The 4400 is a
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
TV series produced by
CBS Paramount Network TelevisionCBS Paramount Network Television was the main production arm of CBS Paramount Television, a division of CBS Corporation. It was known as Paramount Network Television and CBS Productions until 2006.It is now CBS Television Studios, starting in fall 2009....
in association with
Sky TelevisionBritish Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
, Renegade 83, and
American ZoetropeAmerican Zoetrope is a studio founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Founded on December 12, 1969, American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV...
for
USA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
. The show was created and written by
Scott PetersScott Peters is a Canadian television producer, television director and screenwriter, most probably known for his involvement in writing, co-creating and producing for the science fiction television series The 4400. He is also the head writer of the 2009 sci-fi series V, a remake of the 1980s...
and
René EchevarriaRené Echevarria is an American-Cuban screenwriter and film producer.-Screenwriter career:Echevarria began his career as an amateur screenwriter submitting unsolicited scripts to the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation. After using a few of his stories, they hired him as a writer. He then...
, and it stars
Joel GretschJoel James Gretsch is an American actor. His roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400, the monstruous Capt./Maj./Col. Owen Crawford in the Steven Spielberg produced 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken and Father Jack Landry on V.-Early life:Gretsch was born in St...
and
Jacqueline McKenzieJacqueline Susan McKenzie is an Australian actress.McKenzie made her film debut in the 1987 film Wordplay and on stage in Child Dancing for Griffin Theatre Company. She made a strong impression in Romper Stomper , and over the next couple of years came to be regarded as one of Australia's most...
. The series ran for four seasons from 2004 until its cancellation in 2007.
In the
pilot episode"Pilot" is the first episode of season one and the pilot of the science fiction television series The 4400. The episode aired July 11, 2004 on the USA Network. The episode was written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, and was directed by Yves Simoneau. Attracting approximately 7.4 million...
, what was originally thought to be a
cometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
deposits a group of exactly 4400 people at
Highland BeachHighland Beach is a fictional lake shore in the science fiction television series The 4400.The show revolves around the plot-line that over the last 58 years, 4400 people have been taken by people from the future. On April 22, 2001, the future accidentally took Shawn Farrell from Highland Beach...
, in the
Cascade RangeThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
foothills near
Mount RainierMount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
, Washington. Each of the 4400 had disappeared at various times starting from 1946 in a beam of white light. None of the 4400 have aged from the time of their disappearance. Confused and disoriented, they remember nothing between the time of their disappearance and their return.
Title
Creator
Scott PetersScott Peters is a Canadian television producer, television director and screenwriter, most probably known for his involvement in writing, co-creating and producing for the science fiction television series The 4400. He is also the head writer of the 2009 sci-fi series V, a remake of the 1980s...
has stated that the series was originally titled "A Light in the Sky", but looking for something more unique he decided to "play around with numbers" instead and arrived at "4400" because it "just sounded cool" and "was a very round number with two 4s and two 0s". Perhaps coincidentally there were also around 4400 working members of the Writers Guild of America West at the time of the series' creation, a guild of which Peters was a member. .
Cast and characters
The season(s) during which each actor has been included in the main cast are marked in black. When a starring actor also has appeared as a guest star during other seasons, this is marked in gray, with the number of guest appearances noted in italics. White square means the actor doesn't appear in that season at all.
Series regulars
| Actor(s) |
Character |
Appearances |
| S 1 |
S 2 |
S 3 |
S 4 |
Joel GretschJoel James Gretsch is an American actor. His roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400, the monstruous Capt./Maj./Col. Owen Crawford in the Steven Spielberg produced 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken and Father Jack Landry on V.-Early life:Gretsch was born in St...
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Tom Baldwin |
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| Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie is an Australian actress.McKenzie made her film debut in the 1987 film Wordplay and on stage in Child Dancing for Griffin Theatre Company. She made a strong impression in Romper Stomper , and over the next couple of years came to be regarded as one of Australia's most...
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Diana Skouris Diana Skouris is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Season One :Initially portrayed as somewhat cold and removed, Diana Skouris was partnered with Tom Baldwin in the pilot episode to investigate the 4400 returnees. She expresses displeasure at being...
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Mahershalalhashbaz AliMahershalalhashbaz Ali is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Richard Tyler on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400, and "Tizzy" in the 2008 motion picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.Ali was born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore in Oakland,...
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Richard TylerRichard Tyler is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Character :One of the first 4400s to be shown, Richard is Lily Tyler's husband, and is the father of her second daughter, Isabelle Tyler....
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| Patrick Flueger Patrick John Flueger is an American actor, known for his lead role in the television series The 4400.-Life and career:...
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Shawn FarrellShawn Farrell is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Season One:Shawn was born December 12, 1983, and disappeared April 22, 2001 from Highland Beach near Seattle, Washington, while with his cousin Kyle Baldwin...
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Conchita CampbellConchita Elizabeth Campbell is a Canadian actress.-Biography:Campbell was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known for her role as Maia Skouris on the hit USA channel miniseries and show The 4400, on which she portrays a child who's been missing for decades and returns unaged and with...
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Maia SkourisMaia Skouris is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction TV show The 4400.- Season One :...
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Chad FaustChad Faust is a Canadian actor, singer, film producer, film director and screenwriter, best known for his role as Kyle Baldwin in The 4400. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:...
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Kyle Baldwin Kyle Baldwin is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Season One:Kyle Baldwin is Tom and Linda Baldwin's son and Shawn Farrell's cousin. The two were drinking beer at Highland beach in 2001 when Shawn was abducted. After Shawn's abduction, Kyle is...
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| Laura Allen -Personal life:Allen was born in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Julie and David Allen. She grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington as the middle child of three sisters: older Jennifer and younger Lindsay. She attended Wellesley College as a Sociology major and graduated in 1996...
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Lily TylerLily Tyler is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Background :...
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| Kaj-Erik Eriksen Kaj-Erik Eriksen is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Danny Farrell in the television series The 4400, Jeremy Peters in the television series Boston Public, and as the son of the main character in the 1990s show The Commish.-Career:Eriksen began his acting career in Vancouver,...
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Brooke NevinBrooke Candice Nevin is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Rachel Berenson on the science fiction series Animorphs and currently starring as Julianne "Jules" Simms on Breakout Kings, as well as Sonja Lester on Call Me Fitz...
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Nikki Hudson |
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| Peter Coyote Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
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Dennis Ryland Dennis Ryland is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction The 4400 portrayed by Peter Coyote. He was the original supervisor and director of NTAC during season one....
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| Samantha Ferris Samantha Ferris is a Canadian actress and in the mid-1990s was a television reporter for the Bellingham, Washington station KVOS TV-12 and Vancouver's BCTV, where she went by the name Janie Ferris...
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Nina Jarvis Nina Jarvis is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.Nina became the director of NTAC in season two after succeeding Dennis Ryland; Ryland took his role back temporarily while Nina recovered from a gunshot wound...
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| Karina Lombard Karina Lombard is an actress and singer.- Early life :Lombard was born in Tahiti. Her mother, Nupuree Lightfoot, is a medicine woman of the Lakota Nation and was an immigrant living in Tahiti. Her father, Henry Lombard, a banker, is a European aristocrat of Russian, Italian and Swiss descent....
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Alana MarevaAlana Mareva is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Background :Alana was born October 17, 1969, in Tahiti, and disappeared September 5, 2001, from Seattle, Wash. Prior to her abduction, her husband and only son Billy had been killed by a drunk driver...
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| Megalyn Echikunwoke Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke is an American actress and model.-Early life:Echikunwoke was born on May 28, 1983, in Spokane, Washington, but she was raised on a Navajo Native American Reservation in Chinle, Arizona. She is the daughter of a Nigerian-Igbo father and a German/Scots-Irish American mother...
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Isabelle TylerIsabelle Tyler is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Background:The daughter of Richard Tyler and Lily Moore, Isabelle is technically not a 4400; she was born after the 4400 were returned, after the first season of the show.- Season 1 :Lily...
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| Billy Campbell William Oliver "Billy" Campbell is an American film and television actor. In television, he is best known for his roles as Rick Sammler on Once and Again, as Det. Joey Indelli on Crime Story, as Jordan Collier on The 4400, and as Dr. Jon Fielding on the Tales of the City Miniseries...
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Jordan CollierJordan Collier is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400. He is portrayed by American actor Billy Campbell.-Character Profile:...
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Jenni BairdJenni Baird is an Australian actress, known for her roles as Paula Morgan on All Saints and Meghan Doyle in The 4400. She gave birth to a baby in 2008. She is married to Australian filmmaker Michael Petroni.-Early career:...
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Meghan DoyleMeghan Doyle, played by Jenni Baird, is a major character in the fourth season of The 4400, and the new head of NTAC.- Before Season Four :Doyle graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a joint degree in economics and sociology...
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Recurring guest stars
| Actor(s) |
Character |
Appearances |
| S 1 |
S 2 |
S 3 |
S 4 |
| Richard Kahan Richard Kahan is a Canadian television actor. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he is known for his role as Marco Pacella in the television series The 4400.-Filmography:- External links :...
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Marco Pacella Marco Pacella is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction The 4400.-Character:Marco is in charge of NTAC's theory room, and is the one who initially proposed that each 4400 has caused a "ripple effect"...
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| Natasha Gregson Wagner Natasha Gregson Wagner is an American actress.Gregson Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Richard Gregson, a film producer, and the late actress Natalie Wood...
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April Skouris |
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Jeffrey CombsJeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
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Kevin BurkhoffKevin Burkhoff is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction tv show, The 4400.-Season Two:Kevin first appeared in the season two premiere episode "Wake Up Call," in which he was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Kevin suffered from paranoid personality disorder and had not...
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Kavan SmithKavan Joel Smith is a Canadian actor best known for playing Major Evan Lorne in Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1 and for his recurring role as Agent Jed Garrity in The 4400.-Biography:...
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Jed Garrity |
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| Summer Glau Summer Lyn Glau is an American actress, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.-Early life:...
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Tess Doerner Tess Doerner is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400, played by Summer Glau. She disappeared April 3, 1955.-Season Two:...
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| Jody Thompson Jody Rae Thompson is a Canadian actress working in film and television.-Personal life:Thompson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to an English father, Ray Thompson, the lead singer of the garage rock band The Wiggy Symphony, and a German mother...
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Devon Moore |
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| Garret Dillahunt |
Matthew Ross |
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| Tristin Leffler |
Cassie Dunleavy |
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Synopsis
The National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC), a division of the
Department of Homeland SecurityThe United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
, is in charge of dealing with the return of the 4400. The primary agents assigned to the cases of investigating the 4400 are Tom Baldwin and
Diana SkourisDiana Skouris is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Season One :Initially portrayed as somewhat cold and removed, Diana Skouris was partnered with Tom Baldwin in the pilot episode to investigate the 4400 returnees. She expresses displeasure at being...
, as well as their immediate superior for season one,
Dennis RylandDennis Ryland is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction The 4400 portrayed by Peter Coyote. He was the original supervisor and director of NTAC during season one....
. In seasons 2–3, Ryland is replaced by
Nina JarvisNina Jarvis is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.Nina became the director of NTAC in season two after succeeding Dennis Ryland; Ryland took his role back temporarily while Nina recovered from a gunshot wound...
and theory room consultant
Marco PacellaMarco Pacella is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction The 4400.-Character:Marco is in charge of NTAC's theory room, and is the one who initially proposed that each 4400 has caused a "ripple effect"...
, with Ryland becoming a recurring character. Season 4 sees Jarvis replaced by
Meghan DoyleMeghan Doyle, played by Jenni Baird, is a major character in the fourth season of The 4400, and the new head of NTAC.- Before Season Four :Doyle graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a joint degree in economics and sociology...
.
Many of the returned people 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 begins to manifest paranormal abilities, such as telekinesis,
telepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
and
precognitionIn parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
, as well as other "gifts". For example, in the pilot,
Shawn FarrellShawn Farrell is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Season One:Shawn was born December 12, 1983, and disappeared April 22, 2001 from Highland Beach near Seattle, Washington, while with his cousin Kyle Baldwin...
manifests an ability to bring a dead bird back to life. In addition, one of the 4400,
Lily MooreLily Tyler is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Background :...
, has become pregnant between her disappearance and return.
The first season finale, "
White Light"White Light" is the first season finale of the science fiction television series The 4400. It first aired on August 8, 2004. Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris break Kyle Baldwin out of quarantine and head to Highland Beach, where all is revealed.- Plot :Kyle is in the hospital...
", reveals that the 4400 were
abductedIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
not by aliens, but by humans from the Earth's future, that
Kyle BaldwinKyle Baldwin is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Season One:Kyle Baldwin is Tom and Linda Baldwin's son and Shawn Farrell's cousin. The two were drinking beer at Highland beach in 2001 when Shawn was abducted. After Shawn's abduction, Kyle is...
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 fictional
neurotransmitterNeurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell across a synapse. Neurotransmitters are packaged into synaptic vesicles clustered beneath the membrane on the presynaptic side of a synapse, and are released into the synaptic cleft, where they bind to...
,
promicinPromicin is a fictional neurotransmitter in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Background :The human body produces neurotransmitters that control and regulate bodily functions. In The 4400, every 4400 produces a fictitious neurotransmitter called promicin that enables him...
, in their brains, which gives them their powers. The government, afraid of what this large group would do with such power, had secretly been dosing all of the 4400 with a promicin inhibitor, which had worked on most, but not all, of the 4400. One of the inhibitor's side effects is a potentially fatal immune deficiency. The inhibitor is ultimately removed from the 4400 by a dose of promicin extracted by
Kevin BurkhoffKevin Burkhoff is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction tv show, The 4400.-Season Two:Kevin first appeared in the season two premiere episode "Wake Up Call," in which he was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Kevin suffered from paranoid personality disorder and had not...
from the blood of the infant
IsabelleIsabelle Tyler is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Background:The daughter of Richard Tyler and Lily Moore, Isabelle is technically not a 4400; she was born after the 4400 were returned, after the first season of the show.- Season 1 :Lily...
, 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 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; the framing of Baldwin for murder; and the driving of another person to insanity.
During the third and fourth season, it is revealed that only a certain faction from the future wants to see history changed. Another faction, which prefers the
status quoStatu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
, opposes the 4400, and has sent their own operatives, including
Isabelle TylerIsabelle Tyler is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Background:The daughter of Richard Tyler and Lily Moore, Isabelle is technically not a 4400; she was born after the 4400 were returned, after the first season of the show.- Season 1 :Lily...
and "the Marked", into the past. The exact motives of both factions have not yet been revealed.
Eventually, Jordan Collier, a returnee who declares himself the savior of humanity, makes promicin shots available to the general public. However, only half of the human population can actually tolerate promicin, and thus develop superhuman abilities, while the other half die upon taking the shot. Although the government outlaws promicin use, thousands of previously ordinary people have developed superhuman abilities, severely complicating NTAC's task. Collier later annexes a part of Seattle and transforms it into "Promise City", a self-proclaimed paradise open to all people with superhuman abilities. The US government attempts to reclaim Promise City but meets with little success.
At the conclusion of the series, Danny Farell's uncontrolled ability exposed some of the residents of Seattle to promicin, resulting in about 9,000 deaths and as many newly-empowered humans, while at the same time forcing the remains of NTAC (now themselves mostly promicin-positive) to ask Jordan Collier and his followers (as the only group immune to the 50% chance of death from exposure) to become the
de facto government of Seattle. The series ended with a cliff-hanger, with Collier pledging to build the future he had promised, while the government watches uneasily as Collier's militia remains in control of Seattle, now known as Promise City.
Ripple effect
Early in the second season, theorists 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 redirect the course of history. An example of this was when a 4400 named Carl Morrissey attempted to use his enhanced strength to become a vigilante and prevent crime in his neighborhood park. Morrissey was killed by a group of thugs, but his death inspired others to become involved in various neighborhood clean up projects.
Another example of this effect at work came during the season two episode "Wake up Call". In that episode a mentally ill returnee uses mind control powers to force the other residents of her mental hospital to build an unusual machine. When the machine is activated it cures fellow patient Kevin Burkhoff of his crippling schizophrenia. When NTAC looks into Burkhoff's background they discover that prior to falling ill he was a brilliant biologist who was working on gene therapies which could end up being the basis of the technology which created the 4400.
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 |
June 17, 2007 |
September 16, 2007 |
The 4400 ran for four seasons. The first season is presented as a
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
of five episodes, which aired weekly from July 11, 2004 to August 8, 2004. Seasons two, three and four are each 13-episode seasons.
A special episode, "The 4400: Unlocking the Secrets", aired between seasons two and three, on June 3, 2006, originally on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Production of the third season was shot in Vancouver until July 26, 2006. The third season premiered June 11, 2006, with 4.2 million viewers tuning in. Executive Producer
Ira Steven BehrIra Steven Behr born 23 October 1953, in New York City, New York, USA is an American television producer and screenwriter, most known for his work on Star Trek, especially Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, on which he served as showrunner and executive producer...
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 the fourth and final season began in early 2007 for a mid-year premiere, returning with the episode "
The Wrath of Graham"The Wrath of Graham" is the first episode of season four of the science fiction television series The 4400. The episode aired June 17, 2007 on the USA Network...
".
Billy CampbellWilliam Oliver "Billy" Campbell is an American film and television actor. In television, he is best known for his roles as Rick Sammler on Once and Again, as Det. Joey Indelli on Crime Story, as Jordan Collier on The 4400, and as Dr. Jon Fielding on the Tales of the City Miniseries...
, the actor who plays Collier, took most of season three off to sail around the world,. The show was rewritten to explain the character's absence, making him the victim of an assassination attempt. In the fourth season, Campbell returned to the series as a regular, rather than a guest star as in the previous three seasons, with the revelation that the character had been alive after all, but had wandered as an amnesiac for two years until he reappeared to assume his role as the leader of the 4400.
Cancellation
Writer and co-creator Scott Peters announced on December 18, 2007, that due to the ongoing
Writers Guild of America strikeThe 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, budgetary problems, and lower-than-anticipated ratings,
The 4400 had been cancelled and would not be returning for a fifth season, despite the fourth season's cliff-hanger. Fans of the show mounted an unsuccessful campaign to resurrect the series, sending petitions and sunflower seeds to SciFi and USA Network president
Bonnie HammerBonnie Hammer is the Chairman of NBCU Cable Entertainment and Cable Studios. In January 2011, Hammer added executive responsibility for E! Entertainment, E! Studios and G4 to her existing oversight of USA, Syfy, Chiller, Cloo, Universal HD and Universal Cable Productions...
. In April 2008, the campaign shifted to target
Jeff ZuckerJeffrey "Jeff" Zucker is an American television executive and former President and CEO of NBCUniversal.-Personal life:Zucker was born to Jewish-American parents in Homestead, Florida, near Miami. His father was a cardiologist, and his mother, Arlene, was a school teacher...
, president and chief executive officer of the NBC/Universal TV group, again without success.
Books
- The Vesuvius Prophecy, by Greg Cox, is the first book based on the series. It was released in June 2008. Set during the show's third season, the plot revolves around Maia's prophecy of the eruption of Mt. Rainier.
- Wet Work, by Dayton Ward
Dayton Ward is a science fiction author primarily known for his Star Trek novels and short stories, which began with publication in the Strange New Worlds anthology series. He published stories in each of the first three Strange New Worlds volumes, making him the first author to render himself...
and Kevin DilmoreKevin Dilmore was a newspaper reporter and long-time contributing writer to Star Trek Communicator Magazine before breaking into fiction writing...
, is the second original novel based on the series. Published in October 2008, it is set during the show's second season. Its plot concerns Tom and Diana's hunt for a rogue government assassin who uses her promicin powers to kill people.
- Welcome to Promise City, by Greg Cox, is the third book based on the series, and the first set after the events of the end of the series. It was published on July 28, 2009.
- Promises Broken, by David Mack
This article is about the Star Trek and Wolverine novelist. For the comic book artist, see David W. Mack.David Alan Mack is a writer best known for his freelance Star Trek novels...
, is the fourth book based on the series, and the second set after the end of the show. It was published on October 27, 2009.
Production
The theme song of the show is "A Place in Time", written by Robert Phillips and Tim Paruskewitz and performed by
Amanda AbizaidAmanda Jo Abizaid is an American Lebanese singer-songwriter, best known for her vocals on the theme song of the US TV series The 4400, Lifetimes Odd Girl Out and composed and sang the theme song in the movies 3 Below and 13th Alley...
. All seasons are filmed in
high-definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
with
closed captioningClosed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
. USA Network broadcast episodes after season one in fullscreen
480i480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
; the DVD releases contain the episodes in their native widescreen format.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to
The 4400 was released on May 8, 2007 by
Milan RecordsMilan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan boasts an extensive electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases....
and includes music from the first three seasons, as follows:
- Bosshouse feat. Amanda Abizaid
Amanda Jo Abizaid is an American Lebanese singer-songwriter, best known for her vocals on the theme song of the US TV series The 4400, Lifetimes Odd Girl Out and composed and sang the theme song in the movies 3 Below and 13th Alley...
- "A Place In Time" (Theme From The 4400)
- Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
- "This Is Your Life"This Is Your Life" is a popular song by the alternative rock band Switchfoot, and their third single. "This Is Your Life" first appeared on the group's 2003 album The Beautiful Letdown and peaked at #30 on the US Modern Rock charts. The single also hit the U.S. Top 40 peaking at No...
"
- People In Planes
People in Planes are a five piece Indie rock band from Cardiff, Wales. They are signed to Wind-up Records. Prior to 2003 they were known as Tetra Splendour and before that they went by the name of Robots in the Sky...
- "Falling By The Wayside"
- Thirteen Senses
Thirteen Senses are a post-britpop band from Penzance, Cornwall. The group released the album The Invitation on 27 September 2004, along with several singles: "Thru the Glass", "Do No Wrong", "Into the Fire" and "The Salt Wound Routine", of which the first three have reached the UK Top 40...
- "Into The Fire"
- Ivy
Ivy is a New York City band composed of a trio of musicians, Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase.-Lately and Realistic:...
- "Worry About You"
- Engineers
Engineers are a British shoegazing/dream pop band. The band was formed in London in 2003 by singer/guitarist Simon Phipps, bassist/guitarist/keyboardist Mark Peters, bassist/guitarist Dan MacBean, and drummer Andrew Sweeney...
- "How Do You Say Goodbye?"
- Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
- "She Will Be Loved"She Will Be Loved" is the third single from the Californian band Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane. Released in 2004, the single peaked at #5 in the United States and has sold over 2,178,000 downloads since release; it also peaked at #4 in the United Kingdom. The song reached #1 in...
"
- Jacqueline McKenzie
Jacqueline Susan McKenzie is an Australian actress.McKenzie made her film debut in the 1987 film Wordplay and on stage in Child Dancing for Griffin Theatre Company. She made a strong impression in Romper Stomper , and over the next couple of years came to be regarded as one of Australia's most...
- "Shy Baby"
- Bedroom Walls - "Do the Buildings and Cops Make You Smile?"
- Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
- "Cheek to Cheek"Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin, and first performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Top Hat . Astaire's 1935 recording with the Leo Reisman Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000....
"
- John Van Tongeren
John Van Tongeren is a music composer, mainly for films and television series.- Biography :Van Tongeren began his career as one of the original members of Media Ventures . During his time at Media Ventures Van Tongeren worked on films such as Thelma and Louise, True Romance and Drop Zone with Hans...
- "Salvation"
- The Landau Orchestra - "A Place In Time" (Instrumental Arrangement)
Note: The last track does not appear in the series. Although not in the soundtrack, Life for RentLife for Rent is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid 2002...
was used in the episode The Starzl Mutation. The song Where Is My Mind was later used in the series finale.
Filming locations
The 4400 is set in Seattle, but actually filmed in the
VancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
area. All the cars shown in the series have fake Washington license plates, with other street signs and identifying markers altered to eliminate any British Columbia references. The high-tech, glass-walled
4400 CenterThe 4400 Center is a fictional building in the science fiction TV series The 4400. According to a postcard in the Season 3 episode "Gone", the fictional location of the center is 6265 Crescent Road, Seattle, WA...
is actually the
Chan Centre for the Performing ArtsThe Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendrons...
at the
University of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, and
Capilano LakeCapilano Lake is a lake located in the District of North Vancouver and West Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is a watershed administered by the Metro Vancouver and accounts for approximately 40% of Greater Vancouver's water supply...
stands in for
Highland BeachHighland Beach is a fictional lake shore in the science fiction television series The 4400.The show revolves around the plot-line that over the last 58 years, 4400 people have been taken by people from the future. On April 22, 2001, the future accidentally took Shawn Farrell from Highland Beach...
. One episode of season 4 has a few scenes set in Vancouver. Other cable science-fiction series, such as
Kyle XYKyle XY is an American television series with a science fiction premise and mystery-drama style. The central character is a teenage boy who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newborn. He is taken in by a family and given the name Kyle...
,
FringeFringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
,
Stargate AtlantisStargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
, and
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
have also used the Chan Centre as a filming location.
DVD releases
| Season | |Discs | |DVD release date |
Region 1DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
| Region 2DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
| Region 4DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
|
| 1 |
5 |
2 |
December 21, 2004 |
January 10, 2005 |
June 10, 2005 |
| The DVD contains no bonus features. The DVD is presented in a dual DVD case with a green-on-black cover showing the characters Tom, Diana Diana Skouris is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.-Season One :Initially portrayed as somewhat cold and removed, Diana Skouris was partnered with Tom Baldwin in the pilot episode to investigate the 4400 returnees. She expresses displeasure at being...
and DennisDennis Ryland is a fictional character on the USA Network science fiction The 4400 portrayed by Peter Coyote. He was the original supervisor and director of NTAC during season one....
. |
| 2 |
13 |
4 |
May 23, 2006 |
June 5, 2006 |
May 23, 2006 |
| Bonus features include featurette Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
s and commentary from Jacqueline McKenzieJacqueline Susan McKenzie is an Australian actress.McKenzie made her film debut in the 1987 film Wordplay and on stage in Child Dancing for Griffin Theatre Company. She made a strong impression in Romper Stomper , and over the next couple of years came to be regarded as one of Australia's most...
, Joel GretschJoel James Gretsch is an American actor. His roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400, the monstruous Capt./Maj./Col. Owen Crawford in the Steven Spielberg produced 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken and Father Jack Landry on V.-Early life:Gretsch was born in St...
, Craig SweenyCraig Sweeny is an American television producer and screenwriter.Sweeny is known for his writing on and producing the science fiction television series The 4400. To date, he has written or co-written thirteen episodes and produced three. He has also written for television shows such as Medium and...
and Ira Steven BehrIra Steven Behr born 23 October 1953, in New York City, New York, USA is an American television producer and screenwriter, most known for his work on Star Trek, especially Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, on which he served as showrunner and executive producer...
. |
| 3 |
13 |
4 |
May 8, 2007 |
July 23, 2007 |
June 7, 2007 |
| Bonus features include an introduction by the series creator, four featurettes, six audio commentaries and a gag reel. |
| 4 |
13 |
4 |
May 6, 2008 |
June 30, 2008 |
July 10, 2008 |
| Bonus features include 2 featurettes, blooper reel, deleted scenes, audio commentaries and The Great Leap Forward (Director's cut). |
| The Complete Series |
44 |
15 |
October 28, 2008 |
October 6, 2008 |
August 6, 2009 |
| Bonus features include video introduction by creator Scott Peters, pilot episode commentary by Scott Peters and Joel Gretsch, The 4400: Ghost Season, and deleted scenes (seasons 1, 2, and 3) |
See also