The 4400 - Season Four

The first thing that jumped out at me about the fourth and final season of The 4400 is that Diana Skouris was suddenly piling on an overabundance of makeup. This bothered me for the entire season, and I will not buy it if anyone tries to sell me the excuse that it's because she was dating Ben and he made her feel better about herself. No, it was probably because the network thought they could save the show's plummeting ratings by dolling up their female lead (and replacing the head of NTAC with a hot blond to boot.) Didn't work, guys, it just became annoying.

I also had some problems with the writing this season, although they were only continuing from last season - in other words, unnecessary cheesiness. It was funnier than it should have been when Jordan Collier created Promise City and decorated it with giant banners of himself that always appeared to be looking in the direction of whoever was nearby. However there was also The Marked, an episode about a guy whose ability is spreading truth by making really cheesy home movies, and that part was supposed to be funny. I also had a problem with Jordan and Shawn's battle over promicin. It made Jordan look irrational because he never gave a reason why he didn't want people to wait to take the shot, instead acting like Shawn was saying to stop taking it altogether.

But all of that being said, I was satisfied with the ending. I knew the show had been canceled and I worried about an unresolved cliffhanger, but instead they did something along the lines of how Heroes ended (also after four seasons): wrapping up most things but leaving it a little open for a possible fifth season. The 4400 had its ups and downs, but it was always entertaining and I liked how every season had a "time out" episode, i.e. one where we take a break from the regular plotline to explore some weird situation that is happening to someone.

Best episode: Usually I choose the aforementioned "time out" episode for this one, which in this case would be "No Exit", and that would probably be my second choice, but I have to admit I really liked "Tiny Machines" for all of its great character moments. One of the better written episodes this season, I think.