TVgasm Recaps

Last weekend marked the return of The 4400, USA's miniseries about a group of humans abducted and brought back to earth. When I announced the return of the series as well as the contest for the swag from the show, I hinted that they had been abducted by aliens. I said this mainly because I thought I would leave a little suspense for those of you who hadn't seen the first season yet, which is, well, almost everybody. In fact, the big twist at the end of the first season is that The 4400 weren't taken by aliens, but by humans in the future. And they were sent back changed, so that they could save the human civilization.

So, by now most of the TVgasm readers should have an idea about the background of The 4400. Abducted by future humans, changed somehow, and brought back in order to save mankind. Why so many? Well, if you've seen a movie like 12 Monkeys, you really know the danger of leaving the fate of the world in the hands of one anonymous time traveler. Why does the mission have to be secret? Why can't other people know why you're around? For every person out there who would want to lock you up, there is sure to be a Madeleine Stowe or two around that will want to help. As it turns out, the future humans took a good gamble, and even the government is trying to help them out.

So far, the second season of the 4400 has not been a disappointment. I was never a particularly huge fan of the X-Files, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the "government agent plus partner explore a different phenomenon each week." Perhaps it makes a difference because we are already told why everybody is so strange, so we don't have to come up with government conspiracies or smoking men to string together all of these implausible happenings each week. At the same time, we still have just enough creepy overtones about everything to keep things interesting.

Although one could argue that the entire existence of The 4400 is for the purpose of throwing out a whole lot of questions that aren't necessarily going to be answered, the second season has come up with two big question marks in particular. Yes, there is the ongoing saga of Jordan Collier and just what his true motivations might be with the 4400 centers, not to mention that whole thing where Maia is predicting that Mommy's bosses will pay for betraying the 4400. However the real question marks, in my mind, start with Isabelle, Richard and Lily's cute, cuddly, and seemingly capable of serial murder at any whim baby. The other big question mark is Kyle Baldwin, the once-in-a-coma son of NTAC specialist Tom Baldwin, who channeled the future humans in order to tell us the purpose of the 4400, and recent victim of unexplained, random blackouts. In this last episode, we got a few more hints to the mysteries, but not a whole lot in terms of answers.

Once again, sorry for the tardiness in my update for The 4400. When we last left our favorite basic cable sci-fi series (or second favorite now that BSG is back in our good graces), Jordan Collier had just been assassinated. Although we aren't sure that Kyle "More Blackouts than Tom Sizemore" Baldwin was the shooter, we pretty much know that he was involved. It's hard to imagine how his dad is going to take the news when he finds out. I know my parents would be a little disappointed if I had shot a public figure, and that's probably enough to keep my crazy ass out of Turtle Bay. (Note to FBI/NSA/CIA internet monitoring software - that was a joke). Anyway, let's get back to the recap. And apologies to Andy Dehnart for the unauthorized mashup of the name of his excellent blog for the use of this title.

Since the death of Jordan Collier, the main focus of The 4400 has turned away from Isabelle, who we thought to be the unholy child of Richard and Lily to, well, the events surrounding Jordan's death. There are a lot of things that are going on. Shawn was Jordan's handpicked successor, but because he is more charismatic than practical, Jordan also picked somebody named Matthew to handle that aspect of the movement. Tom is adjusting to his new married life, and Kyle is becoming more and more paranoid about his blackouts. In other words, pretty normal stuff for all of our little time-traveling friends and all the people around them.

Just how far will a father go to protect his son? Well, if your father is a mid-level government official and you have been accused of murder, apparently he will go pretty far. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the second season of The 4400 was Jordan Collier's death, or assassination to be more exact. The drama from the last few weeks has centered around Kyle Baldwin, who believes be blacked out and killed Jordan. Along with the uncertainties of his whereabouts, Kyle is also having fairly detailed visions of exactly how Jordan was killed, right down the the feel of the gun and Jordan's appearance through the scope. As the noose was tightening around Kyle, he decided to run, but his dad was determined to get him back.

As people know, working at NTAC is difficult, and the NSA decided that they could use a little help when it came to special tactics. Enter Mr. Cross, who played Major Culp. Culp starts with the same two letters as Curtis! Awesome! To make a long story short, there is a terrorist threat (sound familiar?), and the special new team puts NTAC under lockdown (or a hard perimeter, for you CTU kids). Well, the NSA lockdowns are much more effective than CTU lockdowns (take that back - Diana was able to get in but nobody left), so nobody gets out, but that doesn't mean craziness won't happen on the inside, and Curtis is right in the middle of it.

Only five more months until 24!

OK, I know I skipped a week from The 4400 once again, but I didn't think that last week's episode was all that killer, although a lot of people were killed. I would have actually waited until after the season finale to write about it at all, but the season finale for the second season is looking like it will be just as exciting as finale for the first season. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I got the word out a little bit ahead of time so people can plan accordingly.

I know that I have been telling people that The 4400 is one of the best shows on television, but with my spotty-at-best attention to the recaps, it is sometimes hard to tell just how much I like this show. But take it from the people who wait for my Smallville recaps during the regular season - you always hurt the ones you love. This second season has focused the majority of its time on exploring the reasons why the 4400 were sent to earth. Truth be told, we really didn't get a lot of new information regarding that little question, but a whole lot of people spent time trying to figure it out anyway. There are a lot of things to learn for both the people who came back and the inhabitants of the world they are supposed to save, and lately, we've been left wondering if they'll destroy each other before anybody has a chance to do any good.

But of course that's not all. We also have a 4400 giveaway for you. Details after the jump.

This past Sunday gave us the premiere episode of The 4400 season three. I think it is a really great series, and if you Lost fans are looking for conspiracy and mystery to get you through the summer, this is one way to do it. Those of you who are still in mourning over The X-files will like the way it handles the supernatural. And for the rest of us, it's a great story with some great characters. I'll admit, it is a little difficult to get into a series like this after it's been going on for so long, but it is very addictive once you give it a chance, and I think this two-hour premiere was a good way to start.

I've already had one contest for the 4400 premiere (I will e-mail the winners soon, I promise), but I have another set of prizes, so I have another chance to give them away. Entering is very easy. Simply visit the 4400 site at USA Networks, read up on all of the 4400 characters, and let me know who your favorite character is. Send your submissions to contests@tvgasm.com with the subject 4400 contest. I'll be taking your submissions until the end of July. Don't forget, the 4400 is on every Sunday on USA at 9PMEST/6PST.

As I mentioned last week, I thought the first episode of The 4400 was a little lackluster. I think it was simply a factor of trying to fit too many things into one episode. I am happy to report that the second episode was a lot better. I love this show because there is a bit of mystery to it, but nowhere does it say that mystery has to leave the viewer confused, and there was way too much confusion going on last time. Now that things have settled down and we have a better idea what direction the show will be taking, I am really starting to look forward to this season.

As this third season of The 4400 goes on, the mystery continues to get deeper. Although there have been a some twists during the episodes, the producers really gave away what appears the be the biggest mystery of them all towards the early episodes. So while there isn't a ton of suspense with what is going to happen, there are still plenty of questions as to how we are going to get there. It's become apparent that while there may have been a group of humans from the future that were trying to save mankind, there is another faction from the future that perhaps didn't want to send the 4400 back to fix everything. Whatever side you are on, it has become clear that there is one factor more than any other that will decide our fate, and that factor is Isabelle Tyler.

There is an old saying that says hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and if you've been watching The 4400 the last few weeks, you know that this is true. I've finally caught up with the episodes so the recaps won't be coming a week and a half later anymore, which is awesome because the season just gets better and better. Last week, Tom Baldwin was given the task of killing Isabelle Tyler, who the future-humans have said is the reason humanity is in such dire straights in the years ahead. Isabelle might be powerful, and we know she has a temper, but destroying humanity? Do we really believe that she is capable of that? Naive? Yes. Genocidal maniac? We hope not.

Ahh, The 4400 the current bastard child of my recapping schedule. In all aspects, this show has been pretty good this season, outside of Lily's sudden onset aging and the fact that Dr. Berkhoff has suddenly gone missing. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem quite as original (but there is still a giveaway going on) as previous seasons, maybe because of all the supernatural/alien invasion type shows popping up lately, but the character development is a lot deeper, and you know how USA network LOVES characters. Unfortunately, this means it's a little harder to get into the show this season if you haven't been watching it. That being said, it's still a good show.

We're a little more than halfway throught the latest season of The 4400 and I am sort of wondering where all of the Science Fiction geeks have gone on TVgasm. You shouldn't feel like you have to speak Klingon or have your own parking space at Comic-Con to enjoy a shows like this. I know I have been late with my recaps, but one comment? It's not THAT obsucre and it's not like I'm reviewing old DVDs of Dr. Who or something (no, I really don't like the new series that much if you have to ask). So, even if you don't watch the show, leave a comment and say you like boobies or something. It will make you feel better, and convince me I should spend two or three hours writing the recaps.

Now that my little pity party is over, we can back to the show which, as I have been saying, is actually pretty good. This week had something for everybody: drugs, arranged marriage, and, wait for it....Brian Dennehy!

First of all, I would like to thank everybody last week who took the time out of their busy day to stroke my ego and leave a comment on the last post for The 4400. I'm also delighted to find that so many people like boobies, even the people who live with them every day! I also realized I probably got a lot of comments because I didn't wait six or seven days to post the recap, so here's to more speedy posts in the future. As I've said before, the show is good, but I always thought that they didn't do enough to update us on some of the story lines. Well, the writers and the network must have read my mind, because they addressed one of those gaping plot holes today. We still don't know what happened to Jordan Collier, but at least we're not worry about what happened to Dr. Berkhoff.

So, here is the deal with The 4400. I really like the show, and I have liked most of the episodes, but for some reason, a number of parts this season have just seemed boring. They had been dealing with so many different plot points that some of the stories have been lost in the shuffle. You might find a story interesting, but right when you are ready for some resolution, the writers leave it a lone for a little while. By the stories you thought were interesting have come back, they don't interest you as much anymore. The only story that we get an update on each and every week is the love affair between Shawn and Isabelle. It's becoming more and more apparent that Isabelle will cause the end of the world, which seems like it sucks, but WE ALREADY KNOW HOW TO STOP HER. I know Tom and Diana are trying to stop a government conspiracy, but shouldn't preventing a global armageddon be higher on their list?

As much as I complain about The 4400 for not moving quickly enough, I have to admit that this show is doing a much better job of answering all of those nagging questions that have accumulated in the two plus seasons on the air. It seems like the writers want to make sure that we all know what the focus of the show is going to be, just in case you had fallen asleep in the last, I don't know, three seasons. It's all about Isabelle folks; the one girl who can make the apparent resurrection of former 4400 leader Jordan Collier seem insignificant. I never thought I would say it, but it's kind of nice to have Jordan back.

Only one more episode to go before the finale of The 4400 and while I thought the season started out kind of slowly, things have really picked up. My main complaint with this season is that it feels like nothing is happening, even though there is a lot going on. Now that Jordan Collier is back in the picture, I don't think I'l be complaining about that any more. If nothing else, Jordan is a man of action. Sure you have to listen to him talk about how great his action is going to be, but when he has his mind set on something, it's going to happen. We aren't positive what he has his sights set on at the moment, but whatever it is, it's going to happen soon.

I hope that everybody took my advice and watched the marathon of The 4400 this weekend as well as the finale on Sunday. Granted, taking that advice would have been dificult, since I didn't actually have a post reminding anybody, but if you did take that advice, you were treated to a great finale. Jordan Collier was determined to stick it to the government, and the government, led by Ryland and backed by Isabelle, was determined to stick it to Collier and the rest of the 4400. And luckily, there were plenty of lives of innocent bystanders hanging in the balance.