By A.J. Livsey

“Threat Matrix,” ABC, Thursday at 8 p.m.

Telltale quote: “The war on terrorism has just begun. It is a war being fought by soldiers unknown to you and me. Their job is to keep us safe, and we are making progress.”

Overview: Anyone who follows ABC's “Alias” will know that the critically acclaimed series has struggled to heat up its lukewarm audience. Now, instead of working to improve ratings for the deserving show, ABC leaves “Alias” to fend for itself amid a dismal Sunday night lineup and instead invests in the introduction of “Threat Matrix,” a weak duplicate of the CIA-based drama.

     “Threat Matrix” joins 10 teams of secret officers from the NSA, CIA and FBI, hand-picked by the Department of Homeland Security to investigate terrorist threats. It's doubtful that Tom Ridge himself would have selected Kelly Rutherford (of “Melrose Place”) and James Denton, who play a divorced couple, to lead an otherwise diverse cast of characters.

     Luckily, the fast pace of the show leaves little time to play out the tired soap opera plotline of the love-gone-wrong. In the pilot episode, the Threat Matrix team steals a nuclear warhead, interrogates a drug trafficker for “intel” on a possible Al Qaeda mission, intercepts three teenaged terrorists, and chases an unknown subject from North Dakota to Chicago.

Verdict: “Threat Matrix” successfully capitalizes on the curious fascination America has with secret government operations. With immediate access to classified records, surveillance data, and virtually any international computer mainframe, the Threat Matrix team seems well equipped to take on any terrorist organization. But unlike “Alias” or “24,” which borrow from reality but stay well within the exaggerated realm of Hollywood, “Threat Matrix” may hit too close to home by preying on very real fears of terrorism.

     But fear is only one hurdle for the new drama. With the near-impossible task of distracting audiences from NBC's “Friends” and CBS's “Survivor,” “Threat Matrix” may discover its greatest challenge is finding viewers in its Thursday 8 p.m. timeslot.

By John Rash

“Threat Matrix,” ABC, Thursday at 8 p.m.

     Who says art imitates life? The decade's defining event, Sept. 11, 2001, was not mentioned in a single pilot in September 2002. So September 2003 finally brings “Threat Matrix,” primetime's first non-news look at the bravery required in this brave new world of anthrax and Iraq attacks (among other world woes).
      ABC should at least be credited with an earnest attempt to reflect reality instead of simply programming more reality programs that have served as escapism in these troubled times. But that's just the challenge for “Threat Matrix” (if not for the country at large). Reality shows routinely out-rated the ultimate reality show, coverage of the Iraq war on network TV. Stories of surviving soldiers were a Nielsen no-show compared to “Survivor.” “American Idol's” ratings marched over coverage of American heroes in desperate desert battles.
     So what chance does “Threat Matrix” have? Up against “Survivor” and the last season of “Friends,” not much. And to be fair, the good intentions are betrayed by poor execution, as this pilot often gives an unrealistic impression with its neat and clean cyberslueths fighting the down and dirty world of international terrorism.

     Still, it's worth at least a look, if nothing else as an escapist fantasy in its own right. Because unlike the reality soldiers are shouldering in Afghanistan, Iraq and in the homeland, in “Threat Matrix” the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security always get their man.

For past Media Life reviews of the new fall shows, click below.

UPN's "All of Us," "Rock Me Baby"

UPN's "Eve"

WB's "All About the Andersons"

WB's "Steve Harvey's Big Time"
WB's "Run of the House"
UPN's "The Mullets"

UPN's "Jake 2.0"

NBC's "Whoopi"
NBC's "Happy Family"

A.J. Livsey's fall season overview