Hmmmmm. I'm getting hooked on "The 4400" but I'm not sure I should

[Armstead]

I caught the two-hour season premier of the 4400. I haven't watched it before, but I got sucked in, and may end up watching it on a regular basis. It's well-done, and has a certain compelling quality.

But I'm wondering if it's subtext is really another enabler of right-wing attitudes. It pisses me off that I have to even question this, but in these times, I guess everything is suspect. (I'm NOT a conspiracy theorist who believes this is deliberate propaganda. It's more a question of how entertainment shows project the attitudes that are moving us toward an Orwellian society. It's the "24 Dilemma.")

The 4400 could be compared to the current situation of "terra" and a context of the show is the question of how far the government should go in fighting this threat.

Fortunately it's not cut-and-dried. To its' credit, the show deals with this dilemma in shades of grey, with actual conflict among officials about how to handle this.....Also the fact that Peter Coyote -- a committed activist of the left -- is one of the stars gives it a higher degree of credibility, in terms of being responsible about issues.

But I also wonder if as the conflict intensifies, whether it will cause a suibconscious identification with the forces of repression.

[Minnesota Libra]

1. Haven't heard of this before, where could I get...............

.....a little more info??

[Mythsaje]

3. Try this

http://www.the4400.com

[Minnesota Libra]

10. Thank you nt

[Armstead]

4. It's on USA Network....They also have a website

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400/

[Minnesota Libra]

9. Thank you nt

[Mythsaje]

2. I've been watching it from the beginning...

I don't get that impression at all. The field agents (as opposed to their superiors) are very much sympathetic to the 4400. It's almost as though it symbolizes how everyone's life might be touched by someone "different" in some respect, and how even government policies are subsumed by the human question.

[Armstead]

6. I just started watching, so my statements were first impressions...

That ambiguity is what I was referring to as "shades of grey." It's part of what makes it interesting.

I'm just wondering if it will "screw the pooch" and make it more "good vs. evil" to goose the ratings as it goes along.

[pooja]

8. funny how gov't never knows how to handle aliens--lol

[pooja]

5. The first season was great, suspense and drama

The second season, it got a little strange... took on lost feeling and if you missed the show, you didn't know what was happening. This season looks like its going to answer a few of those weird-o questions that last season went nuts on... Like the girl who tries to kill heself and can't... she actually wasn't even born in the first season.

its kind of a fun show... but you really need to stay on top of it... or catch one of its marathon runs one rainy afternoon.

[Armstead]

7. Maybe what I saw was a rerun of the Second Season

[Lars39]

11. I wondered about 'inoculation' when they were showing

the torture scene. Some of the earlier episodes would have been eye-opening
about Homeland Security if you had not kept up with the news.
It'll be interesting to see how the series develops;
if we'll be steered to be rooting more for the 'good' 4400
or rooting more for the government agents.
The first episode of the 3rd season reminded me of X-men and the 'we can cure gays' analogy.

[GrumpyGreg]

12. You have a brain. What do you care what the "subtext" Is?

Just enjoy it and don't overthink it.

[Armstead]

14. Living up to tyour screen name I see.....

I know it's just a TV show.

But thinking about such things is also part of what makes such shows more interesting. Trust me, I don;t overtax my brain thinking about the implications of Three Men and Half (or whatever it's called.) :)

[Lerkfish]

13. First two seasons, great and fairly radical AGAINST govt. tyranny ,but

I have to agree I was scratching my head at the 3rd season opener, on several levels:

1. there seems to have been bad editing, first the NSA 4400 guy is captured, then rescued, then captured....very confusing.
2. I found the conflict between pro and anti govt. confusing, I understood it was to bring up the moral dilemna, but just like X-men 3, there wasn't much that convinced me the govt. could be trusted, so the group that did trust them made no sense.
3. The female agent (maia's adopted mom) suddenly develops a background in microbiology and clinical analysis...wtf? Did I miss that previously? If that were true, there were several times in seasons one and two where that would have been integral to the plots of various episodes.
4. Unless this is explained later, there's no reason Shawn's "assistant" would know everything in advance about lilly's daughter and know that collier is back, and be working with someone else to prevent them from connecting.

oh well.

[havocmom]

15. the female agent character history was she worked for CDC

mentioned often in season one. That'd probably be origin of her microbiology bent

[Lerkfish]

17. thanks, I missed that, then.

[AnnieBW]

20. Used in S1, but not after that

Diana's original background was in infectious diseases and microbiology. She was detailed to NTAC from the CDC to deal with the quarantine issues surrounding the 4400.

[havocmom]

21. Thought that was what I said

:shrug:

[AnnieBW]

23. Sorry...

I get confoozled when I post late... :D

[PWRinNY]

16. I like that show

I watch it. It doesn't change my thinking about anything. It's just a show.

[Armstead]

18. Well, it's almost 4400 Hour -- (9 p.m. Eastern on USA)

I'll see if I get truly hooked after two episodes.

Maybe it'll fill the Sunday nite void left by the demise of West Wing.

[AnnieBW]

19. Definitely NOT RW!!!

I've been watching it since the first episode. It's definitely NOT a wing-nut fantasy. Quite the opposite. The government is trying to keep the 4400 from realizing their full abilities - they were abducted by future Humans to try to save the planet. Do yourself a favor and rent the first and second seasons before you start judging it as a RW fantasy. Yes, they're using examples from current events in relation to the show's premises, but it's because they're trying to make a point. The show's creators are Ira Stephen Behr and Rene Echevarria from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and TNG. Ira's about as iconoclastic lefty as you can get - he's even dyed his beard blue. It's up there with stuff like "The X-Men" and "V" as using events in the show as an allegory for current (or historical) events.

[liontamer]

22. i don't watch it anymore

but it's not right wing propaganda. The govt does some bad things in the name of "protection" but that's not considered ok.

[i radical]

24. seems more soap than good science fiction / i'd advise against

but that's from just viewing a small portion of it.