The 4400 Season 4 on DVD comes out May 6th
April 17, 2008
If you enjoy Lost, the X-files, or Heroes and you’ve never seen the series “The 4400″ boy are you in for a treat. Go to Netflix right now and add it to your queue, you won’t regret it. If you are already a fan, then you, like us, should be excited to hear that Season 4 is coming out in just a few short weeks, with a May 6th release date scheduled.
As a series, the 4400 is the story of how 4400 people mysteriously disappear over the course of the 20th century only to return all at once as a group in a giant ball of light that erupts over a lake in Washington State. The people that return haven’t aged at all, despite some of them being gone for decades, and over time exhibit special qualities and powers much like superheroes of sorts. The series is genius because it combines the mystery of the X-files with the fun of sci-fi generally with the social awareness of the Twilight Zone. There are lots of believable, poignant characters with great stories.
One of the major storylines in the 4400 is the tension between the population at large versus the 4400 themselves. Much like in the world of the X-men, generally people distrust and resent the 4400 for the special abilities they possess. There is a major division within the 4400 community between, again in the style of the X-men, 4400s that wish to work with humanity peacefully and those that take a more confrontational and aggressive stance
In season 4 (the final season), we follow the conflict between Jordan (former leader of the separatist wing of the 4400) and NTAC (the x-files like government agency that investigates and polices the 4400) as Jordan tries to disseminate the Promicin medicine which will allow anyone to develop special abilities like a member of the 4400. If you missed the episodes live, you now have a chance to see them all collected on DVD. This is it folks, the last season of one of the truly great sci-fi tv series. Don’t miss it.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall comes out this Friday!
April 16, 2008
There are a ton of great films coming out soon, but in the short term in particular we are looking forward to the release of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” which comes to theatres this Friday. This film is produced by Judd Apatow who directed the 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked up. The director of Sarah Marshall is actually newcomer Nicholas Stoller, but from the previews it looks to have Apatow’s signature brand of humor we loved so much in his other films.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall follows another Apatowian(?) loser-hero named Peter played by Jason Segel (also in Knocked Up). Peter is dumped by Kristen Bell’s (Veronica Mars, Heroes) character Sarah. When Peter goes for a tropical vacation to get over his depression from the break-up, he finds Sarah at the same resort and voila, comedy ensues. As with previous Apatow films, we expect lots of witty insult comedy mixed with a rare blend of directness and sensitivity. Knocked up was actually a sweet film despite the rough edges of all of its characters. We expect more of the same from Sarah Marshall.
In particular, we hope to see a good performance from Kristen Bell. Bell was amazing as the young private dectective Veronica Mars, however she did not shine as brightly in her role in Heroes. While we tend to blame the writing staff of heroes for the weakness of her role (god that show stinks these days), we’ll be watching closely to see how she handles herself here.
