Through a strange series of circumstances I happened to be looking at the website for the really fantastic sci-fi television show The 4400, and I saw the following:
Los Angeles, CA, March 1, 2005 - THE 4400, the critically acclaimed hit series from Paramount Network Television, begins production on its second season this week in Vancouver. Production on the series, which will air Sundays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on USA Network, resumes with the episode entitled "Wake-Up Call." The series will premiere with a special two-hour episode on Sunday, June 5 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).
This is fantastic news! It's a gripping sci-fi story, which also raises some interesting civil liberties questions. Here's the general plot: Over the last century, thousands of people have gone missing without a trace. One day, on a day not so different from today, the military detects a comet hurtling towards Earth. Moments before impacting, the huge ball of light descends and then stops just a few hundred feet above a lake in the Pacific Northwest, then explodes in a huge flash. In that same instant, 4400 of the missing people materialize on the shore of the lake, not knowing where they are, or even realizing that they'd been gone, appearing as they were on the day they vanished.Unclear what this world-altering event means, the government isolates them, investigates them, and eventually, grudgingly, releases the 4400 into the population. All the while, the Department of Homeland Security keeps close watch on the 4400. It doesn't take long before investigators realize that many of the 4400 have strange powers which pose risks to themselves, and to others. Over time, the conservative media begin a campaign of suspicion and prejudice, which adds to the inability of the 4400 to return to some semblance of normlacy.Over the course of several episodes, investigators begin to piece together where they've been and why they've been returned, and it quickly becomes apparent that their presence will change the human race in ways no one could have ever foreseen.USA will be rebroadcasting the original episodes in May. You should definitely check it out!