User:Lyrithya/Threshold (TV series)

Threshold DVD cover art: the pretension is palpable.

“There's nothing inviting about the ponderous Threshold. Portentous music plays. Scared smart guys, rounded up by the government to figure out what's really happening, say smart-guy stupid stuff.”

~ Philadelphia Inquirer on Threshold

Threshold was a science fiction drama television series that attempted to monopolise upon a new genre of storytelling, that of being as pretentious as possible in every aspect, from acting to setting to characterisation to the way the entire series was produced to every minute detail of the plot. To that end, the series revolved around the story of a pretentious government project investigating the deplorably less pretentious first contact with what was hopefully a pretentious extraterrestrial species, despite the bad start.

The series lasted 13 episodes before being cancelled due to excess pretence.

Aliens

The modesty of this alien hiding behind the so-called 'glass trees' is a welcome relief from the

Threshold draws much of its pretence from its use of aliens - not as physical beings, but as a metaphor

Plot

“ My name is Molly Caffrey, and I work for the federal government. I deal in worst case scenarios, the unthinkable. On September 15, 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 any time, any place, anyone. Their goal? To turn us into them. But I have a plan to stop them. That plan is called Threshold. ”

— Opening line

The series begins on September 15, 2005, when the unthinkable happens. An object object appears and changes people.

Notes

Notable breaks from this pattern include the woman taking her dog on the helicopter, and yet somehow having the time to change her clothes. Clearly someone likes dogs.

Cells grow hairs. This is unusual.

Fractals are a language that anyone can understand. In this case, the symbol is a triple helix lifeform speaking to the fellow.

Standing around a badly lit room, pondering something slightly off-scene and to the right... intense stares and intense voices... intense music mounts.

Stand in front of projector when giving a presentation - the professional way to do things.

The camera weaves drunkenly from side to side in an attempt to convey the mood of the situation.

• "You've just become the most important person on the planet."
• "Door number 1 or door number 2?"
• "What about you, are you yourself?"
• "Maybe our definition of dead just changed."
• "Do you think people give a flying fark about science?"
• "Is that my underwear in your hands?"
• "Word salad. Expressive aphasia. Get the words backwards."
• "See this thing that looks like a peach pit here? That was his heart."
• "I've been watching him mutate for the past 48 hours."
• "It'll be okay. We have a plan."
• "I can assure you that Threshold is not a livestock museum."

• Weird music
• Obligatory midget is probably the best actor of the lot
• Obligatory severed hand
• Numerous instances of repeating symbols in the local wildlife
• Nonsense elicits nods. Unpleasant news elicits nods.
• Heavy use of photo negatives
• Monotone banter
• Stand in the shafts of light for maximum intensity
• Long coats
• Unsanitory conditions around autopsies - food, phones, switch hands while cutting
• Romance!
• Wandering facilities
• Impeccable bootprints right next to each other
• Suddenly, gunfire!
• Cleavage
• Zombies
• Pull the woman out of an MRI and say, "According to your EEG..."
• One doctor is an expert at everything
• Talking about sensitive material in front of other people, and yet it's top-secret; only six people know...
• Extensive use of grasping hands reaching through walls, windows, etc and grabbing people
• Set up wifi jammers - instead of turning it off
• Interesting hair - very gothic
• Two dogs
• Not wearing a bra - very bouncy
• Obligatory government interdepartmental politics - homeland security vs NSA
• Rooms remain dark
• Sob stories involving children whose fathers died...
• Usually night; even dark during day
• Full range of Guild Wars hairstyles - they pulled them from this
• Open conversation does come back to bite them
• One cat
• Visible unfindable tracking devices