The Invaders (1967 -1968)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Classic TV: The 60s
Maddyclassicfilms — 10 years ago(October 17, 2015 07:28 AM)
This has recently started being shown here in the UK and I am hooked on it. It's like
The Fugitive
meets
The Twilight Zone
and is really gripping. It's about halfway through the first season so far.
The main character doesn't know who to trust because anyone could be an alien. Plus if he tells other humans they tend not to believe him so he's made out to be crazy.
I'd love to see more of Roy Thinnes films and series because I'm very impressed with him in this. The only other thing I've seen him in is
The XFiles
in which he guest stars in a few episodes as a man with healing powers.
Any other fans of
The Invaders
here?
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly
. -
TOASTnJAM — 10 years ago(October 20, 2015 11:53 PM)
I was a young teen when it came out and I thought 'awesome, a TV series about a alien invasion' and was disappointed that it was more of a drama then sci/fi. I watched a few episodes then gave up. I probably should see it again through adult eyes.
From what I recall it was more of a 'on the road' genera. The hero traveling from place to place, getting involved in peoples lives, which was popular at that time, like:
Route 66
Coronet Blue
The Fugitive
Run for Your Life
Then Came Bronson
The Immortal
Mad Magazine did a satire of the show.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32188771/The-Invasioners-Mad-Magazine#scribd
I thought
P.E.T.A.
meant
People Eating Tasty Animals -
jxh13 — 10 years ago(October 26, 2015 03:40 AM)
The Invaders
had an interesting premise, and some fine episodes. Larry Cohen also created
Coronet Blue
, which lasted only a handful of episodes and never really got going, but it had an interesting sense of mystery.
Roy Thinnes was basically a solid TV level talent; one feature that shows him to good advantage is the 1969 Gerry Anderson science fiction film,
Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
, which has kind of a silly premise and some weak spots but is often remembered fondly.
The late 70s mini-series
From Here to Eternity
can't compete with the classic 1953 film, but it's a fairly solid melodrama with an interesting cast.
Guilty pleasure:
Satan's school for Girls
(1973) is truly, truly, truly awful, but there are some creepy bits, and I have a soft spot for Pamela Franklin. -
Maddyclassicfilms — 9 years ago(July 27, 2016 03:50 AM)
Good point. David Vincent was already struggling to prove the truth, it doesn't help that the evidence vanishes. I was disappointed slightly by how easily the aliens could be killed, the glowing effect looks good though.
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly
. -
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darryl-tahirali — 9 years ago(July 25, 2016 06:20 PM)
The Invaders
may be the first TV show I can recall watching. My parents watched it when I was about four or five, and what stuck with me were the opening credits, with the Invaders' spaceship zooming toward earth, and David Vincent in his car, waking up to see the spaceship landing, and then the way their bodies would glow and disappear when they were killed. Spooky.
A few years ago, I found the DVDs available through Netflix and did a watch of the series. Typical Quinn Martin approachyou mention
The Fugitive
and that is no accidentand, as others have noted, it was a formula that held few real variations although a number of episodes were intriguing, and it's always fun to spot the guest stars. One of the Season Two episodes, "The Enemy," features a nurse (Barbara Barrie, later of
Barney Miller
) just returned from a tour of Vietnam and some rather equivocal comments about the war, which were unusual for 1967 from what I can gather. I won't say anything more about the series because you may still be watching it.
Before
The X Files
, even before
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
,
The Invaders
told the paranormal tale with Roy Thinnes's David Vincent the lone voice in the wilderness trying to convince anyone who would listen that there was unusual trouble afoot. So, it's no surprise that Thinnes cropped up on
The X Files
, as did Darren McGavin from
Kolchak
. I remember Thinnes in the 1975 film
The Hindenburg
as a Gestapo agent, but the film itself, despite a fine cast and direction by Robert Wise, exhumes a bit of hot air about a conspiracy to destroy the zeppelin. Oh, the humanity.
If you can find
The Invaders
' DVDs, by all means do so. Thinnes does an interview that is rather fascinating, but more importantly he does intros for just about every episode. They are short, but they are quietly hilarious. It is hard to tell whether Thinnes is being sincere or is just pretending to be sincere, but they do deserve to be viewed. Make no mistakehe is proud of his work, but there is just something in his manner that seems to pull your leg just a little.
"The past is never dead. It isn't even past." William Faulkner -
Maddyclassicfilms — 9 years ago(July 27, 2016 03:48 AM)
Hi darryl,
I've finished watching the series,if you have anything else to say about it please do.
The DVD set sounds worth buying, I'll have a look for it. I loved seeing so many stars in guest appearances, including a very young Gene Hackman and Roddy McDowall.
I'm surprised Thinnes didn't go on to have a bigger career, he's quite a good actor.
The series is another great story about someone who knows a truth, but who has a difficult time convincing others of it.
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly
. -
darryl-tahirali — 9 years ago(July 27, 2016 07:43 AM)
Now that you're done, I was just going to mention that like many shows of the period, it was canceled abruptly and so the series feels as if it has no closure to it, although the last episode suggests that David Vincent would be gathering more allies for its third season had there been one.
Yes, it's always a treat to watch these classic shows and see who the guest stars are.
"The past is never dead. It isn't even past." William Faulkner
