DISC 1: TREES MADE OF GLASS, BLOOD OF THE CHILDREN/ THE BURNING
DISC 2: SHOCK/ PULSE/ THE ORDER/ REVELATIONS
DISC 3: PROGENY/ THE CROSSING/ OUTBREAK/ VIGILANTE
DISC 4: ALIENVILLE
THRESHOLD is a great science fiction series that burned out too quickly due to poor audience response. As witnessed by
the four unaired episodes on the DVD set, THRESHOLD was just getting started and gained momentum with each episode. It had
one of the most unique premises ever. A four dimensional alien probe emits a signal and rays of light that changes a person's
DNA into the triple-helix DNA of an alien race. Threshold is a plan devised by Dr. Molly Caffrey (Carla Gugino) to fight alien
invasions. It has three steps. The first is Threshold, the second is Foothold when the aliens have made an effective beachhead
into the world, and Stragglehold when they basically taken the planet over. Molly puts together a Red Team of experts that
include a dwarf mathetician- Ramsey, a cynical scientist who has been divorced at least twice- Dr. Fenway (Brent Spiner who
played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation), and a young tech genius- Lucas. Also a military sepcial ops guy, Cavennaugh
is part of this team. A new member, Daphane (catherine Bell) joins in the episode OUTBREAK.
THRESHOLD was building it's mythology as things in earlier episodes like a pregnant infected woman gives birth in a later
episode (ALIENVILLE- the last one to be filmed when the series was cancelled), the probe from THE BURNING, the self-destruction
of Ramsey, and the visions Lucas has of a 19th century man who beat the aliens. I was excited to see season 2 (Foothold) and
Season 3 (Stragglehold). Too bad the schedule move from Friday to Tuesday proved to be suicide for the series (it didn't help
to have a three week break between new episodes and a time change too). THRESHOLD took risks and it would have been a very
risk-taking series if it survived. I wanted to know more about the neutron star Manning mentioned (in OUTBREAK)- was it a
bluff or not?!
VIDEO: 1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)
The episodes look great on DVD, but the only thing I saw was inconsistent are 2-3 scenes in OUTBREAK have backgrounds shift
from sharp to soft. It could be the way it was filmed or the fault in the transfer of the episode or the way it was handled
in post production. Too bad the episodes on the first three discs don't have a play all option (a few of the featurettes do).
AUDIO: English 5.1, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English Close Captioning
Dialogue and the sound mix is clear. I do wish English subtitles were provided in addition to English close captioning.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
An audio commentary for TREES MADE OF GLASS (by Davis S. Goyer and Brannon Braga) and two deleted scenes for that episode
are on disc one. The audio commentary is an interesting one as the two also tell what changed in the pilot when the series
was picked up and a little about the series in general.
Disc 4 contains some featurettes (all in 1.33:1 Full Frame):
THE THRESHOLD BRAIN TRUST is a four part featurette (about 32 minuets long):
ORIGINS- How the series came about and the writers assembled for the series, the look of the series
ASSEMBLING TEH RED TEAM- The cast of THRESHOLD
THE SCARY DETAILS- how creepy out the viewers and actors are by the series
THE POSSIBILITIES- The creators and writers lay out what they had planned for the rest of season if the show wasn't cancelled
and the overall three season plan
THRESHOLD VISUAL EFFECTS looks at three different VFX of the series: THE ALIEN OBJECT, COCKROACHES, THE GLASS FOREST. Two
Visual Effects Supervisors, Robert Bailey and Dan Curry, talk about the two VFX (THE ALIEN OBJECT and COCKROACHES) used in
the pilot episode and the combination of CGI and green screen. Rocco Passionino, another VFX Supervisor is featured in the
COCKROACHES and THE GLASS FOREST.
BEHIND THE BRAIN TURST- Producer Andre Bormanis talks about the fractal pattern seen in the series and fractal geometry.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THRESHOLD was a terrifying sci-fi series that many didn't watch. This short-lived series is presented
in a beautiful DVD set with an excellent batch of extras. I hope THRESHOLD can continue if the DVDs sell well and the upcoming
repeat airings on the Sci-Fi Channel spark new interest.
this review is (c)8-16-2006 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link
to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
