4400 Mysteries Hit the Summer Schedule

When I said easy, I did not mean weak or lacking value. On the contrary, "The 4400" has quite a reasonably loyal audience for a summer show, when everyone is supposed to be on vacation. So the premise of the show is similar to the more popular X-Men franchise and NBC's star show, "Heroes". Fortunately for ABC, "Heroes" is not aired in the summertime. Not that "The 4400" is weaker or anything, it's just that it has a different premise, being much more politically minded, whereas "Heroes" is more about people and how special gifts change them. This is why I must point out that "The 4400" is clearly an epic action-driven show, while "Heroes" is clearly much more character driven, the plot advancing much slower.

Speaking of the plot, it is quite complicated to explain, as the creators feel the need to squeeze in as much of the story as possible in 13 episodes of 45 minutes each. Long story short, 4400 people from various times appeared out of thin air, each one carrying a different power, therefore a different burden. Such being the case, the government created a special task-force named NTAC that keeps track of these special people and their actions, especially their leaders, people like Shawn Farrell and Jordan Collier.

As with every other epic story, "The 4400" has its villains and heroes, but you never quite know which are which until the end. Most characters are in the gray area, sometimes crossing the legal boundaries to get things done, for a greater good, or so they think. Also their actions have unexpected ramifications in the time-line, as the show features a significant amount of time travel theories. The most controversial character is, by far, the aforementioned Jordan Collier, who constantly defies ethics and common sense for a higher plan, the man clearly suffering from a "would-be God" syndrome.

I do not want to spoil the story any further, what you need to know is that season 4 has just started airing, but if you're not a constant viewer, you most definitely will find the show unnerving and hard to follow. However, there are plenty of the show's DVDs available for purchase out there, so start recuperating as much as you can, before summer ends and you have to get back to work. Trust me, it's worth it! Well, if you're into Sci-Fi and politics, that is.