Post by Forever Xena on Aug 11, 2005 8:15:57 GMT -6
Producer Scott Peters may have explored the unknown in The Outer Limits and the Highlander TV Series, but nothing could have prepared him for The 4400. The series about the reappearance of 4400 people abducted by aliens became such a hit that it wasn't just conspiracy theorists who recognized it would return. Charting the progress of Homeland Security agents Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris and their investigation of the 4400, the five part first season left many questions unanswered. Now co-creator Peters has a close encounter with Dreamwatch to reveal how season two's 13 episodes shape up.
Dreamwatch: Were you surprised at the ratings The 4400 had right from the start?
Peters: I was ecstatic. We had a cast and crew screening for everybody because the thing about being in Vancouver is they don't get the USA Network. It played beautifully and we thought we had something. I felt in my heart of hearts we had done everything we possibly could to make it the best six hours we could. The ratings it did were outstanding. I remember the night before, we were standing around at the premiere party and one of the USA people said, 'Here's the number it needs to do for us to be impressed,' and we pretty much doubled it.
Dreamwatch: I understand 9/11 inspired you for this series. Can you elaborate on that?
Peters: That is true, but there isn't a counterpoint in the analogy for everything that goes on. At the heart of the show is the idea of what happens when a single enormous unprecedentd event happens. How does that affect us, change us, challenge us, and ultimately define us because we are defined by our actions. I thought that was a cool place to draw a metaphor from. That's what this is. There's a ball of light which drops from the sky and explodes outwards, 4400 people show up who were missing before, and no time has passed for them. Now what do you do?
Dreamwatch: You ended on a number of cliffhangers but were you worried you wouldn't get to wrap up those dangling threads?
Peters: You bet we were! We knew people would be mad if we didn't. We had to walk this very fine line of trying to figure out how to tell a story in six hours that would have a sense of an ending, yet be open enough to continue. If we wrapped everything up, there would be no place to go and we wouldn't be back this season. We were told we had to give away the big secret, so we felt the size of that equalled the number of little things that hadn't paid off yet. What that did was force us to think of other ways to tell stories because the big piece of information wasn't mean't to come out this early in an arc of a potential series. It was mean't to come out at the very end.
Dreamwatch: Why the number 4400?
Peters: I wish I could pinpoint the moment in time that number popped in my head. I think I was looking for a number and it just rolled off my tongue. Aside from that, there is a significance to it that will be unveiled, just perhaps not right away. We have to save some things! I was looking for something that sounded really good but could also tie into something significant in the story.
Dreamwatch: Season one introduced us to the 4400 and their mystery. We set the table in season one, so this year we can sink our teeth into themes like religion, politics, and the role of government in society. We can really try to mirror what is going on right now. Carrying on with that 9/11 metaphor, things that happen on that day will continue to ripple through our society for years to come and really changed our way of life. Those are the sort of things we want to examine.
Dreamwatch: Season two is set six months later. Have the 4400 successfully integrated back into society?
Peters: Not successfully. We imply they are a new minority and like all minorities, they have issues with acceptance, bigotry, ignorance, and there are still segments of society who fear them. We see a couple of characters tremendously set against the 4400 and who tie the abductee's into their religion. There are people who live in towns where they are completely loved for who they are.
Dreamwatch: Now that Tom Baldwin's son is awake, what drives him to stay in the 4400 investigation?
Peters: His arc was to find out what happened to his son, but now on the larger scale he is at the center of this mystery. Tom is the one they talked to through his son. They didn't get the entire message out but clearly he is the key to it all. In the first two hours, since we last saw him, he's been put on desk duty because he put a gun to an agent's head. As he was the guy who was spoken to, he was quarantined for a while along with his son, Kyle. Kyle is still living in the facility and Tom can still see him, but he's not being allowed to leave and start a normal life because they are so invested in finding out what happened.
Dreamwatch: We know so little about his partner, Diana. Will we learn more about her past?
Peters: Lot's more. We are doing a big arc with her sister who comes to visit and we start to find out a lot about her. Now she has Maia in her life, Diana is not just about the case anymore. She's about her home life and how she reacts to having their child who happens to be a member of the 4400, who happens to have a pretty amazing ability herself.
Dreamwatch: Where have Richard and Lily gone to?
Peters: Richard and Lily are still in a small town and it has been quiet for them, but as you can imagine, they believe they have been discovered. They've been hiding and trying to blend in as normal people and they are not. There is lot's of trouble heading their way.
Dreamwatch: Lily was pregnant. What does the baby of two of the 4400 look like?
Peters: In the next 13 episodes, you'll discover in a big way. Just keep an eye on that baby. Lot's of baby to come.
Dreamwatch: Does Shawn Farrell allow you to explore what is happening through a teenagers eyes?
Peters: Yes, he did last year, but since we've had this time passage away from the story, we have an interesting shift in picking up these characters in a different place than we last saw them. Shawn is a good example. He was this teenager who can't fit in or find his way and nobody liked him. Now, he's been living at Collier's Estates which have closed. Collier has opened up the 4400 center and he's groomed Shawn because he found out what his ability is. Shawn is a very grown up young man now. However, he's struggling with the moral issues that Collier presents him with. He's trying to do the right thing, but sometimes Collier's methods clash with that.
Dreamwatch: What is Jordan Collier's interest in the 4400?
Peters: He has lot's of money, a lot of power and a lot of ego. When he sets his sights on a vision, he wants it completed. Because he was a person of stature before this event happened, he sees himself as the person in the best position to lead them. He almost puts himself in the place of a prophet. There is a little of the meglomaniac in him. He's going to be in for a few surprises as he continues.
Dreamwatch: You could have fallen into the trap of '4400 of the week' but it doesn't sound like it.
Peters: No, we made a conscious effort to stay away from that. We sat in a writers room and talked very specifically about not doing that. The strength of our show is not the case, but the varying storylines. You don't stay with any character too long so there's no chance to get bored or get up and make a sandwich. If you don't stay glued to the set, you'll miss something and at the same time, we're progressing all those storylines.
Dreamwatch: What questions are you hoping to have answered by the end of the season?
Peters: We know exactly where we want to end up. The whole key is to keep this train moving forward at a very fast pace while still keeping it grounded.
Dreamwatch: Were you surprised at the ratings The 4400 had right from the start?
Peters: I was ecstatic. We had a cast and crew screening for everybody because the thing about being in Vancouver is they don't get the USA Network. It played beautifully and we thought we had something. I felt in my heart of hearts we had done everything we possibly could to make it the best six hours we could. The ratings it did were outstanding. I remember the night before, we were standing around at the premiere party and one of the USA people said, 'Here's the number it needs to do for us to be impressed,' and we pretty much doubled it.
Dreamwatch: I understand 9/11 inspired you for this series. Can you elaborate on that?
Peters: That is true, but there isn't a counterpoint in the analogy for everything that goes on. At the heart of the show is the idea of what happens when a single enormous unprecedentd event happens. How does that affect us, change us, challenge us, and ultimately define us because we are defined by our actions. I thought that was a cool place to draw a metaphor from. That's what this is. There's a ball of light which drops from the sky and explodes outwards, 4400 people show up who were missing before, and no time has passed for them. Now what do you do?
Dreamwatch: You ended on a number of cliffhangers but were you worried you wouldn't get to wrap up those dangling threads?
Peters: You bet we were! We knew people would be mad if we didn't. We had to walk this very fine line of trying to figure out how to tell a story in six hours that would have a sense of an ending, yet be open enough to continue. If we wrapped everything up, there would be no place to go and we wouldn't be back this season. We were told we had to give away the big secret, so we felt the size of that equalled the number of little things that hadn't paid off yet. What that did was force us to think of other ways to tell stories because the big piece of information wasn't mean't to come out this early in an arc of a potential series. It was mean't to come out at the very end.
Dreamwatch: Why the number 4400?
Peters: I wish I could pinpoint the moment in time that number popped in my head. I think I was looking for a number and it just rolled off my tongue. Aside from that, there is a significance to it that will be unveiled, just perhaps not right away. We have to save some things! I was looking for something that sounded really good but could also tie into something significant in the story.
Dreamwatch: Season one introduced us to the 4400 and their mystery. We set the table in season one, so this year we can sink our teeth into themes like religion, politics, and the role of government in society. We can really try to mirror what is going on right now. Carrying on with that 9/11 metaphor, things that happen on that day will continue to ripple through our society for years to come and really changed our way of life. Those are the sort of things we want to examine.
Dreamwatch: Season two is set six months later. Have the 4400 successfully integrated back into society?
Peters: Not successfully. We imply they are a new minority and like all minorities, they have issues with acceptance, bigotry, ignorance, and there are still segments of society who fear them. We see a couple of characters tremendously set against the 4400 and who tie the abductee's into their religion. There are people who live in towns where they are completely loved for who they are.
Dreamwatch: Now that Tom Baldwin's son is awake, what drives him to stay in the 4400 investigation?
Peters: His arc was to find out what happened to his son, but now on the larger scale he is at the center of this mystery. Tom is the one they talked to through his son. They didn't get the entire message out but clearly he is the key to it all. In the first two hours, since we last saw him, he's been put on desk duty because he put a gun to an agent's head. As he was the guy who was spoken to, he was quarantined for a while along with his son, Kyle. Kyle is still living in the facility and Tom can still see him, but he's not being allowed to leave and start a normal life because they are so invested in finding out what happened.
Dreamwatch: We know so little about his partner, Diana. Will we learn more about her past?
Peters: Lot's more. We are doing a big arc with her sister who comes to visit and we start to find out a lot about her. Now she has Maia in her life, Diana is not just about the case anymore. She's about her home life and how she reacts to having their child who happens to be a member of the 4400, who happens to have a pretty amazing ability herself.
Dreamwatch: Where have Richard and Lily gone to?
Peters: Richard and Lily are still in a small town and it has been quiet for them, but as you can imagine, they believe they have been discovered. They've been hiding and trying to blend in as normal people and they are not. There is lot's of trouble heading their way.
Dreamwatch: Lily was pregnant. What does the baby of two of the 4400 look like?
Peters: In the next 13 episodes, you'll discover in a big way. Just keep an eye on that baby. Lot's of baby to come.
Dreamwatch: Does Shawn Farrell allow you to explore what is happening through a teenagers eyes?
Peters: Yes, he did last year, but since we've had this time passage away from the story, we have an interesting shift in picking up these characters in a different place than we last saw them. Shawn is a good example. He was this teenager who can't fit in or find his way and nobody liked him. Now, he's been living at Collier's Estates which have closed. Collier has opened up the 4400 center and he's groomed Shawn because he found out what his ability is. Shawn is a very grown up young man now. However, he's struggling with the moral issues that Collier presents him with. He's trying to do the right thing, but sometimes Collier's methods clash with that.
Dreamwatch: What is Jordan Collier's interest in the 4400?
Peters: He has lot's of money, a lot of power and a lot of ego. When he sets his sights on a vision, he wants it completed. Because he was a person of stature before this event happened, he sees himself as the person in the best position to lead them. He almost puts himself in the place of a prophet. There is a little of the meglomaniac in him. He's going to be in for a few surprises as he continues.
Dreamwatch: You could have fallen into the trap of '4400 of the week' but it doesn't sound like it.
Peters: No, we made a conscious effort to stay away from that. We sat in a writers room and talked very specifically about not doing that. The strength of our show is not the case, but the varying storylines. You don't stay with any character too long so there's no chance to get bored or get up and make a sandwich. If you don't stay glued to the set, you'll miss something and at the same time, we're progressing all those storylines.
Dreamwatch: What questions are you hoping to have answered by the end of the season?
Peters: We know exactly where we want to end up. The whole key is to keep this train moving forward at a very fast pace while still keeping it grounded.