The Checklist: Treadstone (S1 Ep1) “The Cicada Protocol”

Treadstone, USA Network’s newest action series, has been on Bulletproof Action’s radar for quite some time. Treadstone is a spin off of the Bourne film franchise. The movies starring Matt Damon were based on the Jason Bourne novels written by Robert Ludlum.

USA Network in its infinite wisdom, ran a special sneak preview last night… meaning I didn’t have to wait for the season one premiere on October 15th, which also means I can put the first episode of Treadstone, titled “The Cicada Protocol” to Bulletproof Action’s Checklist test earlier than anticipated…

#1- Does Treadstone make a good first impression?

The episode takes things back to East Berlin in 1973… we see a man named J. Randolf Bentley (Jeremy Irvine) as he is being observed like he is some sort of human lab rat and we will soon learn that is exactly what he is. Bentley is an early test subject of the Treadstone project… Dr. Meisner and Petra, the woman who helped train Bentley to become an assassin are super impressed by what they’ve accomplished.

But in true Frankenstein monster fashion, Bentley turns on his creators when he kills Dr. Meisner and several of the soldiers guarding the facility that he has been kept in for months. We then get to see a fight between student and teacher as Bentley and Petra go at it… Petra ends up having a portion of her pinky lobbed off in the scuffle and Bentley ends up climbing out the window and running across the rooftops as he escapes his captors.

The action in this opening sequence was fantastic and the show has a real cinematic look. So Treadstone didn’t just make a good first impression, it made a great first impression. 1/1

#2- Does the show properly introduce the main characters?

After the opening sequence, the show moves into the present day and the first main character we meet is Tara Coleman (Tracy Ifeachor). The CIA receives intel that a North Korean General has arrived in London and has requested to speak to Tara, a former reporter (she was fired for an exposé she did about a black market nuke that was pointed at Washington D.C.) that is now working as a cab driver. Next thing we know Tara is being asked to wear a wire for the C.I.A. and learning that she is a part of something called Treadstone.

Our story then takes us to Pyongang, North Korea where we meet SoYun Pak (Hyo-Joo Han). SoYun is a wife, a mother and a piano teacher. When her son tells her that someone left a Game Boy in his locker at school, SoYun freaks out… Game Boys are contraband in North Korea. But SoYun really freaks out later when she turns the Game Boy on and she becomes woke!

Next up on this globetrotting episode, we travel to an oil rig off the coast of Alaska and meet Doug McKenna (Brian J. Smith). McKenna and some of his fellow workers get the bad news that they are being replaced by a Russian crew… so they all decide to go to a bar and drink their problems away, but when some of the Russians enter the bar and start making trouble, Doug learns something about himself.

Speaking of Russia, we are also introduced to current day Petra (Gabrielle Scharnitzky), who now lives in Russia with her hard of hearing husband on a farm… lets just say time has not mellowed Petra out at all.

Kudos once again to Treadstone, as they effectively managed to lay the groundwork for the three protagonists and one antagonist the show will revolve around. 2/2

#3- Was there a bar fight?

I talked about the cinematic feel that Treadstone has, I also mentioned the Russian oil rig workers who were causing trouble at the bar that Doug McKenna and his friends were drinking at. But for Treadstone to truly feel like a mini-action movie, it needs to follow the rules of the action movie world… like the one about how a hero can’t enter a bar without getting into a bar fight.

I am happy to report that Doug does get physical with the Russian rabble rousers, a bar fight ensues and Doug is a total badass! 3/3

#4- Were there any notable guest stars?

From this single episode, it is apparent the scope of this show is global… which means plenty of opportunities for our main characters to travel the world and interact with an assortment of interesting characters, which opens up the door for some notable guest stars to appear on Treadstone.

“The Cicada Protocol” did have one guest star of note in the form of character actor, Tzi Ma. Action fans will remember Ma from movies like RoboCop 2, Rush Hour and Rapid Fire. More recently Ma was a regular on the Netflix series, Wu Assassins.

Ma played General Kwon, the aforementioned North Korean General who spilled the beans to Tara Coleman about her involvement in Treadstone and the same North Korean General who becomes the first target for the woken SoYun Pak. 4/4

#5- Does the premise have legs?

With multiple Jason Bourne movies, the world Robert Ludlum created has already proven to have legs. Treadstone expands Ludlum’s universe and looks at the origins of the Treadstone project.

If this first episode is any indication, the series will provide us with just as many questions as it does answers, which is a recipe for weekly appointment viewing. From this episode alone I want to know, will the three “cicadas” ever cross paths?… Are there more “cicadas” out there? Who gave the Game Boy to SoYun Pak’s son? What happened after J. Randolf Bentley escaped back in ’73? 5/5

• Final Score: 5/5 = 100%: With a perfect score, there is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be watching Treadstone every week once the series officially premieres next month on the USA Network.

Other Episode Recaps:

• Episode 2: “The Kwon Conspiracy”
• Episode 3: “The Berlin Proposal”