I watch my share of television. I am even willing to admit that I’ve been totally hooked on several shows (Futurama comes to mind). Never, however, have I seen a series as enthralling as The 4400.

I’ve been watching it more or less since the beginning. It originally aired as just a 6 episode miniseries, which was great, but it was so critically acclaimed that it came back the next summer as a full-fledged TV show. I’ve since watched every season since it first aired and so far own the first two seasons on DVD. I’ve truly never seen this happen to any TV show quite like this, but every single season gets exponentially better. I’m honestly not exaggerating, every season is better than the last by a long shot and that in no way leaves out the just-concluded fourth season. Multiple times during the most recent season’s finale my jaw literally dropped and I got giddy with excitement for what had just happened, what was about to happen, and/or what was alluded will happen during the next season – which, by the way, I cannot wait to see.

So you’ve read this, you’ve never seen the show, which seems to be the case among many of my friends. Here’s all you need to know, taken from Wikipedia, before you start watching it:

What is originally thought to be a comet deposits a group of exactly 4400 people at Highland Beach, in the Cascade Range foothills near Mount Rainier, Washington. All of the 4400 disappeared at various times starting in 1946 in a beam of white light. After their return, none have aged, all are disoriented, and remember nothing between the time of their disappearance and their return.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that beyond what you’ve read above, the show is classified as Sci-Fi. Take from that what you will, but whether you’re a Sci-Fi fan or not, this series is phenomenal and worth your time as well as every penny of the cost of buying the currently available seasons. If you know me personally and want to borrow seasons one and two, just ask. If you don’t know me personally but still want to watch it, go buy season one. You won’t regret your purchase.