THE 4400

By: Jason Davis
Review Date: Friday, July 07, 2006

In an astonishing instance of synchronicity, I pondered the nature of the future humans responsible for abducting and modifying the 4400 in the June 26 edition of TV Wasteland. Little did I know that those individuals would be at the very heart of the episode I watched shortly after turning in my column. The episode in question, "Gone Part 1" set up a pretty cool scenario, but I had serious doubts that the writers could pull off a satisfactory conclusion. Sadly, my instincts on the matter proved to be dead on.

There's a lot to like about "Gone Part 2." Poor Devon walking in on yet another philandering 4400 Center figurehead is a wonderful callback to her Jordan Collier-induced suicide attempts last season. Shawn's continued romance with Isabelle despite his better judgment continues to build momentum to his slide down the proverbial slippery slope. The confrontation between Shawn and Richard cements the latter's ability to play the father of a preternaturally aged child and allows Megalyn Echikunwoke's Isabelle yet another opportunity to exhibit her abilities in a ruthless and disturbing way. In fact, revelations about Isabelle are the only part of the overall plot that really works in this episode. The notion that she might be the creation of an enemy working against the 4400 is an exciting notion that almost makes up for the segment's missteps.

Alas, any introduction of the future humans responsible for the 4400 was doomed to let down some portion of the show's audience. Alice Krige is a wonderfully enigmatic face for the future humans and does a fine job of conveying the gravitas of her predicament to Tom, but the whole premise of her people seems a little but questionable. Theoretically, Maia and several other 4400s were removed from the present to be sent deeper into the past to combat an unknown enemy's disruption of the initial plan. Greatthat works for me. Plans go awry and need revision. Krige's people erased the memories of Maia and the others from their present day acquaintances to spare them the pain of their loss. Here's where things get a little shaky. Why bother? It certainly wasn't a problem to cause pain to folks over 60 years as they stole the 4400 in the first place. Not only that, but are we honestly to believe that they can engineer telekinesis and clairvoyance in humans but can't properly erase the memory of someone Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin have only known for a year or so? They're capable of altering photographs and bedrooms, but can't pull a few neurons out of some simple human brains? Of course they are, because otherwise the writers wouldn't be able to get out of the corner with ease and convenience. What about NTAC's files? Did they insert some fake 4400s that never report in to make up the numbers for Maia and company? The whole story reeks of a cool idea executed poorly, but auctorial convenience is a sin that cannot go unacknowledged.