Threshold pimping post
Threshold
Threshold is a 13 episode science fiction TV series (and no, nothing is really resolved) that ran in 2006 and has a cast list that can give any nerd a massive fangasm. I have no idea why it was cancelled. Possibly there are not enough nerds in the world, though this seems sad.
It's creepy, addictive, and has rather clunky dialogue at times, but that's okay, because this gang are great at delivering any kind of dialogue at all.
Threshold is also the name of a plan of what you should do if aliens land on Earth. Which they just have. And not in a good way.
This here is the plot:
In other words, the aliens have invaded in the form of information: a signal that, given enough time, will mutate DNA from a double helix to a triple helix, hence making aliens out of Earthlings. A mutated creature can then mutate others either by spreading the signal to them, or by spreading the DNA (for instance by being eaten, if it's a plant, or having sex, if it's a human). Once someone has turned alien, previous loyalties don't matter. All that matters is to turn others as well, or "improve" them as the aliens like to call it.
Converted plants and bugs tend to look a bit icky. Converted people looks more or less like anyone else, right up to the point where they rip your head off with their bare hands. They're super-strong, very hard to kill, and they want to reproduce by any means necessary.
But hey, at least they're not gasmask people. They're just people. One of them is William Mapother. I know, that's not very comforting either.
On the other side, we have the Threshold team.They're a bunch of really smart people who are trying to stop this first contact from becoming a full-on alien invasion. Some of them don't want to, but this isn't a job you're allowed to turn down. They're employed by the government, which means half of the stuff they do is morally shady and kind of creepifying.
This here is the Threshold team:
1. Molly Caffrey
Molly deals with worst case scenarios - that is to say, she figures out how life could suck not just a little bit more, but a lot more. Then she figures out what to do about it. When the show starts, she is called in by the government to implement the Threshold/alien invasion plan. Since she's the one who's been obsessively thinking about this stuff even before it happens, she nominally calls a lot of the shots. On a more practical level, J.T. is usually the one in charge. And then of course there are high-up bosses and stuff, but they're notoriously unreliable and we do our best to pretend they don't exist.
Molly has daddy issues and no social life and a dog. She's the closest thing this show gets to nice and normal, and most of what's happening is seen through her eyes.
She is played by Carla Gugino, whom you may have seen as Ashley in Spin City, the mom in Spy Kids, Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, or anything else, really, since she's in everything. (And pretty damn awesome, too.)
2. Nigel Fenway
Fenway is a microbiologist, and his primary job is to figure out how this triple-helix DNA works and make it stop doing that. This means he's in charge of infected rats, infected lettuce, and sticking a bunch of needles in you to figure out if you're an alien.
Fenway has three ex-wives and a whole bunch of kids, which causes some trouble when he's stuck in a supersecret lab all day. I mean, please, have you ever heard of a lamer excuse to try to get out of paying alimony? He's kind of snarky and has no qualms telling his superiors when he thinks they're being unethical jerks. Which is kind of a lot.
He is played by Brent Spiner, who is fully functional and anatomically correct whom I certainly hope you have seen as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. You may also have seen him as Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day.
3. Arthur Ramsey
Ramsey is a linguist and mathematician. He can speak about two dozen languages, play Henry Higgins with your dialect, figure out your body language, and solve advanced mathematical problems. His main job is to figure out the damn signal, but he'll also help interrogate aliens, hack into databases, or whatever else he can fit in between the gambling rounds.
Ramsey likes sex, drugs, and online poker. He's raunchy and belligerent and somehow ends up being friends with Lucas, probably because they're stuck in the same room a lot.
He is played by Peter Dinklage, whom you may have seen as Fin in The Station Agent, Trumpkin in Prince Caspian, Ben Klandis in Find Me Guilty or Peter in Death at a Funeral.
4. Lucas Pegg
Lucas is an aerospace engineer and in charge of everything that's remotely gadgety, which includes the alien signal when it's in its non-biological mode and spreading through mp3s and VISA cards rather than food and bug bites. (Yes, it can do both.)
Lucas is sweet and idealistic and about to be married. He wants to do the right thing and help his country and save people. If he weren't so darn cute he'd be cannon fodder. The fact that this show keeps giving him scenes - friendly, fun scenes - with Ramsey is pure genius.
He is played by Rob Benedict, whom you may have seen as Chuck on Supernatural, Richard on Felicity, or Brodien on Alias.
5. Sean Cavennaugh
Cavennaugh is the muscle of the team and a good soldier boy. He's strong, handsome, serious, reliable, and has some UST with Molly. He's not particularly interesting, but he's nice enough, so he can stay. Plus, it's always nice to have a guy who knows how to follow orders.
He is played by Brian Van Holt, whom you may have seen guest star in a bunch of stuff, and who is currently on
Cougar Town as Bobby Cobb.
6. J.T. Baylock
J.T. is the Deputy National Security Advisor, which is an actual title and means he's in charge of making sure that everyone on the Threshold team does their job, and to slap them over the head when they're out of line. If Molly says, "we need to capture this guy," J.T. figures out how to do it and gets the grunts on the road. Don't mess with J.T. or you may find yourself "disappeared" into a little cell somewhere.
J.T. is pretty stern but sometimes tries to fit in some fatherly advice among his other duties.
He is played by Charles S. Dutton, whom you may have seen as the title character on Roc, Dillon in Alien 3, Dr. Bradshaw on The L. Word, Foreman's father on House, or probably a whole bunch of other things since he's been acting for a quarter century.
All in all, the show is a little bit like Torchwood, except that the only one who gets to have onscreen sex is Ramsey. Presumably Lucas gets some offscreen. And maybe Fenway. Probably not Molly, though.
If you're interested by now (and if not, then why on earth not?)
trascendenza has made a fandom master list. There are also ways to get hold of episodes, let me know if you want them.
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/483782.html and has
comments there.
Threshold is a 13 episode science fiction TV series (and no, nothing is really resolved) that ran in 2006 and has a cast list that can give any nerd a massive fangasm. I have no idea why it was cancelled. Possibly there are not enough nerds in the world, though this seems sad.
It's creepy, addictive, and has rather clunky dialogue at times, but that's okay, because this gang are great at delivering any kind of dialogue at all.
Threshold is also the name of a plan of what you should do if aliens land on Earth. Which they just have. And not in a good way.
This here is the plot:
In other words, the aliens have invaded in the form of information: a signal that, given enough time, will mutate DNA from a double helix to a triple helix, hence making aliens out of Earthlings. A mutated creature can then mutate others either by spreading the signal to them, or by spreading the DNA (for instance by being eaten, if it's a plant, or having sex, if it's a human). Once someone has turned alien, previous loyalties don't matter. All that matters is to turn others as well, or "improve" them as the aliens like to call it.
Converted plants and bugs tend to look a bit icky. Converted people looks more or less like anyone else, right up to the point where they rip your head off with their bare hands. They're super-strong, very hard to kill, and they want to reproduce by any means necessary.
But hey, at least they're not gasmask people. They're just people. One of them is William Mapother. I know, that's not very comforting either.
On the other side, we have the Threshold team.They're a bunch of really smart people who are trying to stop this first contact from becoming a full-on alien invasion. Some of them don't want to, but this isn't a job you're allowed to turn down. They're employed by the government, which means half of the stuff they do is morally shady and kind of creepifying.
This here is the Threshold team:
1. Molly Caffrey
Molly deals with worst case scenarios - that is to say, she figures out how life could suck not just a little bit more, but a lot more. Then she figures out what to do about it. When the show starts, she is called in by the government to implement the Threshold/alien invasion plan. Since she's the one who's been obsessively thinking about this stuff even before it happens, she nominally calls a lot of the shots. On a more practical level, J.T. is usually the one in charge. And then of course there are high-up bosses and stuff, but they're notoriously unreliable and we do our best to pretend they don't exist.
Molly has daddy issues and no social life and a dog. She's the closest thing this show gets to nice and normal, and most of what's happening is seen through her eyes.
She is played by Carla Gugino, whom you may have seen as Ashley in Spin City, the mom in Spy Kids, Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, or anything else, really, since she's in everything. (And pretty damn awesome, too.)
2. Nigel Fenway
Fenway is a microbiologist, and his primary job is to figure out how this triple-helix DNA works and make it stop doing that. This means he's in charge of infected rats, infected lettuce, and sticking a bunch of needles in you to figure out if you're an alien.
Fenway has three ex-wives and a whole bunch of kids, which causes some trouble when he's stuck in a supersecret lab all day. I mean, please, have you ever heard of a lamer excuse to try to get out of paying alimony? He's kind of snarky and has no qualms telling his superiors when he thinks they're being unethical jerks. Which is kind of a lot.
He is played by Brent Spiner, who is fully functional and anatomically correct whom I certainly hope you have seen as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. You may also have seen him as Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day.
3. Arthur Ramsey
Ramsey is a linguist and mathematician. He can speak about two dozen languages, play Henry Higgins with your dialect, figure out your body language, and solve advanced mathematical problems. His main job is to figure out the damn signal, but he'll also help interrogate aliens, hack into databases, or whatever else he can fit in between the gambling rounds.
Ramsey likes sex, drugs, and online poker. He's raunchy and belligerent and somehow ends up being friends with Lucas, probably because they're stuck in the same room a lot.
He is played by Peter Dinklage, whom you may have seen as Fin in The Station Agent, Trumpkin in Prince Caspian, Ben Klandis in Find Me Guilty or Peter in Death at a Funeral.
4. Lucas Pegg
Lucas is an aerospace engineer and in charge of everything that's remotely gadgety, which includes the alien signal when it's in its non-biological mode and spreading through mp3s and VISA cards rather than food and bug bites. (Yes, it can do both.)
Lucas is sweet and idealistic and about to be married. He wants to do the right thing and help his country and save people. If he weren't so darn cute he'd be cannon fodder. The fact that this show keeps giving him scenes - friendly, fun scenes - with Ramsey is pure genius.
He is played by Rob Benedict, whom you may have seen as Chuck on Supernatural, Richard on Felicity, or Brodien on Alias.
5. Sean Cavennaugh
Cavennaugh is the muscle of the team and a good soldier boy. He's strong, handsome, serious, reliable, and has some UST with Molly. He's not particularly interesting, but he's nice enough, so he can stay. Plus, it's always nice to have a guy who knows how to follow orders.
He is played by Brian Van Holt, whom you may have seen guest star in a bunch of stuff, and who is currently on
Cougar Town as Bobby Cobb.
6. J.T. Baylock
J.T. is the Deputy National Security Advisor, which is an actual title and means he's in charge of making sure that everyone on the Threshold team does their job, and to slap them over the head when they're out of line. If Molly says, "we need to capture this guy," J.T. figures out how to do it and gets the grunts on the road. Don't mess with J.T. or you may find yourself "disappeared" into a little cell somewhere.
J.T. is pretty stern but sometimes tries to fit in some fatherly advice among his other duties.
He is played by Charles S. Dutton, whom you may have seen as the title character on Roc, Dillon in Alien 3, Dr. Bradshaw on The L. Word, Foreman's father on House, or probably a whole bunch of other things since he's been acting for a quarter century.
All in all, the show is a little bit like Torchwood, except that the only one who gets to have onscreen sex is Ramsey. Presumably Lucas gets some offscreen. And maybe Fenway. Probably not Molly, though.
If you're interested by now (and if not, then why on earth not?)
trascendenza has made a fandom master list. There are also ways to get hold of episodes, let me know if you want them.
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/483782.html and has
comments there.