Threshold

Of the three new "Sci-Fi" dramas, Invasion, Surface, and Threshold, I have decided that Threshold is, hands down, the best. Invasion has the better pedigree (Sean Cassidy did create American Gothic, after all...), Surface instills more awe and wonder, but the one that I must watch every week is Threshold. It has learned that most important of lessons from the X-Files: keep 'em guessing, but give a little bit up every now and then. It doesn't try to keep you in the dark all the time. And on the subject of casting, I believe that this show has some of the best choices going. Carla Gugino is, as usual, brilliant. Beautiful, sexy and oh so smart. Charles S. Dutton does the best he can with a limited role. Peter Dinklage will be a favorite as soon as the writers figure out what to do with him. But the biggest surprise is Brian Van Holt as Cavennaugh, the muscle. In what should have been the obvious gimme role in the show, the guy who shoots, Van Holt has proved to be multi-faceted. Yes he is a true believer, but he has a soul, too. Not what I expected from the pretty boy with the gun. All in all, great show. Will be very upset when it gets canceled.

I really liked Threshold. It showed the government aware of aliens and prepared to do something about it. Carl Gugino and Brent Spiner were great as actors. The aliens were intelligent. I'm glad CBS gave an almost unknown producer a chance. It shows that science fiction is back in vogue. I'm hooked! Please approach this show with an open mind. It has the makings of something great and will grow on us like the X-Files did. Carla gives Gillian a run for her money! It shows a strong female in a lead role. I like this change. The methods the aliens use to invade and their use of the 4th and fifth dimension are also very intelligent. It is probably how a real visitation would happen. If I was going to send humans to the stars. I would send DNA and build a human when a landing was ready on some far away star system planet.

CBS has canceled Threshold, the best new show of the 2005 fall season. Surface, and Invasion totally sucked compared to Threshold, yet Viacom/CBS decided to can it, just like they did with Star Trek: Enterprise, and Joan of Arcadia. So lame. There's a built-in audience with a well-written sci-fi show. There must be something wrong with their rating system. Whoever they rely on to collect data about how many viewers they have must not be sampling from the right demographic. But of course Ghost Whisperer is an awesome show, right? Cause Jennifer Love Hewitt's last show worked so well... remember Matchmaker? No, of course not, who does?

Network: CBS; Genre: Science Fiction; Content Rating: TV-14 (for brutal violence); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

The unprecedented success of USA's "The 4400", the death of reality television, rise of serial shows and the increasingly low cost of computer animated visual effects has given rise to a wonderful network fad for 2005 - the science fiction series. "Threshold" is CBS's entry into the year's 3-pronged alien invasion attack that also includes NBC's "Surface" and ABC's "Invasion". Its probably the cheapest, with a plot that hinders more on human action than visual effects and it is also the first to bite the network dust.

This is why there isn't more good, serious, comprehensive TV criticism. With a movie you at least get to see the whole thing, but with a series we're given a show and have it ripped from the line-up before the final episodes have aired and story has wrapped up. For what its worth, "Threshold" deserved the benefit of the doubt. Its not Shakespeare, even as science fiction shows go its on the campy side of a Sci-Fi channel original movie. But it is entertaining contemporary genre fair. Somewhere between the seriousness of "Invasion" and silly fun of "Surface".

But, 10 episodes. What the hell am I supposed to do with this, CBS?

The premise: a mutant infection is invading the human race, this time, however, the vehicle is auditory - through an alien frequency that plants itself in the brains of those with susceptible genetic dispositions and turns them into violent super-soldiers at worst (sort of "The X-Files" meets "28 Days Later…") and lumbering zombies at best. The entire crew of an ocean freight has been infected (as well as our heroes investigating them) and escaped into the population. Thankfully, scientist Molly Caffery (Carla Gugino, "Spin City") had devised a contingency plan that combats just such an invasion called Threshold, that involves quarantining subjects in a secret facility and... well, I'm not exactly sure what else.

Charles S. Dutton plays the typically gruff leader. Gugino makes a fine heroine, believably strong while going toe-to-toe with the super-soldiers. But Brent Spiner and Peter Dinklage lends some agreeably goofy life to the show as scientists with an endless supply of one liners. Uncharacteristic in usually serious science fiction shows, that quirky little attitude running through this show works for it and is what makes "Threshold" stand out well from the other network genre efforts.

* * ½ / 4

Did not get a fair shake. The plot to this was great and it's a shame we never got to see it come to fruition. It is worth watching even though it didn't finish properly.