Threshold

Image credit: THRESHOLD: Clair Carre

GUGINO AND SPINER

CONCEPT Aliens invade Earth; our only hope is Karen Sisco's Carla Gugino and her crack team of brainiacs (The Station Agent's Peter Dinklage, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner, and Felicity's Robert Patrick Benedict).

THE SCOOP ''This is not a science-fiction show,'' says producer David Heyman (who also produces the Harry Potter movies). ''It's not about aliens. We're trying to make it a natural situation.'' As natural as one can make a four-dimensional glowing orb thingie in the sky that manipulates human DNA... Exec producer David Goyer (who wrote Batman Begins) offers a hint to cliff-hanger fans: ''There's a big reveal at the end of the second episode. Giant.''

BOTTOM LINE Along with ABC's Invasion, it's the best of the new bunch of Lost-style fantasy-thriller-sci-fi series (of which there are oh so many). Plus, as Sisco fans will attest, Gugino means smart TV.