- Release Date: October 28, 2008
- Publisher: Paramount
- Price: $66.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It
)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 1,938 minutes
- Special Features: Listed Below
- Starring: Joel Gretsch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Billy Campbell, Patrick Flueger, Conchita Campbell, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Samantha Ferris, Chad Faust, Laura Allen, Karina Lombard, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Brooke Nevin, Peter Coyote, Jenni Baird
- Genre: Sci Fi, Drama
If you are a fan of science fiction and have never seen “The 4400,” you are in for a treat. I caught up just before the fourth season aired and loved every moment. Unfortunately, very few people watched it and the show ended after just four seasons. The show is very well-done and quite original for a science fiction show. It must have done something right because “Heroes” has stolen so many plot points from it (Mohinder’s injection that will give people powers is a complete ripoff of promicin).
“The 4400″ follows the lives of 4,400 people who were missing anywhere from a few days to 40+ years. They are all mysteriously returned together, having not aged a day. Adding to the mystery, many of the people that were returned have gained certain powers. Throughout the four seasons the show focuses on the struggles The 4400 face and the changes they make in the world with their newfound powers.
Fans of science fiction will obviously enjoy this show the most but if you aren’t generally a fan of the genre, you still might love this show. That is because along with your traditional science fiction elements (serialized plots, powers, etc.) there is also quite a bit of character development. Many of the episodes focus on just one member of The 4400 instead of the slightly complex plot. This makes the show much more approachable than shows like “Lost” and “Heroes” so if you don’t like those shows because you have to tune into every single episode, you might prefer “The 4400.”
All of the seasons are pretty good but I would say the first was actually the worst. It took a few episodes to get the plot established and to make me care about the characters. In season two the show really hit its stride and made me fall in love with it. The third and fourth seasons were both better than the first but not as good the second. For those who don’t like to get into shows that end on a cliffhanger, “The 4400″ does have a pretty good series finale that has a sense of closure. I would have preferred that USA ordered another season but I can live with the series finale.
Since this is a newer show (it aired from 2004-2007), there are obviously no problems with the quality of the audio and visuals. The show doesn’t have the production values of a network show (the special effects aren’t as good as they are on say “Heroes” for example) but it does look very good overall.
Like almost all science fiction DVDs, there are a ton of bonus features and even a few additional ones that weren’t available on the season sets. I’m not going to get into detail on the bonus features that were already on the season sets but I will say that there are quite a few of them and most of them are high quality. The new bonus features added just for this set are:
- Video Introduction by Creator Scott Peters-A short clip of Peters thanking fans for their support
- Pilot Episode Commentary
- “The 4400: The Ghost Season”-An informative behind-the-scenes feature. Unfortunately I thought this feature was going to be about what would have happened in season five so I was a bit disappointed.
- “Promicin: The Moral Choice”-All about promicin including various clips, mock political ads, and more.
- Deleted Scenes from the First Three Seasons
While I wouldn’t purchase the set just for these extra bonus features if you already have all of the season sets, they are a nice addition. If you have only one or two of the sets, it definitely could be worth trading those in and buying the complete series set instead.
If you are a science fiction fan and have never seen this show, you must try it. I would even put it ahead of “Heroes” and many other network science fiction shows. The show is original and filled with great characters and stories. I have to highly recommend it for fans of sci fi and fantasy. I would also recommend it for everyone else, even those who usually don’t like those genres. If you already have the season sets, you probably don’t have to upgrade unless you are a completest. Sure there are a few new decent special features but they really aren’t worth upgrading for.
