Threshold 1.8: "Revelations"

Written by Andrew Colville and Amy Berg
Directed by Thomas Wright

In which Caffrey and Cavanaugh investigate a religious leader preaching sermons about a “sea of glass”, while the rest of the Red Team discovers more about the scope of the incursion…


I continue to wonder how Caffrey, in all her tight-white-shirt hotness, thinks her plan will be even remotely successful. The alien incursion is far too complex for the Red Team to contain, let alone address, and things just get worse over time. The revelation about the Big Horn and its forest of wacky alien crystals ought to just about bury Threshold as a contingency plan. After all, if the algae on the driftwood was bad enough to cause problems in the previous episode, imagine what exposure to the Big Horn and basic sea currents will accomplish!

Not only that, but the infected are trying to infect everyone they can, screw up the agriculture, and in the meantime, directly attack the Red Team and Threshold. In other words, the infectees have a plan, and they seem to all be on the same page, through a combination of genetic memory and shared subconscious. They’re already working together towards a common goal, and because the Red Team doesn’t know the scope of the alien effort or the final purpose, they don’t have a prayer.

Now, that works on a certain level, if one is ready to accept a fatalist series. But I don’t see that happening on a mainstream network. Even “BSG” is a dark series grounded in a humanity with hope. Right now, the message of Threshold is that the plan can barely keep the aliens from winning on Day 1. If I knew that the series was going to last the minimum three seasons that David Goyer keeps talking about (the Threshold, Foothold, Stranglehold concept), and that the plot would really delve into that darker material without network interference, then I wouldn’t be concerned.

But this is the kind of series that has limited appeal, and considering that this first phase of the series was on the bubble for so long, can anyone be sure that the story will be told? I would like to think that it would survive, but I’m fairly realistic about such things. If the series is going to slide into desperate territory, and the general audience turns away, how long will it be before the network demands that Caffrey and her team take a different, more positive direction?

One thing that the writers will need to do is focus on the characters even more than they already have. Character is king, and it’s a big reason why “Invasion” is gaining momentum after a slow start. “Threshold” had a strong beginning in terms of character, but now it feels a bit aimless. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong, but I stand by what I’ve said before.

Caffrey and her team are beginning to fall into the kind of general plot format popularized on “Stargate SG-1”. The Red Team knows about the threat. The public doesn’t. The Red Team is part of a secret black project with wide discretionary powers, but there are political forces gathering against it, who minimize the alien threat. The difference here is the nature of the threat and the utter lack of “off-world” travel/allies. As I said, that makes the situation a lot more desperate.

I think that the concept doesn’t really mesh with the desire to put Caffrey in stylish clothing and in the field, where she can look damn fine, while also running a broad response to a worldwide threat. The focus needs to be on the besieged Red Team and how their personal philosophies and morals are compromised by what the response to the alien threat requires of them. When that happens, the material works great. The actual “cases” are, so far, hit or miss. Focus on the characters, get people to identify with their angst, and the concept will attend to itself.

As for this episode, there were some great creepy moments, especially when the genetic modifications came along. The best parts, however, were the religious questions, which struck to the heart of the alien plan. What if the alien incursion is not the invasion that it appears to be? What if the Red Team is resisting something that is meant to be a benefit? Or are the exposed team members beginning to think that way because of their previous exposure? Again, it comes down to the characters and how they react to events as they unfold. More focus on those aspects could help the series survive long enough to convince the network to let the concept play out more than a single season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10