As an American, I was spell-bound. Here in the USA, we have been spoon-fed into expecting warm & fuzzy resolutions to all media presentations. Not this one.
Produced in Scotland in 1998, Invasion Earth was clearly made on a low budget. Yet that does not affect the complications of the plot nor its development. The show begins in b&w during the London blitz & swiftly moves to "present day." We are then presented w/the shock of the existence of aliens, not 1 alien society, but 2. Refusal to believe & then to convince others is presented in what feels like real time. Similarly, this show takes time in presenting its characters development of scientific & military antidotes. Invasion Earth veers high above sci-fi into the realm of excellent, intelligent drama when the antidotes don't work. As hard as the characters struggle to develop a way to fight the 2nd invader (the 1st had sadly & bravely succumbed), the drama builds & builds as, just as would happen in real life, the various solutions (SPOILER) fail. The pace remains realistic as we hope, our hopes are dashed, we hope again, and our hopes are dashed again.
I understand that initially a 2nd season had been envisioned. The end IS sudden. It is left to the audience to struggle w/its meaning & to then understand. There was no need for a 2nd season. One of the last lines (SPOILER) is (approximately), "We'll show them that we will fight. If every blade of grass must be destroyed, they'll see that we won't give up." It is left to the viewer to realize that (ULTIMATE SPOILER) this is exactly what is going to happen. Why? Because the Nd's (the enemy) won't "see". It isn't an alien intelligence. It's an alien -- biological -- life form that seeks other life forms & consumes them as fuel. It has no self-conscious intelligence. It has figured out how to harvest; like modern man's evolution from hunting & gathering to rudimentary farming: that's about the level this life form is at. Fighting will do no good. Nor will poisons. Nor will doing nothing. This thing will only move on when it has consumed all life here & only die when it has consumed all life everywhere. We, like the many places w/any sort of life it has already consumed, are simply fuel & cannot win. It's a daunting realization. I've never seen a piece of science fiction like it.
The only reason I gave it a 9 is that I feel the romance between 2 of the main characters doesn't work. It feels obligatory. But for the rest, Invasion Earth far exceeds its genre. I highly recommend it. A real find.
Produced in Scotland in 1998, Invasion Earth was clearly made on a low budget. Yet that does not affect the complications of the plot nor its development. The show begins in b&w during the London blitz & swiftly moves to "present day." We are then presented w/the shock of the existence of aliens, not 1 alien society, but 2. Refusal to believe & then to convince others is presented in what feels like real time. Similarly, this show takes time in presenting its characters development of scientific & military antidotes. Invasion Earth veers high above sci-fi into the realm of excellent, intelligent drama when the antidotes don't work. As hard as the characters struggle to develop a way to fight the 2nd invader (the 1st had sadly & bravely succumbed), the drama builds & builds as, just as would happen in real life, the various solutions (SPOILER) fail. The pace remains realistic as we hope, our hopes are dashed, we hope again, and our hopes are dashed again.
I understand that initially a 2nd season had been envisioned. The end IS sudden. It is left to the audience to struggle w/its meaning & to then understand. There was no need for a 2nd season. One of the last lines (SPOILER) is (approximately), "We'll show them that we will fight. If every blade of grass must be destroyed, they'll see that we won't give up." It is left to the viewer to realize that (ULTIMATE SPOILER) this is exactly what is going to happen. Why? Because the Nd's (the enemy) won't "see". It isn't an alien intelligence. It's an alien -- biological -- life form that seeks other life forms & consumes them as fuel. It has no self-conscious intelligence. It has figured out how to harvest; like modern man's evolution from hunting & gathering to rudimentary farming: that's about the level this life form is at. Fighting will do no good. Nor will poisons. Nor will doing nothing. This thing will only move on when it has consumed all life here & only die when it has consumed all life everywhere. We, like the many places w/any sort of life it has already consumed, are simply fuel & cannot win. It's a daunting realization. I've never seen a piece of science fiction like it.
The only reason I gave it a 9 is that I feel the romance between 2 of the main characters doesn't work. It feels obligatory. But for the rest, Invasion Earth far exceeds its genre. I highly recommend it. A real find.