Fans of The 4400

Kavan Smith talks to 4400fans.com!

2006-09-11T00:43:00.002-05:00

Last weekend at DragonCon, I got a chance to meet and interview Kavan Smith, who plays Agent "No First Name Yet" Garrity on The 4400, among many other "Hey, It's THAT Guy!" kinds of roles.

He shared with me a little anecdote about a technical SNAFU on the set of Smallville - something about a car not starting when it was supposed to, trust me, you don't care - and then we talked about how amazing it is that The 4400 is so popular in other countries like France and Germany. I told him that nearly 70% of the visitors to 4400fans.com are from countries other than the US and Canada and that one week I'd gotten a lot of hits from Sri Lanka. He was all, "I didn't even know they had TVs in Sri Lanka!" Hee.

He graciously agreed to be interviewed, and it went a little something like this. There are no spoilers until the very end, where he drops one (IMHO) major one, so if you want to stay 100% spoiler-free, stop reading at "they tell you nothing."

***

ANDIE: If one were to look at your IMDB listing, which one totally did, one would notice that the bulk of your work has been in Canada.

KAVAN SMITH: Oh, yep!

ANDIE: Has that just been a happy coincidence, or has that been on purpose?

KS: Well, at the beginning of my career, I did spend time in Los Angeles and... I guess my small town roots kind of stuck with me. So while I liked LA, and I was excited by it, I just kept working back in Vancouver and in Canada, so there was no real need for me to make the leap to Los Angeles, which I am – I'm doing more concertedly now. I've been – I have my papers and everything like that – so I think most of the stuff is Canadian because it just kept coming. There was just no reason to leave.

ANDIE: I ask because I know a lot of Canadian actors who make a real effort to stay and work in Canada just to support the industry up there.

KS: No, I mean, I totally do, but it's been less of that for me, and more that just the work has been there and it's just worked out that way.

ANDIE: There some major changes in the show this season in terms of cast and plot... how did the returning cast adapt to that? Was there a period of mourning, or was it more like – the show must go on?

KS: Well, I think there was a lot of – well, maybe not confusion. There were definitely some big changes that weren't expected at the end of – technically the end of last season. So coming into this one, it's not that we were worried, but for the first few episodes, everybody was a little trepidatious, perhaps, and wondering where they were going to go with this. But as soon as we saw that nothing was really going to change, the characters were going to stay solid, the scripts were going to stay solid, the ideas were going to stay solid – and then we.... I guess by episode three or four we had heard where the season was going to go, what the intentions were, and so a lot of those things were going to come full circle and work it out. And also, this past season had just been so good, so we knew that was was what it was leading up to, and we were just like – "Ah, well, let's just go for it."

ANDIE: It was a very powerful season finale for season two.

KS: Yeah, it was awesome.

ANDIE: So, the writers so far have created some pretty ambiguous characters.

KS: [laughs] Uh, yeah!

ANDIE: Who do you think is the real Big Bad there? Jordan, Isabelle, Ryland, the future people – who do you think is gonna be the one to beat at the end of it all?

KS: Well, I'd like to see where they finally decide to go for the end before I say who the ultimate bad guys are, because we don't know who's really controlling who. But there's been some really interesting twists with Tom in there, just being sort of the Chosen, and all that kinda stuff. But we were working with Peter [Coyote] just before, I guess it was the last episode, the second to last episode, and - he's just such a great bad guy! I love him, just – even if he's not the bad guy and he's just the representative of the government faction that may or may not know what's going on –

ANDIE: With the really dehumanizing view of the returnees –

KS: Yeah, exactly! And he's just got that voice, that vibrato thing. He's so cool. He's my choice for The Bad Guy.

ANDIE: Yeah, mine, too, actually.

KS: I think Billy can play the bad guy, but he's got so much nice guy behind the camera, I'm just like – "Naaaah, I don't buy you as the bad guy! You're too nice!"

ANDIE: And Peter's got that amazing strength of his convictions behind his actions. He totally thinks he's doing the right thing, even if he's doing something monstrous.

KS: I was just gonna say - and those are the scariest people! The people who control everything because they think they're right and justified and nothing's gonna sway them. And he's totally got that commitment. Absolutely.

ANDIE: Now to flip the switch a little, out of all the groups and factions in the story – NTAC, the Nova Group, Jordan's cult, Ryland's corporation, who are you rooting for to win?

KS: I guess I'd have to say NTAC, because [coughs] I am part of NTAC. [laughs] But I'd also like to think that I'm part of a faction of NTAC that represents the innocence of the show. Because a lot of us, we don't really know what's going on, but we're out there on the front lines trying to make a difference anyway. So I think that to some degree you want to see the innocence win out. And in a day and age where the stories you see [on TV] are so often dark and –

ANDIE: Cynical?

KS: Yeah, cynical, which I love, but in this one, I'm thinking, "You know what? It'd be nice if the good guys pulled one out." And I am part of the NTAC, so – let's go with that one.

ANDIE: There is a lack of cynicism on the show, and I think that resonates with a lot of people.

KS: I think so, too. I agree. I agree.

ANDIE: So. [Your character, Agent] Garrity is very serious. Are we ever gonna see him, you know, smile... be happy...

KS: Well, what they've been doing is –

ANDIE: And he's nothing like your personality!

KS: I know! He's not at all! But they've made him this kind of complaining... whinery guy that just comes up with – I'm like the Doomsayer! I come up with some lines and I'm like, "Ohmygod what's gonna happen with this! And what's gonna happen if– "And I think their intention now is to give it some kind of comic relief. Not that I'm gonna [he makes a rimshot noise] with the one liner thing, but a bit more of – he's just the real guy, he's like, "Fuuuuck this! You go get him! I'm not going out there and getting my ass shot!" So... I think they want a bit more of that.

ANDIE: [cracks up] The everyman! Oh, my gosh, Garrity is the Everyman of this show!

KS: Yes! He's like one of those stabilizing characters that makes it – because the leads are always in deep drama or in this or that – when you have some periphery guys on the side that are just everyday people, it makes everything a little more buoyant, it makes everything feel a little bit more real. But [at the same time] it takes a few years to give those characters some depth. So I think over time if we can give Garrity some – slowly start building his character there, then I think the audience will start to anticipate those responses and think – "Oh, here he comes with more cynicism, 'cause, ehhh, that's just Garrity."

ANDIE: I noted that on my site, that a lot of times you were just running into the room and being all [throws up hands] "Well, that's it. We're doomed!"

KS: [laughs] Yeah, that's basically what he is, though. He's a doomsayer! But I think that over time, that could actually add some levity to it, you know what I mean?

ANDIE: Oh, yeah. He fleshes out their universe. There has to be someone there backing up Tom and Diana.

KS: Yeah, I mean, Tom is always so, so tense on the show, and I mean, he's always in the midst of all this drama –

ANDIE: And he cries so much... [laughs]

KS: Heh, yeah! And Diana's always trying to save the world, and do what's right, and Jarvis is always so business-like, so it's nice to have a couple of people in that same office that are a little more real. Or... balance out that serious nature with a little bit more of – either it's complaining, or superfluous or whatever.

ANDIE: So do you think your role's gonna expand next season from what it is right now?

KS: Well, one can only hope. I mean, I was in, what, eleven out of fifteen episodes this year? And everybody was very pleased and said nice things, so as it continues, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

ANDIE: Soooo my last question is: What's gonna happen in season four?!?! [Everyone laughs] I totally won't tell! You can tell me! This isn't really being recorded!

KS: [rubbing chin] Well, since I've written all the episodes myself...

ANDIE: [cracks up] Right!

KS: No, no, you know, one thing about [The 4400] is that each season – because they've been fighting for their survival, because it's such a quirky little show and is only now starting to develop that cult following, it's now starting to give it some legs. and I think at the end of every season it's been like – not that they weren't expecting to get picked up, it's just been, "Maybe we'll see you next year! Let's keep our fingers crossed!" So I'm sure that Scott and Ira have plans about where they ultimately want it to end, but with television, it's really hard to say.

ANDIE: So in other words, they tell you nothing.

KS: [laughs] Exactly! Exactly! I mean, but look at Stargate[: SG1] – they were on for ten years. If after the fourth season they knew exactly where they were going to end it, they're only gonna make it to the end of five or six. Although it's a rarity for a show to go for ten seasons. But I do know that there's gonna be a lot more to do with Billy [next season]. And I know that Ryland's not going anywhere. So it should be very interesting. And as long as you have 4,400 people out there, with 4,400 abilities, there are always going to be a lot of interesting stories.

ANDIE: Yeah, y'know, I was wondering, because the promicin kills off half the people who take it, if it was originally 8,800 and half of them just didn't make it?

KS: Very possible. Maybe there's another 2,200 running around out there!

ANDIE: Maybe!! Well, that's pretty much it for the interview - thank you so much for your time!

KS: You're very welcome, and thanks for coming by so early in the morning! And that someone thinks I run the show! Seriously, I just do what I'm told!

***

Special thanks to Edie22 for her technical help, Nici of KavanSmithFans for the picture of Kavan at the Stargate Atlantis panel at this year's DragonCon, and Kelex for help with the transcription.

Third Season Finale and Season In Review

2006-08-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

It's been a week or so since I posted here - real life has been hectic - but that was some season finale, huh?

I didn't personally find the episode as well-paced, satisfying or thrilling as the second season finale, but I also knew going into it that it was going to be hard to out-cool that second season finale, seeing that it was one of the best endings to a season on any show that I've ever seen. This season itself has been unevenly paced for me, so it's only fitting that the finale was, too. I did like the open possibilities and the closure provided to several storylines - something last year's finale did superlatively well, too.

I felt that it was a bit of a cop out to have Tom make the final decision that he did. It was anticlimactic and would have been far more affecting had he made the other choice. (I'm trying not to spoil it too much for anyone who hasn't seen it, though my policy on this site has always been that already-aired episodes in the US are open for discussion in the posts, so continue reading at your own risk.) Kyle's decision also makes sense, as did Anna's. I know we're supposed to wonder if either of them are going to die, but I'm calling it now - neither of them will, especially Kyle, since I presume he was already promicin-compatible in the first place, seeing as the future-people chose him and not Shawn to abduct originally.

There were moments in the finale that seemed very ill-timed, as though there had been gaps in the editing and some filler was needed for a minute or two after the fact. In particular, the scene with the children and Isabelle dragged. On. For. Ever. And... a. Day. An episode that's going to end on a breakneck cliffhanger simply cannot afford three entire minutes of characters giving each other determined stares, issuing soundbytes and waiting for something to happen. The pacing and editing were the biggest downsides of this episode, which is all the more glaring since, again, these are things in which this show normally excels.

It WAS a great deal of fun to watch Isabelle have a breakdown after she discovered her new state. I didn't enjoy Isabelle very much as a wide-eyed but potentially destructive superpowered innocent and I thought she really dragged the season down the first half of the season. I think a big problem is that Megalyn Echikunwoke's rather thin dramatic repertoire did not cover all the nuances this character needed. I can't help but compare her performance negatively to Summer Glau, who had a very similar (and even more difficult) role on Firefly and the Serenity film and was much more affecting and charismatic. Additionally, Megalyn's distractingly glaring Northwestern accent which causes unusual-to-my-ears speech inflections and rapid-fire delivery of many of her lines put many of her more dramatic moments this season on the spectrum of unaffecting to unintelligible. I simply could not understand what the girl was saying half the time.

That said, as the UberQueenBitch of Maybe!Future!Humanity, I rather enjoyed Isabelle a lot more. At least she created some kind of dramatic tension in the story as this type of plot contrivance, rather than spending, as she did in the first five episodes, all her time navel-gazing.

More things I enjoyed about this season and the finale: I liked that we got to see Shawn mature and learn from his mistakes and respond competently, for the most part, to increasing amounts of pressure. But I also liked that the finale gave us a reminder of just how young and idealistic Shawn really is. The season definitely picked up for me when the writers finally remembered they gave Richard telekenesis last year and started using it in this season's plot arc in an active way, rather than waste talent and magnetism of Maharshalalhashbaz Ali's caliber by making him stand around looking concerned a lot.

There was not enough Richard this season. Period. After the loss of Lily, there should have been a heavy emphasis on the aftermath for him, but that was eclipsed by Isabelle's self-discovery plot arc, which made her grate all the more for me.

By the way, in the BuddyTV chat session last week with Joel and Patrick, I was user Andie and I asked them to both pronounce "Maharshalalhashbaz" and they were both able to rattle it off like it was nuthin. ;)

Diana's feelings at the end of the season and her decisions based on those feelings were very organic as a mother and just as a person. Tom had very little left to lose by the time we leave him at the end of this season, but Diana is faced with the prospect of beginning a very, very good life - a safe life for herself and her child and her fiance (yeah, I can't see that lasting, sorry, Diana). I don't blame her for wanting a lifestyle that is a lot less dangerous and high-octane. Do I think it'll last and we'll never see her again? Psh. Of course not.

So, in summation, the season was hit-or-miss for me and so was the finale. I didn't love the magic cigar episode - come on, y'all! Really? A magic cigar??? - and I did ADORE the Jordan and Kevin/KevinandTess episodes. This season in general just didn't seem as tightly put together as the previous two, but it also underwent some major shifts in the cast dynamics. Some of these were very effective - Jordan's triumphant comings and goings, Kevin, Tess, and Kevin/Tess- and some of them were not - the absence of Kyle for most of the season, the death of Lily, the overexposure of Isabelle - so that was to be expected, but I was happy with the way it all turned out in the end. I could have done without the cheesy last three seconds, but what can ya do. :)

If you'd like to hear me talk more about the season in person, come check out the three 4400-related panels at which I'll be speaking at DragonCon this weekend, where I will also get a chance to meet and hopefully talk to Kavan Smith and Summer Glau! See you all next week, when I get back from the con, when I'll finally start posting all the backlog of post-finale articles, reviews and interviews.

And in the meantime, let me know what YOU thought of this season in the comments. And for those of you in the US: Have a safe and happy Labor Day!

Fourth Season of The 4400!

2006-08-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

According to Jacqueline McKenzie's MySpace bulletin, the USA Network has renewed The 4400 for a fourth season! Says Jacqui:

YIKES!!!
JUST HAD WORD *DARE I BREATHE?* THAT WE'VE BEEN PICKED UP FOR ANOTHER SEASON!!! FINGERS CROSSED THIS NEWS IS ABSOLUTELY SET IN STONE AND WE'LL BE BACK SHOOTING SEASON 4!!!
JM

Tell you what - I've got my fingers AND toes crossed! (Thanks for the heads-up, amber!)

Chat with Joel and Patrick!

2006-08-18T11:21:00.000-05:00

In case you are seriously unobservant (hey, nobody's perfect!) and didn't notice the giant animated ticky countdown on the right over there, the fabulous folks over at BuddyTV have arranged yet another chat with the cast of The 4400 this Monday night, August 21, 2006 starting at 9PM EST. This time, it's with Joel Gretsch and Patrick Flueger. For more information, click on the ticky. This one, I'll definitely make it to. Be afraid, Patrick and Joel. Be very afraid. ;)

Now if only they got Maharshalalhashbaz Ali, Richard Kahan and/or Jeffrey Combs next. A girl can dream, right?

Patrick Named One of Summer's Best Performers

2006-08-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

I know I'm way behind for the blogging here, so expect one of my article and post blitzes today.

My girl Amy Amatangelo aka TVGal for Zap2It.com has named Patrick Flueger one of summer's best performers in this article:

Of all the characters on the sci-fi drama, Shawn has undergone the biggest transformation. And he plays both sides of his character so well -- the young guy who would like to reconnect with an old girlfriend or go on tour with a rock star and the leader of the returnees who must be wise beyond his years.

Very nice, and very true.

Jacqui Chat Transcripts

2006-08-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

In case you, like moi, missed the two 1-hour chats with Jacqueline McKenzie last night on BuddyTV.com, they've been kind enough to archive them here. She looks like she had a pretty good time. :)

Bill Campbell Writes Article for TVGuide

2006-08-06T10:45:00.000-05:00

I swear I'm not ~~that~~ obsessed with Bill Campbell, it's just that most of the 4400-related news lately has been about him.

In the August 7-13 print issue of TVGuide, Bill wrote a wonderful article about his time aboard the Picton Castle.Cujoy has scanned and posted the entire thing with pictures here, and he makes it sound like the thrilling adventure of a lifetime. Also, I love the picture of him and the kitty napping together. Reminds me of why I've crushed on him since I was a teenager and saw him in The Rocketeer. ;)

Chat with Jacqui Tonight

2006-08-06T10:39:00.000-05:00

The folks over at BuddyTV are having a live chat with Jacqueline McKenzie tonight! Details are here. Per the website:

Don't Miss this Special 4400 Event! Jacqueline McKenzie, who plays NTAC agent Diana Skouris, will be with us LIVE during the airing of The 4400 on Sunday, August 6th at 9pm ET/8pm CT and again at 9pm PT. She will comment on the action, answer fan questions, and maybe even drop a few nuggets of inside info. Be sure to get here early!

I'm not a good multitasker, but I do have TiVO, so I'll try to make it to both because I'm a geek like that. Thanks to TVSquad for the heads up!

More Billy Campbell Lowdown

2006-07-30T15:12:00.000-05:00

SciFiWire has a great and highly spoilery article regarding the mysterious re-appearance of Jordan Collier (Bill "Call Me Olly" Campbell) at the end of the second season of The 4400.

Although Collier was assassinated halfway through the second season, certain events—including the disappearance of his body and the subsequent appearance on a beach of a mysterious figure resembling him—led to speculation that he might not be gone for good.

Read the rest of the article here.

You can see even more recent and very nice pictures of Bill, Megalyn, Joel and Jacqui at ComicCon last week here, posted by findle on LiveJournal.

New Bill Campbell Article

2006-07-26T02:46:00.000-05:00

There is a new and very, very awesome interview/article on MSNBC, with Bill Campbell about his work on The 4400 and Jordan Collier's future on the show. It also features many of Bill's cast members and Ira Steven Behr talking about Bill and Jordan. It's a terrific article and a great read, but obviously, there are many spoilers, too. You can read it here.

Comic Con Pictures!

2006-07-25T19:40:00.000-05:00

I finally got my Comic Con pictures up and on-line at 4400Spoilers. (And don't worry, the post linked here, contains Con pictures, but no spoilers. Unless you consider the fact that Billy Campbell has a beard a spoiler ;)

Here's a teaser for you. :D

There are also some Comic Con related pictures up at WireImage. (Just search on the name of one of the stars, for example, Joel Gretsch, and it will take you to a page of pictures.)

Comic Con!

2006-07-23T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm literally just back from San Diego, and I bring fresh information on The 4400 Panel at ComicCon. Ira, Greg and company gave us some spectacular clips from upcoming episodes to mull over, and other good stuff too.

The panel took place yesterday and consisted of Ira Steven Behr, Greg Sweeney, Joel Gretsch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Billy Campbell. Patrick was not there, :( and no reason was given for his abscense. But it was absolutely marvelous to have Billy there.

I got a spot in the fourth row center, and will have pictures in the next day or two, with the disclaimer, that I don't have the greatest camera in the world.

Billy, BTW, is still sporting his beard. And in case I forget to mention it, the cast is GORGEOUS in person, especially Jacqui. And I must say that Ira is quite fetching, blue beard and all. ;)

For more spoilery info and a detailed description of the clips go to 4400Spoilers on LJ!

New Megalyn TVGuide Interview

2006-07-21T20:10:00.000-05:00

TVGuide has a new interview with Megalyn Echikunwoke, covering all kinds of topics such as her past roles, whether or not Isabelle is evil, whether she'll see Jordan again, and what it was like to make out with Patrick Flueger. Don't worry, most of the questions aren't that no-brainer. :)

You can read the entire thing here. Be aware, there are a few spoilers toward the end, including a huge honkin' spoiler for the season premiere of 24, apropos of nothing. Megalyn has some interesting thoughts about Isabelle and her approach to characterization which should mollify some of her many recent critics. (It made ME feel better, I should say.)

Jacqui's "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" Eppie!

2006-07-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

"Umney's Last Case," the episode of TNT's mini-series Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes starring Jacqueline McKenzie and William H. Macy, premieres tonight on TNT at 9PM EST. I know it's short notice, because it completely slipped my mind to post it this morning, but the good news is, it'll be rerun tomorrow, Thursday, at 11PM EST, so those of us who missed it can see it then. To find out more about the series and Jacqueline's role on it, visit the official web site.

Ten Questions with Kaj!

2006-07-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote to Kaj-Erik Eriksen ("Danny Farrell") and asked him if he'd agree to be interviewed for this blog. He agreed, and here are the results! My questions are in bold, and his answers are below them. Many thanks again to Kaj for taking the time out to do this!

*** THERE ARE SLIGHT VERY MINOR SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.***

1. Okay, I totally realize this interview is supposed to be about "The 4400." But I'm a longtime closet Trekkie, and I thought your story arc on "Enterprise" was the best one that show ever had, so I have to get this out of the way first: what was that like for you? What can you tell us about having worked with Brent Spiner?
Aside from having to wear that horrible wig, Star Trek: [Enterprise] was great! I never watched Enterprise but I knew Brent Spiner from watching [Star Trek: The ]Next Generation when I was a kid. It was cool to see how comfortable he was on the set. I guess the crew has been the same on most of the Star Trek shows so he knew everybody.

2. Are you a sci-fi fan too, or is it just coincidence that you've gotten some roles on those kinds of shows? Is it a genre you'd like to do more of in the future?
It's a bit of a coincidence. I've never really done any sci-fi shows until The 4400, and now it's like I've been initiated into the sci-fi world. Right after I started working on The 4400 I booked The Dead Zone and then Star Trek shortly after that. I do like the sci-fi genre. I think the story lines in sci-fi shows are quite strong and they have a different structure than most hour-long dramas.

3. What else can we look forward to seeing you on in the near future? Are you working on anything right now? How long's your stint on Saved for?
I'm in a new Al Pacino film called 88 Minutes that's coming out soon. And I'm not sure how many episodes of Saved I'll be doing just yet. My character depends a lot on Misha (the bookie that Tom Everett Scott owes money to).

4. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How'd you get into acting in the first place? Is there an interesting story behind that? Did you always set out to be an actor or did you just kind of stumble upon it?
My mom got me into modeling when I was very young. When I was 6, I decided that I didn't like the whole modeling thing anymore. So my mother and I went to tell my agent that we were done. When we were sitting down with him he asked me if I wanted to try acting. It sounded like fun, so I gave it a shot and when I booked my first job, I was hooked right away.

5. And now on to the 4400-related questions. Danny, your guy on the show, irks some fans, but then, a lot of people totally feel his righteous indignation, too. (Me, I'm in the latter camp. Shawn done him wrong!) My question is - do *you* like Danny? Do you find him sympathetic and/or understand where he's coming from? Do you think your understanding of the character has come through on the show as much as you wanted?
I wish that Danny was a bit happier, yeah! He does come off a bit angrier than I wanted. I do have sympathy for him, though. I don't know if I like him, but I do understand where he's coming from. I tried to put myself in his shoes with the whole Nikki thing. That's a horrible thing to have happen to you, so of course he comes off a bit pissed. But there also has to be conflict right? Makes for good T.V.! I'm trying to play him a little happier in the new season (and since Shawn and him have made up).

6. What can you tell us about where your role on the show is going this year? What do we have to look forward to with that?
I haven't been around much this season. A lot of my stuff on the show last season was with Kyle. Since Chad Faust isn't around this year, there isn't as much for me to do. But I can say is that the family will be together very soon. (Well. Mom, Shawn and Danny anyways.. what the hell happened to Dad?!?)

7. Are he and Shawn going to patch things up? I'm guessing no, so if not, what do you think it would take for that to happen?
As far as patching things up, that little water fight they had at the end of last season is as much as they have addressed any kind of reconciliation vocally. Things are better between the two of them since then.

8. So, the Nova Group, NTAC, Ryland & Co., the 4400 Center people...Who are you rooting for to get their way at the end of it all? Who should be the last ones standing?
I'm rooting for the 4400s! They were taken for a reason.

9. What was your favorite episode to do? Which one was your least favorite? Why?
I think everybody's favorite episode to do was the pilot. The show was new, we were all excited and getting to know each other. It was a lot of fun. In terms of my favorite episode to watch... I like "The New Improved Carl Morrissey" episode. My least favorite would have to be "Life Interrupted," 'cause of that horrible little mustache I had to wear!!

10. Finally, if you were a 4400 returnee, with what crazy/ amazing ability would you want to come back?
I used to say x-ray vision but now I think I'd like to be able to control time!

2006 ComicCon Information

2006-07-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

According to the web site, Ira Steven Behr and some members of the cast of The 4400 will be available for a panel discussion and autograph meet-and-greet at this year's ComicCon in San Diego,CA on Saturday, July 22, 2006. Here are the details of their appearance:

4:30-5:30 The 4400— Get a sneak peek at upcoming scenes from CBS Paramount Network Television's hit sci-fi series The 4400 for USA Network, followed by a panel discussion with series stars Joel Gretsch (Tom Baldwin), Jacqueline McKenzie (Diana Skouris), Patrick Flueger (Shawn Farrell), and Megalyn Echikunwoke (Isabelle Tyler) and executive producer Ira Steven Behr (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and producer Craig Sweeny (Medium). The third season of The 4400 sparks a new beginning for the 4400 people who, over a span of years, mysteriously disappeared—only to be returned to Earth all together in a ball of light. Though the returnees have not aged physically, many of them reappeared with dramatic abilities ranging from enhanced reflexes to precognition. NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command) is the government agency responsible for keeping track of the returnees and investigating all things related to the 4400. Craig Tomashoff, West Coast Bureau Chief at TV GUIDE, will moderate.

According to Jennifer, it will be difficult to go to the autograph session if you go to the panel, as they are back-to-back and by the time the panel's done, the autograph line will be too long for you to get a chance to meet them. Decisions, decisions! If anyone attends and wants to pass on any stories, anecdotes, transcripts, pictures or anything else about ComicCon, please do drop me a line at randomabductee at gmail dot com.

"Diana" paints for "Marco"

2006-07-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

New eppy tonight! And in the interim, I hopped onto MySpace this morning and found this little note broadcast to everyone by Jacqueline McKenzie:

Please stop by my website for your chance to bid on a piece of art by yours truly!... I painted it specifically for Richard "Marco" Kahan to auction off in an effort to raise funds for his independent theatre company. I come from the theatre myself- and know what a hard slog it can be- particularly with no corporate backers etc etc

So do stop by and take a look at the piece. It's a 30" x 30" oil on canvas and it's called "first trip to the theatre". I painted up here in Vancouver, Canada. It will be signed/autographed to the lucky bidder.

The chance to bid should pop-up when you log in to: http://www.jacquimckenzie.com
Cheers and for those who can manage it, good luck!

You can also bid on it directly on the eBay.ca listing - anyone can bid on it anywhere in the world, and it's for a good cause. :) There is a photo in the eBay listing and the painting is really lovely. I sadly do not have $300 to spare, but maybe someone out there is interested in this!

***

The cast of The 4400 has its panel and autograph session at ComicCon next week in San Diego, so I should hopefully have some reports (and with any luck, pictures!) from various sources ASAP. If you have anything you'd like to share about the show or its cast, please be sure to email it to randomabductee at gmail dot com.

The 4400 Rocks USA's Ratings

2006-07-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

The Futon Critic has posted a press release from the USA Network which reveals that The 4400 is one of the reasons that the network has held on to its #1 position in basic cable channels in all key demographics.

THE 4400 and THE DEAD ZONE continue to maintain USA's position as the #1 network for original series on Sunday night, with the two programs taking the top two spots in basic cable prime on Sunday among P25-54 (2 million in P25-54 for THE 4400 and 1.7 million in P25-54 for THE DEAD ZONE).

Read the entire press release here. A fourth season's pretty much in the bag, I'd say! (And on an only semi-related note, I couldn't possibly love Psych more than I do and am considering starting up a blog like this one for it. It's the best new show of the summer, IMHO.)

Stay tuned for some 4400 related ComicCon news! Cujoy, Jennifer, y'all better give me first dibs on whatever goodies you get from there ;)

I'm Back! And Wondering: Does Isabelle Work For You?

2006-07-13T10:58:00.000-05:00

I try to blog something here at least every other day, but that all fell by the wayside when I got knocked on my tuchus by a killer flu. Sorry y'all :(

Needless to say, I have a LOT to catch up on, including ComicCon news and updates and spoilers and articles. A few tidbits:

SpoilerFix has spoilers all the way through episode 3.11, which only leaves two episodes to the season. If you're into that, go catch up and see what's happening. Maia's diary also has some interesting clues, explored and discussed here.

This is a little old, as it was posted a week or so ago, but Zap2It has an interview with Garrett Dillahunt, who played Matthew. I was pretty happy to see him die in "Graduation Day," I have to say. The actor is really handsome and everything, but damn, Matthew was paper-thin as a character.

I wanted to love her, but it seems as though Megalyn Echikunwoke's portrayal of Isabelle is falling flat, and for an awful lot of people. I have to admit that though she is beautiful, she is dwarfed in screen presence by Maharshalalhashbaz Ali, who is a powerfully charismatic actor, or even Patrick Flueger, with whom she really doesn't have nearly as much chemistry as I'd hoped she would (they sure make for a pretty picture, at least). I can see, through the writing, what they're trying to do with her, but Megalyn just rushes full speed ahead through all her dialogue with little inflection, emotion and even less enunciation. I say this as someone who liked her on Supernatural and Veronica Mars and was looking forward to seeing her on this show; I can't imagine the amounts of bile that must be coming from people who didn't enjoy her performance in those roles.

I think what really hit this home for me is when, in "Graduation Day," Diana talked about how whenever Isabelle looks at her, she gets the feeling that she's looking at ants she's considering pulling the legs off of. Jacqueline McKenzie could read the phone book and tell a good story in the process, so she sold that line as believable, but... that's not what we're seeing on screen, I'm sorry. We're seeing a scatter-brained, expressionless teenager. Other characters

That showdown between her and Tom should have been the episode's climax, but it just fell completely flat and was anti-climactic. It was like a dramatic vacuum. He became increasingly agitated and ambivalent, and she just stared blankly back at him. I think with that scene, the Isabelle subplot has officially become a rough patch in the show's mythology, and as someone who was really looking forward to this storyline, I find that really disappointing. I'm hoping that Jordan and Kyle and all the other subplots make up for it, and I AM invested in which of the two FuturePeople sects is The Real Evil, despite Isabelle being the focal point of that.

And it bears repeating: lack of Marco and lack of Kevin in the same episode hurts us, preciousssssss.

What do you think? Do you think Isabelle is effective as a character? Am I missing something here? Is she ruining the show for you? Are you somewhere in the middle? Tell me in the comments!

Thank Heaven for Little Blogs

2006-07-01T04:23:00.000-05:00

According to Kaj-Erik Eriksen's blog, the first-season 4400 trading cards have been sent out to the actors for signing, so it does look like the July launch date is still in place for that. Kaj has some very vague spoilers about his upcoming participation in season 3, for those of you who are allergic to spoilers. And, awww, what an awesome post, and not just because Mr. Mister is love.

Over on Jacqui McKenzie's blog, she tells us that Bill Campbell is back on land from his wacky ship misadventures. The blog post is a little spoilery for you spoiler-avoiders among us. It is too cute to see her root for her hometeam for the World Cup.

I hadn't noticed this before, but the ship's web site has a picture of Bill Campbell in their crew manifest page. You have to scroll down to where it says William "Ollie" Campbell. All I'll say is that I hope "Ollie" shaves before he makes it back on to the show. ;)

New Article gives a sneak peek into "Gone, Part 2"

2006-07-01T04:20:00.000-05:00

IGN has posted a positively glowing review of the second part of "Gone," set to air this Sunday on USA Network.

I thought I'd miss the "4400 of the week" set-up that past seasons have incorporated into the show, but when The 4400 pulls out these kinds of stories and performances, I could really care less now if I ever see one of those episodes again[.]

You can read the rest here.

I have a lot of articles to post this weekend. I'm way behind on the posting, 'cause I've had a cold, so bear with me. =)

New Articles! And Gone, Part 1

2006-06-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

Entertainment Weekly has a very very generous and enthusiastic review of the third season so far, which can be read entirely online here.

TVGuide has a spoiler article about Maia's diary, with some "spoiler clues" that Ira promises will "pay off" if we keep track of them, just like Diana will have to. You can see the scanned article over here.

And what did I tell you guys? Was "Gone Part 1" not edge-of-your-seat awesome? Now that's The 4400 I know and love! Even though Jacqui's accent slipped in pretty heavily in those first few scenes ;) I hardly recognized Alice Krige as Not!Sarah at first; she is a master, so of course she played the clinical-but-not-cold part to a tee. Conchita Campbell acted her little heart out. Her pleading was gut wrenching. That kid is such a huge, huge talent.

I was also pleased that Matthew dropped his David Caruso routine (smugly prancing about predicting the inevitable) and started acting like a real human being, loved the return of UberTeacher from S1, loved the little kids (that diffusion thing was a pretty neat trick, huh), loved the return of Ambiguously Evil Isabelle... didn't love the from-out-of-nowhere Shizzabelle sex. That's going to be weird for people watching S3 on DVD in a year or so from now. If you watch "Being Tom Baldwin" and "Gone, Part 1" back to back, you have Shawn saying it wouldn't be right to sleep with Isabelle one minute, and literally 5 minutes later, he's sleeping with Isabelle. Richard's going to be really happy about that one.

Speaking of Richard, it was brilliant of Matthew to refer to Richard's military experience; Richard is one of the most humble characters on television and stroking his ego wasn't going to work, so he appealed to Richard's common sense and strengths. I would also think that Matthew knew exactly what he was doing when he goaded Isabelle to tell Shawn to share power with Richard, except that he looked absolutely gobsmacked at Isabelle's defiance. Gobsmacked is a good look on him. ;)

I'm convinced more than ever that there are warring factions in the future and that Matthew is one of those folks, and maybe not on the side of the good guys. I liked the organic tension between Tom and Alana - surely she wasn't going to spend the rest of the season being Tom's personal holodeck. I like that she's going to have a more active role. I hope this doesn't mean even less of The Faust, though - it's not the same show without him at all.

Finally, I couldn't have gotten the only one who got chills at Marco's discovery of his means of death. Although from his downright chipper reaction, since I love Marco to the point of derangement, I'm just going to assume that Maia was all and Marco outlives us all, and chokes on a radioactive prune at the age of 137.

Trouble Hearing The Episodes

2006-06-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

I just got digital cable (just to have USA again and be able to see this show - yes, I subscribe to cable just for The 4400) and thought it was a quirk in my set-up, but apparently, I am not the only person having trouble hearing the episodes. People seeing the show on both coasts and the midwest are having difficulty with their sound during the episodes.

Everyone is reporting the same phenomenon - they have to turn the sound way, way up during the episodes (and it's still not that audible) with normal sound returning during commercials and before and after the episode.

I know that "the powers that be" read this blog, so can someone be a dear and look into what on Collier's green earth is going on? Thanks! =) And if you're having trouble with it, chime in here or on the post I just linked to, or on the official boards.

I Watch TV, Therefore I Blog.

2006-06-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

This is supposed to be a blog, though I haven't been doing a lot of actual blogging on it. But lo! Today we change that up.

From MediaLife Magazine:

Show on the decline: “The 4400,” USA, Sunday 9 p.m. The second episode of the third season declined by 1.1 million viewers, or 26 percent, from the 4.2 million who watched last week’s premiere. It also lost about 600,000 viewers 18-49 facing stiffer competition in Game Five of the NBA finals on ABC.

It's not quite time to panic. Some decline after a season premiere is normal, and most of those were due to basketball. But what happened to the other 500,000 or so that jumped ship after the premiere?

I still haven't posted my review of the premiere yet, and am not sure if, at this point, it wouldn't be totally irrelevant, but I know that a lot of people were disappointed in it around the Internet. On this very blog, I had to delete about a dozen comments from people who appear to believe I am solely responsible for this show (there is no other logical explanation for the people who left comments like "THANKS FOR NOTHING!!!!" here.) I can't decide if this is flattering or terrifying. We'll go with flattering for now.

I do think "New World" didn't keep up the tight pace of the last few episodes of S2 and certainly seemed anti-climactic after that amazing finale. One example of a weak point that comes to mind immediately: did the S3 premiere really need four separate scenes of Kavan Smith's character declaring imminent doom, with long reaction shots of the other characters' looks of consternation following each instance? It's lead people around the Internet to nickname his character "Chicken Little." This is not a good thing, and possibly emblematic of how meandering and erratically paced the premiere was. And we're not even getting into the many obvious plot holes (Diana lives with a precog and didn't even ask her if she knew what was going to happen October 19? Okay, then!) And what's worse, I am not sure that "Being Tom Baldwin" with its scifi stock "mistaken identity because it's a clone!!!1!!1" plot was a strong enough episode at all to recover the momentum. I mean, these things weren't deal-breakers for most of us (3.3 million still tuned in, after all) but they were definitely disappointing for, I think, many.

Now I have to say this in response to the folks who are blaming it all on the Isabelle subplot: I don't love the death of Lily (though I understand that was out of the producers' hands and they didn't want it either), but I DO love Megalyn Echikunwoke and think she is doing a marvelous job of portraying a nigh-impossible character. How do you method-act an adult genius with the emotions of a toddler without being cloying and caricaturish? I don't know, but I know she's doing it. I am totally convinced by her performances that Isabelle is both childlike and brilliant; she could slow down her dialogue a little bit. I'm Cuban, so I have no room to criticize in the talks-too-fast department anyway. But otherwise? Her, and Shawn/Isabelle? It's like McDonald's. I'm lovin' it.

Anyway, I'm willing to admit that "Being Tom Baldwin" was not the strongest follow-up to what was widely perceived as a problematic season premiere. But the good news is: I'm absolutely confident that "Gone, Parts 1 and 2" are strong enough to recover the momentum and then some. I'm spoiled rotten for those episodes, and can assure fans of this show that it's going to be a nail-biting, suspenseful and harrowing 2 hours with lots and lots of interesting mytharc advancements and twists, and the integration and advancements of all the subplots in satisfying ways. I'm actually spoiled rotten for the entire season, and I'm confident they have no intention whatsoever of disappointing its fans. Keep the faith, y'all. It's gonna be gooooooood.

Speaking of spoilers, has anyone signed up for those wacky phone updates? I don't have a cell phone (I know, I know, how do I live, Shakira-ringtone-free as I am?), otherwise I would sign up for them myself, but I'm hearing from people who *do* have them that they send them during the airing of the actual episode as well as one or two during the week. Is that as annoying and distracting as it sounds? What are you supposed to be paying attention to? The phone? The episode? Both at the same time? I would suggest sending them out before and after the episode, not during, but what do I know. =)

Also speaking of spoilers, I forgot to mention that my girl Kristin V. at the E! Channel is finally giving The 4400 some love in her chats and columns. Huzzah!

4400 Trading Card Updates

2006-06-21T12:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jennifer for the following information:

Inkworks, the company that is doing the season one trading cards of The 4400, have added new information:

FROM THE WEBSITE:
Autograph Cards - One Per Box! Nine different autograph cards inserted approximately 1 in every 36 packs.

Signers include:
Peter Coyote – Dennis Ryland
Jacqueline McKenzie – Diana Skouris
Billy Campbell – Jordan Collier
Laura Allen – Lily Moore
Patrick Flueger – Shawn Farrell
Kaj-Erik Eriksen – Danny Farrell
Brooke Nevin – Nikki Hudson
David Eigenberg – Carl Morrissey
Richard Kahan – Marco Pacella

Don't forget that you have until August 15, 2006 to request a FREE card from this set. Just follow the instructions found on their site. Also, I cannot even fathom how much it would cost to actually get a complete master set of the nine signed cards. Good Lord. (And again I must ask: whither the Faust? Has he set sail on his own "life-quest" on the seven seas a la Mr. Campbell? I'm starting to seriously wonder.)

On a related note, I heard from Kaj-Erik Eriksen a few days ago and he mentioned that he, at least, had not yet done any actual signing for this set, so my and Jennifer's best guess is that the company is waiting for Bill Campbell to come back from wherever the heck he currently is to do it.

This has to be the world record for "Most People Inconvenienced By Someone's Vacation" ever. ;)

4400 Mediapalooza

2006-06-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

See, this is what happens when I take the weekend off. You get a post with approximately forty thousand articles. Sorry! *takes a deep breath*

Ira Steven Behr has given IGN a long, detailed and somewhat spoiler-laden interview in two parts, eight pages total. To quote Cujoy on the 4400 Spoilers community, the non-spoilery parts include:

Everything you never wanted to know about the show's in-fighting with the production company and the network.
Why ISB has a blue beard. (He shaved his head! He is definitely a Cool Dad now!!! :D )
The very real possibility of NBCU moving The 4400 to the Scifi Channel.

There is lots of other stuff too regarding Peter Coyote, Jeffrey Combs, Laura Allen, Billy Campbell and the instant aging of Isabelle, as well as some info about Kyle and Jordan and whether we'll ever see them again. Read Part One and Part Two.

Jacqui and Joel gave Zap2It a really terrific, but alas, again, spoilery interview, which you can read here. Trekkies should take note: there is an AWESOME CASTING SPOILER in there!!

According to the FutonCritic, the ratings for the June 11 premiere of the third season made the USA Network reclaim its status as the #1 basic cable channel. And there was much rejoicing!

MediaBlvd Magazine has posted a very detailed interview with Jacqueline McKenzie. It contains no spoilers whatsoever, but it has a lot about her thoughts, her acting approach, and her background. Great read! Read it here.

Finally, in a similar vein, The Boston Herald posted a brief and non-spoilery interview with Joel Gretsch, in which he reveals, among other things, that William Shatner loves the show. :D Read that one here.

... whew! ;)

The 4400 Goes All MultiMedia On Yo Behind

2006-06-21T03:20:00.000-05:00

I come bearing gifts again! The USA Network has put together a bunch of goodies about the show.

PHOTOS

First the pictures, and they're for the upcoming episode, but they're not spoilery, unless you consider "people who are related to each other speak to each other!" or "Tom and Diana have a job together!" to be a huge spoiler. =)

And here are two pictures I DO think are a little bit spoilery.

VIDEO

If you missed the trailer for next week's episode - it's the first of a two-part episode entitled "Gone" - you can now download it right here either as a:

Windows Media file or a
Quicktime trailer.

Remember to right-click and save it to your hard drive BEFORE viewing.

4400 SCREENSAVERS

Yep, you can download and run them here too, either for PCs or for Macs. Just download and run it - it'll self install!

DESKTOP WALLPAPERS

I've never seen this picture of the ladies before.

800x600 | 1024x768

The men... well, three of them, anyway (whither Chad? Bill? Richard? Kaj? Jeffrey?)

800x600 | 1024x768

The whole cast... hmmm... this looks familiar!! :D

800x600 | 1024x780

IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE

Come kill some time with these games and features the USA Network has devised to make sure the summer doldrums don't get the best of you. Post your results in the comments!

I have actual news to post, too. Sit tight.

The 4400 On The Interwebs

2006-06-15T12:32:00.000-05:00

Please go show some love to our newest affiliates:

GiveMeMyRemote - A comprehensive television news and information blog run by my friend and fellow TV fanatic Kath, featuring interviews, up to the minute news, recaps, reviews and television thoughts. Not only has GMMR been a pioneer in the TV blogosphere, it's also got some terrific content us couch potatoes can't find anywhere else, and a growing and active TV addicts' message forum.

The 4400 Wiki Page - That's right. The brilliant Vigilyn has created a Wiki exclusively about The 4400. An ambitious undertaking, it is relatively slim on content right now (which YOU can help remedy, it being a Wiki and all) but is quickly growing into one of the best resources on this show right now. I'm totally jealous I didn't think of this myself.

***

My friend Craig from Kryptonsite and I have mutually agreed due to time and space constraints to no longer host a forum for The 4400 on Kryptonsite's forums as part of 4400fans.com. I just don't have the time to moderate it, unfortunately. Instead, I'm just going to point everyone over to the official show forums, which is home to some of the most robust and excellent discussions about the show and its cast available anywhere.

An excellent alternative to that is 4400abductees, a forum, run by Aliza and modded by my friend and 4400fans frequenter Purpleyin and others. It's not as busy as the official forums, but it's quite a bit more organized and comprehensive!

I have to say, the USA Network has really knocked it out of the ballpark when it comes to leveraging new media. I think they are the only network right now who really understand the role that the online fan community can play in growing its numbers, viewership and critical buzz. I am a huge fan of all their official sites, but The4400.com is one of the best official show sites on the Internet right now and truly capitalizes on every multimedia possibility available. USA has put together a site that is a tremendous resource for any fan of the show that is soon to rival and possibly surpass even StarTrek's web site. I'm not even just blowing sunshine here. Bigger networks should take note. Certainly their site leaves the embarrassing half-hearted circa-2001 endeavor the CW Network has put together in the dust.

***

Speaking of web site design geekery, I'll be doing a few upgrades to this one today, including adding more feed options and some hopefully inobtrusive ads and cool new links and things like that.

I have been considering moving this entire web site and porting all its content into something similar to GMMR's set up - a full blog WordPress site with categories, cut-tags and other similar advanced options, including the ability to have @4400fans.com email addresses and a more advanced search feature. The categories issue is a big draw as well. When I post this article, it will be post #62 and it's already getting quite unweildly to find anything here even with the search bar at the top. I am also soon to start including special features like cast and crew interviews. I can imagine that in a year or so from now it'll be impossible to find anything here. Thoughts? Suggestions? Anyone? Bueller?

InFANity Special and Lily thoughts

2006-06-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

This week's InFANity on the TVGuide channel features The 4400. It includes a comprehensive look at the series, featuring cast interviews; set visits; stars' off-screen activities; fans' questions; and plot previews. Check your local listings; it re-airs Friday and Saturday in my area every few hours. Thanks to TV411 for the heads up! I've got my TiVO set already. =)

***

Thank you to everyone who's sent it in, but we are aware that there is a longer version of the Ira Steven Behr interview about the decision to write Laura Allen off the show. We haven't posted it until now because, honestly, the new comments don't shed any additional light on the situation and unfortunately have only served to fuel a lot of unflattering Internet speculation, most of which is almost certainly baseless, and I'm not into being a part of that.

In that spirit, I recommend these folks just repeat after me the next time they're asked about this: "It was regrettable, but ultimately best for the show. We wish Laura Allen the best of luck in all her future endeavors. Please watch our show regardless, because it is very, very good, even without Lily, and also because we are not the production team of Desperate Housewives and do not ever even hint at behind the scenes drama." Just keepin' it real, babies! You know I got much love.

Lily's Death "A Business Thing?"

2006-06-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

I have a review of the season premiere to type up and post tomorrow, but in the interim here's a new article for you:

Ira Steven Behr discusses (?!) at length his reasons, or rather, his non-reasons, for writing Lily and Laura Allen out of the show in this new SyFyPortal interview.

...[T]here's just so many things that I'm sure you hear all the time from people on shows. They're just money decisions and business decisions, and there's a lot of people with a lot of say in all these things. A lot of people who have to answer to a lot of other people who don't have any dealings with us, and it just got out of hand. And, suddenly, there you go.

Well! I'm glad that's settled...

Season 3 premieres tonight!

2006-06-11T07:41:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's great to see that countdown in the sidebar going to ZERO DAYS. :D Premiere day is here! Don't forget to set your VCRs/ DVRs/ etc to 9PM EST for two hours tonight!

And if, by some chance, you miss the premiere the first time around, the network (at least in my area, the southeast) is airing the pilot of House, then re-airing the premiere of The 4400, at midnight, so check your local listings!

Here's an article from The Kansas City Star celebrating the premiere and the series itself. The photo is a very low res version of the photo to the left, so I thought I'd post the higher res version I have, thanks to Jennifer. :)

And don't forget to post what you thought of the premiere in the comments!

Why is the 4400 Such a Hit?

2006-06-08T20:35:00.000-05:00

The Boston Herald attempts to explain why The 4400 is a big hit for the USA Network and just hitting its stride in the third season while other sci-fi shows are harder to sustain this long.

The show works on two levels. Viewers who want to dissect the minutiae of the mythology (Why do the returnees have these powers? What is their agenda?) continue to get cryptic clues. Those who might get confused by all the mumbo jumbo can delight in the show’s ongoing soap opera.

Works for me! Read the rest of the article here. It does contain a basic plot summary of the S3 premiere.

Behr: S3 to be more in focus

2006-06-08T20:29:00.000-05:00

TrekWeb.com has interviewed and showcased Ira Steven Behr extensively in preparation for the season 3 premiere. He talks to them about the difference in doing a serialized drama now in the era of Lost and Desperate Housewives, as opposed to his time on Star Trek: Deep Space 9, where the pressure was constant to play down the longer story arcs. The article speculates on where the show goes from here.

The rapid pace of the summer hit has captured the attention of many viewers, who at the end of last season saw the immaculately conceived baby Isabelle turn into a 20-year old before the credits rolled. This is a show, after all, that assassinated one of its most compelling characters half-way through last season, and used an alternate reality episode to transform one of its leads from a romantic wreck into a happily married man of several years in one fell swoop. With that kind of risk-taking, you’d better strap yourself in.

Read the entire article. It does contain general and IMHO very vague spoilers for all of Season 3, of the "this year we're going to see more _____" variety, but no details.

Joel Gretsch: Late Bloomer

2006-06-08T20:22:00.000-05:00

Joel talks to the Buffalo News about the show, acting, his marriage, his wife and kids, and why it took him so long to come into his own in this terrific and non-spoilery interview.

Pictures from ComicCon 2005

2006-06-08T04:19:00.000-05:00

FIXED THE THUMBNAILS!

Joel Gretsch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Chad Faust and Maharshalalhashbaz Ali all attended ComicCon 2005, July 14 through 17, in San Diego. 4400fans friend Jennifer has generously shared her wonderful photographs to be posted here on our site. Thank you so much, Jennifer! Click on the thumbnails for the larger versions.

DO NOT HOTLINK THESE ANYWHERE
THAT COULD KILL THE BANDWIDTH AND RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE!!

If YOU have something you would like to see here about the cast and crew, feel free to email me at randomabductee at gmail dot com. Please be sure to let me know how I should credit you, too!

Spoilers!

2006-06-08T04:06:00.000-05:00

IGN did an interview with Ira Steven Behr here. The official site also has a video interview with the production team here.

Our friends at KarinaWorld have uploaded the TVGuide Season 3 preview to putfile. It's about 4 minutes of the first epiosde, and can be viewed here.

The E!Channel's Kristin Vietch also mentioned a little scoopage in her TV chat this week, and also added some tidbits in her SpoilerZone.

When it comes to the most comprehensive reporting of spoilers for The 4400, there is no better site than the 4400 Spoilers Live Journal community. Cujoy and several other people keep it completely up to date. There are episode spoilers through episode 3.10 there gathered from around the Internet and TV news. Cujoy also hosts Theory Room posts, wherein anyone is welcome to come and speculate on the collection of spoilers and what it all means and where it's going.

Finally, if you'd like to know what the names of the episodes are through Episode 3.10, you can see the list that Cujoy compiled here.

Have fun, and my advice? Don't go overboard with all this information. They're called spoilers for a reason. =)

New 4400 Trading Cards!

2006-06-08T04:00:00.000-05:00

Trading card production powerhouse Inkworks announced the July 2006 release of THE 4400: Season One premium trading cards based on the first season of the haunting sci-fi television series on USA Network.

This dynamic new trading card series from Inkworks explores the stories of the Returnees, their special powers and how they impact the future of mankind. In addition to the 72-card base set, look for the following levels of bonus cards:

*Autograph Cards (tbd)
*"Changed" - a nine-card foil puzzle
*"Ripples" - a six card set
*PLUS three box loader cards and one case loader card.

This will be a very limited Season One collector series. See all the details on how to order here. Don't think I'm not tempted.

You can also order one trading card for FREE from the company, no strings attached, by following the special offer found here.

Cast News and Tidbits

2006-06-08T03:36:00.000-05:00

Since the premiere is just a few more days away (EEEEEEEEE!) here are a bunch of odds and ends and articles about the cast.

* Karina Lombard is going to be on NBC's Today Show on Friday, June 9, 2006 to promote the season premiere. Check your local listings for details. (Thanks, Devin!)

* I have confirmed that Laura Allen is a principle actor on Courtney Cox-Arquette's new FX series, Dirt. She'll play a Hollywood starlet on her way up the fame chain. What this means for her role on The 4400 remains to be seen. (She wouldn't be the first actor to be on two shows at once, certainly).

* LA Weekly gave the show a rave review and declared that it makes them say WHOA! That's good, right? Best of all, it was accompanied by the yummayyyy promo outtake you see above. *dreamysigh*

* Photographer Florian Schneider took some seriously glam shots of Jacqueline McKenzie and Joel Gretsch for Emmy Magazine and put them up on his portfolio (first row). Jacqueline used some of the pictures on her web site. That guy takes amazing pictures. (Thanks to: Jennifer!)

* Jeffrey Combs did a highly spoilery interview with SyFyPortal regarding his role as Kevin Burkoff in the upcoming season.

* Bill Campbell's certainly prettier than Carmen Sandiego, but the producers told SyFyPortal in this interview that they have no idea where in the world he is right now while he's off following his bliss on his tall ship. The article has major spoilers as to his return. If you would like to keep tabs on Bill Campbell's goings-on (and who wouldn't?), you can do so by clicking on the link that says WHERE BILL CAMPBELL IS on the right hand menu. =)

New Entertainment Weekly Spread

2006-06-05T13:51:00.000-05:00

I'm told that USA Network has taken out a two page spread near the front of this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly. I'll try to get a nice scan of it for those of you who aren't in the US.

Is it me, or is press for the show gathering steam? I don't remember the publicity machine being this much into high gear last year. If so, yay, and kudos!

Case in point: I still have 293752369 things to post from over the weekend. Stay tuned!

Kristin Vietch Comes Through

2006-06-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

As I previously reported, a couple of weeks ago, I asked Kristin Vietch, the E! Channel's Queen of TV Gossip, to start talking about The 4400 and start giving us some scoop on that. She swore to me that she would once the regular season's May sweeps were over, and she stuck to her word. Read the vaguely spoilery little blurb and awesome plug for the show from her column yesterday here. (I personally can't think of two shows more different than The 4400 and Battlestar Galactica, but beggars can't be choosers, people!)

I have an approximate truckload of news and goodies to post from the last couple of days, including information on a new USA giveaway and some awesome downloadable videos straight from the network, so keep checking back over the weekend to see what else manages to sneak on here!

Yahoo!TV goes "4400" Crazy!

2006-06-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

They had a few things up before, but recently Yahoo TV's section for The 4400 has gone hog wild with content, including putting up 76 - count 'em, 76 - pictures in their photo gallery. Every single cast member is there, both old and new, except for Jeffrey Combs. (Sorry, Lily! I've been on their case about getting us more Jeffrey content!!) Some of the pictures are new for this season, though not spoilery for anyone who reads this blog, and many of them haven't been seen anywhere else. Out of those, I think this one is my favorite. =) We don't get to see enough Happy!Richard on the show.

Ira Steven Behr Has a "Blog."

2006-06-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

Following in the footsteps of, of all shows, Grey's Anatomy, apparently Ira Steven Behr done got hisself a blog. Unfortunately, no one seems to have told him that you're supposed to, you know, blog on it. It's basically a little ad for the third season, but for you spoilerhounds, it has a page from the Ep3.9 script in it that they haven't run by the studio yet. It's in PDF format and downloadable, and it's accompanied by this beautiful Isabelle/Richard picture. The blog can be found here. Sigh, Ira, I have loved you to pieces since your DS9 days, darling, but I've seen Shonda Rhimes' blog, and at least when it comes to writers and producers of a show blogging about it, you, sir, are no Shonda Rhimes.

The site has also added a neat little "Maia's diary" feature here. It reads like an actual journal. So far, it contains no spoilers, but it does have a little interactive "Ask Maia" feature at the end, which works like a Magic 8 Ball, only (as is the case with all things Maia-related) cuter and slightly creepier.

New TV Guide stuff, Jacqui interview

2006-06-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

TVGuide.com has posted a brand new interview with Jacqueline McKenzie, which can be read here. It's a GREAT interview. There are no spoilers, but there is a whole lot of adorableness, including:

Film sets are a pretty adult world, so it's tricky when you have a little one on set, because there's a lot of cussing that goes on. Every time someone cusses, they have to pay a loonie, which is the equivalent of a Canadian dollar, into her swear jar. Conchita makes a lot of money from us. [Laughs] I tell you, she has bionic ears! She can hear it before it even comes out of my mouth now. I'll say to Conchita, "I'm just going to give you a fiver in advance, all right? Today's a hellish day, and I've got eight scenes to shoot, and I know what's going to happen." She says, "No, I don't want it in advance."

Here are the scans of another TVGuide article, which IS spoilery, provided by Cujoy, who is our latest contributor to 4400fans. =) Click on them, and they should be big enough to read.

Just one more week, y'all!

NBC to Air Unlocking The Secrets Special

2006-06-01T06:41:00.000-05:00

The Futon Critic has confirmed that NBC will air the Unlocking The Secrets special on Saturday June 3, the day before the USA marathon and USA's initial airing of Unlocking the Secrets.

See the entire post at the link, but the important part is:

Los Angeles, CA May 31, 2006 - In a first for USA Network's original scripted shows, NBC will air a clip special of the cable network's critically acclaimed and Emmy- nominated series THE 4400 on Saturday, June 3 from 9:00-10:00pm ET/PT.

Cool, huh? :D (Even though, of course, I've already seen the special on-line.) And thanks also to TPTB here for allowing me to become the newest Blogger for this site.

New SciFi Wire Article

2006-05-25T02:31:00.000-05:00

The status and storylines of Jordan (Bill Campbell), Alana (Karina Lombard), Kevin (Jeffrey Combs) and Ryland (Peter Coyote) are revealed in this interview with Ira Steven Behr.

Pictures, videos and more, OH MY!

2006-05-24T12:26:00.000-05:00

All of the content below is used with written permission from the USA Network. Please do not repost it on your own web site and be sure to link back to us when referencing it! Thank you.

I have confirmed with the USA Network that this is, indeed, the new official logo and graphic for the show this season. Click to see the high-res version. It looks really sharp, USANetwork people! It's much more organic than the previous one, which looked like some kind of government logo. That wasn't objectionable because of course NTAC is a pseudo-government agency, but I think the shifting of focus into a human us-against-them drama is a good one. Telling the stories of the 4400 returnees juxtaposed with the government conspiracy stuff is always what this show has done best, so the logo change is particularly effective in this regard.

Below are the promotional photographs that do NOT contain spoilers. I will simply put a hyperlink to the ones that do, so that those of you who want to see them, can, and those of you who want to remain "unspoiled" can do so as well.

CLICK TO SEE A HI-RES VERSION!

YOU." />

Here are the direct links to the graphics that could be even slightly spoilery. PLEASE USE CAUTION. These DO give away plot points of the premiere and beyond:

http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0026.jpg
http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0171.jpg
http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0260.jpg
http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0348.jpg
http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0728.jpg
http://assets.electricartists.com/assets/4400/FFH0603_EPS20_21_AZ0408.jpg

As if that weren't enough, I've also got PREVIEW VIDEOS. They're the same ones that are on the USA site, but these are in WMV format for your downloading and personal use and viewing. Obviously, these are spoiler heaven. Please be considerate and right-click and save these to your own hard drive before viewing instead of playing them directly off the servers, and do NOT hotlink anywhere!

I will be posting any and all goodies I get from the network in the near future, including a big giveaway contest that will be giving away season 1 and 2 dvds, t-shirts, hats and zip goodies, as well as possible interviews with the cast and crew. Thank you to the folks at USA Network for their amazing generosity with this site!!!

As a totally minor footnote, the counter has been fixed and is now visible again. :)

Official S3 Press Release

2006-05-24T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hot off the presses, y'all. I just got a hold of tons and tons of promotional awesomeness straight from the USA Network that I am making available to you. Because I love. So very much.

***

Taken for a reason. Returned with a purpose.

THE 4400
A USA NETWORK ORIGINAL SERIES
RETURNS FOR SEASON THREE
ON SUNDAY, JUNE 11 AT 9:00PM ET/PT

THE 4400, the critically-acclaimed series that chronicles the reappearance of 4400 people previously reported missing or dead, returns for a third season on Sunday, June 11 as a two-hour special from 9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT on USA Network, and then will air as weekly one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT starting Sunday, June 18.

THE 4400 premiered as a limited series on July 11, 2004 on USA Network as the highest-rated and most-watched new series premiere ever on a basic cable network. Last summer, the show ranked as the #1 original scripted series on cable in P18-49, beating every other cable network’s new series launches. THE 4400 received three Emmy nominations in its first season, including Outstanding Miniseries, as well as Outstanding Writing and Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie.

Before the much-anticipated third season launch, fans and newcomers have two opportunities to familiarize themselves with the show or to finally see what they’ve been missing out on! In a first for a cable network, on Sunday, June 4 USA will air THE 4400 Special: Unlocking the Secrets from 10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT - a powerful one-hour clip special reintroducing the past events of the show to prepare fans for the third season. Earlier in the day, audiences can tune in to THE 4400 Marathon: The Essential Episodes from 9:00am-10:00pm ET/PT.

THE 4400 stars Billy Campbell (“Once and Again”) as Jordan Collier, Joel Gretsch (“Taken”) as Tom Baldwin, Jacqueline McKenzie (“Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”) as Diana Skouris, Patrick Flueger (“The Princess Diaries”) as Shawn Farrell, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (“Crossing Jordan”) as Richard Tyler, Conchita Campbell (“Scary Movie 4”) as Maia Rutledge and Samantha Ferris (“The L Word”) as NTAC Director Nina Jarvis. In addition to the return of the original cast, Karina Lombard (“The L Word”) joins as a series regular playing Alana Mareva. Megalyn Echikunwoke (“That ’70s Show,” “Supernatural”) joins the cast as the newly grown-up Isabelle. Peter Coyote (“Commander in Chief”) returns as Dennis Ryland in the season opener.

The third season sparks a new beginning for the 4400 people who, over a span of years, mysteriously disappeared - only to be returned to Earth all together in a ball of light. Though the returnees had not aged physically, many of them reappeared with dramatic abilities ranging from enhanced reflexes to precognition. NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command) is the government agency responsible for keeping track of the returnees and investigating all things related to the 4400.

The premiere picks up mere seconds after we last saw a year-old baby, Isabelle, become a beautiful twenty-year old woman. Her father, Richard, is forced to deal with his daughter’s sudden transformation – and an even more surprising change in his wife, Lily. Meanwhile, Tom and Diana pursue a radical 4400 organization called the Nova Group that has launched attacks against Dennis Ryland and the other bureaucrats that they perceive as threats.

THE 4400 was created by Scott Peters and Rene Echevarria. Ira Steven Behr, Scott Peters, Maira Suro and Perry Simon are executive producers. THE 4400 is produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in Association with Sky Television, Renegade 83 and American Zoetrope for USA Network.

Fans seeking the truth about the destiny of THE 4400 learn all they need to know at USANetwork.com. The official site of THE 4400 offers the opportunity to examine the returnees through detailed profiles, weekly blogs by the characters, and exclusive webisodes that go beyond the script. Videos interviews with the cast and crew, blogs by the series writers and episode guides offer fans additional clues as to where the show is headed. And in time for the season three premiere, viewers will discover which 4400 they resemble thanks to an interactive personality profiler that pairs fans and 4400 characters.

CBS Paramount Network Television is a division of CBS Studios Inc.

USA NETWORK is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. The #1 basic cable network across the board in 1Q06, USA Network is seen in 90 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

****

I will be posting the promotional materials, like the videos and special cast photos, in my very next post. =) Enjoy!!

Season 2 DVDs - DISH, PEOPLE.

2006-05-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

I don't have the S2 DVDs yet (they are on order!) but since it came out yesterday, those of you who have gotten it, let us know what you think of the extras, commentaries, etc. What do you think? Well worth the expenditure or still slim on the special features? The S1 miniseries had NOTHING, though, so I guess anything's an improvement!

And if you haven't gotten yours yet, do try to buy it from the Amazon.com link there on the lower right hand corner. It's cheap at Amazon, and the commission will go toward eventually purchase ctual server space for this web site so that it's not on Blogspot anymore. =)

It's Going To Come Down To Us Against Them

2006-05-23T05:10:00.000-05:00

The 4400.com has released a (unfairly short) trailer, containing our first look at Season 3! I'm not sure but it might be the same trailer that was attached to the end of the 'unlocking the secrets' clips, but for those of us outside the US we can check out the trailer here. It only has like a couple of secconds of each characterr, but the important thing is, SEASON 3 IS ALMOST HERE :D

Everything is different now

New Layout Hotness!

2006-05-21T17:03:00.000-05:00

In celebration of the upcoming third season, I've completely revamped the layout of 4400fans.com. A few little details, like the now-blinding count down to S3, still need hammering out, but I'm pretty happy with the way it looks. I made it a light background with dark text, as several people told me the other version was hard on the eye. I'm gonna miss all that fluorescent green though!

Go check it out and tell me what you think in the comments!

Unlocking The Secrets - Online

2006-05-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! TV now has an entire web page dedicated to The 4400 which has a bunch of S3 promotional galleries (some with new characters, for you spoilerphobes reading this) and, most importantly, the clip show Unlocking the Secrets of The 4400.

It has only a brief trailer for the S3 season premiere at the end, but it is a nice recap of the first two seasons as well. Unfortunately, it's only viewable if you're browsing from the United States, but we know someone who knows someone who's working on making it available to the rest of you, so we'll keep you posted. =) As we previously reported, it's a Yahoo! exclusive for now, but next week, it'll go on the official site and then be aired on the USA Network itself as well as NBCU outlets SciFi and Bravo.

Cujoy has posted seven new promotional stills from the S3 season premiere, including what may be the show's new logo (pictured right). The pictures are all found here. I personally really like the people-shadow effect of the new logo. It is a little more organic than the clinical looking older one. The pictures aren't that spoilery. There are 2 actors that have never appeared on the show before the S3 premiere, but the pictures don't give away who they are or what their roles on the show may be. (Seriously, guys, I'm stumped on that last guy.)

Pre-Season 3 Promotional Goodness

2006-05-17T09:41:00.000-05:00

Everyone go say hi and be extra nice to the awesomeness that is Kimi, the new contributor here at 4400fans =) Thanks to her, and her friend Elien over at Conchita-Campbell.org, 4400fans is about to get a whole new look and header and stuff. I'm of various minds about using an actual graphic from the show for the header for copyright reasons, so if anyone from NBC/ USA is lurking here and takes offense to this idea, please drop me a line and let me know and I'll keep the park bench theme.

Cujoy has posted the recent casting-sides spoilers for episode 3.9. Small but amusing Shawn plot line. Details can be found here. There are also thumbnails available for viewing of about half a dozen new S3 promo pictures. Warning: one of them is spoilery about an S3 plotline. They can be seen here. It concerns me that Richard Kahan, Laura Allen and Chad Faust are not part of the promotional pictures AT ALL. Richard, I guess I can kind of understand, since we're still not 100% sure that he's a regular, but I'm starting to wonder if Laura and Chad are even on this show any more. Maybe they were both just busy that day?

I have no idea where this is from, but here's an article from Us Weekly on Patrick Flueger all shirtless and scruffy and stuff. He looks good, though he mentions having a girlfriend! Patrick, did what we have mean nothing to you? I feel so USED AND BETRAYED, or something! ;)

They're almost here...

2006-05-17T05:09:00.000-05:00

Just a small post to introduce me :) I'm Kimi, a new blogger here at 4400fans. I come in peace, and bearing gifts :D Thanks to my good friend Elien, you can check out a very HQ version of this brand new Season 3 promo:

Check it out here.

And I've made my own little 4400 video, it's my own promo for Season 3, featuring Maia. You can download it here. It's a pretty small file.

We've passed the one month mark- there is less than 4 weeks to go untill the season premiere! Let us rejoice, and obsessively preorder Season 2 DVDs on ebay.

For the spoiler fanatics among us, there are new sides up at TWOP, so go have a look see. Having read all the Maia spoilers, it's made the wait even harder, I warn you ;)

Ten Questions with DragonCon Staffer Dayna Baldwin

2006-05-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

I recently got a moment to sit down and chat with my childhood friend and DragonCon volunteer staffer Dayna Baldwin, who is actively involved in broadening this mega-convention's programming for The 4400. She had a lot of interesting things to say about what's in store for fans of The 4400 at this year's convention, which takes place Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta, GA. My questions are in bold, and her answers are directly below them.

Tell me a little bit about what kinds of events the SciFi track staff puts together for sci-fi fans. Is it the biggest track at the convention?
[The] American Scifi [Track] primarily features discussion panels, Q&A with actors, writers, and other members of the entertainment industry, as well as providing social venues for fans of the various television shows we focus on to meet up and share what they love about their favorite programs. I honestly couldn't say if it's the largest track at the convention, but I would definitely say it's one of the biggest.

What do you do as a staff member? For what are you responsible?
As a volunteer staffer, I'm involved both the planning for the track as well as its execution during the con. Lead by our track director Aaron Dunne, we determine what shows will be recieving coverage and how much, which is generally based on what guests will be joining us that year. During the convention itself, my job is to help set up the track, and along with my fellow volunteers, keep it running smoothly and our director Aaron sane!

The 4400 is in its third season. What made the SciFi Track decide to include it now and not before?
I think part of the problem is that "science fiction" is such a general term. There's another track that has an emphasis on alien abduction - our X-Track run by
Lee Bennett, and there might have been some initial confusion as to [what should be included in that].

What kind of turnout are you expecting?
Dragon*Con has about 25,000 to 30,000 people coming through its doors throughout the course of the con!

Are you hoping to get actors from The 4400 to make appearances at the convention? What's involved in that happening?
We'd love to see actors from The 4400 at Dragon*Con! If any of the performers would like to attned, they or their management are welcome to go here and download the registration application, fill it out, and submit it to Dragon*Con's
Guest Services Committee.

What kinds of topics do you hope to cover that will include The 4400?
We're going to have at least one 'Beginner's Guide' sort of topic, to sort of go over the story thus far, and allow people who are potential new fans of the show to find out more information about it. We're also hoping for panel discussions that are also more topic specific. In fact, we're really trying to encourage feedback from fans of The 4400... to give us potential topic ideas.

How can 4400 fans get involved in helping to plan the panels/ events/ etc?
There are two ways to keep aware and be able to share your thought on the track's development. The first is through our Yahoo Group which can be joined by emailing
DCon-SF-Television-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. We also have a Livejournal Community.

Tell us a little bit about the fan video competition that's happening.
We're doing our first ever fanvid competition. [Note: They are actively recruiting 4400 vids - I already submitted Purpleyin's!] The full details can be found at our livejournal as well as the main Dragoncon livejournal community, as well as the Yahoo group archives. We've already got our first submissions in, and some of them are really amazing work!

So people don't have to be AT DragonCon to submit a video? Can they submit other people's videos?
You don't have to attend the convention to participate. We're accepting three submissions per vidder - which means if you submit three for yourself, you can still submit up to three belonging to as many other vidders as you want. The videos will be shown at the convention, and after the con I'll be posting the master list of submissions for anyone who wants to watch them but was unable to make the convention.

What other kinds of things should fans of The 4400 and other scifi look forward to at the convention?
There's so much to see and do, I'd be surprised if anyone attending couldn't fill up all the hours of their day! In addition to all the current tracks like Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Track, Film, Comics, Gaming, etc - there are also currently two new additions: Silk Road which will emphasize Asian cinema, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, which will focus on the written word. In the evenings there's always dances and concerts and various competitions like the Dawn Look-Alike contest and the Masquerade. So I can guarantee that there's something for everyone at Dragon*Con. It's definitely the biggest convention of its kind in the Southern US, if not the entire country.

***

Thanks for your time, Dayna! And see you Labor Day weekend. ;)

USA to Air Compilation Ep, Web Site to Finally Join 21st Century

2006-05-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

On May 21, USA [network] will release a special "4400" compilation episode - "The 4400 Special: Unlocking the Secrets"-designed to introduce the show to new viewers. The episode will premiere exclusively on Yahoo TV for one week, then will air on USA's Web site, and next will appear on USA's regular network, as well as on fellow NBCU outlets Sci Fi and Bravo.

This summer, USA will also expand "4400" content online, adding Web exclusives such as audio podcasts, an "interactive diary" game and weekly blogs from writers, producers and characters on the show.

[source]

WOW. That's amazing. Hopefully, unlike its current set-up, it all works on Firefox. I'M JUST SAYIN'.

And the moral of the story is...

2006-05-10T14:57:00.000-05:00

Being a pushy broad pays off.

This week, I have had a chance to personally ask both Amy Amatangelo aka TVGal at Zap2It.com and the E! Channel's Kristin Vietch about the conspicuous absence of The 4400 coverage in their columns. And I have to preface this by saying I absolutely adore both their columns and them personally, so please take any and all haterade elsewhere, thanks!

First, I jokingly threatened to actually send Kristin the S1 DVDs via the E!Offices if she didn't start scooping on this show soon. She told me that the omission had been by default - there's just been a lot going on with the traditional season's May sweeps and she just hadn't had a chance to mention it yet, but she says she watches and really likes the show and does plan on covering it in her column this year. Huzzah!

I also emailed the TVGal being all "OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT OFF THE 4400 IN YOUR SUMMER TV RECS LIST!" I was substantially less ~~psycho~~ adamant about it, though. I did point out that The 4400 was cable's highest rated show for a reason (it kicks butt AND chews bubble gum, and is currently ALL OUT OF BUBBLE GUM). Her supernice response was that she could not BELIEVE she had left off The 4400! She promised me that she would definitely talk about it more when the show started up. This makes for a happy RandomAbductee indeed.

Much love for Amy and Kristin as always. Thank you, ladies!

TVGuide Channel Features The 4400

2006-05-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

I can't stop posting today, I'm sorry.

Thanks to Cujoy over on 4400Spoilers on LiveJournal for this heads up. This is a couple of weeks old, but still cool, especially if you're hankering for a Bill Campbell or Mahershalalhashbaz Ali fix.

The TVGuide channel a show called InFanity, which does features on different TV shows. They recently featured The 4400. This is a very cool little video. It features brand new interviews with Joel, Jacqui, Patrick, Karina, Billy, and Mahershalahashbaz. There is also an interview with Scott Peters. It is only very mildly spoilery and should be safe for most of us to view, even the spoilerphobes.

Our friends and affiliates at KarinaWorld have put up the entire video up in two parts:

Part One
Part Two.

Cast Website Updates

2006-05-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

This week, the always fabulous Jacqui "No Relation to Benjamin" McKenzie launched her official site and it is COMPLETELY AWESOME! It not just has her music (and just as a reminder: you can hear her song that was featured in the finale of The 4400 by visiting her MySpace site) but lots of new pictures, a wonderful gallery of her artwork, a newsblog she updates herself, which will prove to be useful to moi, seeing as she does not update her MySpace blog, links, contact info, you name it.

Anyway, that is one great official site - even though there are still some areas under construction, absolutely nothing is missing. There are only some placeholders for her photo albums, but the pages themselves have some really gorgeous pictures of Jacqui from a shoot I've never seen before. Rock the 1940s glam, girlfriend! And color me impressed!

I've also discovered that Kaj Erik Eriksen ("Danny Farrell") has a frequently updated blog which is now added to my list of links and can be found here. Kaj is a very funny man. Kinda foul mouthed, but funny. =) Kaj will be returning this season to The 4400, probably to be a thorn in Shawn's side. Cujoy and I speculate about this (with spoilers) further in this post. Come join the fun!

I'm pretty happy to hear this, as I always thought the Danny-Shawn dynamic was painfully underexplored on the show. The fallout of having been "Put Back" is interesting from the POV of the 4400 returnees, but it's also always been interesting when they've portrayed the effect on the returnees' loved ones, as well. That's part of why "The New & Improved Carl Morrissey" remains one of my favorite episodes of the series.

Without spoiling anyone for what's coming up on Season 3, I'm curious to see how Danny's story interweaves with Shawn's, and hooray for more interesting, organic, high stakes fraternal angst! Does anyone on any scifi show do it better than those two? ... Okay, fine, does anyone on any scifi show that isn't Supernatural do it better than those two?

ComicCon 2006 Scoop

2006-05-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

Though the official ComicCon site has no new information, yesterday I heard from an excellent and reliable source that "the entire cast" of The 4400 will be at this year's convention for meet-and-greets and autograph signings as they were last year. Last year's attendees included: Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (who patiently walked my friend Craig from Kryptonsite through how to pronounce his first name like the good sport he is), Chad Faust, Jacqueline Mackenzie and Joel Gretsch. However, Patrick Flueger and a few others were NOT there, so I'm not sure what "the entire cast" means this time around either. More information as I get it.

In other cast appearance news, last week Joel Gretsch and his wife Melanie Shatner, of the Star Trek Shatners, along with their wee adorable daughter Willow, attended William Shatner's Hollywood Charity Horse show, hosted by... you guessed it. Since 1990, Bill Shatner has been running this charity event to benefit several organizations that provide services and support for children with disabilities. You can donate right on the page via PayPal! There is a photo album, but only of past years. However, there are pictures of Joel, Melanie and Willow up on WireImage. I don't have access to that since I'm not "real press" or anything (*waves hand airily*), but if you get a chance, do a search on "Joel Gretsch" in the Wire Image search box and check out the thumbnails. They're not to be missed.

If I find the larger versions somewhere, I'll post them here, natch.

Dammit, Bill

2006-05-08T00:48:00.000-05:00

By any chance, does anyone have a good resource for keeping up with Bill Campbell's career? Besides Google Alerts, I mean. I tried that already, and you guys have no idea how many Bill Campbells are walking around coaching softball, selling pottery, being suspected of various and sundry crimes in the English-speaking world, and, well, being the mayor of Atlanta.

But to my abject horror, OUR Bill Campbell has no fan sites OR official web site, no major fan forums, nothing, and IMDB is no help. It's like he totally is trying to stop me from stalking him or something! Oh, wait.

New SciFi Magazine Article

2006-05-08T00:37:00.000-05:00

SciFi Magazine's June issue has a terrific two-page article about the upcoming season of The 4400, focusing on Shawn and Isabelle. They interview Patrick, Megalyn, and Ira Steven Behr, and it's got quite a few spoilers, including a picture of Patrick and Megalyn.

Cujoy has posted the highlights and summary of the article as well as the photo here.

+++

Coming up this week on 4400fans.com: An interview with a staffmember of DragonCon's SciFi track about their decision to be the first ever major scifi convention (and I do mean major - last year got over 40,000 visitors!) to include multiple tracks and features on The 4400, including a fan video competition, among other many cool things. DragonCon will take place in Atlanta, GA the first weekend of September, 2006. I will henceforth spend the next four months attempting to weasel myself onto at least one of the 4400 panels. Be there or be shaped like a big square thing.

Abducted, Returned, Changed... Canadian.

2006-05-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

If suddenly 137 countries start airing this show, don't expect to see me updating y'all on the viewing schedules of The 4400 in, I don't know, East Timor or something, but for now, this is kind of big news:

The Canadian television network Space has started re-airing Season I on Mondays at 10:00 pm EST. The second episode aired last Monday. Airdates for Season 2 have yet to be announced. Check your local listings, Canadian fans!

Commander-In-Chief Pining for the Fjords

2006-05-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

No, not our actual president - the show on which Peter Coyote ("Dennis Ryland") had a recurring guest star spot has been killed off by ABC. According to Zap2It, the show has been pulled for the rest of May sweeps with no airdate for the remaining episodes. Ouch. That's what happens when you lose over half your audience in the span of a few weeks, I guess. I only saw one episode and kind of hated it, (and not just because there were no space aliens or stuff getting blown up) so I won't personally miss it, especially if it means Coyote's ambiguously evil presence is now more available on The 4400.

Speaking of extracurricular stuff our intrepid cast did that totally bombed, has anyone seen darling little Conchita Campbell in Scary Movie 4? I hear she has the misfortune of playing the Dakota Fanning character and gets punched or struck in the face at least four times during the course of the movie. *facepalm* Dear Parents of Conchita: Next time, opt for summer camp instead, 'kay?

Also, speaking of Zap2It, Amy the TVGal over there, with whom I have occasionally corresponded, did a feature on stuff you should watch over the summer and did NOT include The 4400! Well, FINE, Rescue Me, Entourage and Deadwood are completely amazing and a good friend of mine is a staff writer for that new Luke Perry series, so I am therefore obliged to watch (damn!) and don't object to the TVGal including it, but at the expense of The 4400? Psh, I think not. Email her and tell her she left the best summer scifi show off her list! She's super nice, and if enough of us write her she'll mention something about the show. =)

Welcome to the Revolution, Little Girl!

2006-05-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

Major MAJOR updates to the official site have been done, and it looks HOT!!! It's been completely revamped and is much more user friendly than it was before. Some differences: now the caption of the header reads: Taken for a reason. Returned with a purpose. Ooooh. And there's a very, very exciting S3 trailer up with some amazing new scenes. I've only watched it, like, thirty times so far. Also the character bios have been updated - Maia's name now reads Maia Skouris, for example. Spoiler-avoiders: beware of a major spoiler in Diana's new bio. And I'm not just referring to Jacqui Mackenzie's smokin' new highlights. (Diana done got her hurr did over the summer!) Those of us who can't resist spoilers and will read it anyway: Eeeeeeee!

There are pictures, updated episode guides, a new member forum where you can make up your own returnee character and register and geek out with other 4400 fans, etc. And it looks like Cujoy and I have gotten our wish and Richard Kahan seems very likely to be in the opening credits. And seriously, that's just the tip of the web site redesign iceberg. It's like Christmas in May, y'all!

So, come on, don't be shy - what's your new 4400 character that you're going to register as? You know you want to. Post it in the comments. I'd like to have been returned with the ability to set fire to things with my brain. It's a desire I've had since childhood when I read Stephen King's Firestarter at too young an age. It just seems like a really convenient and impressive superpower to lord over people. "Don't piss me off! I'll set you on fire with my brain!" See? Barring that, I'd like to have been returned by the Morally Ambiguous Mystery Dudes From the Future having inexplicable ninja powers, because ninjas are totally sweet.

Here are a few of the pictures thanks to Lily_Lemony and Cujoy, who have posted many more S3 pictures as well as a summary of the new site's spoiler content over on 4400spoilers on LiveJournal. Thank you, ladies! I'd seriously be so lost without you guys.

Click to see the bigger versions below!

MEGALYN AS ISABELLE:

A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES, OH YES:

REFER ABOVE RE: DIANA'S SMOKIN' HURR DO:

Yay!!! And finally, speaking of upgrades to 4400 web sites, this site has added a few new links - a Brazilian 4400 blog and another 4400 blog/ fan site and a few other new affiliates and links to the theme song and other cool things like that, so if you've gotten used to tuning out the sidebar, you might want to check out if there's something new for you to look at. I am contemplating totally redoing the layout for 4400fans.com, though. The current one is so ghetto compared to the official site now, which is all shiny and pretty. [/competitive]

DragonCon to Show The 4400 Some Love

2006-05-01T02:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure that this has been posted anywhere on the Internet before. It's definitely big news for fans of this show.

The SciFi track of DragonCon 2006, the largest scifi and fantasy convention in the southeast, which takes place Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, GA, has confirmed on its Yahoo! group that it is going to be having some panel discussions on The 4400. They aren't sure how many, but the show is one of their covered topics this year. This is a first for DragonCon, and a seriously huge deal for the show. I've been thinking of going this year, and this pretty much cements it for me. I'm totally there.

Last I heard, they were considering attempting to get an actor or two from the show to participate in a discussion panel. That'd be supercool for 4400fans.com - I'd try to get a media pass and score this site an interview or two, so ~~call me, Patrick!~~ good luck with that, DragonCon people.

Joel Gretsch Gets Emo

2006-05-01T02:15:00.000-05:00

SciFiWire posted an interview with Joel Gretsch that I didn't link to a couple of days ago in which he discusses his approach to portraying our intrepid investigator Tom Baldwin on The 4400. It's totally spoiler-free unless you consider "Tom has to deal with a lot of stressful stuff!" to be a spoiler. It's actually quite an interesting interview, though brief; I liked the mention of how he prefers to stay in the dark about the upcoming storylines because it helps him play an investigator more effectively. Method acting by default!

My love for Joel Gretsch's acting and screen presence has both grown and turned more wary since I decided to rent Taken from my local Blockbuster. They didn't have Lost, Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica or anything else sci-fi, but they did have Taken. Okay then! I only got it because a) it involves aliens and spaceships and my inner 12yo geek is wicked easy to please and b) it stars a bunch of people from The 4400, including Joel, Chad Faust (playing the older version of a child actor that he does not IN ANY WAY resemble, I might add) and Michael Moriarty, most remembered by 4400 fans as Orson Bailey in the pilot, y'know, the high strung old guy who returned to a senile wife, a creepy log cabin and a RAGING case of telekenesis. Don't you hate when that happens?

Anyway, Joel Gretsch plays an evildoing megalomaniacal villain in Taken. I mean, he's so evil that it's almost a production defect that he doesn't have a pencil thin moustache to twirl in every scene. It's really pretty fabulous. Its production values are top notch (of course, 'cause this is a Spielberg vehicle, after all), the acting is fantastic, the effects are seamless and the script has nary an awkward line in sight. This is one seriously underrated mini-series. And I'm not just saying that because it allowed me to watch Catherine Dent and Eric Close snog a lot.

I've considered adding a permanent link to it over at Amazon on the right hand column, I stark crazy love it that much so far (still haven't seen the very last installment) and the mini-series is so closely tied to The 4400 - when it first came out, people mused that it was almost the exact opposite premise as Taken, so Internet fans everywhere referred to The 4400 as Put Back. Hee!

Here, There and Everywhere

2006-04-26T09:32:00.000-05:00

I think what's also really fascinating—something untapped that we're trying to go for here--is the bigger mythology. The bigger questions of 'Who did this?' We kind of know who did this, but who specifically did this. And why did they do this? We kind of know why, but why specifically did they do this? And now that they've taken this step, what are the ramifications? And what has changed that maybe they couldn't have predicted?"

The quote is from the show's co-creators Scott Peters in this slightly-spoilery interview about the upcoming third season on SyFyPortal.

There is also a GREAT and detailed interview with Jacqueline Mackenzie about her appearance in the upcoming TNT miniseries, Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, here on SciFiWire. It does mention The 4400 and her role on it briefly, but its main draws is that it's one of the longest Jacqui interviews I've ever seen.

Peter Coyote is up to quite a bit, as usual. Though Commander In Chief is officially tanking in the ratings, Peter is lending his comments and experiences to The Drug Years, a new four part documentary examining illicit drug use and its impact in the culture of the last half of the twentieth century. Peter will be speaking about his experiences with the counter-culture of the sixties and early 70s. I titled this post with a Beatles reference just for you, Peter. Most recently, he can also be heard as the narrator of National Geographic's highly controversial The Gospel of Judas, which aired this past Sunday (sorry for the lack of a heads up) and will be available for purchase on DVD June 6.

Finally, Chad Faust has been cast as the male lead in Rosario Dawson's new horror film, Descent, in which "a coed (Dawson) turns into a vengeful seductress after a she suffers a violent attack." This was also the premise of Chad's last film, Tamara. That's quite an interesting niche there, Chad. Anyway, according to the IMDB boards, Chad has had several fan encounters where he was asked about the movie, and he said he was very excited about it, but also warned that it was extremely violent and dirrrty. Promises, promises.

Premiere Date Mystery SOLVED!

2006-04-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

The official USA web site for The 4400 has been updated. Looks like Michael Ausiello was right after all - the premiere date IS June 11, 2006. The Sunday prior - June 4 - USA will be running a season 2 marathon starting at 9AM EST, with all 13 episodes back to back, so if you missed any and you're too cheap/broke to buy the Season 2 DVDs that come out 12 days earlier on May 23, here's your chance to catch up on what you missed.

And there's a 4400 recap show also airing after the marathon on June 4, 2006 at 10E/9C in case you're too cheap or broke to buy the DVDs AND too lazy to watch the marathon. These guys, they're too good to us!

I'm currently in search of a small, simple javascript that would allow the web site to count down to the premiere date, so if anyone knows of any good ones, do drop me a line. =)

The Cast Does Other Stuff

2006-04-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

Did everyone see Laura Allen on tonight's episode of House? I'm a bad blogger and forgot to remind y'all, but I did post about it a few weeks ago when SushiGal first told me about it! She played a role that's a total departure from what we're used to seeing her in - a concerned young mother with a child in unusual circumstances! Oh, wait. :)

Laura was really good, all kidding aside (and paired with hottie Mackenzie Astin, Sean's severely underrated little brother). Even though she wasn't quite right for the part, she acted the hell out of it anyway. I mean, she's way too young and pretty to be typecast as a "young mom" kinda actress, but I think she keeps getting those roles anyway just because her screen presence radiates such sincere warmth and palpable urgency. Maybe the sexy siren she's supposed to be playing in Dirt will show people another side to her. Well, durr, it's on FX, so of course it will!

Peter Coyote's show Commander in Chief is returning sooner than expected, this Thursday, April 13, but Peter won't be back on the show until the April 20th episode. The show looked certain for the death pool just a few weeks ago, but for some reason, ABC is showing signs of having renewed confidence in it. Peter's also narrating a documentary about the 100th anniversary of the great San Francisco earthquake and doing a whole lot of other work. I'm actually now starting to think Peter Coyote doesn't sleep. Like, at all. There's a whole mess of updates that got posted to his official site yesterday, but be warned: there is a spoiler smack in the middle about his status with The 4400 and whether or not he'll be back! Alas, much like the rest of us, Peter also seems to have not a clue about when the premiere date is, either, since he cites it as "this summer." *sticks another pin in Mike Ausiello voodoo doll.*

Patrick Flueger is in a new indie romcom called You Are Here which is written and directed by Henry Pincus. No, I've never heard of him either. The film also stars Erika Christensen, Bijou Phillips and a few other folks, and various Google searches turned up the following description:

A group of twenty-something, nightclub-going friends who wake up after a wild night on the town to find their lives in chaos. As they contact each other to figure out just what happened the night before, they begin to understand that they're affecting each other in ways they couldn't possibly imagine.

Rock! I loved this movie back when it was called Dude, Where's My Car? You can see all the production details over on its IMDB page.

Finally, look for Jacqueline McKenzie to appear in TNT's 4-part miniseries Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, which is set to premiere in July. I'm hearing that the first hour, "Umney's Last Case," will air commercial-free, and according to IMDB, that's the hour in which Jacqui appears! She plays a figment of William H. Macy's imagination. We should all be so lucky.

New Season 3 Article

2006-04-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

ComingSoon.net has a long, slightly spoilery article pimping the upcoming third season of the show, with some teasers about its major story arcs and mentions of Collier, Ryland, Isabelle, Maya and a few casting spoilers.

Unfortunately, it mentions nothing about the premiere date. :(

Bug Ausiello to Clear Up the Premiere Date!

2006-04-04T20:17:00.000-05:00

4400fans.com buddy cujoy had a great suggestion: Mike Ausiello has a little feedback box at the bottom of his column where you can quickly and easily send him a little blurb asking him when the series premiere of The 4400 actually is. If enough of us ask, he might respond in his next column. (I bugged him all winter long about the show, and now he's putting blurbs in every column about the show. Coincidence?! I THINK NOT. [/allaboutme]).

His column on TVGuide.com can be found here. About halfway through there's some news about that big fabulous casting spoiler, and why s/he won't be playing... who everyone thought s/he would. Oy, to have spoiler-cuts in Blogger.

More Ep 3.3 spoilers!

2006-04-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

Found here thanks to cujoy again. It sounds like they're setting up a real twist on the S2 finale. See, that's why I love this show and find it so satisfying. That S2 finale definitively resolved the entire season's storyarcs, as well as opening up interesting plot possibilities for oh, about, 5 billion more seasons. That season finale was one of the best I've ever seen on any show. Other shows could take their cue from this airtight, purposeful kind of show-writing, where viewers are always sure that the writing team knows exactly where it's going, while the writers always stay one step ahead of the viewers without sacrificing substance to style. *coughunlikeLostcough*

But I think the real ongoing mystery of S3 will be: Will Richard Kahan EVER be included in the opening credits? I'm just sayin'.

No word yet on the real premiere date, or whether it's 6/11 or 6/04 or some other arbitrary date in June or any other month. Thanks for the confusion, Mike Ausiello! I suppose we should be grateful this show isn't The Sopranos and we don't have to wait until June of 2007 for a new episode.

S3 premiere is June... er... something...

2006-03-29T00:53:00.000-05:00

According to Michael Ausiello's latest column on TVGuide.com, the third season of The 4400 premieres not June 4 as the SciFiWire article said a few weeks ago, but June 11 instead.

Curioser and curioser. Does anyone out there know who's right? Leave a comment, with sources, preferably. =)

S2 DVDs To Have Actual Bonus Features OMG!

2006-03-18T01:04:00.000-05:00

Considering the first season had exactly jack and s@#% in the way of extras, I'm excited to report that TVonDVD.com has posted a brief description of the bonus features for the second season of The 4400, which comes out on DVD May 23. You can find the (IMHO still bare-bones) list of extras here. I still find myself asking, "That's it?" I mean... "the making of the ball of light?" Seriously? The main draw for the commentaries on this one is that we'll finally get to hear Jacqui speak with her natural Australian accent. Squee! (And yes, I know that any and all Australians reading this just rolled their eyes at me.)

The May 23 release will see these babies being shilled for $43USD/ $49CDN retail, but the bargain hunters among you may be pleased to hear that it's going for $27 on Amazon, which you can get by scrolling down and clicking on the link on the right-hand column of this site. Just sayin'!

Joel Gretsch's Trek Family Ties

2006-03-17T00:02:00.000-05:00

And other news...

I was just perusing Joel Gretsch's IMDB profile (no, I actually don't have anything better to do) and have discovered that he's married to Melanie Shatner, a.k.a. daughter of William "Captain James Tiberius Kirk" Shatner. They've been married since 1999, and Google even tells me that Bill Shatner was present at the birth of Joel's first baby! This makes me and, I'm sure, other hopeless lifelong Trekkies very happy.

Melanie was one of the child extras in the original Star Trek series episode "Miri." (See? I wasn't lying about the hopeless Trekkie part.) More six-degrees-of-separation kookiness: according to her IMDB profile, she's best friends with Sex and the City's Kristin Davis. Weird.

According to a post on IMDB made by SushiGal who runs Laura Allen's official web site, Laura started filming the new FX pilot Dirt on March 7. She will be playing Julia, a sexy starlet on whom the lead characters (Courtney Cox Arquette and her sidekick) are trying to get "dirt." I'm pretty sure that Laura's only attached to the pilot, as the series hasn't been greenlit, and its regular shooting schedule wouldn't overlap with The 4400's, but you never know. Lily/Richard is the main reason I got hooked on this show (that and the fact that Patrick Flueger is the second-hottest man on basic cable, the first being Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon) so I will be seriously fuming if anything happens to Lily as is the rumor going around on TelevisionWithoutPity. Much like Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons, I will be on the Internet registering my disgust within minutes.

Detailed spoilers for Episode 3.3

2006-03-09T01:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to cujoy over at the 4400 Spoilers community on LiveJournal, I discovered detailed spoilers about the third episode of the season, incuding its title, major plot arcs, etc. You can find them here.

Is it June 4 yet?

Season 3 Premiere Date Announced!

2006-03-08T02:44:00.000-05:00

AWESOME NEWS!!!! According to this article posted yesterday on SciFiWire, the third season of The 4400 will premiere on USA on June 4, 2006 and will run concurrently for 13 episodes. Huzzah!

The article contains some general spoilers for the third season, but nothing too major, except one casting notice. Continuing in this show's grand tradition of hiring actors whose names I totally can't pronounce, Megalyn Echanowke will be playing the role of Adult Isabelle. That's her picture from IMDB and it does her absolutely no justice. I recall her compelling turns on both 24 and Veronica Mars and definitely think this is going to be a huge boon for the show. Her IMDB page is here.

Peter Coyote on Brokeback Mountain

2006-03-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

In this article from SFGate, Peter Coyote and several other actors ponder all the different ways in which Brokeback Mountain failed to impress Academy voters this year, losing out the Best Picture nomination to Crash. Peter denies that it's because the movie was "too gay," and basically blames it on the marketing. It's an interesting article about the current state of Hollywood politics and Peter has some interesting, if random, things to say about it.

This Just In: Patrick Flueger Is Still Pretty

2006-02-20T05:15:00.000-05:00

There are cute new thumbnail pictures of Patrick Flueger halfway down the page over on WireImage here from some January 30th LA party promoting an upcoming SpikeTV show called Exposing The Order of the Serpentine. Um. Catchy! Patrick is adorable as always, and I'm at least relieved that he no longer has the - and I can't believe Patrick is making me type this sentence - combover mowhawk that he was sporting last fall. (We never speak of the Jedi braid/ fan weave combo of the 2005 Emmys here. Ever.)

Anyway, Patrick has nothing to do with the show in any capacity, so I can only assume he was there pursuing that great American pasttime to which so many of us are addicted: stalking Jeremy Piven.

Season 2 Coming on DVD! FINALLY.

2006-02-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

According to TVShowsOnDVD, Paramount is done taking their sweetass time releasing S2 of The 4400 and has decided on a May 23, 2006 release date. According to that site: "All 12 episodes (including the double-length season opener and the two-part season finale)" are included in this 4 DVD set, which runs 600 minutes. Nice.

Here is the cover art for the DVD set. Click on it and you'll get the full sized version. Aren't they pretty? Although, I know that it's supposed to look like Maia is trapped behind a glass wall or something since that's a pose they often have her strike, but mostly it looks like she's just waving hello. Hi, Maia!

Thanks again to cujoy over on LiveJournal for the heads up on this!

Laura Allen MegaUpdate

2006-02-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

SushiGal, the webmistress of LauraAllen.Net just updated her news page in which she announces Laura will be guest-starring on an upcoming episode of House on FOX, airing April 11, 2006. She has one scene with the infamous Dr. House. I am totally not green with envy right now. Nope. Details and spoilers for the episode can be found on her news page.

Laura has also booked a pilot being produced by David and Courtney Cox Arquette and starring Courtney Cox Arquette. It's on the FX Network, and is described as a one-hour drama. The premise is listed on its IMDB page as:

A tabloid editor (Arquette) and her photographer try to make their way in the world of celebrity journalism.

Laura will be playing "Julia," a Hollywood starlet on whom Courtney's character is trying to get "dirt." Now, some people have fretted that this must mean that Lily will be killed off on The 4400, but that's not necessarily true. First of all, there's no word on whether or not "Julia" is a principle or even a recurring character. Even if she is, many, many actors book and film pilots during this time of year, but since the series will debut in the 2006-2007 season- if and only if ABC decides to pick it up - all the other episodes won't begin filming until late in the summer, or early fall. By then, The 4400 will have long finished filming its third season. It's possible the show simply gave Laura a few weeks off to do this project - otherwise, it is very easily possible she can do both and just work year-round. So don't anybody panic just yet.

Another major piece of news announced on her site: on September 23, 2006, Laura Allen is getting married to her fiance, Robert Bruce Weyman, a 34-year-old athlete/actor/model. Congrats, girl. He's a total hottie!

Eagle eyed frequenters of this blog (all three of you!) may have noticed the post before this one was made by Embitca and not me. That's 'cause this is a two-woman operation now, y'all! Ain't no stoppin' us now.

The 4400 at TV Squad

2006-02-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

Sarah Gilbert at TV Squad has provided commentary for several season 2 episodes of The 4400, so if you're looking to get up to speed quickly before season three begins, that might be a good place to start. I've directly linked to the 4400 category page, so just scroll down to catch-up on what you've missed.

Major S3 Premiere Spoilers

2006-02-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

New and extremely detailed spoilers for the two-hour season three premiere are available. The most detailed can be found at TelevisionWithoutPity's thread for the show here (you have to highlight all those black bars with your mouse). If you don't want to be so thoroughly spoiled, you can read this summary on LiveJournal's spoiler community. SpoilerFix also has a more general (but still detailed) description here if you scroll down and click on The 4400. Thanks to cujoy on LiveJournal for pointing them out!!

We've Got Forums!

2006-02-04T03:58:00.000-05:00

Kryptonsite, one of the largest online fan communities in existence, has recently expanded to include several other shows besides Smallville, including Veronica Mars, Supernatural, the upcoming Aquaman series, and The 4400! Craig is a dear long-time friend of mine, so his casa is our casa - they are the official forums of 4400fans.com. There's a spoiler board, fic threads, etc.Please do visit them and post your thoughts on the show, the upcoming season, etc.

The new The 4400 forums can be found here. Go crazy!

Chad to Star in Reasonable Facsimile of "Carrie"

2006-02-02T19:03:00.000-05:00

After much confusion and Google-inspired wild goose chases, I've been able to figure out where the heck anyone can see Tamara, the new horror film starring Chad Faust ("Kyle Baldwin" on The 4400) about a psychic girl who wreaks revenge and havoc on her high school tormenters. IMDB lists the movie as having been released last year. The reality is that it was released on DVD in Brazil and was originally expected to go straight to video January 31, 2006 in the US.

However, apparently the studio changed its mind in the interim due to "Internet buzz," although I heard that on the Internet, so take that as you will. It's now been confirmed that it's slated for limited release in a few theaters in New York City on February 3, 2004 (that's tomorrow, the same day that Patrick's film, The World's Fastest Indian comes out, but somehow I don't think there's gonna be much overlap in their demographics). Then it opens in the top 20 markets February 17, 2006 for wider, but still limited, release, and will see a DVD release later on in the spring. See the trailer, gallery (which includes 2 pictures of Chad), and, um, win a date with the lead actress (?!) at the official web site.

Chad's signed on for a second movie, the Rosario-Dawson-produced Descent for later this year, too - more info as I get it!

See Patrick 20 feet high this Friday

2006-02-01T18:23:00.000-05:00

The Anthony Hopkins film in which The 4400's Patrick Flueger ("Shawn Farrell") has a tertiary role, The World's Fastest Indian, is opening to glowing reviews this Friday, February 3, 2006. It opened in a few select US theaters in December 2005, and this time around it's getting only "limited" release as well. It's not that limited though - the web site has well over 100 theaters that are showing it.

Check the official site (which doesn't mention Patrick! *sob*) to see if it's playing at a theater near you, and feel free to send in your reviews. It's playing in Miami Beach, where I'm at, so I may check it out myself this weekend too. W00t.

S3 Season Premiere Spoilers!

2006-02-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

SpoilerFix has an episode description for the as-yet untitled Season 3 premiere, expected to air some time in early summer 2006. It can be found here - you have to scroll a bit toward the bottom and click on The 4400 to see it. It picks up directly where the awesome S2 finale left off, and there is one minor general-season spoiler for S3 there as well.

Season 2 on DVD?

2006-01-31T05:57:00.000-05:00

According to this web site, Paramount has been working on the S2 DVD release since mid-November 2005 and it will definitely be released soon. No known release date has been given, but it's definitely in production. The DVD will contain 14 hours of episodes (the two-hour premiere, 10 regular episodes, and the two-hour finale) plus, unlike the S1 DVDs, actual extras for the fans. If you have any new information, please do email me at randomabductee @ gmail.com, or leave me a comment.

4400fans.com is open for bidness

2006-01-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

More or less.

Customization, links, etc. will be forthcoming. We'll also be having a message forum over on Kryptonsite.com soon, if all goes as planned.

If anyone would like to help update the site, please do contact me at randomabductee @ gmail.com.