The 4400
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The 4400 | |
|---|---|
 The 4400's intertitle |
|
| Genre | Science fiction drama |
| Creator(s) | René Echevarria Scott Peters |
| Starring | see below |
| Opening theme | "A Place in Time" |
| Country of origin | Canada United Kingdom United States |
| No. of episodes | 32 (to date) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 42 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | USA Network |
| Original run | July 11, 2004 – present |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The 4400 (pronounced "forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television program produced by the USA Network and Sky One. It was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, starring Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie. The 4400 is produced by CBS Paramount Network Television (known as Paramount Network Television during season 2, and Viacom Productions during season 1 until that was folded into Paramount Network Television in 2005), in association with Sky Television for Sky One, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network.[1] The series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[2]
In the pilot episode, what is originally thought to be a comet deposits a group of exactly 4400 people at Highland Beach, in the Cascade Range foothills near Mount Rainier, Washington. All of the 4400 had disappeared at various points starting from 1946[3] in a beam of white light. After their return, none have aged, all are disoriented, and remember nothing between the time of their disappearance and their return.
The theme song of the show is "A Place in Time", written by Robert Phillips and Tim Paruskewitz, performed by Amanda Abizaid.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Synopsis
The National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is in charge of dealing with the return of the 4400. There is a multitude of agents assigned to the cases of investigating the 4400. The series primarily follows two of them, Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris, as well as their immediate superior, Dennis Ryland in season one and Nina Jarvis in seasons two and three and theory room consultant Marco Pacella.
Many of the returnees have trouble trying to get their lives back on track after being separated from their world for years. More significantly, a small number of the returnees begin to manifest paranormal abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy, precognition, as well as other "gifts", for example in the pilot episode Shawn Farrell manifests an ability to bring a dead bird back to life. In addition, one of the 4400 (Lily Moore) has become pregnant between her disappearance and return.
The first season finale, "White Light" reveals that the 4400 were abducted, not by aliens, but by humans from the Earth's future, and that Kyle Baldwin was to be their "messenger", and that they were returned to avert a catastrophe.
By the second season, it is revealed that all 4400 have a neurotransmitter called promicin in their brains which gives them their powers. The government, afraid of what this large group would do with such power, secretly doses all 4400 with a promicin-inhibitor which works on most of the 4400, but not those who were later seen with powers. The inhibitor causes a potentially fatal immune deficiency as a side effect in the returnees. It is ultimately removed from the 4400 by an antibody developed by Kevin Burkhoff from the blood of the infant Isabelle, who was never given the inhibitor.
At the beginning of the third season, the Nova Group, a terrorist faction made up of 4400s, has made itself known. Originally formed as a "defensive" group in the aftermath of the promicin-inhibitor scandal, the Nova Group eventually goes rogue and carries out numerous terrorist attacks against the government and NTAC. The group is responsible for many terrorist attacks including the assassination of the men involved with the promicin-inhibitor conspiracy, the attempted assassination of Ryland, framing Tom Baldwin for murder, and making Shawn go temporarily insane.
[edit] Ripple effect
Early in the first season, the "masterminds" at NTAC suspect that the 4400s have been placed in the timeline with their enhanced abilities for a purpose, to effect some change that could propagate and change the course of history.[5]
An example of this effect at work came during the third season episode "Gone, Part II", in which five 4400 children are once again abducted by the future and "seeded" back into history at different time periods. Some of the "advances" accomplished by this feat included the development of artificial petroleum and composite materials used in the first lunar colonies, according to background conversations "overheard" at NTAC. These advances are negated (restoring the original timeline) in exchange for Tom Baldwin agreeing to do whatever the future asks of him, to help prevent the "disaster" to come — which he learns is an order to kill Isabelle Tyler.[6]
[edit] Episodes
| Season | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | July 11, 2004 | August 8, 2004 |
| Season 2 | June 5, 2005 | August 28, 2005 |
| Season 3 | June 11, 2006 | August 27, 2006 |
| Season 4[7] | June 17, 2007[8] | – |
The first season is presented as a miniseries of six episodes,[9] which aired weekly from July 11 to August 8, 2004. Seasons two, three and four are each 13-episode seasons.[7][9]
A special episode, "The 4400: Unlocking the Secrets", aired between seasons two and three, on June 4, 2006, originally on NBC.
Production of a third season was shot in Vancouver until July 26, 2006.[10] The third season premiered June 11, 2006, with 4.2 million viewers tuning in.[11] Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr described season three as "bigger and more mythic. It feels like 26 episodes instead of 13 because we're cramming so much stuff in". Production of a season four began in early 2007 for a mid-year premiere.[7] Billy Campbell, the actor who plays Collier, took most of season three off to sail around the world,[12] but will return in season four as a series regular, instead of being credited as a guest star as in previous seasons.[13]
[edit] Soundtrack
Elliot Lurie, the music producer for The 4400, has announced that a soundtrack for the series will be released by the beginning of the fourth season.[14][15]
[edit] Filming locations
The 4400 is set in Seattle,[16] in actuality it is filmed in Vancouver,[17] in British Columbia. All the cars have fake Washington license plates, the 4400 Center is actually the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia, and Capilano Lake stands in for Highland Beach.
[edit] Gallery
 The Chan Centre |
 Capilano Lake |
 UBC Life Sciences Centre |
 Direction sign to filming location |
[edit] DVD releases
| DVD cover | Season | Episodes | Discs | DVD release date | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||||||
 |
1 | 6 | 2 | December 21, 2004 | January 10, 2005 | June 10, 2005 | |||
| A two disc set containing all six episodes of the first season presented in widescreen, with closed-captions, the DVD does not contain any special features. The American Region 1 release of the DVD is presented in a dual DVD case with a green-on-black cover showing the characters Tom, Diana and Dennis.[18] | |||||||||
 |
2 | 13 | 4 | May 23, 2006 | June 5, 2006 | May 23, 2006 | |||
| A four disc set containing all thirteen episodes of the second season. Bonus features include featurettes and commentary from cast members. | |||||||||
 |
3 | 13 | 4 | May 8, 2007 | June 4, 2007 | June 7, 2007 | |||
| A four disc set containing all thirteen episodes of the third season and an introduction by one of the series creator, special features include featurettes, audio commentaries and a gag reel.[19] | |||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ The 4400 - Production information. NBC Universal.
- ^ The 4400 Resumes Production in Vancouver. NBC Universal.
- ^ "USA Network | The 4400 - Character Profile: Maia Skouris". NBC Universal. “The first of the known abductees, she disappeared in 1946”
- ^ Lurie, Elliot. Song List from The 4400.
- ^ "Becoming". The 4400.
- ^ "Gone". The 4400.
- ^ a b c ""The 4400" returns for season four", USA Network, 2006-08-22.
- ^ 4,400, THE (USA).
- ^ a b Scott Peters. (2005). Return of The 4000 [DVD special feature].
- ^ Lee, Patrick. "4400 Changes Unveiled", Sci Fi, 2006-03-07.
- ^ "Development Update: June 12-16 (Weekly Round-Up)", The Futon Critic, 2006-06-13.
- ^ MSNBC: The 4400's power-hungry tycoon returns
- ^ Billy Campbell Set To Return as Series Regular in Emmy-Nominated Hit Series "The 4400".
- ^ Elliot Lurie. Might there be a 4400 soundtrack?. USA Network.
- ^ Elliot Lurie. Help create The 4400 soundtrack. USA Network.
- ^ "Pilot". The 4400.
- ^ Stevens, Michael. "The 4400 Starts Up Vancouver Shooting", Hollywood North Report, 2006-03-29.
- ^ Amazon - Season 1 DVD
- ^ tvshowsondvd.com - The 4400, Season 3 Date & Extras
[edit] External links
- Official website at USA Network.
- The 4400 at Space: The Imagination Station.
- The 4400 at Sky One.
- The 4400 Wiki
| The 4400 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4400 Returnees | NTAC Agents | ||
| Richard Tyler | Lily Tyler | Shawn Farrell | Jordan Collier Alana Mareva | Maia Skouris | Tess Doerner |
Tom Baldwin | Diana Skouris | Dennis Ryland Nina Jarvis | Marco Pacella |
||
| Other Characters | General | ||
| Kyle Baldwin | Kevin Burkhoff | Isabelle Tyler Minor Characters | Recurring Characters |
Episodes | Promicin | Official Website | Quotes Haspel Corp | 4400 Center | Highland Beach |
||
