The Invaders - The First Season
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Hank Simms, Kent Smith, Roy Thinnes, William WoodsonBrand: Paramount
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 933 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of The Invaders - The First Season
Movie Review: Vincents Crusade.
Summary: 5 Stars
(Act 1) Sci-Fi thriller with a coldwar background.
Most shows in the sci-fi genre are either pure science fiction, science fantasy or sci-Fi/horror.
But this show takes the less used path of sci-fi/thriller.
I find it's blend of science-fiction/thriller elements are done very well indeed.
The format has a vein of cold war paranoia running through it, (at the time it was made, 1960's, that's not surprising.) it could have worked equally well with east European enemy agents instead of alien invaders, but I prefer the sci-fi element in it. (The Invaders even glow RED before they disappear.)
A clever device used by the writers to emphasize Vincents apparent paranoia, was the fact that whenever an Invader was killed, the body glowed then disappered, leaving nothing remaining as evidence.
But one element of the show I will criticize is, if these aliens were capable of making spacecraft that can traverse galaxies, why could they not make a mutated free little finger.
Nearly every Invader exhibits a dodgy little finger during this first season.
I realize this was a plot-device used by the writers solely for dramatic purposes, but it just seemed a little too weak for me.
Weaponry in the invaders arsenal include the ubiqitous; "ray gun", but by far the nastiest weapon is a small disc with lights that when clamped to the back of a person's head kills them by inducing a cerebral haemorrhage. Very nasty, but clever as an autopsy carried out on the body would put death as natural causes.
~~~~
(Act 2) CHARACTERS.
Roy Thinnes hit's all the right notes as the frightened and intimidated architect David Vincent, leading a one man crusade against the Invaders.
As this was a Quinn Martin production some critics compared it to QM's other long running show;
"The Fugitive", and in some respects there was a degree of similitude.
(Both Heroes crossing and re-crossing the Country in search of their quarry).
But there was one big difference. Dr Kimble in the end got his man.
Vincent, no matter how many Invaders he got, he could never get them all.
In season two he meets Edgar Scoville (Kent Smith), and a group of like minded people called; "The Believers", who provide cash and connections in which to help Vincent in his fight.
This is one of the best Science-Fiction shows of the late Sixties. With a good dose of paranoia added to the mix.
US premiere:- 10/Jan/1967, UK premiere:- 21/Jan/1967.
Overall opinion, a very worthy addition to any Science Fiction fans collection.
(I liked this show so much I even bought the model UFO.)
Region 2 release date:~ 17/Sept/07.
~~~~
(Act 3) I have been informed that the region 1 release has lot's of extras,
unlike the region 2 version. You lucky,lucky people.
5 single side discs.
17:-50 minute episodes. (+ sixty minute pilot.)
Picture - Full screen. But not remastered.
Sound - Mono.
Subtitles - English for the hard of hearing.
Disturbingly, in small print on the back of the case it says.
"Some episodes may have been edited from the transmitted versions".
~~~~
(Act 4) Season 1:~ 17 episodes.
Beach head:- David Vincent see's a saucer landing but no one believes him.
The experiment:- Vincent tries to keep alive a scientist who has proof about the aliens.
The mutation:- Vincent is led into a trap by the aliens. (The first glowing death of an invader.)
The leeches:- Mr Vincent investigates the disappearances of several scientist's.
Genesis:- The aliens are up to something in a sea lab.
Vikor:- Vincent investigates an industrial plant owned by a war hero.(Jack Lord)
Nightmare:- In Grady, Kansas, the aliens are changing the behaviour of insect's.
Doomsday minus one:- A saucer is seen near the site of a nuclear test site. Vincent is called in.
Quantity:unknown:- A cylinder found in a plane crash is investigated by Vincent.
The innocents:- Vincent is taken aboard a saucer, and brainwashed.(Michael Rennie stars)
The ivy curtain:- Vincent investigates an ivy league school.
The betrayed:- A mysterious tape attract's Vincents attention.
Storm:- Unusual weather reports draw Vincent to a fishing town near the Florida Keys.
Panic:- In the woods of West Virginia, stalks an ailing alien whose touch can freeze humans to death. (Star Trek's-Charlie X, Robert Walker stars.)
Moonshot:- Two lunar astronauts die in a strange red fog.
Wall of crystal:- Vincents brother and his pregnant wife are kidnapped by the aliens.(Burgess Meredith guest stars)
The condemned:- Vincent is framed by the aliens.
~~~~
(Epilog)This is a release of the first season only.
Season two due for release early next year.
Season 2:~ 26 Episodes
Condition red/The saucer/The watchers/Valley of the shadow/The enemy/The trial/The spores/Dark outpost/Summit meeting (part1)/Summit meeting (part2)/The prophet/Labyrinth/The captive/The believers(The show undergoes a format change)/The ransom/Task force/The possessed/Counter-attack/The pit/The organization/The peacemaker/The vise/The miracle/The life seekers/The pursued/Inquisition.
43 episodes in total.
Now bring on season two soon, please.
Summary of The Invaders - The First Season
INVADERS:SEASON ONE - DVD Movie"If they?re really after you, you?re not paranoid" is a lesson The Invaders' David Vincent has learned all too well. Vincent (portrayed by Roy Thinnes) knows that aliens from a dying planet have come to Earth and are planning to take over; having lost his way and fallen asleep in his car in the remote woods one night, he saw their flying saucer land. What?s worse, the invaders know he knows. And worst of all, the rest of the world is willfully oblivious, and little interested in the rantings of this madman. That's the premise of this series from producer Quinn (The Fugitive) Martin, and even if the 16 episodes from the show?s first season (1967) don?t always match the promise of the concept, this is still an intriguing, entertaining ride.
The aliens, crafty critters that they are, look exactly like us, save for a slight disfigurement of one finger; they also completely disintegrate when killed, a convenient little conceit that prevents anyone from figuring out who or what they really are. Their dastardly schemes for eliminating the Earthlings are many and varied, ranging from nuclear bombs, plagues of locusts (and carnivorous butterflies!), and manufactured hurricanes to brainwashing and mind control experiments. Standing against this implacable foe is just one man--an amateur (Vincent was an architect before all the craziness began) who works alone (the other true believers he encounters almost invariably end up dead) and is often stymied by his own impetuousness and lack of preparation. Admittedly, the concept doesn?t hold up under close scrutiny; even if the aliens are trying to take over by stealth instead of one massive invasion, it doesn?t make a lot of sense that they can?t eliminate a guy who doesn?t even own a gun. There is no series arc; each episode is stand-alone, so by the end of the season the invaders still have barely established a foothold. Moreover, while there are plenty of fistfights and chase sequences, the special effects are ludicrous, the alien technology looks like something out of a high school play, the stories are obvious, and the acting is melodramatic (notwithstanding guest appearances by the Jack Warden and familiar TV faces like Suzanne Pleshette, Arthur Hill, Joseph Campanella, Jack Lord, Ed Asner, and many others). Nevertheless, with the help of Dominic Frontiere?s music and the portentous narration that begins and ends each episode, The Invaders manages to consistently maintain its paranoid, Kafka-esque vibe, and that alone makes it compellingly watchable. Thinnes? episode intros and a new interview with the actor are the main bonus features. --Sam Graham
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