(S04E01) I heard last year that the reason Jordan Collier wasn't around very much was because actor Billy Campbell was making a movie overseas and couldn't come back for filming. I don't know whether that is true or a rumor, but whatever the reason, I am glad that he is back. I thought last season was a little mixed in terms of quality, but I think this season premiere was strong. I am really looking forward to this season.

Do you think the opening dream sequence was a forecast of abilities to come? Did you see how Tom's keys flew off the counter into his hands, and Diana was able to stop time around her when Tom and Kyle were late? I knew it was a dream sequence, not just because Tom and Kyle were friendly and everybody had new abilities, but also because everyone present at Jordan's rally was wearing black, white, or gray. I love that -- it was subtle, but there if you were looking for it (and I was).

One of the things that was significant about Jordan's dream was that Alana wasn't there. That is one of the reasons I wonder if it actually does have some elements of foretelling in it (another theory is that the actress wouldn't come back).

I like the older, more mature Kyle. In his dapper cap and coat on the wintry park bench, he was friendly and appealing. I hope the girl on the bench, Cassie Dunleavy, makes a reappearance. She has a nice chemistry with Kyle. The question is: Is she one of those prescient beings from the future who seem to pop up every once in awhile? Or is knowing how to cure Shawn simply one of her abilities from taking promicin? (This would make her "extra crispy" according to geeky, always lovable Marco. I absolutely love him, and I am still laughing at that line -- the ones who are not original 4400's who develop abilities are "extra crispy" like the chicken at KFC.)

The plot of tonight's episode was about a teenage boy who takes promicin and discovers that his ability makes people follow him. His name is Graham, which I suspect is a nod to Billy Graham. The young actor was also in Gladiator, and frankly, he did a better job in Gladiator, heh heh. But the real point of this episode was to bring Jordan Collier out of hiding. And we finally found out what Jordan's ability is: He can neutralize the effects of the promicin. It remains to be seen whether he can actually have an effect on the originals, or whether it's just the extra crispies.

This episode also smacked of rounding up some loose ends that they could have taken care of in the season finale: Tom discovers that Alana was sent back to 1885. (But this is not a tragedy -- Maia was sent back in time too -- the powers that be who send the 4400s around like pawns seem to be able to control time travel like Dr. Sam Becket in Quantum Leap.) I wonder what made Isabella so super-duper eager to give Tom that information all of a sudden, but I am sure her reasons are not altruistic. She wants face-time with Shawn, I am willing to bet.

I don't understand the whole point of having Diana get married and fade into oblivion having siestas in Spain (um, having her and Maia in dresses all the time, and having Maia appear in a dress with flowers in her hand? Okay, that bouquet was like the two-by-four of Our Idyllic Life -- ugh) when she was just going to hop on a plane and come back after one phone call. Useless storyline. And I don't care that our favorite, anorexic schizophrenic Tessa has vanished either. One of the great things about the first two seasons was that there weren't so many stories and characters that I didn't start to become ho-hum about significant plot points. I hope the show doesn't start to foresake the characters (ahem, Characters Welcome, remember?) in this huge plot about promicin and the End of Days. The apocalypse has a time and a place, but it's only a tragedy if we care.

My single most favorite part of this entire episode was when the think tank was discussing Graham's take over of the high school and one of the geeks said, "Well, not THE god. More of a minor deity." That was vintage Bill Murray from Ghostbusters, and it was just perfectly played. (Though, in real life, I think Malcolm would have gotten the reference and said another line from Ghostbusters or in some other way acknowledged it.) I laughed out loud and paused my Tivo. Between that and the extra crispy, despite some weaknesses in the plot, I'll keep coming back for more.