White people all online are already shitting on it for the black cast. They hate that it's not "about them". The show will only make one season....
‘The 4400’ Reboot In the Works At the CW.... "WHY DO THIS!!!" (trailer #1) 9/15/2021
- Thread starter fonzerrillii
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White people all online are already shitting on it for the black cast. They hate that it's not "about them". The show will only make one season....
4400 Premiere Review: “Past Is Prologue”
The CW’s reboot is weighed down by too much exposition.
When influencer Gabby Petito went missing last month, activists asked why so much more attention was paid to the disappearance of a young white woman than the cases of missing people of color. That conflict is at the heart of 4400, The CW’s reboot of the 2004 USA Network series The 4400 about 4400 missing people who spontaneously reappear together. But the earnest effort to reframe the plot as a racial justice narrative gets off to a rough start thanks to clunky dialogue and an attempt to introduce far too many characters.
“Past Is Prologue” starts out pretty similarly to the original series, though the 4400 fall out of the sky in a Detroit park instead of all appearing in a ball of light in Seattle. In both cases they’re rounded up by Department of Homeland Security agents, who soon discover the returned can be traced to missing persons cases spanning decades and that they seemingly haven’t aged since they disappeared.
The CW’s version features a primarily Black cast, explicitly depicting all of the missing people as marginalized or undervalued in their times. But the show’s seemingly tiny budget gets in the way of its efforts to make the political points it’s striving for. The original series provided a commentary on the growing security state following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, examining the American government’s fear of threats within its borders and the ways people might seek any chance of empowerment in a chaotic world. In its pilot, the 4400 are quickly processed and imprisoned, the characters largely introduced in institutional uniforms.
In the new version, they’re oddly stashed in a shabby hotel lobby and left in their own clothes without any significant medical examinations. This is despite the fact that it’s a post-COVID show, with their guards wearing masks seemingly just to make them more ominous while the protagonists can show their faces and wear their period-appropriate attire in a thin attempt to help us keep track of the huge ensemble. The series clearly wants to evoke the sentiments and imagery of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, but there are too few guards, and the ones there lack body armor or heavy weaponry. This might be required for some future plot point, but it feels sloppy and disingenuous. Also adding to the weakness of the setting is the fact that while it’s set in Detroit, it’s filmed in Chicago. The mismatch prevents a real establishment of place.
Even worse is the dialogue. Rather than take the time to introduce all the primary characters slowly, 4400’s writers have rushed to try to jam in as many as possible in the pilot. The result leaves them largely feeling like thin archetypes constantly shouting their backstories at anyone who will listen. They’re regularly making it clear what times they come from in the most unsubtle ways possible, such as noting the last thing they remember was watching Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, or asking if ragtime is still a popular musical genre.
The most attention is given to Shanice (Brittany Adebumola), a lawyer who disappeared from 2005 on her first day back from maternity leave. Adebumola does a solid job of portraying believable panic and grief as she desperately tries to get back to the life she left behind, but it makes the placid attitudes of the other 4400 feel ludicrous by comparison. The only other detainee who even puts up much of a protest is party girl LaDonna (Khailah Johnson), and that just comes off as an awful stereotype as all she actually wants is her phone back.
While members of the 4400 might really want to share their stories with each other given the shocking situation they find themselves in, it’s really inexplicable for their caretakers, parole officers Jharrel Mateo (Joseph David-Jones) and Keisha (Ireon Roach), who dump their tragic motivations on each other the first time they meet for drinks. While the show is clearly trying to go for the same partners-with-conflicting-styles dynamic as the original’s Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie), which itself was a riff on The X-Files’ Mulder and Scully, the intimacy between those agents was forged over the course of numerous intense episodes rather than a single conversation.
Like in the original, some of the returned discover they’ve come back with superpowers. Most notably, ‘50s civil rights activist and preacher’s wife Claudette (Jaye Ladymore) discovers she can regenerate from wounds. Watching her enlist others to help her experiment with her abilities is charming, but as LaDonna’s exasperated comments that she’s locked up with a member of the X-Men indicate, this isn’t exactly an original ability. The 4400 broke from traditional superhero archetypes with a focus on powers that were more likely to change the course of the entire world rather than being useful in a fight, setting that standard early with characters with prophetic visions and the ability to heal others. For all its political ambitions, it would be a shame if 4400 was lacking that same vision for its speculative fiction.
Verdict
The 4400 was an incredible series, so any attempt to produce a worthy successor was going to be a challenge. So far, 4400 hasn’t even come close. Updating the show’s politics with a diverse cast may be a noble effort, but “Past Is Prologue” seems to miss what made the original so powerful. The writers are showing a remarkable lack of trust in their audience to keep up as they overtly explain the themes and characters, undermining the narrative with too much weak exposition.
4400 Premiere Review: “Past Is Prologue” - IGN
A tiny budget and clunky dialogue keep The CW’s 4400 from providing a worthy successor to The 4400.www.ign.com
Damn that was discouraging
I'm going to check this out for myself but the review sounds consistent with the trailer
They hated but supported Lovecraft and watchmen once they started off strong
So we will see
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I thought Watchmen kept pace with itself.
Yes it did but white fan boys were pissed when they found out who the lead was and where the narrative was headed and were trying to trash it
but couldn't
Ok I’m firing this up…. 5 minutes in and I’ve already got issues.
This dialogue is the fucking worst…..
I love the fact that this is almost a pure black cast…
but man…
I’m going to give it the 4 episode treatment.
if this isn’t better by ep 3 … I’m out
but man…
I’m going to give it the 4 episode treatment.
if this isn’t better by ep 3 … I’m out
She’s black …. I think she’s armed.. really!!! 
is this what we are going to do…. This entire series.
is this what we are going to do…. This entire series.
So now we group up to randomly shout let us out… of this random hotel where … 4400 are supposed to be staying.. with a handful of police …
where we are questioned by of all people… a fucking probation officer…
you have people who have fucking fallen out of the sky… and the first person to question them is not the FBI, CIA, or anyone from Homeland but a fucking probation officer.
Also… why is every black person that was taken.. a racial stereotype from the era that they were taken.
The only one that isn’t a stereotype so far is the chick taken in the first scene.
where we are questioned by of all people… a fucking probation officer…
you have people who have fucking fallen out of the sky… and the first person to question them is not the FBI, CIA, or anyone from Homeland but a fucking probation officer.
Also… why is every black person that was taken.. a racial stereotype from the era that they were taken.
The only one that isn’t a stereotype so far is the chick taken in the first scene.
Man this is bad….
We have 4400
but yeah… we have the budget for 44
We have 4400
but yeah… we have the budget for 44
This woman is a national security threat….
that’s why we have her being questioned by a probation officer…
Don’t care that this is a black cast… no mercy
that’s why we have her being questioned by a probation officer…
Don’t care that this is a black cast… no mercy
The fact that this show thinks that parole officers are the same as cops… should be all you need to know about the quality of the writing.
If she gets her fucking phone back and if that fucker still has service…. Fuck this show….
and now you have this woman playing Lucile on a gawd damn piano!!!
and now you have this woman playing Lucile on a gawd damn piano!!!
Where the hell are they holding the rest of these 4400 people
These people fell out of the fucking sky…..
and Now you say…. They are bringing in NASA
and Now you say…. They are bringing in NASA
She’s black …. I think she’s armed.. really!!!
is this what we are going to do…. This entire series.
This woman is a national security threat….
that’s why we have her being questioned by a probation officer…
Don’t care that this is a black cast… no mercy
This sounds like me watching chibnils doctor who run. Lmao
But yeah, I knew this shit would suck. Of was too damn good for them to ever try to remake it. If anything a sequel would have been welcome.
I watched the original 4400 series in its first run, and speaking as a fan, I don't like this shit at all. Like Fonzerrillii said, the writing is just terrible. Under what circumstances would a probation officer be called in to deal with Missing Persons who vanished throughout time and reappeared without aging. The original series came up with some post-9/11 pretext to consider the 4400 a security threat that allowed them to be quarantined for a time, but this show hasn't established any such pretext which makes it all the more puzzling why the guards and the PO are treating these people with so much hostility. While they somehow managed to establish an LGBT plotline within the first 10 minutes, they've failed to setup any credible character development thus far.
For the sake of the predominately black cast, I'll give this more of a shot than I did "The Republic of Sarah", but I get the feeling this won't last more than a season. It's funny, now that CW has committed to expanding its primetime programming 7 days a week, a lot of it's flagship series are winding down and the new ones meant to replace them are not nearly as strong. Reminds me of when USA shifted from Blue Skies to We the Bold and now there just a place to watch SVU and Chicago PD reruns.
For the sake of the predominately black cast, I'll give this more of a shot than I did "The Republic of Sarah", but I get the feeling this won't last more than a season. It's funny, now that CW has committed to expanding its primetime programming 7 days a week, a lot of it's flagship series are winding down and the new ones meant to replace them are not nearly as strong. Reminds me of when USA shifted from Blue Skies to We the Bold and now there just a place to watch SVU and Chicago PD reruns.
I just finished the pilot episode this evening.
The series jumps off completely different from the original in how it plays out.
People from all over the world are taken, but the series mainly follows a small number of Black characters from different time eras going back to the 1940s United States.
Unlike the original series, it goes more in-depth on the characters reactions when they arrive in 2021. The series takes note on what is going on today in American politics and culture and how the characters react to it and slowly notice that times really have not changed.
Critics and reviews are knocking the show, mainly because it is focusing primarily on Black characters unlike the original.
There is no preachy messaging or anything close to it, its mainly the characters reactions and comments to the world around them.
There are three white characters along with the story so far. But they have small supporting roles and are not a major focus of the story.
For the Militants, its starts right off with Interracial between the main female character and a white male. They are in the bed cuddling and smooching. If you watch the pilot episode, things go sour quickly in a way you would not think.
For the Gay Agenda trackers, there is lesbianism between a BW/WW, nothing was shown in the pilot. It looks like their relationship is on the down low.
Some of the characters start discovering they have abilities in the pilot.
If you looking for a decent Sci-Fi series with a predominately Black cast, this will do for now.
You want more Black Sci-Fi, then you need to watch and support this show.
It's available free on the CW App where they can track ratings for it.
The series jumps off completely different from the original in how it plays out.
People from all over the world are taken, but the series mainly follows a small number of Black characters from different time eras going back to the 1940s United States.
Unlike the original series, it goes more in-depth on the characters reactions when they arrive in 2021. The series takes note on what is going on today in American politics and culture and how the characters react to it and slowly notice that times really have not changed.
Critics and reviews are knocking the show, mainly because it is focusing primarily on Black characters unlike the original.
There is no preachy messaging or anything close to it, its mainly the characters reactions and comments to the world around them.
There are three white characters along with the story so far. But they have small supporting roles and are not a major focus of the story.
For the Militants, its starts right off with Interracial between the main female character and a white male. They are in the bed cuddling and smooching. If you watch the pilot episode, things go sour quickly in a way you would not think.
For the Gay Agenda trackers, there is lesbianism between a BW/WW, nothing was shown in the pilot. It looks like their relationship is on the down low.
Some of the characters start discovering they have abilities in the pilot.
If you looking for a decent Sci-Fi series with a predominately Black cast, this will do for now.
You want more Black Sci-Fi, then you need to watch and support this show.
It's available free on the CW App where they can track ratings for it.
I'm all for a reboot but I'm not overly excited about it being on CW.
Thanks for th write up gonna check it out and give it a shot.
Am I the only person who hasn't heard anything about this? Is it already on TV?
Thank you.
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The show is fucking dumb… I’m not not going to give a show a pass just cause it has a black cast…
i didn’t do it for black lightning and I’m not doing it for this show..
they have a fucking probation officer interviewing people that literally dropped from the sky… they saw these people drop from the sky and instead of maybe keeping them in an isolated containment location.. they are keeping only a few of them in a fucking Hotel…
i watched the second episode and it doesn’t get any better..
the show has two more episodes to pull me in.. but right now I don’t have any faith in this show.
i didn’t do it for black lightning and I’m not doing it for this show..
they have a fucking probation officer interviewing people that literally dropped from the sky… they saw these people drop from the sky and instead of maybe keeping them in an isolated containment location.. they are keeping only a few of them in a fucking Hotel…
i watched the second episode and it doesn’t get any better..
the show has two more episodes to pull me in.. but right now I don’t have any faith in this show.
no one is talking about it cause it’s stupid.
everything is fucking forced …. The dialogue doesn’t not get any better on episode 2 and the budget on this is horrible..
4400 people and it just seems like it’s barely 40
Yeah but normally I’d see some promo for it.
I'm 4 episodes in and I'm tapping out. Initially, as a fan of the original series, based off of the trailer it seemed like an interesting take on the premise. 4400 people plucked from various periods in American history, and all end up in modern society with strange emerging powers... only this time most of the people are black. I thought, cool, it should be interesting to see the black experience from various points in American history juxtaposed against our modern era. But surprise, this shit is one big love letter to the Alphabet gang. What started with the swirling, lesbian PO who made no sense whatsoever to the situation at hand has now devolved into multiple trans characters, including a relationship that comes out of nowhere, gay conversion therapy in the black church, and more.
I'm too lazy to actually look into who's writing this shit, but my money is on a bunch of LGBT, swirlers, from Oxtail Twitter. I hate when folks take great IP and basterdize it. The original series was a classic, if this shit makes it to a second season it will be largely due to the portion of people who accidentally fell asleep watching All American.
Oh shit… it got worse. I couldn’t finish episode 2.
Just finished watching episodes 2 to 5 this morning.
It’s a slow burn series with character introduction, backstory on the major 4400 abductee characters and story development in those episodes.
The backstory’s I suppose are supposed to give some insight on why they were chosen. We won’t know accurately until later.
For the gay agenda trackers. Lots of LGBT stuff. If that offends you, don’t bother watching especially with what is shown in episodes 4 and 5 with the black doctor.
For you cats going crazy because of the parole officer, social worker, Dept of Corrections and the 4400 holed up in a hotel in Michigan, it looks like they were there as part of what devious plan the government is up to. It has become obvious as you watch it the government knows more than what they have disclosed on the 4400.
The end of episode 5 is where the series begins to take a different direction and looks to follow more of the original series, except it looks to go more in a darker path.
There are 2 more episodes left for the first half of the season and it’s scheduled to return in January to conclude in mid February for a total of 13 episodes for season one.
It’s a slow burn series with character introduction, backstory on the major 4400 abductee characters and story development in those episodes.
The backstory’s I suppose are supposed to give some insight on why they were chosen. We won’t know accurately until later.
For the gay agenda trackers. Lots of LGBT stuff. If that offends you, don’t bother watching especially with what is shown in episodes 4 and 5 with the black doctor.
For you cats going crazy because of the parole officer, social worker, Dept of Corrections and the 4400 holed up in a hotel in Michigan, it looks like they were there as part of what devious plan the government is up to. It has become obvious as you watch it the government knows more than what they have disclosed on the 4400.
The end of episode 5 is where the series begins to take a different direction and looks to follow more of the original series, except it looks to go more in a darker path.
There are 2 more episodes left for the first half of the season and it’s scheduled to return in January to conclude in mid February for a total of 13 episodes for season one.
In all fairness The 4400 did the same exact thing where it only seemed like 38 white folks and a single black dude.
I usually try to let the writing speak for itself, but a lot of the stories lead to some LGBT storyline. They practically said we'll give you a primarily black cast but we're gonna make the majority of them apart of the alphabet crew.
they only showed a couple people but it felt like a world wide problem…. And they didn’t keep them in a small hotel where they were overseen by a probation officer of all people. Like the optics on this are bs…. You have a group of “marginalized” people who drop from the sky and instead of putting a black scientist the writer thought that it made more sense to have a black probation officer…
