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The 4400 3.1 FAQ

What’s it called?
“The New World.”

Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to Ira Steven Behr (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) and Craig Sweeny (“Medium”).

What does TV Guide say?
“In the third-season premiere, Richard is forced to cope with his infant daughter's sudden transformation into a woman (Megalyn Echikunwoke), and a horrendous change in his wife, Lily. Meanwhile, Dennis Ryland is injured during Congressional hearings, and the person responsible may be part of a radical 4400 splinter group.”

Back up. What’s “The 4400” again?
For those unfamiliar, “The 4400” is a sci-fi series depicting 4,400 people who were mysteriously abducted – “Close Encounters”-style – over the last 60 years. They were all returned to Earth unaged and en masse – and also “Close Encounters”-style – near Seattle. We’ve since learned that they were altered and sent back by people from the future, presumably to avert some kind of catastrophe.

Why is this episode called “The New World”?
During the first two seasons, the 4400’s superpowers were muted by a chemical administered by the government. When the government’s actions were exposed, the 4400s stopped ingesting the inhibitor, and are all now much, much more powerful.

This sounds like “X-Men.” Is this “X-Men”?
It’s more like “X-Men” than that syndie-tripe “Mutant X” was. There’s even a brotherhood of evil 4400s who seek out National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC) chief Dennis Ryland (Peter Coyote and his underlings, who masterminded the inhibitor program. The inhibitor program was bad because it not only dampened (or wiped out) 4400 superpowers, it actually had a side effect that killed 28 of the 4400.

What horrendous change awaits Lily?
She is transformed into a dying 75-year-old woman!

They got a superhot actress to play the infant Isabelle, right?
They did. Isabelle Tyler – the infant daughter of 4400s Richard and Lily – has suddenly and inexplicably been transformed into a fabulous biracial 20-year-old, even as she retains a toddler’s penchant for cavorting nakedly. “I haven’t really gotten used to them. Clothes,” she nakedly explains.

Did Isabelle’s superpowers get really big like the rest of her?
She also acquired an ability we associate with the most famous X-Man of all.

Dazzler!
GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!!

Are the creators sticking with the whole “4400 of the Week” pattern?
Not so much it seems. "We decided that the episodes that worked best and the ones fans gravitated to more were the ones where our core characters were involved in major dilemmas, as opposed to meeting '4400s of the week' who may or may not impact our core character," “4400” executive producer Maira Suro tells TV Guide. Expect to see more of characters introduced over the first two seasons. Those popping up in the fast-moving opener include:
* T.J. Kim (Leanne Adachi; last seen turning the males inside National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC) into homicidal maniacs);
* telepathic ballplayer-turned-NSA-operative Gary Navarro (Sharif Atkins); and
* scientist Kevin Burhkoff (Jeffrey Combs), who is now trying to give himself superpowers with injections of Promicin serum (Promicin being the neural transmitter unique to all members of the 4400).
Alana Mareva (Karina Lombard), the hot 4400 who can create alternate realities (and serve as love interest to NTAC agent Tom Baldwin), is also now a regular character.

What else is TV Guide not telling us?
After visiting uncanny and astonishing attacks on Ryland and his underlings, the Novas forward NTAC an audio disc explaining that “a second demonstration of our abilities” is planned for Oct. 19, five days hence.

Surely this “second demonstration of our abilities” engenders a great dread among the NTACers!
It does. The first demonstration proved the murderous Novas, now free of Ryland’s super-power inhibitors, powerful indeed. The 4400 are getting better at using their superpowers, and more and more of them are discovering new ones.

Why doesn’t precog preteen Maia just tell everybody what the Nova Group is going to do?
I don’t know. Maia (who clearly has begun growing again subsequent to her abduction) busies herself this week with board games and picking out a new school.

What’s going on with those college-age cousins?
Tom’s nephew Shawn, a 4400 who heals, is still running The 4400 Center and struggling to understand his place in the drama. Unglimpsed in the opener is Shawn’s formerly comatose and blackout-prone cousin, Kyle Baldwin, who continues to await trial for assassinating the Jesus-y head of The 4440 Center. He remains estranged from his family, apparently.

Didn’t the 4400 Center guy come back from the dead?
Jordan “JC” Collier was spotted at the end of the second season, but not everyone knows this yet.

Does Collier return in the opener?
He can be spotted only in old photos. But he’s coming back toward the end of the season.

How does it end, spoiler-boy?
One of the original seven core cast members meets his or her maker.

Herc’s rating for “The 4400” 3.1?
***1/2

The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
***** better than we deserve
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins

9 p.m. Sunday. USA.

$12.47 The 4400: The Complete First Season
$24.99 The 4400: The Complete Second Season

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