Report on the 4400: "Wraith of Graham"

Give me a minute to catch my breath! There's "hitting the ground running" and then there is hitting the ground running faster than Barry Allen!

If anyone was unsure of this new direction "The 4400" is taking with Season Four, Sunday night's opener should alleviate all fears.

Frankly, I was one of them that worried about the new direction. After all the upheaval of Season Three's conclusion (Promicin distribution, Isabelle's de-powering, Shawn's coma, Alana abducted, Diana's vacation and The 4400 Center's closing), I wondered if the show I was tuning into would be the same world I've grown to love over the first three years.

I really shouldn't have worried. While just about everything in the 4400 universe is new, this is definitely the same world, and I love the direction everything is moving in -- not only is it intriguing, but I also feel like its a logical progression, not just interesting writing.

So what were the major developments? Well, it looks like Diana is coming back to Seattle, right now on a less-stress consultant basis. Shawn was woke up from his coma by Kyle injecting him with promicin -- an idea given to him by a mysterious redhead who knows much too much. Tom found out where Alana is -- she was sent back to the 19th century (looks like she stayed there for a while) -- and Isabelle, who is really unhappy, pointed him toward it. Also, Collier is feeling guilty over how many people have died taking the shot, though he still believes he was right. Tess' same guilt has driven her back to her schitzofrenic ways, and ran away -- Dr. Burkoff has taken off looking for her.

Oh, and there was also a fantastic storyline to the show, where one unpopular and unnoticed high school kid took the shot, leading to powers to make everyone love and follow him. He damn near took over the world, had Jordan Collier not shown up and used HIS ABILITY to Remove the boy's Promicin!

As I said, they hit the ground Sprinting!

Now then, let's get to the random thoughts!

1) One of the only disappointments for me in this episode is the lack of Richard Tyler. I'm a big fan of his character, and his absence from the cast this year is a major downer.

2) Since when does Isabelle actually know ANYTHING about the future's plans? Wasn't she always in the dark?

3) I couldn't be more curious about the girl Cassie that Kyle talked to. I have a feeling she is tied to his power, which he says he doesn't have... of course Graham said he had none either at first... I wonder if Cassie is from the future?

4) I had read in an interview that we weren't going to see Tess after the first episode for a while... that said, I'm still gonna miss her character, one of my favorites...

5) However, I like how they removed her, and the dream sequence where she runs into whats-her-name 4400 secretary girl was fantastic!

6) And, speaking of dream sequences, I loved how they opened the episode with Collier's... it was not only intriguing, but it also sets a three-dimensional tone for his character this year, that he's not just a mindless messiah

7) And, speaking of dream sequences, what high school age kid has not had one where the hottest girl in school shows up at your door and says "I came to be with you" ??? Graham, you lucky kid!

8) For now, I say Diana's vacation/coming back to Seattle story is a piece of crap... Everyone knew she was coming back, why did we need all that "going off to Spain" stuff? I hope I am proved wrong and there is a good reason...

9) I feel like they are out of ideas on how to involve Maia in stories

10) I have a feeling Shawn is going to be a badass when he's back on his feet... I cannot wait...

That's it for me! I'm off to make a giant shrine to Graham!