Episode:The New and Improved Carl Morrissey

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"The New & Improved Carl Morrissey"

Episode No.	Season 1 Episode 3
Writer(s)	Ira Steven Behr
Story by
Director	Helen Shaver
Special guest(s)
Production No.
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	July 18, 2004
DVD release
Episode Chronology
Previous Episode:	The Return (Pilot)
Next Episode:	Becoming

1 Synopsis
2 Detailed Summary
3 Quote
4 External Links
5 Episode Gallery

[edit] Synopsis

Carl Morrissey is a lowly supermarket employee who happens to be one of the 4400 returned abductees. He uses his new found powers - enhanced reflexes and strength - to become a vigilante and fight crime in his neighborhood. Meanwhile, Lily is thrown in jail for violating the restraining order while looking in on her daughter and ex-husband's new life. After picking up Lily from the police, Richard and Lily go back to the apartment they now share and we see the romance between the two begin to become more serious. Also, Shawn begins to learn more about his healing powers, and we are left with a cliffhanger ending of whether he will heal his cousin.

[edit] Detailed Summary

Maia questioned

Tom and Diana question Maia about her apparent ESP abilities. She's too frightened to clearly answer anything. Tom tells her she'll have to have more tests. Maia asks Diana if she will please come back to check up on her, as she is scared. Tom and Diana's boss Ryland suggests that they talk to the "Theory Room" agents about where the 4400 returnees have been, and what might have happened to them while they were gone.

Across town in a grocery store, Carl Morrissey is being chastised by his boss Burt for talking to customers instead of stocking the fish. Carl has had a hard time adjusting to his life now that he's returned-from wherever he was. After work, he picks his wife Grace up from her job and the two head home.

While walking home, they pass by kids playing hockey and one of the kids accidentally hits the puck towards Grace. Without even thinking, Carl catches the puck in his hand, mere inches away from Grace's face.

Later, Tom runs into Linda in Kyle's hospital room, and they agree to have dinner together to discuss the divorce. Dr. Mayhew comes in and informs them that last Thursday, Kyle experienced a jump in brain activity for a few seconds.

Tom investigates and discovers that his nephew Shawn had visited Kyle that night. He decides to pay Shawn a visit at school before class starts. Shawn is angry with the implication that he did anything to Kyle, and he walks off in a huff.

Meanwhile, Richard is at a military office, talking to Col. Holloway about getting back into service. Holloway informs him that he's being honourably discharged and will receive a pension as if he served a full 20 years. This disheartens Richard, who, at 29, isn't quite ready to retire. Holloway suggests to Richard that he get on the Internet and find himself a job. Richard realizes he knows nothing about computers.

That night, Carl is almost mugged, but instead, he finds he has incredible speed and strength and is able to easily defeat his muggers. He comes home and excitedly tells Grace that he's decided to help clean up the neighbourhood and help bring it back to its former glory by ridding it of all the criminals. Grace is very worried.

The next day, Richard is helping Lily hunt for an apartment. She spontaneously invites him to move in with her. He accepts. But suddenly, she has horrible stomach pains and begs him to take her out of the apartment. Later, they find another apartment and Lily tells Richard the baby likes it here; the baby didn't like the other place at all. She confesses that she can tell what the baby is thinking. At first Richard doesn't know what to make of it, but then he realizes he has to have an open mind. They decide to go buy a computer for Richard. While at the store, Lily sees a mother with her own newborn and realizes she needs to see her daughter Heidi, even if her ex-husband Brian has a restraining order against her.

Marco in the Theory Room

Over at HomeSec, Tom and Diana talk to the Marco who heads the Theory Room. He tells Diana he followed up on her suggestion to look into the gravity of areas where people were abducted, and that she was right: the gravity was lower in most areas. He also points out that Adam Kinsington, the man Orson Bailey killed (just by thinking about it), was part of a major scheme to defraud tens of thousands of insurance policy holders out of billions of dollars. This leave Tom, Marco and Diana wondering if whoever abducted Orson purposely gave him the ability to destroy Kinsington-and then made sure he did it.

Elsewhere, Danny confronts Shawn about Nikki spending so much time with him. Shawn tells his little brother that if he has a problem with their friendship, he should talk to his girlfriend and leave Shawn out of it.

That night, Carl sneaks out of bed and goes to the park where he had been mugged. He paints the bench that he had proposed to Grace on, covering over the graffiti. Then he cleans off a statue. He falls asleep, but is awoken by Maureen, a young woman being attacked by some male "friends." He comes to her rescue and beats the men up without any effort.

The next day, Diana checks in on Maia, who begs Diana to take her home with her. Diana gently tells her it's not a good idea, but that she'll keep on looking for a home for the young girl. Diana then heads over to Tom's office. He points out a newspaper article with the headline, "Woman Claims Bradley Park Vigilante 'No Ordinary Human.'" They track down Maureen who describes Carl to them. In the middle of the interview, Linda calls and angrily reminds Tom that he was supposed to have dinner with her to discuss the divorce. She hangs up on him before he can explain.

Richard and Lily

Meanwhile, Lily sneaks over to Brian's house to catch a glimpse of Heidi. She gets another sharp pain in her stomach and accidentally breaks a flowerpot outside. Because she broke the restraining order, Brian has her arrested. She calls Richard for help. Richard goes over to Brian's and asks him to please drop the charges. After Richard promises to keep Lily away, Brian agrees.

Over at the grocery store, Carl is talking to his favourite customer when Burt rushes over to yell at him again. This time, Carl calmly grabs Burt's wrist and tells him to leave him alone. Burt is too afraid to argue.

Elsewhere, Nikki runs into Shawn, who breezes past her without saying a word. She is shocked and hurt by his attitude. Later, she confronts him in his garage as he's working on his car. She asks him what's going on and he refuses to answer. She accidentally touches the engine and burns her hand. He looks at her hand and just by touching it, he heals it. She is amazed. They share a kiss and suddenly break away. She flees.

Meanwhile, Grace confronts Carl about his turn as a superhero. He's quite proud but she's very upset. He refuses to stop doing what he's doing because he truly believes he's making the neighborhood a safer place. Grace is scared but she's also moved by his compassion. Unbeknownst to them, Diana has just narrowed Carl down from the list of possible suspects.

That night, Richard springs Lily from jail and they return to their apartment. After dinner, they share a dance to Nat King Cole's ""Unforgettable."" They admit their feelings for each other and make love.

Carl dies after being stabbed

Carl is out dealing with taggers (kids who spray paint graffiti) defacing the statue he cleaned, when Tom and Diana show up at his apartment. While Grace doesn't directly rat him out, she does hint that she knows what they are talking about. She takes them to Carl, who sits on the bench next to the statue. He's been stabbed and he's dying.

Before they can save him, he's gone. Later, Tom and Diana question why whoever took the 4400 would bother giving Carl the extra powers, only to have him die. But then neighbours start showing up to clean the statue and make the neighbourhood a safer place.

Later, Ryland tells them that Grace is going to the press with Carl's story, and that there is sure to be a slew of 4400 stories coming out. Diana approaches Ryland about fostering Maia, and they take care of the necessary paperwork.

Meanwhile, Tom signs his divorce papers just as the phone rings. It's Linda with the news that Kyle's going into emergency surgery. When he arrives, she informs him that there's fluid on Kyle's brain and there's a good chance that within a week it could build up again and within two weeks he could be dead. Suddenly, Shawn rushes in with Danny. He and Tom lock eyes and they both wonder if Shawn is responsible for Kyle's current condition.

[edit] Quote

Carl Morrissey: What I'm doing here, I'm doing for us, Grace! This is where we live. I just want us to be happy and not be afraid anymore, and it starts with Bradley Park!

[edit] External Links

Episodes
Season One
Pilot \| The New and Improved Carl Morrissey \| Becoming \| Trial By Fire \| White Light

[edit] Episode Gallery

Carl Morrissey	Carl and Grace	Tom and Linda	Tom and Shawn
Carl getting mugged	Danny and Shawn	Carl protecting the park	Diana and Maia
Lily watching Heidi	Carl telling his boss	Shawn and Nikki	Carl and Grace argue
Richard and Lily	The neighborhood cleans	Shawn