The 4400

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Transmitted:	July 2004 - May 2008
Country of origin:	USA
Genre:	Alien conspiracy, Paranoia, Superpowers
Starring:	Jacqueline McKenzie, Joel Gretsch, Patrick John Flueger, Conchita Campbell, Chad Faust, Richard Kahan, Mahershala Ali, Billy Campbell
Rating:	3/5
No. of seasons:	4

Since 1946, 4400 people have vanished from the face of the Earth, each being scooped up by a flash of blinding white light.
Now, in 2004, a comet approaches Earth, acting very strangely.
Fearful of alien involvement, the governments of the world open fire, but to no avail.
Descending from the heavens, the comet comes to rest over a lake in America - wouldn't you know it - and is revealed as a ball of white light.
Suddenly, the ball explodes, sending out a pulse of energy powerful enough to knock over the eyewitnesses and, when the mist clears, the 4400 vanished have been returned en masse.

A neat set up, and one followed up by some strong storylines and decent dialogue. This is an ensemble piece and, though the first season is only five episodes long, still the writers were able to draw you in and make the viewer invest emotional involvement with these people.
Ripe with religious allegory, this is intelligent stuff, written mainly by those responsible for Star Trek: the Next Generation, so the sci-fi credentials are certainly strong.
Lasting four seasons, this garnered quite the cult following, and season 1 certainly titillated sufficiently to guarantee us watching the remainder here at Smell the Cult HQ.

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