I haven't seen a thread about The CW's remake of The 4400, which drops the definite article from the title. Anyone else watching it? I'm rather enjoying it. It's intriguing the way it takes the general premise of the series -- 4400 people who vanished at various times in the past are all returned at once, not having aged a day, and discover they've been given superpowers for some mysterious reason -- but reinterprets it with totally new characters and goes in its own direction. It's the same sort of thing The CW did with its Charmed remake.
And it's basically taking the opportunity to emphasize elements that were lacking in the original series. Most obviously is that the original series had an overwhelmingly white main cast (aside from Mahershala Ali in seasons 1-3 and Megalyn Echikunwoke in seasons 3-4), while the new series has an overwhelmingly black cast, along with other diverse individuals (trans, disabled, etc.). There's an implication that the 4400 all belong to marginalized groups of one sort or another, which might have some bearing on why they were taken, but it hasn't been directly addressed yet.
But it's also correcting something else that I thought was a major mistake the first time around. The original show really glossed over the adjustment of the 4400 to being thrust into the future, just skipping over most of their initial internment and orientation and then moving on to focus mainly on the mystery of their abduction and their superpowers. But this version has focused heavily on that early process of adjustment and the 4400s' reactions to being thrust years or decades into the future. It's the version of the story I always wanted to see.
So far, my favorite character is Andre, a charmingly formal and erudite physician from the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. TL Thompson is well-cast, actually looking like he belongs in a 1920s photograph, and he makes Andre very sympathetic, kind, and appealingly nerdy. I'm also quite fond of LaDonna (Khailah Johnson), an incredibly gorgeous reality-TV star who's much more intelligent than she appears. Interesting that my two favorites are the earliest and latest abductees of the core group. As for the nominal lead character, Shanice (Brittany Adebumola), I actually find her to be the least interesting member of the 4400s.
Has anyone else been watching this? If you want to catch up, all the episodes are currently still available on The CW's streaming site.
And it's basically taking the opportunity to emphasize elements that were lacking in the original series. Most obviously is that the original series had an overwhelmingly white main cast (aside from Mahershala Ali in seasons 1-3 and Megalyn Echikunwoke in seasons 3-4), while the new series has an overwhelmingly black cast, along with other diverse individuals (trans, disabled, etc.). There's an implication that the 4400 all belong to marginalized groups of one sort or another, which might have some bearing on why they were taken, but it hasn't been directly addressed yet.
But it's also correcting something else that I thought was a major mistake the first time around. The original show really glossed over the adjustment of the 4400 to being thrust into the future, just skipping over most of their initial internment and orientation and then moving on to focus mainly on the mystery of their abduction and their superpowers. But this version has focused heavily on that early process of adjustment and the 4400s' reactions to being thrust years or decades into the future. It's the version of the story I always wanted to see.
So far, my favorite character is Andre, a charmingly formal and erudite physician from the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. TL Thompson is well-cast, actually looking like he belongs in a 1920s photograph, and he makes Andre very sympathetic, kind, and appealingly nerdy. I'm also quite fond of LaDonna (Khailah Johnson), an incredibly gorgeous reality-TV star who's much more intelligent than she appears. Interesting that my two favorites are the earliest and latest abductees of the core group. As for the nominal lead character, Shanice (Brittany Adebumola), I actually find her to be the least interesting member of the 4400s.
Has anyone else been watching this? If you want to catch up, all the episodes are currently still available on The CW's streaming site.
