Anyone watching the 4400? by singate

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Anyone watching the 4400?

POSTED BY: SINGATE
UPDATED: Monday, June 12, 2006 21:12
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VIEWED: 3920
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Sunday, June 4, 2006 10:53 PM

I caught the marathon that ran on USA this past weekend and remembered what a great show this is. I followed it religiously during the first season but inexpicably missed about half of the second season. Did managed to see the finale when it first aired and again yesterday, what a great episode.

Finally got to see the episode with Summer, she plays crazy better than anyone else out there. That particular episode featured a couple of other actors from past sci-fi series. Don't remeber their names but their characters were Crazy Eddie on First Wave and the other guy played Weyoun(sp?) on DS9, he was also Archer's counterpart as the Andorian captain on Enterprise. Needless to say this episode was also great.

For anyone that hasn't checked this show out you really need to give it a look. The season premiere is next Sunday I believe.

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We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

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Sunday, June 4, 2006 11:42 PM

ONTHEDRIFT

I never watched the show before, but I read that Summer's eps were airing today so I tuned in. (She does excellant crazy. It was so good to see her again! Although I have to say I felt like they ripped Firefly off, "Hmm.. paranoid schizophrenic, that would make an interesting character. And say that actress playing River does a tremendous job, maybe we should get her." Ok rant over.) Anyways, after Summer's eps were over (Sad! Wanted to give poor River I mean Tess a hug.) I continued watching and now find myself kind of hooked. It shows promise, I plan on tuning in on Sunday and giving it a shot.
Does anyone know did the show originally air on USA, for some reason I thought it might have started on one of the basic networks??

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Monday, June 5, 2006 12:55 AM

HAZE

Summer was originally going to play the character of Lilly in The 4400 but had to turn down the role to appear in Serenity. I don’t believe the creators of the 4400 actually wrote Tess for her, I could be wrong but I distinctly remember an interview with her where she described having to audition for the role.

Now for the rant.

I dislike the 4400, but I’m not going to go into that here. What I will go into is my problem with Tess. Now my problem is not with Summer performance (which is fantastic) my problem is with how she is written. People with serious and debilitating mental health problems are exactly that PEOPLE. A person with paranoid schizophrenic is not paranoid schizophrenic, they are a person with an illness. There is a real problem in the media (as there is in the real world) with not separating the person from the condition. And this was my problem with Tess she was paranoid schizophrenic with legs. Never once (unlike River) did we catch a glimpse the person underneath the problem. That’s a shame.

Also in Ireland mental health Hospitals looks like Hospitals! (At least all the ones I’ve bee in). On American TV they all looks like prisons! Bars on the windows, large angry guards with truncheon. Patients being stuffed into day rooms to play board games. There was a line from Point Pleasant that sums up for me. The mother from the show has been having visions of her dead daughter and is committed by her husband, she is sitting staring at zombified at a wall, some one asks “What’s wrong with her” the daughter responds “they pumped her full of drugs” the visitor asks “why” the daughter responds “because they can”. WHAT! What kind of doctors are these! I tell you if the mental heath services in America are as bad as they are portrayed on American TV you should be complaining to someone!

Any Summer is back as Tess in this seasons 4400. I look forward to her magically being cured, or being locked up for the rest of her life. Thats the only two ways mental illness can end on TV.

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Who do you suppose is in there?

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Monday, June 5, 2006 3:54 AM

PATSRULE

I am guessing you are complaining about people being charactized as paranoid schizophrenics instead of people with paranoid schizophrenia because it hits close to home with you (someone you know or possibly you , yourself). The things is everything is characterized that way. Its Jews, not people who are Jewish; Blacks/ African American, not people who are black; media, not person who reports for a living, network director, not person who runs a network for a living. Our entertain virtually never gets to the bottom of who people are, especially on a single episode of television. Maybe if the character is a mian character on every week, but not on a single episode. Thats they way the writers have to do it to get their shows on tv.

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Monday, June 5, 2006 4:15 AM

HAZE

If Tess had of had one moment, just a glimmer of the young woman underneath the problem I would have been happy. The closest she got was the “But they lied to me, or did I lie to you” line, but that was more meta than anything else.

“Madness” runs in my family so I have seen it affect many people close to me (And yes myself included) so I can’t claim to be completely objective, but that’s how I feel about it.

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Who do you suppose is in there?

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Monday, June 5, 2006 3:00 PM

ONTHEDRIFT

Sorry Haze. I hope I wasn't insensitive in any way. I agree with you, however I think it's a pretty rare show or movie that portrays ANYONE as more than a simply one dimensional character. It seems a lot of characters nowdays are nothing more than plot devices in the end. It makes me appreciate good writing and characters like River all the more when I stumble across them.

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Monday, June 5, 2006 3:40 PM

JOSSISAGOD

I missed it! I was surfing FFF.net and my Dad who watched it didn't call me down! I never even knew it was on until it was too late!

JOSSIS(Most Definitely)AGOD

Self appointed Forsaken! Been on the list for a while now!

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Monday, June 5, 2006 3:42 PM

DAYVE

watched as much as i could stomach...
sorry... lame.....

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 4:01 AM

DEEPGIRL187

I started watching at the beginning of the second season. Right now I'm navigating my way through the episodes that I missed last time (Netflix is a wonderful thing, no?). I just finished the episode with the woman that was a carrier for this deadly plague. Can't wait 'til the 11th!

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"I'm going to sing the doom song! Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, dooooooom...."

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 8:21 AM

VERA2529

Skipping it because my husband's high school girlfriend is in the cast. Call me shallow!

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 8:37 AM

HAZE

Which character?

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Who do you suppose is in there?

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Wednesday, June 7, 2006 2:37 AM

PATSRULE

Quote:
Originally posted by vera2529:
Skipping it because my husband's high school girlfriend is in the cast. Call me shallow!

You are shallow.

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Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:51 PM

VERA2529

Quote:
Originally posted by Haze:
Which character?

I'm not sure of the character, she's got short blond hair.

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Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:59 PM

COPILOT

I watched every episode except one today and it rules! Not Firefly calibure but still very good. I actually got the first season on DVD on the same day I got Firefly.

An I carried such a torch.......For the Dark Lord

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Thursday, June 8, 2006 12:36 AM

HAZE

That would be Lilly, the character Summer was going to play.

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Who do you suppose is in there?

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Sunday, June 11, 2006 9:34 PM

SINGATE

Interesting season opener. There were a few things I sure didn't see coming. I can't remember ever seeing a main character killed right out of the gate. Whoever it was that wasn't watching because of Lily, or more to the point the actress who played Lily, you can start watching now.

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We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

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Sunday, June 11, 2006 10:31 PM

ARCADIA

Wow. Summer was going to be Lily? she would have been a better choice, age wise (plus, I think her interpretation of Lily would have been more likeable; sometimes, I get frustrated with Lily...). I like Lily most of the time, but Laura Allen does not look 28 to me. And if she was abducted when she was 28 right after she has her first kid, then what's up with the line about having a baby right out of college? Okay, I realize that is way too much attnetion to detail, and that she could have gone to college late, or whatever, but, well, little things like that sometimes hurt my enjoyment of television.

Anyway, on tonight's show...

There are many things I like. I enjoy all the ambiguity, the role reversals, the unpredictability of the 4400 powers...

I dislike the Isabelle developement, though I am glad she's childish in many ways (except for the "oh, I am not used to clothes" way -- anyone else find that plain cliche? oi...).

4400 has been good so far, though, so I look forward to next week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Objects in Space"

River: It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think...
http://www.stillflying.net/ <-- Check it out!

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Monday, June 12, 2006 2:22 AM

DEEPGIRL187

Looks to be an interesting season this summer. Did anyone see the commercial with Monk and Sean? Priceless.

There were a few things I was worried about, however. Kyle (Tom's son) wasn't in the episode at all. Did the actor leave the show? I hope not, because he was one of my favorite characters. I also didn't like the fact that they killed Lily. I think a lot more could have been done with her character. Of course, if they're bringing back Collier, then I suppose there's hope.

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It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think.

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Monday, June 12, 2006 8:43 PM

ARCADIA

I just checked IMDB. They have the title of the third season three episode. It is called "The Ballad of Kevin and Tess".

My first reaction: YES! SUMMER!

I think this will be in two weeks, though I'm not sure. Maybe Sunday's episode counted as two since it was two hours. On the other hand, the preview sure looked Tom Baldwin oriented.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Objects in Space"

River: It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think...
http://www.stillflying.net/ <-- Check it out!

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Monday, June 12, 2006 9:12 PM

SASSALICIOUS

Here in the U.S., the state of mental hospitals varies quite a bit. Awhile ago, nearly all mental hospitals were what you describe on The 4400. Now, private facilities are usually pretty nice and state run facilities can run from being nice to being prison-like and dodgy. And medication? I work with a woman who has been in that situation before and she doesn't take meds anymore because when she was on them she just stared into space essentially.

Furthermore, the system is really strained (my mom is a social worker--works with mentally ill homeless people) and a common thing is "bus therapy". If someone is causing problems in one place, the city/county buys them a bus ticket to the next place down the highway. If a person is considered really dangerous, someone is paid to fly with the person to the next destination.

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I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"
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