The 4400 Comes To USA

[RENECUS7]

The 4400 Comes To USA

Rene Echevarria, executive producer of USA Network's upcoming SF show The 4400, told SCI FI Wire that the limited series picks up where Close Encounters of the Third Kind left off, as 4,400 long-missing people suddenly reappear all at once without having aged a day. "They don't know what happened to them, who or what was responsible, and now they have to pick up the pieces of their lives," Echevarria (Dark Angel) said in an interview. "It's equal parts SF and nighttime soap, so there's something for everybody in it."

The 4400 features Close Encounter star Peter Coyote as Ryland, who heads up the regional office of a government agency formed to keep track of the 4,400 people after one of them commits a murder and others start to exhibit unexplained powers. The cast also includes Joel Gretsch (SCI FI Channel's original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken) as Tom, a government agent who discovers a link between his comatose young son and the return of the 4,400. Jacqueline McKenzie portrays Diana, a biomedical researcher who's partnered with Tom. Gretsch's Taken co-star, Michael Moriarty, plays Orson, a recent returnee devastated by all that's happened to his family, business and wealth in the 25 years he's been away.

"The show was originally developed as a weekly series, and that's still a possibility if audiences respond to the story," said Echevarria, who also wrote for and produced Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. "The challenge was in constructing a six-hour miniseries that builds to a satisfying conclusion, and at the same time leaves some questions unanswered so we could continue the story if there's interest in doing that." The 4400 will debut as a two-hour special at 9 p.m. ET/PT July 11 on USA Network, with subsequent hours airing Sunday nights until Aug. 8. USA Network is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

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[SushiGal]

I am totally excited about this new series!! I can't wait to see it. It looks like it may be a huge hit!

[SushiGal]

Roush Review from TV Guide Online:

Spooky Summer Fun
A cosmic mystery unfolds in USA

If The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits had ever dabbled in miniseries, the result might have been something as mindteasingly enjoyable as The 4400, an "event series" continuing on Sundays through August 8. Judging from the two-hour opener, this is the summer treat many of us have been waiting for. The 4400 refers to the thousands of people who, over the course of decades, mysteriously vanished in a white glare of light. The story kicks in as all 4400 return en masse, emerging from the mist of a strange comet. None has aged a day, and no one remembers a thing.

This is science fiction with a soul, following the painful readjustment of "returnees" to their disrupted lives while paranoid government types investigate the bizarre circumstances of their absence. The likeliest scenario: alien abduction, a theory given credence when some of the formerly missing exhibit strange new psychic abilities, including healing and precognition.

In the case of a businessman (Michael Moriarty) gone since 1979, the loss of his business and his wife triggers displays of telekinetic violence reminiscent of Stephen King's Carrie.

Any resemblance of The 4400 to Sci Fi Channel's Emmy-winning Taken is reinforced by casting Joel Gretsch, Taken's memorable villain, as this drama's hero. A Homeland Security agent who teams with a female scientist to find answers, he has a personal stake here. His son went into a coma three years earlier upon witnessing his cousin's vanishing.

That's just one of the suspenseful subplots in a compulsively watchable thriller likely to leave many pining for a sequel.

[RENECUS7]

Hi SushiGal ;D


Welcome..!

thank you so much for posting the Tv-guide review...that was an nice read....! I'm looking forward to see this mini-series too..!

[SushiGal]

Hi RENECUS7,

I am sooooooooooo excited to see this series! It looks very good. I hope it's a huge hit, and they make it into a regular series, like they did with "Monk" and "The Dead Zone".

[piper]

I got fooled, thought this was coming on lastweek and I stayed up to watch it. Duh me! ;D

[SushiGal]

piper said:

I got fooled, thought this was coming on lastweek and I stayed up to watch it. Duh me! ;D

Just make sure to watch it this Sunday night at 9pm Piper!! It looks really good, and has had excellent reviews already.

I will quiz you on it Monday morning!

[SushiGal]

Sci-fi makes striking comeback with "The 4400"

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

In television's early days a series began with the pronouncement: "There are eight million stories in the naked city."

In modern days, The 4400 — airing 8 p.m. Sunday on the USA Network — comes fairly close. The series has 4,400 stories to tell, some of them compelling.

"It's a show that has legs," producer Maira Suro says of the five episode mini-series, premiering as a two-hour special Sunday and airing 9 p.m. Sundays as one-hour episodes until Aug. 8. "It has a lot of different ways it can go."

First, viewers must accept its concept:

Something has just returned 4,400 people to Earth after 50 years, appearing unchanged from the day they vanished. Some have been missing a few years, others for generations. None have aged and at first none of them realize how much time has passed.

The 4400 is part of a fantasy-series rush this month. The Sci Fi Channel launches a new season of Stargate SG-1 tonight and launches a spinoff series, Stargate Atlantis on July 16; Showtime launches a new season of its droll Dead Like Me on July 25.

Beyond the fantasy, however, The 4400 aims for real-life emotions and relationships. "There are things that make it very layered," says actor Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. "There's a fullness to it."

He plays Richard, a black pilot in the military who disappeared in 1951 after being attacked for romancing a white woman. Now he forms a gentle friendship with Lily (Laura Allen), missing since 1992, who bears more than a striking resemblance to his old girlfriend.

"We wanted to include a great romance," Suro says, "something that is timeless."

The series idea began with writer Scott Peters thinking about transition and transformation.

"Scott was motivated by 9/11," Suro says. "When something so unimaginable happens, how do you put the pieces back together?"

He went to American Zoetrope, the Francis Coppola company where Suro worked. Later, more companies and producers joined in; a structure emerged, allowing for short and long stories:

Emerging from a bright, white light, the 4400 people were dropped in Seattle and most of the Americans are staying there. The show centers on the homeland security bureau there, which has been tapped to track the group after one of them commits a murder. Peter Coyote (E.T.) plays its chief. "We wanted someone who has the strength and the credibility," Suro says. Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie play his key agents.

Some returnees face unnerving surprises — powers, weaknesses, an ability to heal and a pregnancy. Others don't.

Some are featured in quick, one-week story lines, almost in the Love Boat style. "I told Scott I was glad he chose a nice, big number like 4400," Suro says.

Others are embedded in the series. There is a teen who disappeared three years ago, the night his cousin (Gretsch's son) fell into a coma. There is a sweet little girl who was the first to disappear in 1946. And there are Richard and Lily.

Ali previously co-starred in Crossing Jordan and Threat Matrix. When he arrived for the audition, Suro says, people were instantly impressed.

"He has this integrity to him," she says. "Because the character is from the 1950s, he would have that quiet strength and formality."

That partly reflects Ali's childhood in Oakland, Calif., where his grandfather is a retired city manager.

"I spent quite a bit of time with my grandparents," he says. "They were really on me about my manners. You do it grudgingly, but it becomes part of you."

What would it be like for someone like his grandfather to leap from 1951 to 2004? Yes, he would be pleased by progress in race relations, Ali says.

Still, he might find the world overwhelming.

That's true of Richard, Ali says. "He would go from the top of the food chain ... marching on the streets of Harlem — to not being able to get a job. He would have trouble having a sense of direction. He'd be alone."

Alone, except for Lily, who disappeared when her daughter was an infant.

That complex role went to Allen who, like most 4400 actors, is a relative newcomer, appearing most recently in last year's Mona Lisa Smile.

She and Ali give warm performances that supersede the fantasy elements.

Ali says Allen was easy to work with.

"You're dealing with someone who is willing to pretend and make-believe. The rest, I guess, is just the acting gene kicking in."

[RENECUS7]

Here it's the schedule for the 4400 ( 2 hours TV Pilot)

The 4400

EPISODE: Pilot

CHANNEL: [USA]

DATE / TIME: July 11: 9:00PM

July 12: 12:00AM

July 15: 12:00AM, 8:00PM

July 16: 2:00PM

July 18: 12:00AM, 1:00PM

[SushiGal]

I'm gonna be taping the entire series. Then I will have my hubby transfer it all to DVD.

[SushiGal]

OMG! I was totally impressed with the premiere 2 hour episode of "The 4400"!! I can't wait until next week!! My Laura was EXCELLENT as Lily Moore.

[Msjulier]

I enjoyed it. See they borrowed a lot from Smallville, Roswell and V. I think they are clones. Baby going to be an alien?

[bladelover]

Man this show was impressive to say the least! It was both trajic, creepy, and infuriateing. You know it's funny that they did use Joel Gretsch from "Taken" this show is on the same level. It may seem a bit spookier thow, one thing I find so sad is the young mans return and how he is treated like a freek long before he shows any signs of powers urks me.

As being a black man we've seen this type attitude even with our own people as others have seen as well. However for these student to come off so harsh so fast to someone who's life was changed without cause is sad. I know high school can be harsh but Ge's I was also glade he showed some guts and not just let that jurk keep pushing him like that but man what he almost did reminded my of "The Ring" in the way that kid started to go. For those who may have missed it it reruns this Thursday at 8pm or check your local listing

[SushiGal]

From the THE STARR REPORT in the Wed. July 14, 2004 issue of The New York Post:

* Last Sunday's premiere of "The 4400" on USA was the most-watched new series premiere in basic-cable history (7.4 million viewers).

[piper]

Yeah saw some of it not all. That dude the Laura Allen chracter was married to is a weenie. Wanted her to give up custody of their kids.

[SushiGal]

piper said:

Yeah saw some of it not all. That dude the Laura Allen chracter was married to is a weenie. Wanted her to give up custody of their kids.

The jerk actually got a restraining order so she can't see her daughter! That was really slimy to do. I hope Orson meets him and cracks his skull.

[piper]

There was an "Orson" on Mork and Mindy. Any connection? ;D

[SushiGal]

piper said:

There was an "Orson" on Mork and Mindy. Any connection? ;D

LMAO!! Nope...this Orson is a middle aged insurance guy. He was the one that had the terrible temper tantrums and the "Carrie" abilities. LOL

[RENECUS7]

Well, so far I liked it the series...can't wait to see the new episode..!

[SushiGal]

The next episode is on tonight at 9pm EDT!! I can't wait! The previews look really good. It looks like Richard will meet Lily's scum of an attorney husband.

[SushiGal]

Tonight's episode was GREAT!! It seems that Lily's baby is the one who has special powers. That baby didn't like the apartment Lily was going to rent, and the baby didn't like Lily's mean husband and her daughter Heidi. It seem that the baby wants Lily to be with Richard.

BTW...I wonder what powers Richard has? I can't wait for future episodes to find out more!

[Msjulier]

Didn't reveal too much.

Guess they'll have a guest story every week. Autopsy on fish/vigilante guy should tell something.

Bad idea taking the little girl home.

The boy might cure his cousin. Fixed the cut on the girl's hand.ROSEWELL.

Still think the baby's an alien- hopefully anyway. V

[fafnjaf]

I really enjoyed last night's episode and am looking forward to next week. Looks like Laura is getting more air time. Interesting concept...her baby has powers. I like the vigilante in the park with super powers, too. (Too bad he's not real LOL) ;D

[SushiGal]

fafnjaf said:

I really enjoyed last night's episode and am looking forward to next week. Looks like Laura is getting more air time. Interesting concept...her baby has powers. I like the vigilante in the park with super powers, too. (Too bad he's not real LOL) ;D

I was soooooo hoping that Shawn would be able to bring Carl (the vigilante guy) back to life.
I heard rumors that next week's episode is about someone planting bombs to kill the 4400. Do you think maybe THAT was why Lily's baby didn't want her to get that apartment? Maybe that apt. will be bombed, and since Lily didn't move there, she doesn't get killed.

[Msjulier]

I was kind of bummed out about last night's show. I got so confused about the serial killer. Had to watch again to figure it out.

Just didn't seem to move forward too much.

The young boy came to. Did cousin do it?

And what's with the millionaire CEO- wonder what his game is. Try to form a cult?

How about the threat to the guy from Homeland Security; Can we say political statement?

[SushiGal]

Msjulier said:

I was kind of bummed out about last night's show. I got so confused about the serial killer. Had to watch again to figure it out.

Just didn't seem to move forward too much.

The young boy came to. Did cousin do it?

And what's with the millionaire CEO- wonder what his game is. Try to form a cult?

How about the threat to the guy from Homeland Security; Can we say political statement?

Quite a bit did happen on last night's episode. I do NOT trust Jordan Collier (that millionaire). I'm assuming that Shawn realized his powers, and he is the one who "healed" his cousing. And, I guess that serial killer's special power, was the "power of suggestion". It seemed all he had to do was tell someone to do something, and they did it. I hope they don't turn Richard into a bad guy now that he's accepted a job from Jordan Collier.

[SushiGal]

Remember early in tonight's episode, when Maia said not to worry...because "someone is coming who will save us all"? In my opinion, she is talking about Lily's baby. I think that baby is what Collier is after. That baby is the most important thing.

[Msjulier]

I'm going to stick with my original thought that they are clones.

Think the solution is with the baby, coma boy and millionaire.

Maybe they'll all just disappear again.

[SushiGal]

Well, tonight is the limited series finale. I can't wait to see how they tie this all up. I am so curious about Lily's baby, and what in the bejesus is going on with Kyle.
I sure hope that either USA Network picks this up as a regular series like they did with "Monk" and "The Dead Zone".

[Msjulier]

I'm excited to see it. Hope they don't leave things hanging.

Just to add; Hope if they do make it a series they change some of the cast. Not crazy about the Home Land Security lady. Or her partner.