Rene Echevarria Movies
Season Three of USA Network's sci-fi thriller The 4400 largely focuses on the surviving members of a group of 4400 people who, after being abducted from the earth over a sixty-year period, suddenly reappeared in a bolt of light in the year 2004--only to be systematically eliminated by the US Government when it was discovered that many of "The 4400" have developed paranormal powers which, if used improperly, could destroy all mankind. Since the previous season, the National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC) has been forced to back off on its campaign of "ethnic cleansing", but not before the radical Nova group, comprised of a band of "4400" rebels, carry out a master plan to take over the world. Forming a united front against the Nova group are the "good" 4400 members, as well as NTAC agents Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie). Meanwhile, the infant Isabelle, whose blood contains the antidote for the "promicin inhibitor" that has been used to decimate The 4400, has suddenly grown into womanhood (she is played this season by Megalyn Echikunwoke) and remains a fugitive, not only from the Government but also from the Nova group. Many of the episodes this season detail the growing relationship between Isabelle and the kindly 4400 Shawn Farrell, who has the power (albeit limited) to revive the dead. As the season progresses, it is revealed to the viewer that the supposedly "martyred" Jordan Collier, an early leading light of the 4400, is still alive, calling the shots behind the revolt against humanity. Even so, Tom's son Kyle remains in prison for fulfilling his mission of assassinating Collier--a mission determined by the futuristic earthlings who'd originally abducted the 4400 as part of a long-range plan to save the world from total annihilation! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As Season Two of USA Network's sci-fi thriller The 4400 gets under way, several of the secrets closely held during Season One have been revealed--foremost among the fact that those 4400 humans who'd suddenly reappeared in a flash of light after having been kidnapped from the earth over a period of nearly six decades were not alien abductees, but instead had been snatched up by futuristic earthlings. The purpose was to "seed" the abductees throughout history to prevent the apocalyptic destruction of the earth! Of special importance to National Threat Assessment Command agent Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch), who along with fellow agent Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie) had been assigned to track down all of the "4400" once some of them had begun exhibiting awesome paranormal powers, is the fact that the futuristic kidnappers had selected Tom's own son Kyle (Chad Faust as their primary messenger--and also as an avenging angel, foresworn to kill the one "4400" member who poses the greatest threat to mankind It is also now known that it is the "promicin", a transmitter imbedded in each of the 4400's brains, that gives them their unique powers, and that NTAC plans to kill off the most "dangerous" abductees (as well as few innocent bystanders!) with a promicin inhibitor. The only antidote to this inhibitor is found in the blood of Isabelle, the infant daughter of "4400" Lily Moore (Laura Allen) and Richard Tyler (Mahershalhashbaz Ali)--and thus Isabelle has been targetted for elimination as soon as she can be found. As the season ends, the NTAC goes to great lengths to wipe out all evidence that the 4400 ever existed. But those "in the know" intend to see that justice is done to the surviving 4400...and to solve the many puzzles still remaining. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The first season of USA Network's sci-fi thriller The 4400 begins (pardon the cliché) with a bang, as a huge, glowing object falls from the sky and lands near Highland Beach, Washington. The comet-like object then disgorges some 4400 human beings, all of whom had vanished from the earth over the past 58 years! After a brief quarantine, the "4400" leave for various parts of the world--and then several returns, exhibiting such paranormal abilities as telekinesis, mind control, supersensitve hearing, and even, in the case of Shawn Farrell (Patrick Flueger), the power to revive the dead. Another of the 4400, Lily Moore, is pregnant with the child of Richard Tyler (Mahershalahashbaz Ali) Acutely aware that the returnees' otherworldly powers can be used for evil as well as good, Dennis Ryland (Peter Coyote), head of the National Threat Assessment Command division of Homeland Security, dispatches agents Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie) to locate the rest of the 4400 to make certain that nothing terrible happens. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done, as witness the serial killer who has the power to make others do his dirty work. Also, whatever has caused the 4400 to develop these skills also has a profound effect on the two NTAC agents--to say nothing of Tom's son Kyle (Chad Faust), whose erratic behavior turns is a harbinger of things to come. Meanwhile, another of the 4400, the mysterious Jordan Collier (Bill Campbell), offers protection and shelter to his fellow retunees at Arcadia Estates--an outward act of altrusim that may be a cover up for a sinister hidden agenda. The five-episode first season ends after several of the 4400 are assassinated once their identities are made public--and after the startling secret behind the 4400 is revealed (we won't give too much away here: suffice to say that, though the 4400 were definitely abduction victims, their abductors were NOT aliens from another planet!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Coyote, Joel Gretsch, (more)
- 2004
Over the course of 50 years, fourty-four hundred people seemingly vanish under mysterious circumstances -- and just as mysteriously re-emerge one day, all at once. Not only have all these people returned not looking a day older than when they left, many have developed remarkable physical and psychic powers while they were gone. So what happened, and what does it mean for those who have to live with the returned? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2004
More than 4000 people who disappeared over the past half-century are returned to Earth by a vehicle at first mistaken for a comet. Peter Coyote stars as the head of the government agency investigating the event. ~ Jeanette Martin, All Movie Guide
- 2002
The ad copy for the ABC medical drama MDs promised "doctors who'll bend any rule and take on the system." The series looked and sounded a lot like M*A*S*H, the difference being that it took place in peacetime, and in contemporary San Francisco. William Fichter and John Hannah essayed the Hawkeye and Trapper John counterparts, here named Dr. Bruce Kellerman and Dr. Robert Dalgety. Though chronically irreverent and taking special delight in bucking bureaucracy and red tape at every opportunity, the two protagonists also happened to be brilliant and dedicated surgeons, investing an emotional interest in virtually all their patients ("Come on, you're not gonna die on me today!"). In its efforts to sustain a staunchly anti-HMO stance, the series admittedly stacked the deck a bit by drawing virtually all of its authority figures in broad, almost caricatured strokes: For example, Kellerman and Dalgety's chief nemesis was Mission General Hospital's bean-counting new administrator Pangborn (Leslie Stefanson), who had previously managed a theme park and who fainted at the sight of blood. MDs premiered September 25, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Fichtner, John Hannah, (more)
- 2002
It is the final stand between the transgens and their enemies in this special 90-minute episode. The connection between anti-transgen White (Martin Cummins) and the "Sandeman" responsible for the creation of such Manticore mutants as Joshua (Kevin Durand) has finally been revealed. As human vigilantes prepare to besiege the transgen refuge in Terminal City, Max (Jessica Alba), who has rather forcefully enlisted her human friends to her side of the battle, welcomes a mass migration of thousands and thousands of her Manticore "siblings" from all over the country. Will those runic symbols breaking out all over Max's body be explained? Is Logan (Michael Weatherly) at last immune to Max's lab-generated virus? And will White succeed in wiping out all traces of Manticore by killing every transgen on Earth? Unless the grass-roots effort to revive the series succeeds, this remains the last-ever episode of Dark Angel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Max (Jessica Alba) is assigned to act as bodyguard for a federal witness in a government corruption trial. The job becomes doubly difficult when Max learns that the man whose life is in her hands is Bruno Anselmo (Douglas O'Keefe) -- the same man who put Logan (Michael Weatherly) in a wheelchair. Complicating matters is the omnipresence of the Red Series, an elite South African group who need Max's technology to make themselves completely and utterly invulnerable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Escaping from the clutches of Lydecker (John Savage) at Manticore, a nearly dead Zack (William Gregory Lee) tries to contact his genetically engineered sibling Max (Jessica Alba). Along the way, another Manticore refugee, Tinga (Lisa Ann Cabasa), makes her first appearance, thereby laying the groundwork for Dark Angel's first-season finale (which is, of course, still several episodes in the future). At the same time, the growing affection between Max and Logan (Michael Weatherly) is jeopardized by a number of outside influences, not to mention Logan's dissatisfaction with his "new" legs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
In the conclusion of a two-part episode, Max (Jessica Alba) and Zack (William Gregory Lee) assemble an army of X-5 soldiers to bring down Manticore once and for all -- and, incidentally, to avenge the death of their fellow X-5, Tinga. Meanwhile, Max's longtime nemesis Lydecker (John Savage) offers to aid the rebellion, citing his disgust with Manticore director Madame X (Nana Visitor) and her corruption of the originally benign X-5 genetic-engineering program. But can Lydecker be trusted? An apparent victory over the villains suddenly morphs into a tense cliffhanger involving Max's clone -- and viewers will have to wait until the beginning of Dark Angel's second season to see how it all comes out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Max (Jessica Alba) attends a conference on genetic engineering at the Steinlitz Hotel, where Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) is working as a translator for geneticist Dr. Yuiko Tanaka (George Kee Cheung). A world-renowned "miracle worker" in his field, Tanaka may be able to help Max with her mixed-up DNA. Unfortunately, the conference is being attended by another figure: Max's arch enemy, Manticore scientist Lydecker (John Savage). When Tanaka's audience is captured and held hostage by an anti-tech terrorist organization led by John Darius (Troy Ruptash), Max and Lydecker are forced to rely upon each other to survive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) and Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller) unwittingly dispose of Max's supply of Tryptophan, the drug which calms her seizures. In desperation, Max (Jessica Alba) tries to steal more of the drug, landing herself in prison, minus her superpowers and at the mercy of a corrupt warden (Alan C. Peterson). After a failed escape attempt, Max is billeted in the lecherous warden's house -- where her salvation may be in the hands of her tormentor's sexually abused maidservant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Still on board the Dominion-controlled DS9 (now renamed Terok Nor), Kira, Jake, Rom, and Odo continue their campaign to turn the Cardassians against the Dominion and vice versa. When Odo rejects Kira's latest strategy, she begins to doubt his loyalty. It turns out that she has good reason to do so: Odo is now under the control of the female shapeshifter (Salome Jens) who'd stripped him of his changeling powers in a previous episode. Written by Rene Echevarria, "Behind the Lines" originally aired October 20, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In the previous season's "Doctor Bashir, I Presume," the truth about Bashir's past was made public. Now that the cat is out of the bag, he is asked to work with four other savants, who, like himself, have been genetically engineered. It is Bashir's mission to help the foursome enter normal society, but as is often the case on Deep Space Nine, things don't proceed precisely as planned. Written by Rene Echevarria from a story by Pam Pietroforte, and directed by onetime Happy Days co-star Anson Williams, "Statistical Probabilites" was originally telecast November 24, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Day Young guest stars as Arissa, a young woman who Odo meets in Quark's bar. Impressed by Arissa's beauty and uncanny powers of observation, Odo is both shocked and disillusioned when Arissa is arrested for trying to break into DS9's computer. It soon develops that the poor girl is under the thumb of the vicious Orion crime syndicate, and she now wants out, even if it means her own death. Written by Rene Echevarria, "A Simple Investigation" first aired March 31, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Carrying Keiko and O'Brien's child in her womb, Kira goes into labor, resulting in a flurry of activity and interest amongst her fellow crew members. The only person unaffected by the excitement is Odo, who has his hands full with his own baby, a Changeling infant who he has purchased from Quark. As Odo struggles with the trials and tribulations of parenthood, his former mentor and eternal nemesis, Dr. Mora (James J. Sloyan) arrives. Written by Rene Echevarria, "The Begotten" first aired January 27, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
