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11 June 2008
DVD Review: The Invaders (1967)
The Invaders: alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: the Earth.
David Vincent, an architect returning home after a hard, hard, day parks his car in an old ghost town in order to rest for a while before continuing on home. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, something wakes him: a strange object, nonhuman, that is landing in front of his eyes. From this moment he will be trying to persuade a skeptical world that the invasion of our planet is going on, that the nightmare has begun.
In January 1967, a new science fiction series called The Invaders premiered on ABC. The show ran for two seasons and vanished. In its short run, it influenced a lot of writers – echoes of the series can be seen in one-season wonders like Dark skies and long-running hits like The X-Files.
The Invaders was a science fiction series produced by an icon of 1960s/1970s TV, Quinn Martin Productions - whose credits include cult hits such as The Untouchables, Barnaby Jones and The Fugitive. It ran for a total of forty-three episodes over a season and a half in the US from January 1967 to March 1968 and starred Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent, who accidentally learns of an alien invasion and travels warning people in an attempt to stop the invaders from taking over the world.
I had seen a few episodes of the show on the web and was eagerly looking for more. Then the good news came. The first season was to be released on DVD. The anticipation of viewing the series was high, and I must say, after seeing the DVD, that I really enjoyed each of these first seventeen episodes. Each show stood out for me. More interestingly enough, a whole slew of top notch actors came through the series. Jack Lord (pre-Hawaii 5-0), Roddy McDowall, Michael Rennie, Arthur Hill, Ed Asner, Susan Strasberg and Ralph Bellamy - to name a few. These names probably would not mean much to viewers now. But for those of us interested in vintage TV shows and movies, the names are very recognizable.
Besides crackerjack writing and the all-star guest starring cast, the series also had extremely good effects for the time. Both the UFOs in flight and the alien immolations hold up pretty well when compared with similar work being done today.
Roy Thinnes carried the show very well as the loner out to inform the world of the invaders. He was no hero, but was determined to fight the battle. Thinnes had a nice way about him, charming, pleasant and believable in his quest. He made me believe in the invaders.
The Invaders influenced a lot of shows down the road. The X-Files was one of them. Thinnes did make some guest spots on the series, sort of still pursuing his quest even now.
One of the disappointments of being born in the 60s was missing the Hippies and shows like The Invaders.
The Invaders is a TV show that is long overdue for a release on DVD. Thankfully, the 40th anniversary of its airing in the US has finally prompted Paramount to release the first season of seventeen episodes - and it has been well worth the wait. Highly Recommended.
(The Invaders TV info)
The Invaders was a science fiction series produced by an icon of 1960s/1970s TV, Quinn Martin Productions - whose credits include cult hits such as The Untouchables, Barnaby Jones and The Fugitive. It ran for a total of forty-three episodes over a season and a half in the US from January 1967 to March 1968 and starred Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent, who accidentally learns of an alien invasion and travels warning people in an attempt to stop the invaders from taking over the world.
I had seen a few episodes of the show on the web and was eagerly looking for more. Then the good news came. The first season was to be released on DVD. The anticipation of viewing the series was high, and I must say, after seeing the DVD, that I really enjoyed each of these first seventeen episodes. Each show stood out for me. More interestingly enough, a whole slew of top notch actors came through the series. Jack Lord (pre-Hawaii 5-0), Roddy McDowall, Michael Rennie, Arthur Hill, Ed Asner, Susan Strasberg and Ralph Bellamy - to name a few. These names probably would not mean much to viewers now. But for those of us interested in vintage TV shows and movies, the names are very recognizable.
Besides crackerjack writing and the all-star guest starring cast, the series also had extremely good effects for the time. Both the UFOs in flight and the alien immolations hold up pretty well when compared with similar work being done today.
Roy Thinnes carried the show very well as the loner out to inform the world of the invaders. He was no hero, but was determined to fight the battle. Thinnes had a nice way about him, charming, pleasant and believable in his quest. He made me believe in the invaders.
The Invaders influenced a lot of shows down the road. The X-Files was one of them. Thinnes did make some guest spots on the series, sort of still pursuing his quest even now.
One of the disappointments of being born in the 60s was missing the Hippies and shows like The Invaders.
The Invaders is a TV show that is long overdue for a release on DVD. Thankfully, the 40th anniversary of its airing in the US has finally prompted Paramount to release the first season of seventeen episodes - and it has been well worth the wait. Highly Recommended.
(The Invaders TV info)
06:00 Posted in DVD, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: TV, aliens, invasion, drama, thriller, paranoia
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