"Crazy" Eddie: Trust is a matter of principle. Principles stem from beliefs. And beliefs are best learned through deep covert surveillance.

NOSTRADAMUS SAYS Quatrain 42, Century 5:    More Stories The SPACE.com Guide to First Wave Spoilers: First Wave - 'Deepthroat' Business as Usual For 'First Wave' in 'Target 117' TV Review: First Wave - 'The Decision'    Related Links First Wave Sci-Fi Channel When the sun bursts forth at night, The life of a star watcher is lost. But the truth revealed in the heavens Is carried to a high magistrate.

Written by Daniel Howard Cerone
Directed by Michael Rohl

Stefanie von Pfetten - Sam
Ryan Michael - Vernon
David Storch - Senator Preston
Anaya Farrell - Dominique

Radio astronomer Vincente Miranda has made a remarkable discovery. Not only has he witnessed a small quasar opening up on the edge of the solar system, but he has pictures of an object the size of a meteorite emerging from it.

Eddie is not happy to hear this news. He's certain Miranda is in danger, a concept Miranda has trouble taking seriously even though the astronomer finds the lack of confirmation from another research program puzzling.

In the meantime, Miranda tells Eddie he's sending a copy of the data to Senator Sterling Preston, who sits on the space subcommittee. Just then, there's a knock at the door.

Miranda hangs up and opens the door. He's immediately shot, and an unknown man enters and deletes his files, then finishes the astronomer off.

With its title, Washington setting and intrepid investigator contacting a mysterious source, "Deepthroat" evokes more of The X-Files than usual for First Wave. Unfortunately, the imitation never gets past the surface.

Sam's mysterious source is only a plot device. There's no speculation on the nature and reliability of anonymous sources, the ways their agendas could distort or reveal the truth or even the suitability of intrepid young reporters to chase alien conspiracies.

Contrast this thin "homage" to The X-Files with "Visitors from Down the Street", an episode of the short-lived Babylon 5 series Crusade.

"Visitors" parodied all the visual and literary devices of The X-Files, subverting the premise of the paranoid drama to suggest that the investigators' obsession with aliens is itself part of a government conspiracy to distract us from our real problems.

Of course, Crusade is a space opera, while First Wave is in the same genre as The X-Files. This doesn't give writer Daniel Howard Cerone nearly as much room to play, but you'd think he could have either made something out of the contrast between the shows or else left it alone.

Otherwise, "Deepthroat" is competent but unexceptional -- as long as you ignore the rather silly idea that Miranda's photos would have been allowed to leave a crime scene.

That said, it helps to forget the final shot of the teaser and pretend that Miranda dropped the package into a pickup box before he called Eddie.

That man has character

The ambiguous alien could well have been the source, and without him the pool of likely suspects -- Garver and Dominique -- is painfully shallow.

Joshua even gets a rare moment of character development as Preston's weakness gives him more reasons to question the Gua's fitness to rule Earth.

As he comments in the end, winning an influential reporter as an ally is significant progress. Unless First Wave is setting something up for further development, Cade's grim mood seems pointless -- and as this episode demonstrates too well, development is not this show's strong point.

The Gua have at least one and probably more agents placed within the U.S. Senate.

How did that package ever get sent? Wouldn't the police keep it as evidence of Miranda's murder?

The possibility of Joshua's meddling aside, why haven't the Gua circulated Cade's photo to all their agents? They should be able to recognize him when he comes to destroy their cunning plans.

Cade fights bikers in Wyoming. Could there be an alien connection? Only "The Apostles" know for sure.