Summary Review of “The 4400”: If you like sci-fi/futuristic mystery plots, you’ll probably like “The 4400”. The End was kind of disappointing. But overall each episode was very entertaining.
DETAILED REVIEW: Even though the last show of the last season was kind of a disappointment, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and following the storyline and the many plot twists. Plot twists?? Oh yeah! The scriptwriters who put pen to paper went NUTS!! It’s like they received special approval from the producers to constantly change up the plot with the same characters, moving the support characters up and down giving different characters a chance to be the main character in the spotlight and then switching them out! The scriptwriters did a masterful job of writing the characters in and out! Even killing them and bringing them back!
STORYLINE OF “The 4400”: 4400 people were abducted. They came from different time periods in the history of the world — 1946, 1951, 1991, etc. These people just disappeared! Suddenly one day they all reappeared in a ball of light at the same point in time on the history timeline. Which means it didn’t matter when in their real-life they disappeared or were “snatched up”, they all reappeared as if no time had passed in their lives, but they were at a future point in time. Example: Even though the girl disappeared at age 8 in 1946, when she reappeared about 50+ years later, she was still 8 years old! The 4400 had no memory of where they had been and all they really wanted to do was go back home. Some were able to do that. But for some of them, the home they left was not the home they could return to and they had to start a new life.
Were they abducted by aliens? That’s what everyone would immediately think. But NOT! They were abducted by humans from the future. They were sent back with “enhanced abilities” for the purpose of … ??? You guessed it. SAVING THE WORLD!
What? No superpowers? Oh don’t be silly! Everybody knows humans can’t really have superpowers. But they do have science and technology and an amazing brain that thinks of and develops those scientific and technological toys, gadgets and things invented, supposedly, for the good of all mankind.
There is a belief among the real scientific and medical community that humans only use 10% of their brains. (Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains? — Scientific American)
Let’s say this is true. That means that 90% of our brainpower is unused but if we could tap into that unused part we would very likely ALL develop “enhanced abilities”. No superpowers. Just enhanced abilities that are almost like having a superpower.
This theory or belief or scientific fact lays the foundation for the storyline of “The 4400”.
Honestly! It was like a bunch of members of a “wanna be” Justice League with confused human minds, not quite sure of the best way to harness their “enhanced abilities” to accomplish their mission and who also still needed money to achieve their agenda of saving the world. Sorry. I can’t think of a better way to describe them.
Then there are others, also humans, who, for whatever reason, don’t want them to save the world. Those “others” who want to eliminate The 4400 are also humans with enhanced abilities. They came back from the future to STOP The 4400 who were abducted by the “other human beings” who sent them back from the future to save the world.
Hey! There has to be some kind of conflict to keep the story going.
The PLUS of this TV series? Very likable characters. People you wouldn’t mind being friends with in real life. I particularly grew fond of “Maia Rutledge-Skouris” played by Conchita Campbell.
The MINUS of this TV series? I don’t know what I was expecting but ~ not giving out any spoilers ~ The End was not what I expected and as such it was rather disappointing.
The series leaves you with a lingering question:
Even if humans used 100% of their brainpower, would they still know how to save themselves from themselves?
