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The 4400 vs. Heroes Cage Death Match
Nov. 9th, 2007 09:32 amI finished watching the last episode of The 4400's third season last night. I know that there's one more season that just finished, but it's not out on DVD and I never watched the show until about a month ago. When the series debuted back in 2004, I had a couple of people recommend it, but I didn't want to get invested in yet another television show, especially since I was already wastingspending so much time watching television and had a thesis to figure out. But, having been recommended it once again recently, and realizing that many of the guiding minds behind it were people whose work I had enjoyed — specifically Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who had also worked on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine back in the day — I decided to give it a shot. Also, the fact that the series was divided into bite-sized chunks helped: 6 episodes for the first season and 12 episodes for each season after that.
And so I got the DVDs, and watched it, and it's good. It's very good. On the one hand I regret not getting into the show earlier, but on the other hand I'm glad I'm watching it at one go because it's a very arc-heavy show, and good enough that I would have really hated waiting week after week, let alone between seasons. As it is, I'm wondering what Season 4 would be like, even though I kinda sorta know the story for that season already, and am waiting for an announcement for a Season 4 DVD set.
For those who still haven't watched the show and don't know what it's about, the premise is this: over the last six decades, four thousand, four hundred people are abducted by forces unknown. On a fall day in 2004, a comet streaks towards Earth... except it's not a comet, and instead of whacking into the planet and destroying all life, it slows down, changes course, and heads for a lake in Mount Rainer National Park, Washington. The big glowing ball explodes in a flash of light, leaving behind four thousand, four hundred people, all having not aged a day, with no idea of where they've been all these years. Things start getting complicated when one of the returnees — who are quickly dubbed "the 4400" — develops extra-human abilities. And that's just the beginning.
( Spoilers follow, and some reflections on Heroes )
( The 4400 vs. Heroes. Semi-spoilers for Season 2 as well. )
Bottom line about The 4400: Great show, good cast, good characterization, and the way ensemble science-fiction shows should be done... which is not surprising, considering who's behind the show. Thank you, Ira Steven Behr. It's not without its flaws: sometimes the arc kind of meanders and you're not always given sensible answers to questions that are raised, and some things are inexplicably dropped without explanation, and sometimes you get the impression of hasty improvisation behind the scenes. But, I still give it a thumbs up. If you haven't watched the show before, I'd suggest getting a hold of Season 1 and seeing if it's your cup of tea before getting a hold of Seasons 2 and 3. But be warned that, as I've said, the show reinvents itself (sort of) every season. But in a good way.
And so I got the DVDs, and watched it, and it's good. It's very good. On the one hand I regret not getting into the show earlier, but on the other hand I'm glad I'm watching it at one go because it's a very arc-heavy show, and good enough that I would have really hated waiting week after week, let alone between seasons. As it is, I'm wondering what Season 4 would be like, even though I kinda sorta know the story for that season already, and am waiting for an announcement for a Season 4 DVD set.
For those who still haven't watched the show and don't know what it's about, the premise is this: over the last six decades, four thousand, four hundred people are abducted by forces unknown. On a fall day in 2004, a comet streaks towards Earth... except it's not a comet, and instead of whacking into the planet and destroying all life, it slows down, changes course, and heads for a lake in Mount Rainer National Park, Washington. The big glowing ball explodes in a flash of light, leaving behind four thousand, four hundred people, all having not aged a day, with no idea of where they've been all these years. Things start getting complicated when one of the returnees — who are quickly dubbed "the 4400" — develops extra-human abilities. And that's just the beginning.
( Spoilers follow, and some reflections on Heroes )
( The 4400 vs. Heroes. Semi-spoilers for Season 2 as well. )
Bottom line about The 4400: Great show, good cast, good characterization, and the way ensemble science-fiction shows should be done... which is not surprising, considering who's behind the show. Thank you, Ira Steven Behr. It's not without its flaws: sometimes the arc kind of meanders and you're not always given sensible answers to questions that are raised, and some things are inexplicably dropped without explanation, and sometimes you get the impression of hasty improvisation behind the scenes. But, I still give it a thumbs up. If you haven't watched the show before, I'd suggest getting a hold of Season 1 and seeing if it's your cup of tea before getting a hold of Seasons 2 and 3. But be warned that, as I've said, the show reinvents itself (sort of) every season. But in a good way.
