that), and dismissed(another error in that department is arguably taking the Mulder & Scully approach). Acting was hit-and-miss. The symbolism was blatant, sometimes even insulting. It always seemed like it was going somewhere, bigger, smarter, better, and it just never got there. If it had some message, it lost it along the way. The season finales got increasingly more desperate, trying harder and harder to be given a renewal, and to promise viewers more, but continually failed to deliver. They almost never seemed to handle actors being unavailable terribly well, either. In the end, this was a mini-series that got unexpectedly high ratings, so the network decided to capitalize on that(and the lack of (new) Summer programming) by bringing it back as a series... and the producers may not have had enough of a plan. The people behind it maybe just weren't up to the task. The behind the scenes people were of insufficient talent, I suppose. I recommend this to fans of sci-fi and the actors(a certain one, perhaps known more from his horror work, who's done sci-fi before, appears... excellent as always, a bright spot in the show)... just don't expect consistent quality over the run of the series, or for everything to be wrapped up(partially due to the show's cancellation). 6/10