Aug 25, 2006

DVD Review: Threshold: The complete Series.

Threshold (CBS/Paramount DVD) is the entire 2005 series up 'til the plug was pulled. It's nine hours and fifteen minutes long and left me wanting more. There are four discs and twelve stories including the two hour pilot, plus deleted scenes and specials. A first rate cast and decent writing make this worth the time.

Carla Gugino takes the lead as Dr. Anne Caffrey, a Contingency Analyst and author of the plan being implemented by J.T. Baylock (Charles S. Dutton) Deputy National Security Advisor, against an alien invasion with a couple of novel twists. A large crystal probe appears to a ship at sea and plays sounds that transform the crews double helix DNA into their triple helix DNA, this with the uncontrollable urge to 'improve' all the rest of us.Some of us have a rather nasty reaction to this change. We implode.

The "Red Team" is charged to prevent this propagation at all costs, and therein lies the tale as the hand picked specialists try to stay even half a step behind.Brent Spiner (Data, Star Trek Next Generation) is very good as the bristly medical chief cook and bottle washer Dr. Nigel Fenway, with Lucas Pegg (Rob Benedict) as the young and naive physicist, Aurther Ramsey (Peter Dinklage, The Station Master) linguist and mathematician and Cavennaugh, hired gun.

Again it is the acting and the writing that lift this above the ordinary. Peter Dinklage must have paid them for this choice role as a brilliant but self destructive gambler, womanizer and cowardly substance abuser. He's terrific.

The bonus features are standard fare. We get a look behind the scenes of the show and how it came together.

An enjoyable program that any Sci-fi fan should enjoy.

Lee Crawford

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