Post by Forever Xena on Oct 28, 2005 6:38:59 GMT -6
Saunders: 'Threshold' builds 'X' factor
October 25, 2005
The fall season has produced a spooky party of five.
Invasion, ABC's Wednesday night series dealing with the weird, unnatural aftermath of a hurricane in a Florida town has been renewed for the full season.
So has the WB's Supernatural, a Tuesday-night hour about two young brothers trekking across the country, confronting evil local legends.
Surface, NBC's plodding, water-logged hour about humans discovering a new species of sea creature, also has a green light for a full season of Monday night episodes.
The Nielsen jury is still out on Night Stalker, ABC's bloody - and often silly - remake of the network's '70s series that dealt with the heroic efforts of Kolchak, a wry, often bemused newspaper reporter.
Unfortunately, CBS has not indicated the future of Threshold, its horrific (in the good sense of the term) Friday show series starring Carla Gugino (Karen Sisco) as head of a government agency fighting an alien invasion.
Threshold is, by far, the cream of the creepy crop, with its emphasis on a different type of story line in the sci-fi, monster genre.
The aliens are invading our country and mutating the DNA of its victims through a strange audio signal.
Gugino is joined by a four-member team of scientific eccentrics, all of whom feel the direct impact of the invasion - occasional bloody noses and nightmares.
Has their DNA been invaded? Charles S. Dutton is superb as Gugino's tough-minded boss who often has to make life-and-death decisions.
Part of Threshold's dramatic success can be traced to its emphasis on the human element, particularly displayed in Gugino's character.
Last Friday, for example, she was mainly responsible for the death of a close female friend who had been infected with the deadly virus. And the impact was devastating on Gugino's character.
Threshold is the best of the five new creep shows because it mixes the subtle horror of an unseen enemy with traditional action sequences.
CBS is not yet on the threshold of making a decision about the series, which follows another freshman hour, the popular but predictable Ghost Whisperer, in the Friday night lineup.
Threshold needs time to develop.
As fans of The X Files will recall, that classic took more than a season to find a loyal fan base.
Dare I say it?
Threshold could be a worthy successor to The X Files, if given the opportunity.
COMING HOME: Former Denver news anchor Alan Gionet could soon be back on Denver television.
Gionet, former weekend anchor and reporter on CBS 4, is leaving his anchor job on the Gannett-owned television duopoly - NBC's WTLV and ABC's-WJXX-TV - in Jacksonville, Fla.
His reason, according to a report on the Gannett-owned station's Web site, is to return here.
Gionet has been in Jacksonville since 1998.
His desire to return to Denver led him to apply for the anchor job at 9News that went to Bob Kendrick when Ed Sardella retired.
Tim Wieland, CBS 4 news director, said he was aware of Gionet's plans, adding "we'd be foolish not to consider him."
CBS 4 is looking for a weekend anchor to replace Tony Lopez, who left the station at the end of September.
Gionet's departure date from the Gannett station has not been announced.
SALUTE TO A MASTER: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is in the middle of a weeklong tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, offering 36 of the suspense master's films and three documentaries about his work.
Today's schedule features films that TCM categorizes as "romantic suspense," including To Catch a Thief (6 p.m.), Notorious (8 p.m.), Rebecca (10 p.m.) and Suspicion (12:15 a.m.).
Wednesday's lineup highlights six British films made in the '30s when Hitchcock was beginning his career.
Regarding his early work, Hitchcock once said: "The films in Britain served to develop my natural instincts and later enabled me to apply new offbeat ideas."
TODAY'S NOSTALGIA: On Oct. 25, 1960, NBC aired the Civil War-era drama, John Brown's Raid, an original production that starred James Mason, Robert Duvall and Ossie Davis.
Dusty Saunders is the broadcasting critic. Saunders@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5137
October 25, 2005
The fall season has produced a spooky party of five.
Invasion, ABC's Wednesday night series dealing with the weird, unnatural aftermath of a hurricane in a Florida town has been renewed for the full season.
So has the WB's Supernatural, a Tuesday-night hour about two young brothers trekking across the country, confronting evil local legends.
Surface, NBC's plodding, water-logged hour about humans discovering a new species of sea creature, also has a green light for a full season of Monday night episodes.
The Nielsen jury is still out on Night Stalker, ABC's bloody - and often silly - remake of the network's '70s series that dealt with the heroic efforts of Kolchak, a wry, often bemused newspaper reporter.
Unfortunately, CBS has not indicated the future of Threshold, its horrific (in the good sense of the term) Friday show series starring Carla Gugino (Karen Sisco) as head of a government agency fighting an alien invasion.
Threshold is, by far, the cream of the creepy crop, with its emphasis on a different type of story line in the sci-fi, monster genre.
The aliens are invading our country and mutating the DNA of its victims through a strange audio signal.
Gugino is joined by a four-member team of scientific eccentrics, all of whom feel the direct impact of the invasion - occasional bloody noses and nightmares.
Has their DNA been invaded? Charles S. Dutton is superb as Gugino's tough-minded boss who often has to make life-and-death decisions.
Part of Threshold's dramatic success can be traced to its emphasis on the human element, particularly displayed in Gugino's character.
Last Friday, for example, she was mainly responsible for the death of a close female friend who had been infected with the deadly virus. And the impact was devastating on Gugino's character.
Threshold is the best of the five new creep shows because it mixes the subtle horror of an unseen enemy with traditional action sequences.
CBS is not yet on the threshold of making a decision about the series, which follows another freshman hour, the popular but predictable Ghost Whisperer, in the Friday night lineup.
Threshold needs time to develop.
As fans of The X Files will recall, that classic took more than a season to find a loyal fan base.
Dare I say it?
Threshold could be a worthy successor to The X Files, if given the opportunity.
COMING HOME: Former Denver news anchor Alan Gionet could soon be back on Denver television.
Gionet, former weekend anchor and reporter on CBS 4, is leaving his anchor job on the Gannett-owned television duopoly - NBC's WTLV and ABC's-WJXX-TV - in Jacksonville, Fla.
His reason, according to a report on the Gannett-owned station's Web site, is to return here.
Gionet has been in Jacksonville since 1998.
His desire to return to Denver led him to apply for the anchor job at 9News that went to Bob Kendrick when Ed Sardella retired.
Tim Wieland, CBS 4 news director, said he was aware of Gionet's plans, adding "we'd be foolish not to consider him."
CBS 4 is looking for a weekend anchor to replace Tony Lopez, who left the station at the end of September.
Gionet's departure date from the Gannett station has not been announced.
SALUTE TO A MASTER: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is in the middle of a weeklong tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, offering 36 of the suspense master's films and three documentaries about his work.
Today's schedule features films that TCM categorizes as "romantic suspense," including To Catch a Thief (6 p.m.), Notorious (8 p.m.), Rebecca (10 p.m.) and Suspicion (12:15 a.m.).
Wednesday's lineup highlights six British films made in the '30s when Hitchcock was beginning his career.
Regarding his early work, Hitchcock once said: "The films in Britain served to develop my natural instincts and later enabled me to apply new offbeat ideas."
TODAY'S NOSTALGIA: On Oct. 25, 1960, NBC aired the Civil War-era drama, John Brown's Raid, an original production that starred James Mason, Robert Duvall and Ossie Davis.
Dusty Saunders is the broadcasting critic. Saunders@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5137
very considerate of you 
