Terry J. Erdmann has chosen a great direction for exactly what he discusses in "The 4400: the Official Companion Seasons 1 and 2" that places this and his previous work for the official "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion" well above episode guides for any other series. This guide has all the right stuff. No offense to the crew, but it didn't waste time on technical details like special effects, stunt coordination, or location shoots. It just focussed on the writers' inspirations and difficulties, the actors' experiences, and the studio and network producers' thoughts. My one complaint about it was that there wasn't enough of what it already had. I just wanted more -- more stories and funny anecdotes from the actors and writers, more discussion by the writers about how they came up with certain ideas, who exactly came up with what, and who wrote what.

One aspect that either wasn't covered or was barely touched upon was the political exploration of the show. In Seasons 1 and 2, The 4400 discusses issues of religion, identity politics among a minority, and the conflict between freedom and security. Just as with Ira Steven Behr's guidance of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," we increasingly find here serious and fair illustration of historical issues that have only come to the fore of the mainstream US media's focus (and only superficially so) in the post-9/11 world. There are certain thematic links between that pre-9/11 series and this one. Later seasons of The 4400 delve into the nature and causes of terrorism, toruture, religious fundamentalism, religious and political revolutionary movements (including rarely-expressed doubt among leaders), and conflicting visions of the good society between socialist equality and hierarchical, unfettered capitalism. (I've written some Season 4 reviews on tv.com and other sites in an effort to bring to light these themes and connect them to historical and present-day issues.)

Unlike most TV fiction that formulaically posits a conflict between our absolutely good heroes and some inherent evil in "the other," The 4400 increasingly succeeds in mimicking the real world by avoiding absolutes; all the heroes are fallible, and all adversaries have the potential for kindness. It shows quite brilliantly that conflict comes from varying perceptions and interests and not between good and evil, as some world leaders would have us believe. It might be a good idea to explore the political nature of The 4400 in future guides, especially for Seasons 3 and 4, and -- hopefully -- seasons beyond.

It's definitely as much a testament to the show as to Mr. Erdmann's wonderful work that has written a guide leaving me starving for even more insight into this dramatically-realistic and increasingly politically-insightful series.



*I still haven't watched the last 2 episodes, so I shall now try to leave this thread, as I have others, because I don't wanna read no spoilers.

S3's companion guide will be in stores on Nov 20th!!!

I would agree that the good guys have been shown with flaws but the Marked don't seem to have a corresponding redeeming moments. Maybe I'm missing them. It would make the show more compelling.

The Marked are very much a commentary on the increasing economic divide of the world, especially America, between haves and have-nots.

The Marked are not wonderful people, but neither are those in the Bush administration, especially the upper echelons, like Carl Rove and Bush's advisors, and Condoleza Rice. Have you seen Frontline biographies on these people? They're pretty selfish.

The Marked are dedicated to a hierarchical form of society. Their attitude is that it's natural -- that they should condescend to the rest of humanity. The same can be said of neoconservatives who condescendingly planned how Muslims deserve to live in the Middle East by forcing them to do what they want. They have similarly disregarded the interests of the poor and gays to appeal to the religious and now fiscally conservative elments of the right in their pursuit of power. Most of them have served on or still have connections to energy corporations. VP Cheney has connections to Haliburton and obtained contracts for them even though they offered inferior services at a higher price than better companies. The same has actually happened with inferior, more costly body armor due to insider illegal dealing of contracts, just as The 4400 hinted in "The Truth and Nothing but the Truth". Here's a news story that backs that up:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/ju...rmor_09-21.html

Here's another story (showing interviews with the inhabitants who are Christian environmentalists) about how a poor community in the Appalachians is dealing with constant pollution of their water supply from mountain top coal mining that's being alllowed because Bush has expanded the rights of corporations to do whatever they want. He would allow this near his drinking water!
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09072007/profile.html

The Marked aren't the typical evil bad guy who think of themselves as evil. They have a certain belief system that justifies their great lives. The same can be said for those in the Bush administration and among many in right wing America and the world who feel unfettered capitalism provides the answers to the good society. The use of a Microsoft-like comparison manipulating the market to allow them to remain on top illustrated some of this.

The Marked honestly feel that Jordan Collier's socialist vision of empowering the public to bring about equality is wrong and threatens their way of life. In the same way, many of us might respond negatively to socialist policies if we were very rich or just indoctrinated with an ideology that persuades us materialism and unfettered capitalism is the right way. This isn't to say Jordan's way is perfectly moral We might be right to not put our faith in the instability Jordan Collier promises. However, The Marked's way is here and now and presents a dilemma humanity has dealt with often in contemporary society. The Marked have no qualms about amassing power, and that's akin to the darkest aspects of human nature.

I'm going to be careful about whether I respond or not because I still haven't watched the last 2 episodes!