The 4400

The first season is a mediocre affair in all respects. Wooden actors, an obvious and predictable story and “poetic" dialogs about nothing - these are just some of the aspects that manage to spoil the mood. Instead of exploiting the considerable potential that the book this is based on has, the story highlights the less interesting aspects, ignoring the interesting bits; it follows just a few of the four thousand, four hundred in a sub-standard variation on The X-Files, that is even more bogged down with “American values". Despite everything, it has some points of interest and can be watched without risking great harm to your health. But then season two comes along, and there is a clear increase in quality in all respects. Nothing too drastic, but a slow and sure improvement, step by step, and by the end of season two it becomes clearly above-average, nicely filling the gap left by The X-Files (or at least its weaker seasons). If it goes on like that, one day The 4400 could be a really good series. But at this rate, it still has a long, long way to go. (11.03.2006)

I’m glad that my 200th review fell on this excellent TV show that in my eyes is well above Heroes and almost on par with Lost. It’s true that the first season is not that great, but the quality improves with each episode, the story develops in an interesting way and some parts are very good. Many people complain about the unlikeable main characters, but I don’t agree with that. I really liked the two protagonist and I regretted the departure (even if it was short-term) of any of the more important characters. Another thing I liked was the complexity of the characters, almost none of them (with a couple of exceptions) can be said to be fully bad or good. I also loved Jeffrey Combs in the role of Kevin Burkhoff. Another thing worth praise is the lack of pathetic and kitschy dialogues (unlike Heroes) about predetermination, fate and heroism; here, the conversations on those topics are satisfactorily “grounded”. Edit after watching all the seasons: Fully satisfied. 4400 is one of those few shows whose quality increases with every season, and the second half of the fourth season is a must see for fans of mystery. Season 1: 75%. Season 2: 90%. Season 3: 95%. Season 4: 100% (07.04.2008)

Season 1 – 70% – Some things in these genre categories are familiar. We have a likable boss, a main duo of investigators inadvertently reminiscent of The X-Files, a list of special abilities reminiscent of Heroes, and the key storyline of high school student Sean evokes the atmosphere of Roswell with its teenage relationship spirit. Therefore, it's primarily about cleverly combining these aspects and playing with the mythology plotline, because the characters must first grow on us. And although this combination still needs to pick up the pace, I definitely like the direction it's heading. The individual episodic cases are pleasantly intertwined into a cohesive story, sympathies toward Tom or Lily slowly grow, and the significance of everything hinted at in the gripping conclusion is exactly the path this unassuming sci-fi can take to higher goals. Season 2 – 50% – One of the most surprising disappointments I've seen in a television series. Just when the story became more dramatic and the characters gained meaning, a glitch occurs where the pacing is practically dragging in all episodes (with the honorable exception of Tom in the alternate world). The main plot progresses unbearably slowly, and the characters either become uninteresting extras or figures serving a momentary purpose. The disappointment is even greater because Jordan strongly propelled the series forward, and the changes at the beginning of the season seemed to promise improvement. So, I won't definitively give up on The 4400, but it's hard to temper my disappointment. Were it not for the interesting development of Sean and Kyle, I would probably have given up, but this way, there is still a chance for improvement. However, after being annoyed by the recent episodes, I need a longer break. (14.02.2010)