THE 4400: The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Great episode! So much better than the preceding weeks, I think, because they had a developed character who was also involved with a lead character, instead of the not fully-engaging standalone subplot. I really liked the other storylines, too, though maybe April's story was resolved a bit easily; then again, it was a realistic solution and there was no need to drag out Diana feeling how she let her down beyond the commercial break. I also wondered if Senator Lindoff (Locke's father) seemed a bit too creepy and sleazy, but maybe that's just his personality. I liked how Diana admitted she was not the best help in her sister's life and the whole idea of having Tom admit to a sexual fantasy that was uncomfortable but completely realistic.

I just realized today what a great idea it was to comment on drug abuse and the War on Drugs (in addition to the War on Terror) through the promicin problem. Roughly 50% of people die of promicin. In a similar way, taking heavy drugs is likely to get you killed. The government criminalizes drug abuse, but, as we see with April taking promicin, many people take it not to flout the government or harm society, but just because of how terrible their lives have become and they turn to drugs/promicin to relieve the pain.

I liked how this episode mentioned the "military industrial complex" exploiting the Iraq War in charging massive amounts of money for poorly delivered services -- in this case, defective body armor. The US government has even failed to provide enough body armor and other supplies for this war from the start. Vice-President Dick Cheney was on the board of Haliburton -- just as many of the Bush administration's folks have been on the boards of corrupt corporations -- and he used insider dealing to interfere with the usual competitive process the government uses to get the lowest prices for services of wartime supplies and post-war reconstruction. Cheney ensured Haliburton got the contracts for services in the war, even though they have charged far more than other companies and delivered poorly. This episode didn't comment on this very real problem as much as I'd have liked (and maybe that's a good thing), but it at least did so, at a time when most shows (Lost, Heroes, etc) don't really confront politics. I also liked how they didn't overdo it and make everyone in the military industrial complex evil by having the lower guy tricked by his boss and the government employee be a whistle-blower. I don't know if they've killed anyone over these things and maybe it was a bit much, but they surely have had no trouble allowing Iraqis and Americans to die in this war... or charging $25 extra for a plastic plate in the lunch halls of US soldiers. (Seriously, I saw a news story or maybe it was the documentary "War Tapes" in which soldiers who take an extra plastic plate as a lid to cover their food to keep it warm are charged over $50 for the meal because it's roughly $25 per plate.)

Regarding the Shawn/Kyle dynamic, I wondered if Kyle was over-reacting at the end, but he's put so much of his identity into this cause, and like many terrorists or any activist fighting a difficult cause, he can't tolerate major differences of opinions because every slight obstacle makes fighting for the goal from a weak position that much harder to achieve. Freedom of criticism is easier to take when the critcized party is in a position of strength. In relating to Kyle's mindset, I myself feel a great anger toward "scholars" like Arab Fouad Ajami who encouraged the Iraq War on TV, among institutions, and with the administration. I strongly feel like he let down -- not only decent Muslims who are fighting, on the one hand, for respectable treatment by the West and, on the other, against Islamic fundamentalism gaining too much influence among desperate Muslims but -- the whole world by not standing up for principles and fairness. He even admits to nationalistically standing up for America, instead of behind truth, when he propagandistically tells the mainstream what it wants to hear, spreads ideas that Arabs and Muslims need and deserve to be condescendingly engaged, that America and Israel are never wrong, and writes all terrorists off (even Hamas and Hezbollah) as merely irrational. In this sense, Shawn is actually following his conviction and not intentionally misleading anyone, and that deserves a respect Mr. Ajami does not. Kyle might sound intolerant, but groups facing difficult or losing battles for public acceptance are desperate for any kind of victory and terrified of any kind of defeat such that they become inflexible. In this sense, The 4400 is one of the very few shows in American history (in addition to the new Battlestar Galactica) to correctly portray the roots and nature of terrorism and explore human nature. Things are setting up very nicely.

7.9 or 8 out of 10

I do miss the focus on the bigger picture. Episodes that explored the pre-abduction stories of the 4400, as well as their role to play in shaping the world to come, were very interesting to me.
Right now, if there were other options on TV, I'd be sore tempted to abandon this show. Not that it's bad, but it certainly is the least interesting of the shows I regularly watch.