First Wave (1998)
First Wave is a Canadian/American science fiction television series, filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that aired from 1998 to 2001 on the Sci-Fi Channel. The show was created by Chris Brancato, who co-wrote an early version of the script for the seminal X-Files episode "Eve". Francis Ford Coppola was executive producer on the show. In an unusual move, the Sci-Fi Channel picked up the series on a 66-episode contract. The show was subsequently canceled once the contract expired at the end of the third season due to disappointing ratings.
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Episode 1 - Target 117
Release Date: 2000-01-09Lucas is sent to Earth to test Cade Foster's warrior potential. - - - Quatrain 99, Century 1: ""Heed the call to the island of commerce / Cut be watchful of footsteps that lead unto battle / Look to the light to guide thee / The hacking blade has a double edge"" This quatrain had had me and Eddie baffled for some time until Eddie began receiving a series of e-mails at the Paranoid Times from a man named Harold Shanley who claimed to have escaped from an alien experiment. The poor guy sounded out of his mind; seems he became delusional enough to shoot his own kids. His descriptions took me back to my own nightmare. As much pain as I felt at losing Hannah, I'm sure his was 100 times greater. I knew I was the only one who could help him, and I also knew that any information he had could undoubtedly help me too. I had to find him before the Gua did. According to the origins of his sporadic e-mails, Shanley was making his way across the country, the most recent was from an Industrial Trade
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Episode 2 - Deepthroat
Release Date: 2000-01-16Cade works to expose a U.S. Senator who is thwarting government funded space exploration. - - - Quatrain 42, Century 5: ""When the sun bursts forth at night / The life of a starwatcher is lost / But the truth revealed in the heavens / Is carried to a high magistrate"". Eddie's friend Vincente Miranda, an astronomer in Ohio, was shot to death shortly after witnessing a meteor burst out of a wormhole just outside our atmosphere. He instantly understood the implications of what this could mean. While he explained his findings to Eddie over the phone, he put the critical photographs and charts in a package to be over-nighted to U.S. Senator Sterling Preston. Lucky for us it wasn't clearly labeled. The Gua who rubbed him out destroyed everything having to do with the discovery, but he didn't think to go through the outgoing mail. The package was sent, delivered and signed for. Of all the places I wanted to go hunt down evidence, the nation's capital was at the bottom of my list. Only the t
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Episode 3 - The Apostles
Release Date: 2000-01-23Cade poses as a journalist to investigate a disappearance in a Wyoming town. - - - Quatrain 54, Century 7: ""Iron horses blaze a vengeful trail / The first of many to follow / Their method must be chartered / Or liberty will fall"". 19 million innocent humans killed on the first day of the Gua attack. That fact has rung in my ears and echoed in my heart everyday for the past year. It is a staggering concept. How far will I go to prevent it from happening? What price am I willing to pay? I faced my biggest challenge to date in Crestline, Wyoming. It was not a battle of strength, nor a battle of will. It was a battle of beliefs. But this time I fought other humans. I followed a lead about a town having trouble with some bikers. Seems this gang had been harassing citizens of Crestline by acting out vigilante justice. But for all the murders the Apostles committed, no one could produce any bodies. Imagine my surprise when they revealed themselves to be alien killers; they had read Eddie's
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Episode 4 - Susperience
Release Date: 2000-01-30Cade investigates a psychic research project in a seaside town. - - - Quatrain 23, Century 3: ""The two-sighted will meet death in sleep / Purged from the nightmare of a hidden enemy / Barricades protect spurious sleep / And the spectre is lanced with a common blade"". Found myself cruising along the coast to Prescott, Maine where a renowned group of psychics were burying one of their own. Rachel Cates had died mysteriously in her sleep. I usually think of hotlines and con artists whenever psychics are mentioned. But with all I'd seen in the past two years, it seemed possible the Gua had decided this was a group they couldn't afford to ignore. I'm no psychic, but I had a strong hunch there was an alien in my future. Posing as an investigator for Cates' insurance company I went to talk to Ellen, a clairvoyant, and part of the local universities illustrious paranormal studies department. Besides Ellen, the group also included a telekinetic and a man who could cast images that weren't the
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Episode 5 - The Channel
Release Date: 2000-02-06A young woman communicates directly with the spirit of Nostradamus. - - - Quatrain 4, Century 9: ""She will rise from the dead / With words of fortune on her lips"". The local newspapers say paramedics revived a waitress in Cranston, Rhode Island, after six minutes with no heart beat. She woke up speaking words of fortune, only those words belonged to an ancient prophet. I know Chloe Wells is reciting the lost quatrains of Nostradamus. The aliens must know it too. I have to find her – before they do. Arrived at Chloe's house to find a media circus led by glitzy news hound Arthur Hewitt, and a crowd holding vigil for their newly appointed savior. Seems that one of the first quatrains Chloe spoke struck a cord with the people of Cranston – a prediction of their mayor's death. Checked out the scene and the cameras caught me – just for a second, but when you're a wanted man every second counts. Nobody wants to be on America's Top Fugitives. Eddie and I had hidden the Nostradamus book as an
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Episode 6 - Red Flag
Release Date: 2000-04-02Foster attempts to uncover an alien plot to infiltrate the military. - - - ""The town will not ring its cracked bell / For the hero has gone astray / The crimson banner lures the one and the many / With each victory so will victory undo"". Special Forces Colonel John Russell died suddenly of extreme internal temperatures – literally boiled to death. His first lieutenant, Alex Harkin, disappeared immediately after. Suspected of being a ""deep cover"" spy, Harkin was due to face inquiry before his hasty exit. Twice-decorated for heroism, Harkin was the winner of the Red Flag, an award given to the best of the best in the military. The crimson banner and the hero gone astray are both mentioned in the Nostradamus quatrain. I wanted to know how the Red Flag and the aliens were connected, so Eddie and I cooked up some triple-A credentials and I became Matin Sloane – super-soldier – one of five contenders for this year's competition. Off the bus, I met a military hard-ass named Major Birch, my
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Episode 7 - Prayer for the White Man
Release Date: 2000-04-09Foster poses as a journalist to investigate proposed casinos on native reserve land. - - - ""In the woods of Winchala / Amnis lights the flame of affliction / Elders set the course / To choose wrongly will mean woe"". This quatrain led me to the reservation of the Winchala, a small Native American tribe with a rich history. The landscape was calming, but something was definitely wrong. There was a lot of tension about the legalization of gambling on reservation lands. But why would the Gua infiltrate the Winchala reservation? And how could gambling fit into their plan? I arrived posing as a reporter for The Gaming Chronicles. I played a few hands at the black jack table and was able to spark up a conversation with a talkative dealer who filled me in on some of the details. Only one casino has already been built, but there was a proposal in the offing which would call for the construction of ninety more to be scattered across Winchala territories. The community's board of elders was onl
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Episode 8 - The Purge
Release Date: 2000-04-16An attempt on the life of the minister causes chaos at an assembly of alien dignitaries. - - - There is a potentially dangerous storm brewing deep within the ranks of the Gua forces. Though my concerns grow more dire each day, I, Joshua, must admit to feeling a certain degree of relief – to finally know that I am not alone in my conclusions, that others both here and at home are similarly doubting the validity of our mission here on Earth. Decades ago, during the earliest days of the infiltration, we were a unified force, certain that patience and careful planning were all that would be required to defeat the human race. I used to believe that. But now I find myself riddled with doubt. Now I know enough to question not only the tactics but the very objectives of our leadership. Yet even as I write here, the most powerful and respected of our leaders continue to maintain that Earth and its inhabitants are well within our control, utterly unprepared to defend themselves against a full-
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Episode 9 - Lost Souls
Release Date: 2000-04-23Foster investigates an alien experiment that caused people to be trapped alive in underground tombs. - - - ""A maiden cut aloft from humanity / Locked in a coffin of stone / Her resurrection a clue for the man twice-blessed / Till the fate of her soul has been sealed"". Our boy Eddie was able to link this quatrain with a wildly bizarre story he picked up in the Paranormal News Group. While building a connector deep within the New York City subway system, a group of workers discovered the extraordinarily well-preserved body of a woman. She had apparently been entombed within a concrete wall that was built over 50 years before. And, believe it or not, that's not the weirdest part. The strangest aspect to the story is that the woman was found alive. Authorities were able to identity the woman as one Francesca Dutton, an accomplished travel writer who was reported missing way back in 1945. Eddie worked his usual magic and managed to work up a false identity for me. I would undertake my inv
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Episode 10 - The Heist
Release Date: 2000-06-18Foster and his cronies find themselves as participants in an alien experiment. - - - ""The weapon will fall upon cities / Unless theives deliver humanity from woe / The enemy of triumph is intellect / For faculties failure requires sence anew"". I spent my early years in a top-notch thief crew, so this Nostradamus quatrain peaked my interest. But touching base with my past quickly collided with my present. Suddenly, I was back in the game, working as a break-and-enter man for a score going down in Silicon Valley. And the people I worked with were no strangers. Harley Daniels, more than an old friend, a statuesque blonde with brains to spare – she finds the scores and makes sure they get set up right. Ritchie Black, a wild boy who happens to be the best alarm-bypass man around – it always felt good to have Ritchie by my side on a job. And then there was Dex – the taskmaster of the unit – took ""Crew Chief"" as his title. Dex had a special love for giving orders – he kept us on track. Thin
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Episode 11 - Ohio Players
Release Date: 2000-06-25Cade Foster investigates the possibility of alien experiments on football players. - - - ""Here the good river runs north / Young fortunes are reversed in mock battle / Enslavement takes myriad focus / The key to them all is control"". The Ohio River runs north on the eastern border of the state. In the Iroquois language Ohio means ""good river."" Sounded like a good place to start looking for a Gua experiment. Eddie checked for anything unusual in the region and came up with what looked like anything but. The Fairvale Falcons – a high school football team with a winning streak that the pros would love to claim – 11 and 0. It was an amazing turn around for a team that's been in last place for nine years running. And it got me thinking. Could high school football be the mock battle Nostradamus was referring to? If so, the Fairvale Falcons have thrilled the state as they reversed their fortunes. As unlikely as it seemed, it fit. Had to check it out. Every dog may have its day, but I've lea
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Episode 12 - Night Falls
Release Date: 1999-12-08The aliens try to trick Foster into revealing the location of a lost book of Nostradamus' quatrains. - - - ""Three rivers amidst iron wrought / Barren ground shall be sowed once more / The hunter and hunted are one/ When shadows descend on the twice-blessed man"". Followed up on an e-mail to this Web site which led me to the iron city of Pittsburgh searching for possible alien activity. I thought Nostradamus' mention of barren ground might have been the Soames medical facility, which had been closed for years – wrong move. Made a mistake this time, a big one. The cops were after me. Got caught at the facility, chased out. Down a fire escape, over a fence, they weren't messing around, took a bullet in the side. Figured the Gua had probably joined the hunt too. I was running out of time. Had to think fast. Taking a hostage was a desperate move, knew it would happen some day and dreaded it. Couldn't take any chances. No way I'd make it on foot. That's how I came to take Lena Hansen hostag
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Episode 13 - Normal, Illinois
Release Date: 1999-12-15Several teens die from mysterious neurological disorders. - - - ""Here the waters are contained / Nature's course is obstructed / And youth imprisoned by devil's lightning / Whose use shall tame the rival's ardor"". Crazy Eddie has been recently getting more and more e-mails from visitors to the site. Readers who believe the unbelievable – that the aliens are here to take over our planet. One of our readers, Robbie Harlock, e-mailed us repeatedly about the bizarre death of Carson McAuliffe during a pool party in a small town in Illinois. The e-mail bore similarity to Quatrain 66, Century 7: ""Where the waters are contained / Nature's course is obstructed / And youth imprisoned by devil's lightening / Whose use shall tame the rival's ardor."" From previous experiences I knew following up e-mails is a risky business, but I also knew our network of believers is growing so the risk was worth it. That's what brought me to the small town called Normal. Met Robbie in the woods along the highway
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Episode 14 - All About Eddie
Release Date: 1999-12-22The aliens pursue Eddie at his high-school reunion. - - - I ain't Foster. But you probably know that right off the bat. That's right, Crazy Eddie here. I talked to Cade about taking over the journal this week seeing as I was the alien target du jour. You heard it here first – the Gua were gunning for the Nambu-lator. And it all started with a reunion. They say that high school is the practice run for the marathon of life, if that's the case, then what started out with a blazing burst of speed ended in the limpid lameness of loserdom. The terrible event that closed out my school years has haunted me to this day, a failure so profound I cast off my closest friends like obsolete software and never looked back. So I had some issues associated with my teen years. That's why I left the warm security of my trailer for the cold harsh reality of Heisenberg High. To reconnect with the people who were once my friends … and seek answers to the enigma that is my life. Just when I was about to los
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Episode 15 - Playland
Release Date: 1999-12-29A young man kills nine people in an act of senseless violence, based on his experiences in an alien-run amusement park. - - - Fork Falls, South Dakota. Gary Lanning shot and killed nine people in a fast food joint. When the cops found him, he was stuffing his face with fries. The publically released records of a psychiatrist said Gary had delusional fantasies of time spent in an amusement park called Playland. That was before Gary stabbed the shrink in the heart with a pen. Are kids like Gary who Nostradamus was talking about when he said ""youth most murderous?"" Is it possible that this troubled teen's delusions were caused by a Gua experiment? I went to Playland to find out. Met Eddie in the Laser Gun House at the park. Kids were running all over the place, we found a back room. Eddie said there was an abnormal electrical ion level focused there. Gary mentioned going through a secret door in the park. The quatrain spoke of a ""threshold of light."" We'd seen the Gua use quantum pocket
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Episode 16 - The Harvest
Release Date: 2000-01-05Aliens harvest human hormones for their healing properties. - - - ""On the fields of Revolution / Where England's traitor King runneth / Passion's dew is stolen / The undercroft keeps the salve of enemy wounds"". The Charles River in Boston is named after Charles the First, the Traitor King of England. Bit of a stretch when you read the quatrain, except that three wealthy women had recently disappeared in Boston. Looks like I was headed to Bean Town. One of the women who had gone missing was Jennifer Moore, the sister of Renee Ashford. Ms. Ashford was offering a reward, $100,000 to the person who could find her sister and bring her home. Apparently Renee thought the cops didn't have enough incentive to launch a real man-hunt. Met Renee at her home as she was telling the press about the reward money. Posing as a representative for the missing sister's bank – I told Renee that the last time Jennifer used her credit card was to charge a room at the Whitmore Hotel. Renee already knew that
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Episode 17 - Rubicon
Release Date: 2000-01-12The aliens make Foster a national hero. Or do they? - - - No quatrain this week. No century. Woke up in the present with the possibility of realizing a dream. Thing is, got a feeling I've become too cynical to accept it. The Gua have messed with me too many times before to believe this will ever be easy. All started with Eddie cracking an internet code and getting us a lead on a possible Gua transfer of some kind of device – the transfer of goods happened in an open lot – a suitcase left in the passenger side seat. Checked for C4 explosive residue, found it all over the car. Also found a steel Halliburton briefcase filled with Gua orbs. Jackpot. But it was gonna come with a price. Said goodbye to Eddie and made a choice. The car exploded, the world went black. Back to my dream. Woke up in a hotel suite, hooked up to monitors, wearing different clothes. Looked like I was in a high security, high-class hospital – security clearance notices posted all over the place. Found my way into a
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Episode 18 - Gladiator
Release Date: 2000-05-17An alien experiment involving bare-knuckle fighters draws Cade Foster and an old prison friend to enter a boxing competition. - - - I went to Atlanta, a city built on the ashes of the Civil War, to check out the world of bare-knuckle fighting and seek an ally in my fight against the Gua. Passed a wanted poster on my way into town and the face staring back was my own. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Time to take off the gloves. Omar Healy was a prize-fighter in a world without the Vegas showgirls and limelight. 35, and with a prison record, Healy had been disqualified by the Olympic committee for drug use – turned out to be a bum rap, since the drugs were over-the-counter migraine medication. Healy and I knew each other from our days locked up together, he accused me of being a bad guy who turned good and then back again. Told him I was innocent and needed his help. Then I told him I wanted to call in an old debt. Needed Healy to help me gain entry into the Human Genome P
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Episode 19 - The Trial of Joshua Bridges
Release Date: 2000-05-24Joshua is put on trial, and must defend himself against charges that he is a human sympathizer and a traitor to the gua. - - - No quatrain this week. Eddie and I are sifting through the database, checking some out, following up leads but we haven't discovered anything solid enough to head in. But that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about the fight. Days like this I worry about the fight. If we don't keep making strides we could lose. Hate to say it but it's true. Try to push myself, harder, further, faster everyday – want to get some kind of momentum going. Times like these, I think a lot about the enemy. I think about Joshua. He says he's not on our side – he's just looking out for the best interests of the Gua – a true patriot. Don't really care, as long as it benefits us. Like the time I was on the run from the Feds in Montana and Joshua first helped me. I'd handed an alien a gun – she was posing as a forest ranger, was supposed to ""protect"" me from the FBI once they took me
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Episode 20 - Underworld
Release Date: 2000-05-31Foster uncovers an alien experiment with ties to the mob. - - - ""City of Fountains"" is a nickname for Kansas City, Missouri, a town whose headlines have screamed of a gangland war that left over 30 dead. It's no mystery why the Gua would seek out organized crime. Drugs, gambling, prostitution – all things that could weaken mankind's resolve. But why did Nostradamus point to this gang war? The quatrain suggested I form an alliance with ""the steed,"" a man I suspected to be Sammy ""The Horse"" Kozak, head of a Kansas City crime family for over 10 years. I'm wanted for capital murder, so mixing with mobsters might be insane – Eddie sure thought so. But checking Sammy out could lead me to the Gua, and that's an offer I can't refuse… Took the name Nick Flynn and checked out the '88s Club, Sammy's totally nude strip bar and a front for his operations. Met a brick-wall bartender named Pete, told him I was looking for Sammy. My cover – ""Loma Cinquemani"" had sent me up from the Miami families wi
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Episode 21 - Tomorrow
Release Date: 2000-06-07Foster gets a glimpse of what the world would be like during the alien occupation of earth. - - - It started in a dim alley – filthy, ridden with rats. Had no idea where I was at the time. There was a sign on a post ""Help us, help you. Human Registry: Gua and Human Succeed Together."" A bum with a bar code-like scar in his forearm was dead on the floor. I was disoriented, bewildered – I wandered into a seemingly empty, blown-out building – an execution was taking place. An execution of a human by the Gua. They electrocuted him, said they found him guilty of actions against the Gua. I ran. How did I get here? Nothing was right, nothing at all. And that's when I saw my worst fears realized. A new flag flew over the capital building – not red, white and blue. Red, white and black – the Gua had taken over the Earth. My worst fear had come to life, humanity had lost to the Gua. But how? I had no memory of the invasion, nor the battle that caused us to lose control of our planet. Had to exp
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Episode 22 - The Believers
Release Date: 2000-06-14Foster and Eddie take over a TV station at gunpoint to get the message out to the world about the alien invasion. - - - Fugitive. Murderer. Madman. That's how most of the world sees me. All my efforts to prove my innocence have come to nothing. Whatever happens today, happens because I've finally run out of options. It's been two years since they ripped my life to hell. Two years of trying to warn people of the danger that looms so close. Now I'm convinced the Second Wave is about to begin. And I'm taking drastic measures to prevent it. If we die in a hail of bullets will that bring recognition to my cause, or will we be martyrs who sacrificed ourselves in vain? Can't know for sure…but today's the day we find out. Writing this along the way, stealing seconds to make a final entry. This could all go bad. Eddie'll let you know – if he makes it out. You're my believers, I'm doing this for you, for us. So however they spin it, the press or the Gua, you know not to buy in. And you know to