4400 3.3: "Being Tom Baldwin"

Written by Shintaro Shimosawa and James Morris
Directed by Colin Bucksey


In a sense, this episode is a melding of the “4400 of the Week” format of the first and second seasons and the renewed focus on the series mythology that stands to define the third season. By connecting the new 4400 in this episode to the Nova Group, the writers manage to keep the overall narrative flowing while exploring the specific difficulties in dealing with a meta-human able to change appearance at will.

I’ll be honest: I think that the execution of this particular idea didn’t go far enough. It was a solid enough concept, and the episode didn’t necessarily have much wrong with it, but it seemed less involved than I would have anticipated. For one thing, the manhunt for Tom seemed rather thin, and it was a little too easy for Diana to run around without oversight. Just the fact that she could help Tom, deal with the boss, and still have time to work with Burkhoff is a bit of a cheat.

The central plot is fairly simple: the Nova Group decides to eliminate a member in custody and implicate one of the more prominent members of the NTAC team in the process. Oddly, they choose to frame Tom, despite the fact that he is one of the NTAC agents with clear sympathies for the 4400. Why eliminate a potential resource like that? But that’s part of what Alana points out in the episode: the Nova Group continues to use methods that undermine their own philosophy. If they seek to place the needs and purpose of the 4400 over all else, using their own people as expendable soldiers makes little sense.

At the heart of Boyd’s ability is the hint of something more than shape-shifting. In essence, Boyd projects a mental image that convinces the “victim” that he is who he says he is. This seems to include a mental connection deep enough to establish something of a telepathic link. Boyd is able to pull details and information from the “victim”, which speaks to an enormous untapped potential.

Speaking of untapped potential, Isabelle and Dr. Burkhoff are on two different sides of the 4400 coin. Dr. Burkhoff has been taking serious liberties with the ideals of research science, and frankly, Diana is nuts to be letting this happen on her watch. She has to know she’s compromised morally, even if Burkhoff is rather insistent. Burkhoff’s ideas about changing the world aren’t so far removed from Nova Group rhetoric, and that could be a problem if he succeeds. (Again, hints that this will lead to the catastrophic events that require the 4400 in the first place.) But the ongoing implication is that the promycin is unlocking the latent abilities within every human being.

If so, Isabelle seems to have the potential to demonstrate all possible 4400 abilities, which is disturbing on many levels. To continue the “X-Men” analogy, Isabelle is not unlike the Phoenix (right down to the signature sexy green outfit). She has enormous potential, but emotionally and psychologically, she’s on thin ice. She’s using her abilities for questionable but trivial things right now, but I can’t help but wonder how quickly that will change. Matthew seems to think that Isabelle could become the standard-bearer for the Nova Group philosophy, basically putting her at odds with Sean. By pushing her into Sean’s arms, Matthew may be trying to facilitate that.

I have no doubt that the writers are still working out the process of incorporating the episodic elements into this more serialized format, so it’s easy to forgive some of the stumbling in the plotting of this episode. While Tom’s decisions are questionable, Diana seems to have far more latitude than the circumstances should allow.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. The most recent episodes are related to “The 4400”, so it might be something of interest . Go to entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10