What’s Happening With... The 4400?
That’s why I’ve started this new column “What’s happening with.” I don’t like to report on good shows that have been cancelled. Frankly, it’s a little depressing. But my experience with The 4400 has told me that people are very often left in the dark about such matters, so we’ve decided to devote a regular spot to shows that may be “in trouble,” in order to let fans know where they can go to rally behind the show, and in what other forms the show may be continued. Before Inter-Galaxy Portal was conceived, I spent several months blogging for Illusion Television. It’s been five months since that project ended, but I still get regular comments regarding the 4400. Most of these comments are from people who are only now finding out for the first time that the show was cancelled, even though it was announced in December. A lot of the confusion lies in the fact that that there wasn’t much of an announcement from the USA Network regarding the cancellation. Instead what went out was a notice on message boards from creator Scott Peters, regarding the cancellation. Many people who didn’t regularly read the message boards are only finding out now that the show was cancelled while trying to find out when the show will be on again.
The USA Network blamed the cancellation on a combination of low ratings and the writers strike. Needless to say, the show ended somewhat abruptly, leaving many loose ends. This sudden cancellation hasn’t stopped many fans try to bring the series back though. Following a similar pattern to the Jericho “nuts” campaign where viewers sent thousands of pounds of peanuts to producers of the show, a campaign was set up to send sunflower seeds to SciFi/USA Network president Bonnie Hammer. The campaign has since shifted to the president of NBC/Universal, Jeff Zucker. As yet though, there has been no indications that USA are willing bring back the cancelled show. This may be because even though Jericho was brought back due in part to the nuts campaign, it didn’t stop it being, once again, cancelled. The fight to bring back this show still continues however, via this online petition which as of July, has close to one thousand signatures. Whether that is enough is anyone’s guess, but if you haven’t already, I would definitely sign this petition. While most fans would prefer to see the show at least picked up by another network (the show would be a perfect fit for the Sci-Fi Channel) or a two hour movie to wrap up loose ends, fans can still get more of the show in one other way, in the form of TV tie-in novels. Last June saw the release of the first 4400 novel: The Vesuvius Prophecy by much-loved Trek author, Greg Cox. October sees the release of yet another 4400 novel, Wet Work by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. While these novels don’t continue on in the way that the Season 8 comic series has for Buffy fans, it’s certainly a way to keep the stories alive, at least until someone else is able to come along and pick up The 4400. And when that time comes, we’ll be right here reporting it! Return from What's Happening with...The 4400 to TV
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