Threshold (TV series)

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Threshold

promotional poster for Threshold
Genre Science fiction Drama
Creator(s) Bragi F. Schut
Starring Carla Gugino,
Charles S. Dutton,
Brent Spiner,
Rob Benedict,
Brian Van Holt,
Peter Dinklage
Country of origin USA/UK
No. of episodes 13
(List of episodes)
Production
Running time 45 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS/Sky One
Original run September 16, 2005 – February 1, 2006
Links
IMDb profile

Threshold is a science fiction drama television series that first aired on CBS in September 2005. Produced by Brannon Braga (best known for his work on the Star Trek franchise), David Goyer (best known for films such as Blade and Batman Begins) and David Heyman (best known for the Harry Potter film franchise), the series focuses on a secret government project investigating the first contact with an extraterrestrial species. This series was often referred to as a reverse X-Files, with the main characters of the series seeking to cover-up the truth about first-contact instead of uncovering the conspiracy.

The series was first shown on Friday nights, but was moved to Tuesday in an effort to boost ratings. This plan backfired, with the show registering a sharp drop in its ratings on its first Tuesday night showing on November 22, 2005, and CBS cancelled the series on November 23, 2005.[1], with four episodes left unbroadcast.

The remaining episodes were aired on Sky One, a channel in the United Kingdom owned by BSkyB, who co-produced the series with CBS. Threshold (the entire series) was released on DVD on August 22, 2006.

The series began airing on The Sci Fi Channel on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 10:00 pm, following a new episode of Battlestar Galactica. [2]

Contents

[edit] Overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The series stars Carla Gugino as Dr. Molly Caffrey, a high-level government crisis management consultant from the Blackwood Institute whose job is to create contingency plans for use in emergencies ranging from natural disasters to nuclear war. In order to have "all bases covered", one of her plans, code-named Threshold, is developed for dealing with the unlikely eventuality of first contact with aliens. After the crew of a U.S. naval vessel reports an encounter with a UFO, and many members of the crew subsequently die, the Threshold protocol is activated.

Caffrey's Threshold plan calls for the formation of a secret government task force known as the Red Team. As a result, several top scientists are seconded: Dr. Nigel Fenway (Brent Spiner), an individualistic NASA-employed microbiologist; Lucas Pegg (Rob Benedict), a somewhat unsure-of-himself aerospace engineer on the eve of his marriage, and Arthur Ramsey (Peter Dinklage), a mathematics and linguistics genius whose libido makes up for his lack of height. Caffrey's government liaison is Deputy National Security Advisor J.T. Baylock (Charles S. Dutton), while freelance paramilitary operative Sean Cavennaugh (Brian Van Holt) serves as the "muscle" of the group (and apparent potential love interest for Caffrey). Daphne Larson (Catherine Bell) was added to the team in the episode "Outbreak". Caffrey's team works under absolute secrecy, their activities not even known to the Vice-President, or the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The alien fractal pattern symbol featured throughout the series.
The alien fractal pattern symbol featured throughout the series.

Threshold learns that the aliens are attempting to rewrite the DNA of the human race using, in part, an audio signal that somehow alters some people's body chemistry in such a way that they become alien themselves. Central to all this is a fractal triskelion pattern that keeps appearing -- in blood, electronic signals, and even the pattern made by city lights. Its significance has yet to be revealed, though Arthur Ramsey interpreted it as representing a DNA pattern in a triple helix formation (like the alien DNA).

The episodes focus on Caffrey and her team as they learn more about the signal, the fractal pattern, and the aliens; often, their work requires them to impersonate different U.S. Government agencies. Compounding the situation is the fact that Caffrey, Cavennaugh and Pegg were exposed to a small part of the signal, which while not (as yet) infecting them, has nonetheless altered their brains, causing the trio to have bizarre, linked dreams, and also receive messages from the aliens with Caffrey, in particular, experiencing frightening, often violent hallucinations. Individuals experiencing these visions have been referred to as "dreamers" by the Threshold Red Team.

An ongoing subplot of the series is the emotional impact Threshold has on Caffrey herself, as she is required to make life and death decisions on an almost daily basis. The impact on other members of her team is also explored.

In one of the unbroadcast episodes, it is revealed by one of the hybrids that the aliens' plans are to save humankind by changing their DNA and the surface of the earth; this is because millennia ago, far out in space, there was a collision of two stars that created a gamma ray burst - the radiation of which is heading for Earth and will, when it arrives in six years, end all life on the surface of the planet. Because of the nature of the revelation (from a hybrid) this explanation is considered suspect and that the hybrid's sole intention is to slow the Threshold program.

According to writer Brannon Braga on the 2006 DVD release, word that production of the series was being terminated was received midway through shooting of the episode "Alienville". The ending of the episode was changed to show Molly having a dream conversation with an alien-human baby (who had been born in the episode, but appeared in the dream as a nine-year-old boy). The boy tells Molly that her Threshold plan will eventually succeed in stopping the alien invasion (the age of the boy implies it'll happen within nine years), but that she would herself die before this happens.

[edit] Future storylines

A featurette included on the August 2006 DVD release of the series confirmed a number of reported and rumored storylines that were planned had the series survived:

  • The series had a three-year arc that would have seen the series change its title each year, from Threshold to Foothold (which refers to the next level of Molly Caffrey's planning, dealing with a mass alien invasion) and Stranglehold (the response to a well-established alien presence on earth).
  • In "Vigilante" (one of the unaired episodes) it is revealed that Ramsay has a drug and alcohol problem. This would have progressed causing Ramsay to "hit bottom" at one point; meanwhile, it would be discovered that the abnormality in Ramsay's brain that caused him to be a dwarf actually made him immune to the alien infection. (This might also explain why he did not become infected when he slept with an infected woman in "Vigilante").
  • The Threshold team would learn that 80 more probe ships were headed to Earth.
  • It is learned that the aliens had been sending probes to Earth every 160 years or so, but these probes failed to start widespread infection due to the lack of travel and technology on the planet at the time. The episode "The Burning" hints at this with a buried 320 year old probe. The episode "Outbreak" continued this arc by having Lucas encounter (during a dream state) a 19th Century man who says he fought and defeated the aliens.

The episodes that were unaired by CBS also included several plot elements that would have likely been explored had the series continued, such as Dr. Sloan, the so-called "Vigilante" introduced in the episode of the same name, whose self-appointed mission is to kill infectees (the episode also indicates a romantic attraction between him and Caffrey); the real nature of the gamma ray burst headed for Earth indicated in "The Crossing"; the effect of Threshold on Lucas Peggs' marriage; Cavanaugh's search for his brother (who becomes infected in one of the unaired episodes and provides the aliens with information about Threshold); the development of an alien infectee culture (who refer to themselves as "improved" humans) and their perception that the US government is persecuting them (an element introduced in the final episode, "Alienville"); and the aftermath of Caffrey's orders to increase Threshold's powers in "Outbreak".

[edit] Opening monologue

“ My name is Molly Caffrey, and I work for the Federal Government. I deal in worst case scenarios, the unthinkable. On September 16th, 2005, the unthinkable happened. An extraterrestrial object appeared off the bow of a naval freighter. The entire crew was exposed to a high frequency signal. Some died instantly. Others began to change. They are now stronger, more resilient. They dream of alien landscapes. And they are driven by the impulse to infect others. Several of the crewmen are now loose in the United States. They will strike anytime, anyplace, anyone. Their goal: to turn us into them. But I have a plan to stop them. That plan is called "Threshold". ”

(Episodes 1-9; the opening monologue was dropped from the remaining episodes).

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

Prior to Threshold's cancellation Brannon Braga announced that Catherine Bell would be joining the series as would another actress who would appear as Lucas' fiancée. In the unbroadcast episode "Outbreak", Catherine Bell guest stars as Dr. Daphne Larson, a botanist brought in to examine the mutated vegetables from 'Revelations.' She is added as a new member to the Red Team, but except for being referenced by name in "Vigilante", made no further appearances on the series before it ended.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Threshold episodes

Episodes from "The Crossing" onwards saw their first broadcast on Sky One in the UK.

[edit] Spread of the alien signal

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[edit] Original source: USS Big Horn

  • Contact date: September 16, 2005 (Friday)
  • Contact location: North Atlantic Ocean (33 Degrees North, 70 Degrees West)
  • Crew: Listed crew of 13
  • Crew Status:
    • Five were killed through exposure to signal and its immediate violent after-effects
    • One crewmember was captured on board (only to escape) by the Threshold Red Team (Gunneson)
      • Captured/escaped in "Trees Made of Glass, Part 1"
    • Six were killed/captured by Threshold Red Team (Gunneson, Novak, Park, Sanford, Sonntag, and Manning)
      • Gunneson was re-captured in an industrial plant outside of Washington, D.C. in "Trees Made of Glass, Part 2" (he was severely injured in the second capturing and has not been seen on screen since)
      • Novak was captured in a Condo in Bridgeview, Ohio in "The Burning"
      • Park was killed in a Washington Metro substation in "Shock"
      • Sonntag was killed in the basement of a church in New Harmony, Indiana in "Revelations"
      • Sanford was captured in a copy shop in Washington, D.C. in "Progeny"
      • Captain Manning was killed outside a mineral water bottling plant in Washington, D.C. in "Vigilante"
    • One (known) crew member is currently MIA in the United States (Crewman Pena)
  • Any organisms (barnacles, plankton, etc) on the Big Horn have been transformed into a crystal-like structure (similar to the dreams). A search for the Big Horn wreckage revealed these structures are growing at an accelerated rate, possibly part of the alien plan to terraform the planet.
  • Other (known) nearby contacts:
    • North Korean Submarine (Kilo-class, revealed to have sunk at some point after the Big Horn's exposure)
    • Commercial Airliner (Flight 523)

[edit] Secondary exposures: "Hot Spots" created from the "Big Horn Event"

Weymouth Military Academy, Virginia
  • Weymouth Military Academy student Brian Janklow (captured)
    • Infected: via mp3 player corruption due to close passage of commercial airliner Flight 523 to signal
    • Attempted to spread signal: By uploading corrupted mp3 file to the Internet
    • Threshold response: Cut power, Internet access to Weymouth Military Academy, captured suspect
    • Note: Other cadets were not infected because the signal only affects teenagers/adults and not children.
    • Captured in the episode "Blood of the Children"
    • Cover story: Parents were told he died while saving another cadet from a fire.
  • Weymouth Military Academy custodian (died)
    • Infected: overheard corrupted mp3 file while cleaning Janklow's barracks
    • Did gain improved strength and attacked a fast food restaurant. Was killed when his head imploded in the fast food restaurant's bathroom.
    • Died in the episode "Blood of the Children"
    • Cover story: Local media and law enforcement were told he overdosed on PCP
Miami, Florida
  • Miami DJ Karyn Reynolds (captured)
    • Infected: via repeated listening to answering machine recording of signal. Her brother was a member of the Big Horn crew who died (from the alien signal) while leaving a message.
    • Attempted to spread signal: By electronic corruption. With only a partial copy of the signal, it would take repeated exposure to infect humans. However, the copy was enough to corrupt electronic devices which could spread the signal like a virus through cell phones, computers, PDAs, ATMs, etc.
    • Threshold response: Activated an EMP device in the Miami metro area, captured suspect
    • Note: not all electronic devices were recovered from the rave, it is assumed that the EMP "erased" all non-confiscated devices.
    • Captured in the episode "Pulse"
    • Cover story: Widespread blackout attributed to solar flare
Washington, D.C.
  • Senator Will Tollman (killed), Tollman intern Melissa Boyer (died), National Security Advisor Angela Hatten (killed), Senator Kramer (killed), three unnamed aides (killed), two pilots (killed) and Tollman's cat (killed)
    • Infected: via Janklow mp3 file, stolen from Threshold facility by Senator Tollman during a tour
    • Attempted to spread signal: Unknown. Attempted to flee with signal after infecting his Senate aides and other passengers upon boarding a government plane (call sign EJ 4733) en route to a conference.
    • Threshold response: Plane shot down by Air Force, (presumably) killing everyone on-board as well as the Janklow recording. (Boyer killed after exposure, cat deformed and shot by Threshold agents.
    • All took place in the episode "The Order"
    • Cover story: The plane experienced turbulence en-route to conference and crashed in the Rocky Mountains.
New Harmony, Indiana
  • Annie Sonntag (killed), Agent Harper (captured), Agent Goodman (died)
    • Infected: via Crewman Sonntag, who used his DNA to infect his mother, and the Agents sent by Threshold to watch his home: Harper and Goodman. Harper became infected and Goodman deformed and died. Harper was subsequently captured by the Threshold team sent to investigate Goodman's disappearance.
    • Attempted to spread signal: By contaminating the food supply. Using his altered DNA as fertilizer, he created mutated vegetables which would modify the DNA of anyone who ate them. He planted these infected vegetables in the garden of Reverend Lavory, a local pastor who became a "dreamer". Sonntag hoped Lavory would use his position to convert his congregation.
    • Threshold response: Confiscate vegetables at church, search surrounding area for contamination, killed Crewman Sonntag, his mother and captured infected Agent Harper.
    • Note: Some flies who fed on the infected vegetables were also infected and deformed.
    • All took place in the episode "Revelations"
    • Cover story: Crewman Sonntag's plants were a new illegal drug that causes people to be more "open to suggestions"
Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.
  • Chrstine Polchek (killed), Libby Drennan (captured), Susan Medrano (died)
    • Infected: via infected sperm donated by Crewman Thomas Sanford to a fertility clinic. All three women were inseminated and became infected. Medrano deformed and died, Polchek became an infectee, Drennan was infected and became pregnant.
    • None of the women tried to spread the signal but Sanford had contacted each after infection and they began transferring money (ingeniously, Sanford had targeted women with enough money to afford fertility treatments) to an account in the Cayman Islands. The money was subsequently withdrawn by Sanford and sent (in cash) to Polchek's residence in Mexico. The purpose of the transfers is unknown, but evidence suggests that Captain Manning (of the Big Horn) is somehow involved and has subsequently made his way to Washington D.C. with the money.
    • Threshold response: Drennan was captured shortly after tearing off her husband's head. It was later discovered her unborn child is developing at a rapid rate. Polchek was tracked to her residence in Mexico where she was subsequently killed by Threshold agents.
    • All took place in the episode "Progeny"
    • Cover stories: Polchek's death was caused by a leaking gas main which triggered an explosion while she slept. The fertility clinic was told that Sanford's sperm carried an unknown virus and all fertility clinics have been instructed to screen for the alien infection.
Threshold Command (Washington, D.C.)
  • Sergeant Sean Adams (euthanized), "Red Team" member Lucas Pegg (placed under observation, recovered), Agent Hayes (MIA)
    • Infected: Sergeant Adams via infected food, planted by Captain Manning as part of a plan to free captured detainees. Lucas Pegg may have been infected in a similar way. A side effect of this method of infection seems to be that infectees hallucinate "imaginary" co-workers.
    • Attempted to spread signal: By unknowingly creating opportunities for other infectees to escape from Threshold custody. Adams breached feeding procedure by opening an infectee cell without a backup (he imagined his partner was there) while Lucas failed to make proper restraints for the infectees (he imagined an assistant named John Roberts created the restraints).
    • Threshold response: As per his wishes, Sgt. Adams was euthanized upon becoming fully infected. Lucas was placed under observation and eventually recovered with the help of a "hail mary" procedure involving intense exposure to the alien signal. The escape attempt using Adams failed, but it led to the decision to move the infectees to "The Tank" - an ultra-secure facility located in the mountains of West Virginia. The second escape attempt, using Lucas, also failed. However, Threshold Agent Hayes was captured by Manning and infected.
    • All took place in the episode "The Crossing"
    • Special Note: This was the first episode not broadcast in the United States. The Sky One guide for the episode can be found here. [3]
Annapolis, Maryland (near Washington, D.C.)
  • Julian Sloan, M.D. (on the loose)
    • Infected: via infected food (tomatoes).
    • Dr. Sloan was not completely transformed because he had an inherited genetic defect. As a result, he did not attempt to spread the signal. Instead, he became a vigilante and took it upon himself to hunt down all infected persons. He is able to sense people who have elevated theta waves.
    • Threshold response: At first, Threshold sought to contain Sloan. He had already killed one innocent person (who had elevated theta waves but was only a "dreamer") and attempted to kill Lucas at the hospital where his wife works. (Lucas was saved when Cavennaugh arrived) However, at the end, Caffrey decides to allow Sloan to roam freely.
    • This took place in the episode "Vigilante"
Allenville, Virginia
  • All the residents of the rural town Allenville
    • Infected: via infected food (tomatoes, again).
    • Attempt to spread the signal: the town's inhabitants attempted to build a communications array that could send a signal into outer space. The planned signal would get another probe to come to Earth and hover over Washington D.C. to infect the entire city.
    • Threshold response: The residents of Allenville were captured. The communications array was destroyed before a signal could be transmitted. One of the alien leaders, Agent Hayes, escaped.
    • This took place in the episode "Alienville"

[edit] Captured: Infectees held at "The Tank"

  • Brian Janklow
  • Karyn Reynolds
  • Agent Harper
  • Crewman Novak
  • Crewman Sanford

[edit] Captured: Infectees held at Threshold Command

  • Libby Drennan (pregnant)
  • Crewman Gunneson (in coma)
  • Lucas Pegg (observation, recovered)

[edit] MIA: Known Infectees not in custody

  • Crewman Pena
  • Agent Hayes

[edit] Limited exposures

  • Three "Red Team" members (Cavennaugh, Pegg & Caffrey) via partial viewing of Big Horn video recording
    • Video recording in the possession of the Threshold team
  • Prolonged exposure to alien artifact (from a previous alien visit) left in Ohio (three killed, one "dreamer")
    • Alien artifact in the possession of the Threshold team
  • Concert goers at a Miami rave (roughly 100 people were exposed to a limited burst of the signal)
    • Original recording in possession of the Threshold team, infected electronics "wiped" by the EMP
  • Prolonged exposure to a piece of the Big Horn ship found in Eddie's Clam Shack, a seafood restaurant in Broxton, Rhode Island. (10 patrons and 1 "employee" become "dreamers")
    • Big Horn piece in the possession of the Threshold team
  • Reverend Lavory of New Harmony, Indiana became a "dreamer" when he was exposed to Crewman Sonntag's infected vegetables planted in the reverend's garden. Sonntag hoped Lavory would help to convert his congregation.
    • Mutated plants in the possession of the Threshold team

[edit] Trivia

  • In "Trees Made of Glass, Part 1", Gunneson (William Mapother) is shot in the chest four times by Caffrey. William Mapother previously played Ethan Rom on Lost, who was killed by four shots to the chest.
  • In "Trees Made of Glass, Part 1", there is a reference to Klingons. Brent Spiner played Lieutenant Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the subsequent films. Executive Producer Brannon Braga, and writers Mike Sussman and Andre Bormanis, also worked on various Star Trek series.
  • Executive Producer Brannon Braga wrote a second-season episode of Star Trek: Voyager called "Threshold."
  • Threshold was the first CBS television series to utilize "streaming video" to re-air new episodes after the original airdate. Each new episode was posted on the CBS website five days after its original airdate and remained accessible there for three days. Nancy Tellem, president of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, stated that "the goal here is to recruit new viewers to 'Threshold,' help existing viewers catch up if they've missed some episodes and drive more traffic to CBS.com." Survivor and The Amazing Race both utilized a similar method for post-show interviews and discussions. The following television season (2006-2007) CBS incoorperated this concept into a streaming video area on their website called Innertube. The "behind the scenes" video clips for Threshold are still posted on the site under the "past broadcast shows" tab.
  • As mentioned in the "Revelations", the dreams of the glass forest are a direct visual accompaniment to Revelation 15:2: "I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the Harps of God."
  • In "Progeny", Dr. Fenway (Brent Spiner) uses the alias Dr. Martin Wrigley. Both Fenway and Wrigley are the names of professional baseball stadiums (Fenway Park is the home of the Boston Red Sox, Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs). Moreover, Brent Spiner is a Chicago Cubs fan and Dr. Fenway has previously indicated a love of baseball.
  • Since the Big Horn incident (up until "The Crossing"), there have been roughly 33 known exposures to the alien signal (not counting dreamers). Of those 33, 10 suffered a bad reaction to the signal, deformed and died. The remaining 23 survived exposure and became an infectee. Of those 23, 3 are at large (the remaining Big Horn crewman), 13 have been killed and 7 have been captured by Threshold.
  • Many of the themes of Threshold bear a striking resemblance to an episode of The Outer Limits entitled "Music of the Spheres".
  • In one of the episodes, Lucas Pegg is seen playing the video game Halo: Combat Evolved. The planet the Halo structure orbits around in the game is a gas giant called Threshold.


[edit] Similarities to UFO

Many elements of the series are similar to that of the 1970s science fiction series UFO.

  • Both Caffrey and UFO's Ed Straker are shown to be loners who run their organizations at the cost of any personal life. Both characters are also shown making cold-blooded decisions in order to save lives.
  • The issue of inflicting collateral damage for the greater good is addressed in both series.
  • Threshold and UFO's SHADO are secret agencies working at arms-length from government, with many high officials unaware of their existence. Both organizations also require loyalty from members; those who do not wish to co-operate face dire consequences.
  • In addition, the heads of both Threshold and SHADO are shown addressing mundane yet crucial issues such as who will pay the bills. (This results in episodes in both series in which the agencies have to prove their worth to bureaucrats in order to stay in operation.)
  • The motivations of the aliens appear to be similar: revising the human species in lieu of full out invasion.
  • The opening sequences of both series are also similar, following the same pattern: a brief sequence outlining the concept of the series (Caffrey's narration, UFO's montage of equipment and personnel), followed by a lengthy teaser to set up the storyline, then in lieu of an opening credits sequence the teaser ends with the show's logo and a musical "sting". Instead of an opening credits sequence, the series credits play out over top of the first scene of Act 1. However, that format is much more widespread in the early 2000s than it was in the 1970s.

[edit] Broadcasters

[edit] External links

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