The 4400 8/6/2006 (S03E10) "The Starlz Mutation"

[dswallow]

Finally, he's back.

Now maybe things can get back on track.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Sending the 4400 back to a major metropolitan area in the hope that enough of them will marry among the 128 Starlz Mutation children who were born and might still live in the area to make a difference seems kind of, I don't know, statistically challenged?

[dswallow]

Sending the 4400 back to a major metropolitan area in the hope that enough of them will marry among the 128 Starlz Mutation children who were born and might still live in the area to make a difference seems kind of, I don't know, statistically challenged?
It must've been obvious, though, since the bad guys were able to figure it out. :p

[painkiller]

And wouldn't you know it, the first such product is out to kill the rest.

And this makes sense, how??

[drew2k]

Sending the 4400 back to a major metropolitan area in the hope that enough of them will marry among the 128 Starlz Mutation children who were born and might still live in the area to make a difference seems kind of, I don't know, statistically challenged?That's not the only challenge this show has. Now that Jordan's back, the real challenge will be to see if the writers can restore the fans' confidence in this show. I am so tired of Isabel and can't wait for (preview discussion follows)Jordan to confront her. It also looks like Jordan will be confronting Kyle: "Did you kill me?"Let's get this show back on track!

[drew2k]

Another thought: The cigar-maker warned Sean that he could see a "possible" future. Well, Sean saw two separate futures, and two versions of one of them. If he marries Isabel, he kills Richard because Richard turned the 4400 against the normals and riots break out. If he doesn't marry Isabel, there's some how a "catastrophe". It's a shame the future is so vague about things. How can a guy decide whether or not to marry when his cigar is not just a cigar?

[atrac]

40 bucks? I'd have paid it!

[mhalver]

Sending the 4400 back to a major metropolitan area in the hope that enough of them will marry among the 128 Starlz Mutation children who were born and might still live in the area to make a difference seems kind of, I don't know, statistically challenged?


That may not have actually been their plan. The military observed it in relation to the mutation, but maybe there were no plans as to them reproducing at all, or maybe Starzl is just one of many mutations that would have the effect.

[danplaysbass]

Are we to think that the black dude had the Starlz mutation as well? How else could he have been killed?

[Rob Helmerichs]

Are we to think that the black dude had the Starlz mutation as well? How else could he have been killed?
Uh, because the white dude had developed the 4400 ability of dehydrating people?

He was killing them because they had the Starlz Mutation, but he could have killed anybody he wanted to.

[johnspalm]

Now maybe things can get back on track.

Back on track???

This whole season has been pretty much dedicated to advancing the story arc, as opposed to the "4400-of-the-week" stories from last season. With Collier back in play, it will accelerate things even further.

BTW, this episode was probably one of the best ones of this season.

[5thcrewman]

Oh so many things to rip on! ;)

1. The cigar-maker played by the actor who usually does Asian roles (Indian/Pakistani)!

2. Nice cross-series tie-in: Starlz Mutation explains Meredith Gray!

3. Dead Dudes- RUSTED!

4. Billy Campbell better stay off the PCH, lest he gets confused for someone else:
http://bear-blog.blogspirit.com/images/medium_mel-gibson.4.jpg

[mrpantstm]

I agree, the Starlz Mutation seems like such a slight correlation. It may have been their intention but wouldn't they have taken the husbands/wives/etc of the people with the Starlz Mutation if they really wanted to reproduce 4400?

The return of Collier should be interesting. The visions Sean had were incredibly vague.

[myriadian]

so, do we think lily's only contribution was possibly being a starzl mutation carrier? she never developed any abilities that i can remember and she and richard were on the run so were off the inhibitor for a long time. plus she was preggers with a baby who was probably spewing promycin everywhere inside her.

so her only contribution was being able to mate with a 4400? but..the 'good' guys from the future took her originally.....and the 'bad' guys in the future got her pregnant with the A-bomb that is isabelle.....so...why was she taken at first at all?

grrrrr.

to be fair, we don't know who richard organized the 4400's to attack, they just said 'them' or something. so it could have been the military superheroes or the govt in general or isabelle's faction or...whoever...canada!

i miss tom's gf, i've forgotten her name already. :(

M.

p.s. collier blows.

[appleye1]

Oh so many things to rip on! ;)

1. The cigar-maker played by the actor who usually does Asian roles (Indian/Pakistani)!
...


Babu!

[waving finger] "You're a bad man Shawn Farrell, you're a berry berry bad man!" [/waving finger]

:D

[katbug]

Heeee's baaaaaack! Ok, so the JC reference in his name weren't enough...gotta add the long hair and beard just in case someone missed the reference the first time? Should be interesting to see where this goes from here, and how he is able to come back.
I sure wish Sean and Tom would actually talk so Sean could know how much help Tom might be in "solving a problem like Isabelle". Ugh, she's served her purpose by providing the promyacin, can't she die now?
Looks like a lose/lose situation in the future. Wish Sean had given Isabelle a toke off that cigar...maybe it would change her mind about having Tom give her the needle.

[myriadian]

hahahaha so we're all pro-euthanasia now? ;) re: isabelle.

M.

[unicorngoddess]

So now I'm left wondering....wedding or no wedding??? The previews for next week didn't seem to indicate if it would actually happen. Would Isabelle really let Shawn call it off just because Jordan is back???

[katbug]

hahahaha so we're all pro-euthanasia now? ;) re: isabelle.

M.
lol, amazing how quickly our values change when it comes to tv characters! Bwaaahaaahaaa! Yep, give her the needle! :D

[Test]

I dont see that $40 guy getting with a 4400 and creating any offsrping...

probably the best ep of the season? so far...

[Church AV Guy]

Not to be too pedantic here, but according to the web site, it is spelled Starzl, not Starlz.

I wonder if Collier will tell us that he never heard of Matthew Ross and never told him to come and "help" Shawn?

Okay Jordan: a shower and a shave.

Tom: inject Isabelle already.

Considering what happened the last time Tom and Diana dealt with Ryland, I'm surprised he didn't have them escorted out of the building using extreme violence. Ryland was being amazingly cordial.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but in this case, it isn't. Visions of the future are tricky.

Why doesn't somebody start asking Maia about the future? She was better at it than anyone. Which reminds me, since the promicin inhibitor was stopped, shouldn't she be seeing more and more detailed images of the future? And, she saw Diana as a monster, which never happened. Has that been dropped on the assumption that they stopped the injections before the transformation reached that point, or will it play out in the future sometime?

[drew2k]

. . .

And, she saw Diana as a monster, which never happened. Has that been dropped on the assumption that they stopped the injections before the transformation reached that point, or will it play out in the future sometime?Maia was correct - Diana was kidnapped by Burkhoff, who had a monstrous appearance.

[avery]

Why doesn't somebody start asking Maia about the future? She was better at it than anyone. Which reminds me, since the promicin inhibitor was stopped, shouldn't she be seeing more and more detailed images of the future?


She is... but since this season the writers seemed to feel she wasn't important enough anymore, they made little room in the scripts for her character. They bury them in her diary, where she "writes" about her visions every week - on the 4400/USA site.

[Stormspace]

She is... but since this season the writers seemed to feel she wasn't important enough anymore, they made little room in the scripts for her character. They bury them in her diary, where she "writes" about her visions every week - on the 4400/USA site.

I got the impression that since the inhibitor had been discontinued that she could control her visions better. To me this meant that she could suppress them, only calling on them when she wanted and for what she wanted.

[dcheesi]

Another thought: The cigar-maker warned Sean that he could see a "possible" future. Well, Sean saw two separate futures, and two versions of one of them. If he marries Isabel, he kills Richard because Richard turned the 4400 against the normals and riots break out. If he doesn't marry Isabel, there's some how a "catastrophe". It's a shame the future is so vague about things. How can a guy decide whether or not to marry when his cigar is not just a cigar?I'm not convinced that there was any difference in the two futures besides what side Sean was on. In both cases he had a similar appearance; in both there was some kind of "civil unrest" going on. In fact, I don't know for sure that we can say he's on different sides, since we don't know which side Tom ends up on. About the only thing we can say is that Isabelle and her dad have a bit of a "falling out" ;)

[gchance]

Why doesn't somebody start asking Maia about the future? She was better at it than anyone.

Aren't Maia's visions in the NEAR future, like the next day or so? I don't seem to remember any of hers being more than a day or two away.

Greg

[drew2k]

Aren't Maia's visions in the NEAR future, like the next day or so? I don't seem to remember any of hers being more than a day or two away.

GregDidn't Maia predict in season one that someone would come and make everything all better, and she was referring to Kyle awakening from the coma? It was kind of a vague, open-ended prediction, but I don't recall anything getting much better after that ...

[unicorngoddess]

Didn't Maia predict in season one that someone would come and make everything all better, and she was referring to Kyle awakening from the coma? It was kind of a vague, open-ended prediction, but I don't recall anything getting much better after that ...

Well, at the end of Season 2 she had the prediction that nothing was over and something was just beginning. That's a pretty open ended prediction as well.

[yoyo_58]

hahahaha so we're all pro-euthanasia now? ;) re: isabelle.

M.
Euthanasia? Murder is more like it. Anything, please, let's just get this girl killed off. She's horrible (acting).

Well, to be fair, there's plenty of terrible performances all around on this stinker. And yet, like a dog returning to its vomit, I keep watching it.

[IndyJones1023]

Well, Sean saw two separate futures, and two versions of one of them.
Actually, he didn't see two versions of the "him killing Richard future." He just saw more of it the second time.

[drew2k]

Actually, he didn't see two versions of the "him killing Richard future." He just saw more of it the second time.Sure he did: Sean first saw the "short" version, and then he saw the "longer" one. :D

[Bierboy]

...How can a guy decide whether or not to marry when his cigar is not just a cigar?I think it's what we called it back in the 60s -- wacky tobaccy ;)

[Anubys]

I still think that Isabel in on the "good" side from the future...I think the bad guys sent the 4400 to cause the catastrophe and Isabel was created to stop them...

the future that Sean saw only confirms this hypothesis in my mind...

if I am correct, Isabel and Ryland are the people that will save (or least try to save) the world...

[unicorngoddess]

if I am correct, Isabel and Ryland are the people that will save (or least try to save) the world...

And I bet in doing so they will probably be the cause of the reason the 4400 need to be sent back to begin with.

[wprager]

What's up with that? :confused: I went to check the latest entry and didn't pay attention to the numbering (the diary entry corresponds to the spisode number relative to the start of the season). When I started reading it I realized it was not for last week's episode but for the one that airs tomorrow.

I'm quite certain the new diary entry was usually added Monday, following the airing of the episode on Sunday night. Did someone at USANetwork screw up?

Warning: don't read entry #10 if you don't want spoilers.
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400/games/diary/index.php

[avery]

I'm quite certain the new diary entry was usually added Monday, following the airing of the episode on Sunday night...


Maia's diary entries are added shortly after the Sunday night episode ends. They're always about the following week's show.

[newsposter]

i felt like i was watching the dead zone...see a future...decided to run away...see the future....dont like it...come back...see the future...ok done with that

with all the security, how in the world did jordan get in? Or did he indentify himself? Sometimes you cant get a paperclip in that place, other times, godzilla could walk in unchecked.

I was hoping when the guy surprised them in the underground lot, that it was really a trap and they would have the life sucked out of them.

[doom1701]

And, she saw Diana as a monster, which never happened. Has that been dropped on the assumption that they stopped the injections before the transformation reached that point, or will it play out in the future sometime?

Diana did start to develop the lesions on her neck and chest--which matched quite well the picture that Maia drew.

Two questions about the ep (and I haven't seen last night's yet, so maybe the questions are answered there):

Did the guy say that the cigar showed people their future, or that it showed them the end result of their intended course of action? I interpreted it as showing them their future, but they did seem to present it as "Shawn decides to marry Isabel, and sees that future, and then decides not to and sees that future".

Either way, I'm not at all convinced that the futures were in any way different. The Richard version was obviously happening in some kind of post apocalyptic version of the future, and the Tom version was set in the same situation.

[Anubys]

he told him he could see his future...he also said that he can take steps to change that future...so it was not set in stone...

another way of saying it is that it showed him the future as it would happen had he not known about it...

[wprager]

Maia's diary entries are added shortly after the Sunday night episode ends. They're always about the following week's show.

Ah, got it. And a refresh doesn't hurt either (I went to check it out just now and it was still showing Entry 10 as the last one; after reloading the page it changed to 11.