
First Wave
Not streaming in your region — see every region's options
In 1564 Nostradamus predicted the destruction of Earth in 3 terrifying waves. . . The First Wave is here! Cade Foster thought he had seen everything; then he learned of the secrets hidden within the quatrains of the ancient prophet Nostradamus, predictions of an alien invasion that would come in three waves and conquer the human race. The invaders would be known as the Gua, and their conquest was foretold... Or was it? Cade, together with his allies Eddie, Joshua, Jordan, and the Resistance, wage an underground battle to protect Earth's future from the First Wave of the Gua invasion, and to seek out clues hidden in the ancient prophecies, clues that might mean the difference between survival and extinction for all humanity. Can disaster be averted? Can the future be rewritten? Can the Gua be stopped? For Cade Foster, surrender is not an option.
Highest-rated episodes all ranked
- 01
Subject 117After having disturbing visions and finding a man who was in one of his visions dead of suicide, Cade Foster's life is suddenly turned upside down; his house bugged, credit cards not working, job gone, and his wife terrified even to go home, things go from bad to worse. - 02
Twice Bless'dMabus attempts to control the minds of Foster, Eddie, Jordan and Joshua in order to fulfill the requirements necessary to initiate the Second Wave.Fifth Omega Quatrain: "As the Second Wave is nigh / Four must be chained strong as one / Hammer can smite victory / If honor is granted to Xevallah". - 03
HypnoticA quatrain leads Cade to a rural area where a best-selling psychiatrist is helping people deal with alien encounters through hypnotic regression.
Cast
Episodes by season
Season01Best season
- S01E01
Season's bestSubject 117September 9, 1998After having disturbing visions and finding a man who was in one of his visions dead of suicide, Cade Foster's life is suddenly turned upsid - S01E02
Crazy EddieSeptember 16, 1998—On the run from the law, Cade seeks help from a paranoid conspiracy theorist named Crazy Eddie. - S01E03
Mata HariSeptember 23, 1998—With Eddie's help, Cade poses as a math genius to investigate the mysterious death of a grad student in Boston. - S01E04
HypnoticSeptember 30, 1998A quatrain leads Cade to a rural area where a best-selling psychiatrist is helping people deal with alien encounters through hypnotic regres - S01E05
ElixirOctober 7, 1998—A beautiful young woman dancing in a bar suddenly dies of extreme old age. - S01E06
Speaking in TonguesOctober 14, 1998—Cade poses as a drifter to investigate a religious cult and finds that the messianic leader is delivering a message to beware of an impendin - S01E07
LungfishOctober 21, 1998—A young boy finds a bass that can breathe on land and Cade, posing as a tabloid reporter, travels to Indiana to see it. - S01E08
Book of ShadowsOctober 28, 1998—Cade and Eddie travel to Salem, Oregon, where a high school student accused of killing three high-ranking members of the community claims th - S01E09
JoshuaNovember 4, 1998—Cade is on the run in the Montana wilderness as the police and U.S. Marshalls surround him. Posing as a Marshall, Joshua joins the hunt. - S01E10
Marker 262November 11, 1998Cade and Eddie travel to Missouri to investigate the disappearance of a hot-rodder during a drag race. - S01E11
Motel CaliforniaNovember 18, 1998—After learning that a traveling salesman has been institutionalized because he is in a constant hallucinatory state, Cade checks into a smal - S01E12
Breeding GroundNovember 25, 1998When a teen girl is tormented by her peers, she accidentally sets another student on fire using only her mind. - S01E13
Blue AgaveDecember 2, 1998—Cade travels to New York City where Hannah's best friend offers to help him meet with a top-notch criminal lawyer to clear his name. - S01E14
Cul-De-SacDecember 9, 1998—While spying through his telescope, a teenager sees his sexy neighbor get shot and then get up unharmed. - S01E15
The BoxDecember 16, 1998—Cade returns to Chicago to visit Hannah's grave and is captured by the police. - S01E16
UndesirablesDecember 23, 1998—Joshua's latest assignment is to track down and assassinate the Gua agent assigned to keep tabs on a physics professor who may be on the ver - S01E17
Second WaveDecember 30, 1998—A man hoping to get pictures of his wife cheating on him instead accidentally takes pictures of a UFO. - S01E18
Blind WitnessJanuary 6, 1999—Cade fakes a diabetic seizure to get admitted to a hospital to look for an ally promised in one of the prophecies. In an unused wing of the - S01E19
DelugeJanuary 13, 1999—Cade investigates a small town plagued by rain for more than three years. - S01E20
MelodyJanuary 20, 1999After a rock concert erupts into violence, Cade and Eddie find a Nostradamus quatrain that seems to suggest that music might be making young - S01E21
The AftertimeJune 23, 1999—A teenager accidentally intercepts a Gua transmission on his ham radio and records it on a disc. Cade races against the Gua to retrieve it. - S01E22
The DecisionJune 30, 1999Clip show: The leaders of the Gua First Wave force meet to decide if it is time to begin the Second Wave.
Season02
- S02E01
Target 117September 22, 1999—Cade travels to an island to search for a man who has contacted them, saying that he has escaped an alien experiment. Too late, Eddie realiz - S02E02
DeepthroatSeptember 29, 1999—An astronomer friend of Eddie's has proof of a meteor coming through a wormhole, but is murdered by a Gua agent before he can send it to Edd - S02E03
The ApostlesOctober 6, 1999—Cade travels to a small town in Wyoming that is being terrorized by a motorcycle gang called The Apostles.Quatrain 54, Century 7: "Iron hors - S02E04
SusperienceOctober 13, 1999—Cade is led to a group of empaths with the ability to influence the thoughts of others. While investigating, he begins to realize the group - S02E05
The ChannelOctober 20, 1999—After nearly dying in a hit and run accident, a woman begins spouting quatrains every time she sees a bright light.Quatrain 4, Century 9: "S - S02E06
Red FlagOctober 27, 1999—Cade infiltrates a Red Flag competition at West Point military academy, where choice candidates are groomed for government leadership.Quatra - S02E07
Prayer for the White ManNovember 3, 1999—Cade suspects an alien influence while investigating a casino on a Native American reservation.Quatrain 43, century 9: "In the woods of Winc - S02E08
The PurgeNovember 10, 1999—Treachery is afoot amongst the acolytes on Earth and Joshua is enlisted to ferret out the traitors. - S02E09
Lost SoulsNovember 17, 1999—Working in a subway tunnel, a jackhammer operator discovers the body of a travel writer encased in a concrete wall, She is alive and hasn't - S02E10
Season's bestThe HeistNovember 24, 1999When Cade is hired to steal an item, it becomes a life and death fight for survival.Quatrain 29, century 4: "The weapon will fall upon citie - S02E11
Ohio PlayersDecember 1, 1999When a losing small town high school football team is suddenly vying for the state championship, Cade poses as a college football recruiter - S02E12
Night FallsDecember 8, 1999Wounded while fleeing the police, Cade hijacks a car and forces the driver to take him home with her.Quatrain 29, Century 7: "Three rivers a - S02E13
Normal, IllinoisDecember 15, 1999In a college town, teens have been dying of aneurisms during attempts at having sex.Quatrain 66, Century 7: "Where the waters are contained, - S02E14
All About EddieDecember 22, 1999—Eddie must take on the aliens at his high school reunion when he discovers his friends are being kidnapped and interrogated by the Gua. - S02E15
PlaylandDecember 29, 1999—The death of a murderer and a Nostradamus quatrain lead Cade and Eddie to an amusement park in search of another pocket dimension.Quatrain 3 - S02E16
The HarvestJanuary 5, 2000—Cade investigates a series of disappearances of young women with help from a romantic fiction writer whose sister is the latest to vanish.Qu - S02E17
RubiconJanuary 12, 2000—Cade finds himself in a secret government facility where he is told his mission to fight the Gua is being observed. Suspecting a hoax, he at - S02E18
GladiatorMay 17, 2000—An alien experiment involving bare knuckle fighters draws Cade Foster and an old prison friend to enter a boxing competition.Quatrain 63, Ce - S02E19
The Trial of Joshua BridgesMay 24, 2000Joshua is put on trial and must defend himself against charges that he is a human sympathizer and a traitor to the Gua. - S02E20
UnderworldMay 31, 2000—Foster poses as a gunman to probe the Gua infiltration of organized crime.Quatrain 46, Century 9: "In the City of Fountains, blood spills be - S02E21
TomorrowJune 7, 2000—Cade Foster wakes up in a dirty alley and soon discovers strange posters that advertise Human-Gua cooperation. - S02E22
The BelieversJune 14, 2000—Foster and Eddie take over a TV station at gunpoint to get the message out to the world about the alien invasion.
Season03
- S03E01
MabusSeptember 13, 2000—Jordan Radcliffe joins Cade and Eddie to fight the aliens. The Gua make a clone of Cade.Quatrain 12, Century 4: "The Brodde Nation will swif - S03E02
Raven NationSeptember 20, 2000—Raven Nation is a resistance group that fashions themselves after the ethos of Cade Foster and his significance as a key in defeating the Gu - S03E03
Comes a HorsemanSeptember 27, 2000—While investigating a biological research facility, Foster is exposed to a lethal airborne virus and must risk his life in order to prevent - S03E04
GulagOctober 4, 2000—Foster discovers Joshua locked away on a quantum pocket where he is forced to attempt the same task over and over again as punishment for he - S03E05
The Flight of Francis JeffriesOctober 11, 2000—Foster investigates an alien experiment that will allow the Gua to transfer their consciousness without having to use husks.Quatrain 73, Cen - S03E06
Still at LargeOctober 18, 2000—Foster and Jordan go undercover in a Chicago police station in order to find documents that allegedly prove Cade Foster's innocence in his w - S03E07
AsylumOctober 25, 2000—Eddie checks into a mental asylum in the hope of rescuing a judge who shares the institution with other people who believe that the Earth is - S03E08
Eyes of the GuaNovember 1, 2000—A Gua assassin is sent out to kill what appear to be random victims. But with Joshua observing events, Foster is determined to find out the - S03E09
SkywatchersNovember 8, 2000—One of the Raven Nation operatives disappears near the small town of Hope. When Jordan and Foster investigate, they discover that the townsp - S03E10
The PlanNovember 15, 2000—When Mabus dissolves the Gua Assembly, his military leaders are concerned that he is launching the second wave too early. They hatch a plan - S03E11
Wednesday's ChildNovember 22, 2000—Foster and Jordan are saved from a Gua bomb by an email sent to Eddie by an ill ten year old girl. Jordan discovers that Mabus has made a ps - S03E12
UnearthedNovember 29, 2000—Eddie and Jordan join an archaeology dig looking for Thor's Hammer and discover a Gua presence looking for the powerful weapon, which claims - S03E13
ShadowlandDecember 6, 2000—After Foster experiences a series of nightmares, he visits a hypnotherapist friendly to the Raven Nation and is led back into a childhood he - S03E14
LegacyDecember 13, 2000—Jordan is ambushed by the Gua at the Radcliffe Foundation annual ball, where she learns the shocking truth about her late father's demise.Qu - S03E15
The EdgeDecember 20, 2000—Foster is injected with Gua DNA and, as the process of transformation progresses, Jordan and Eddie face the agonizing prospect of having to - S03E16
The VesselDecember 27, 2000—Foster must stop the aliens from destroying the world's computer systems and Mabus from occupying human bodies, including his new love's.Qua - S03E17
RequiemJanuary 3, 2001Foster informs the Generals of the Raven Nation that Mabus is using Jordan Radcliffe's body as a host.Quatrain 26, Century 9: "As the Apocal - S03E18
CheckmateJanuary 10, 2001—Victory for the Gua seems close, as Mabus capotures Foster. Could an extraterrestrial revelation free Jordan and destroy Mabus? - S03E19
Black BoxJanuary 17, 2001—An Omega quatraine points Foster and Eddie towards a magnetic signal in the mountains. Suddenly a GUA ship crashes nearby. Joshua brought th - S03E20
Beneath the Black SkyJanuary 24, 2001—Foster encounters Xevallah, the mysterious stranger who rescued him from the Gua when he was a child. Xevellah teaches Foster the essential - S03E21
Terminal CityJanuary 31, 2001—Foster travels to the future to locate the Hammer, a Gua weapon that has the power to determine the fate of humankind. But he discovers that - S03E22
Twice Bless'dFebruary 7, 2001Mabus attempts to control the minds of Foster, Eddie, Jordan and Joshua in order to fulfill the requirements necessary to initiate the Secon
Shows like First Wave all similar shows
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Science-Fiction·ActionArrow2012–2020·The CWAfter a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific.Compare
- 02Drama·Science-Fiction·ActionThe Flash2014–2023·The CW
After a particle accelerator causes a freak storm, CSI Investigator Barry Allen is struck by lightning and falls into a coma.Compare - 03Drama·Science-Fiction·ActionFringe2008–2013·FOX
When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is called in to investigate.Compare - 04Drama·Science-Fiction·AdventureDoctor Who2005–2022·BBC One
Adventures across time and space with the time travelling alien and companions.Compare - 05Drama·Science-Fiction·ThrillerBlack Mirror2011–present
Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it.Compare - 06Drama·Science-Fiction·CrimeThe X-Files1993–2018·FOX
Two FBI agents, Fox Mulder (a believer) and Dana Scully (a skeptic), investigate unexplained cases where the paranormal might be involved while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.Compare
Head-to-head pick any opponent
Stack First Wave's full episode-rating history against a rival, on one chart.
Keep exploring top shows
Short on time? The pilot-to-finale shortcut, only the episodes that matter.
MatchupCompare with another showTwo shows' episode ratings on one chart — settle it.
NetworkBest Syfy showsMore from the same network, ranked by rating.
GenreBest drama shows & filmsThe top of the drama pile, across both mediums.
GenreBest science-fiction shows & filmsThe top of the science-fiction pile, across both mediums.
Fandom hubThe sci-fi & fantasy hubThe whole fandom on one bookmarkable page — rankings, premieres, what's new.







