My review: Many shows from childhood fail to live up to expectations when you're an adult. "The Invaders" is an exception. Produced by Quinn Martin ("The Fugitive")and created by Larry Cohen, "The Invaders" took elements from Martin's most popular series "The Fugitive" and successfully created a paranoid science fiction thriller that inspired later shows like "The X-Files", "Dark Skies" and "The 4400".
Architect David Vincent(Roy Thinnes)stops to rest after a long drive back from a meeting with a client when he witnesses an alien spacecraft land in the middle of nowhere. When he reports it to the local police he's treated with distain by a detective (the wonderful character actor J.D. Cannon)and finds that even his own boss (James Daly) has a hard time believing him. They encounter a couple of their honeymoon who completely discount Vincent's account of the landing. Going back to the site to speak with the couple again Vincent discovers that they are aliens themselves and part of a large conspiracy that has infiltrated every part of our society.
We get some very cool extras that fans will enjoy. On the last disc is the long missing 60 minute pilot episode. While it doesn't look quite as good as the series itself with faded colors, it still looks surprisingly good without any restoration. The longer pilot had a number of brief scenes that were cut prior to the airing of the show including a slightly different ending.
Roy Thinnes provides an introduction to each episode including the unaired pilot. He also sits for a nearly 30 minute interview discussing how he became involved with the show, the numerous guest stars he worked with (he essentially was the only regular on the show (aside from the unseen episode narrator William Woodson and introductory narrator Hank Simms)as he was always traveling to uncover hot spots where the invaders were up to no good). Characters did show up in multiple episodes but Thinnes carries the show.
It's easy to see where "The X-Files" got its inspiration from. Thinnes praises the writers for the show as well as the directors (the first two episodes where directed by TV and film veteran Joseph Sargant who does a terrific job of setting up shots with cinematographer Andrew MacIntyre creating moody and magnificent atmosphere during the first episodes that rival "The Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone" at their best.
We also get three promo spots produced by ABC for the series. The promos are essentially clip jobs with narration describing the series. They are still very nice to have in this set.
The first season set looks exceptionally good given the age of the series. Although images are a bit soft the color is surprisingly strong and bold. The mono audio sounds really good with dialog crystal clear. Interestingly, series composer Dominic Frontier who also did the music for the first season of "The Outer Limits" cannibalizes music from that series for the pilot episode.
Often seen as a Cold War metaphor, "The Invaders" is far more than that. The writing is superb and the episodes resonate because of the skilled direction and exceptional, believable lead performance by Thinnes. While it would be a stretch to say this series had a "story arc" like most modern TV shows, there is a sketchy one which is that Vincent sets out to find proof and expose the invaders. They, in turn, want to eliminate him because he's one of the few crusaders trying to uncover their plot to take over our world.
Overall Paramount/CBS has done a superb job bringing this classic series to TV. I'm surprised at how well it has held up with most of the writing/direction/acting top notch. Featuring well known guest stars such as William Windom, Harold Gould, Roddy MacDowell, Suzanne Pleshette, Ed Begley, Dabney Coleman and Michael Rennie during its brief two year run, "The Invaders" was an exceptionally good series with cool visual effects but, more importantly, well written stories that could drawn an audience into the world of David Vicent.
I'm hoping that the second season set will see the 1995 TV pilot that starred Scott Bakula included and, perhaps, we can get more interview time with Thinnes about shooting season two.
Architect David Vincent(Roy Thinnes)stops to rest after a long drive back from a meeting with a client when he witnesses an alien spacecraft land in the middle of nowhere. When he reports it to the local police he's treated with distain by a detective (the wonderful character actor J.D. Cannon)and finds that even his own boss (James Daly) has a hard time believing him. They encounter a couple of their honeymoon who completely discount Vincent's account of the landing. Going back to the site to speak with the couple again Vincent discovers that they are aliens themselves and part of a large conspiracy that has infiltrated every part of our society.
We get some very cool extras that fans will enjoy. On the last disc is the long missing 60 minute pilot episode. While it doesn't look quite as good as the series itself with faded colors, it still looks surprisingly good without any restoration. The longer pilot had a number of brief scenes that were cut prior to the airing of the show including a slightly different ending.
Roy Thinnes provides an introduction to each episode including the unaired pilot. He also sits for a nearly 30 minute interview discussing how he became involved with the show, the numerous guest stars he worked with (he essentially was the only regular on the show (aside from the unseen episode narrator William Woodson and introductory narrator Hank Simms)as he was always traveling to uncover hot spots where the invaders were up to no good). Characters did show up in multiple episodes but Thinnes carries the show.
It's easy to see where "The X-Files" got its inspiration from. Thinnes praises the writers for the show as well as the directors (the first two episodes where directed by TV and film veteran Joseph Sargant who does a terrific job of setting up shots with cinematographer Andrew MacIntyre creating moody and magnificent atmosphere during the first episodes that rival "The Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone" at their best.
We also get three promo spots produced by ABC for the series. The promos are essentially clip jobs with narration describing the series. They are still very nice to have in this set.
The first season set looks exceptionally good given the age of the series. Although images are a bit soft the color is surprisingly strong and bold. The mono audio sounds really good with dialog crystal clear. Interestingly, series composer Dominic Frontier who also did the music for the first season of "The Outer Limits" cannibalizes music from that series for the pilot episode.
Often seen as a Cold War metaphor, "The Invaders" is far more than that. The writing is superb and the episodes resonate because of the skilled direction and exceptional, believable lead performance by Thinnes. While it would be a stretch to say this series had a "story arc" like most modern TV shows, there is a sketchy one which is that Vincent sets out to find proof and expose the invaders. They, in turn, want to eliminate him because he's one of the few crusaders trying to uncover their plot to take over our world.
Overall Paramount/CBS has done a superb job bringing this classic series to TV. I'm surprised at how well it has held up with most of the writing/direction/acting top notch. Featuring well known guest stars such as William Windom, Harold Gould, Roddy MacDowell, Suzanne Pleshette, Ed Begley, Dabney Coleman and Michael Rennie during its brief two year run, "The Invaders" was an exceptionally good series with cool visual effects but, more importantly, well written stories that could drawn an audience into the world of David Vicent.
I'm hoping that the second season set will see the 1995 TV pilot that starred Scott Bakula included and, perhaps, we can get more interview time with Thinnes about shooting season two.