Thursday, February 4, 2016

The 4400 - An Old Review by a Crazy Old programmer

Some couples go out at night after work for a few drinks.  Some go out dancing.  Some like plays or theater.  Others enjoy participating in sports.  Some like to go mudding in big 4x4 pickups.  Others enjoy riding together down quiet stretches of highway on two wheels; we certainly shared a few blissful motorcycle miles.

Unfortunately fate, the bitter harsh bitch that she can be, narrowed our pool of potential shared activities significantly.  That, however, just means a life adjustment.  Rather than go out of the house to participate in some activity; we stay indoors for the most part.   And, what do we frequently do???  Binge watch television shows.

Last month my wife found this show, The 4400 on Netflix and we decided to watch it.  So, one night after the next, weeks on end we watched The 4400 from beginning to end.  And the review???

Well, it's no Breaking Bad, however it was worthy of binge watching.  The 4400 series begins with 4400 abductees being returned to Earth all at once on the shore of a Washington State lake, out of a giant ball of light.  Over the course of the next 43 episodes we watch as some of these 4400 people re-integrate into society.  Consider two important facts about these folks... 1) They didn't age a day from when they were abducted;  2) They all have special 'abilities'.  So an abductee from 1977 wouldn't have aged.  If the person was 25 years old in 1977, they were 25 years old when they returned.  And...  the abilities...  One of the main characters can heal, one has telekinesis, one can take away 'abilities'...  The list goes on...

Add in a shake of government conspiracy, societal unrest, little science fiction, little tiny amount of mystery and romance and there it is...  The 4400.  Really, to me this program appears to be a thinly veiled mish-mash of Heros with The X-Files.  Even though The 4400 was aired before Heros, the former seems more stiff and less engaging.  For me, Heros was more entertaining, engaging and enjoyable; it even seemed more original.

So, if you like Heroes or The X-Files, you just might like watching The 4400.

No comments:

Post a Comment