Weight of the World (The 4400 episode)

The 4400 episode
Title = Weight of the World
Season = 2
Episode = 04
Airdate = June 19, 2005
Writer = Scott Peters
Director = Oz Scott
4400 = Trent Appelbaum
Prev = Voices Carry
Next = Suffer The Children
IMDb_id = 0502811"Weight of the World" is an episode of the science fiction television series "The 4400".

Synopsis

Trent Appelbaum, a 4400, produces the ultimate fat burner in his liver, Tom and Diana discover that it is more than just a fat burner.

Plot

Trent Appelbaum is a depressed salesman, struggling to compete in his job. His daughter, Elyse, who is a waitress, comforts Trent at her job. Two loansharks come into the café and muscle Trent for money that Trent owes them.

Two days later Trent has managed to get together $3,400 by selling his daughters car and television, when his “debt-collector” arrives he is different since Trent last saw him, he has lost a lot of weight, 75 pounds in two days. He now also wants his wife to lose weight and so he allows Appelbaum to keep his money, he has to however drink from a bottle so that the loan-sharks wife can drink from it to take his saliva into her body.

The loanshark's wife loses 23 pounds practically over night; Tom and Diana go to see Trent. The loan shark and his wife begin gorging themselves with food. Trent signs a contract with a pharmaceutical company.

Dmitri pulls up near Trent and stumbles out of the car. Dmitri tells Trent that his wife has starved to death and he is next and that Trent killed them both, Dimitri then collapses next to Trent. Dmitri later dies of organ failure resulting from malnutrition.

At the pharmaceutical company, over a hundred people have had Trent’s tissue tested on them. Elyse, Trent's daughter, drinks from one of Trent’s glasses for his saliva, hoping to lose 10 pounds and falls deadly ill.

The doctors attempt to harvest Trent’s liver in hopes of developing a vaccine to counteract the weight loss, much like a smallpox vaccine. In return for his liver Trent's daughter, Elyse, will receive a college fund.

Trent earns his “golden parachute” when the chemical he produced proves it may have more than one purpose.

Meanwhile, Lily thinks she may be pregnant again when her period is late. Richard, Lily and Isabelle arrive at Eric Papequash’s, another one of the 4400 who helped Richard in quarantine. Eric’s brother, David, doesn’t make them very much at home as David's wife tries to talk to Richard. Eric offers Richard a job. Lily finds out she is not pregnant and wants to get back on the road and go to Salem, Oregon. Richard is picked up by Tara and they talk, until Tara’s husband David interrupts and begins asking Richard questions rudely about how he was able to fly an aeroplane back in the 1950s. Richard is attacked by Tara’s husband. Richard and Lily later talk as the sun is going down. Richard and Lily have to leave when David discovers that they were reported missing and he reports them to the government.

Around the same time, Chloe Granger, a celebrity, cuts her tour short so she can attend the 4400 Center and achieves first key. Chloe promises if she is lucky enough to tap into an ability to ensure the world a brighter future. Devon questions Shawn about Chloe’s diet and Shawn remarks that he is sure Jordan will treat Chloe like any other student, Jordan has sex with Chloe. Shawn goes to Jordan’s apartment and sees Chloe there and remarks Jordan can be very manipulative. Chloe begins her “treatment” and Shawn tells Devon about Jordan and Chloe having sex. Chloe leaves after she is threatened to be sued if she doesn’t return to her job, Shawn mouths off to Collier. Jordan reveals that Shawn will be the leader of the 4400 Center should he disappear. Devon over-doses but survives when her stomach is successfully pumped.

Meanwhile, Kyle achieves an A- on his college paper, his teacher Wendy Paulson remarks that it was a good paper. Kyle is at a party and things suddenly shift and he finds himself on a street with an alarm ringing and a shop window smashed in the background, and a police car pulls up. Tom brings Kyle home and Tom is angry at him and wants to set ground rules and lay down the law, but something more important comes up when Tom receives a phone call. Tom later gets around to talking to Kyle who withholds information from Tom.

In this episode, Diana's sister April tries to get Diana to let Maia go to a tattoo shop with her. Diana receives a phone call offering $300,000 a year to hold Maia into a contract for her ability. Diana tells April she is proud of her tattoo talent which upsets April. Maia tells the man ('Billy Boy') getting a tattoo to wear his helmet on his motorbike or he won't make it over to his girlfriend Monica's house tonight.

Significance

Cast

* Tom Baldwin — Joel Gretsch
* Diana Skouris — Jacqueline McKenzie
* Richard Tyler — Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
* Lily Moore — Laura Allen
* Shawn Farrell — Patrick Flueger
* Kyle Baldwin — Chad Faust
* Maia Skouris - Conchita Campbell
* Nina Jarvis — Samantha Ferris; Guest stars
* Jordan Collier — Billy Campbell
* Marco Pacella — Richard Kahan
* Trent Appelbaum — Robert Picardo
* 'Billy Boy' (tattoo customer) — Noah Danby

Featured music

* "Walking Dead" by DJ Z-Trip feat. Chester Bennington
* "Banquet" by Bloc Party
* "Everybody's Leaving" by Elklandcite web| url = http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400/theshow/songlist.html| title = Song List from The 4400| last = Lurie| first = Elliot| authorlink = Elliot Lurie| coauthors = "starmcharm013"]

References

External links

* [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s2_weightoftheworld "Weight of the World"] at the official 4400 website provided by USA Network.
*
* [http://www.the4400wiki.org/Episode:Weight_of_the_World "Weight of the World"] at The 4400 wiki.
* [http://www.imsdb.com/transcripts/The-4400-Weight-Of-The-World.html Script]