Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

ShadeGrenade Quite simply, this is the best show of its kind. Created by Larry Cohen ( maverick film maker responsible for 'Its Alive!' and 'Q - The Winged Serpent' ) and produced by Quinn Martin, it features the most popular story in the whole of science fiction - the Earth under attack.Roy Thinnes plays architect 'David Vincent' ( don't ask me why they felt the need to mention his occupation in the opening credits ) who is driving home late one night. Tired, he stops near a deserted diner and falls asleep. He is awoken a short time later by a strange whirring sound. He sees a saucer-like object touching down nearby.When Vincent returns to the same spot the next day with the police in tow, there is no saucer, only a trailer belonging to a honeymooning couple, and they claim to have seen nothing. Vincent notices that the name of the diner has been changed. So is he mad? Or has someone tried to cover things up? Late that night, he approaches the couple yet again. The man attacks him. Suddenly he begins to glow...So begins the opening episode 'Beachhead' written by Anthony Wilson. Taut and intelligently written, it could easily have been an instalment of 'The Outer Limits' ( and shared that earlier programme's composer Dominic Frontiere ). Vincent learns that the invaders are here, refugees from a dying world, and they are out to conquer the Earth. His task is made harder by the fact that they can assume human form, so they can be anyone or anything. The only way to identify one is by their little fingers - they cannot bend them! Kill an invader and it disappears in a fiery red ball of light.Each week, the intrepid architect followed the invaders across the country, thwarting their nefarious plots, which include turning insects into carnivores, sending the Earth off its axis by detonating an antimatter bomb, and attempting to sabotage a moon exploration project. He also hoped to be able to capture an alien and take it to Washington in order to prove their existence.Guest stars included Jack Lord, Peter Graves, Burgess Meredith, Michael Rennie, Roddy McDowall and a pre 'French Connection' Gene Hackman.It anticipated the 'paranoid' shows of the '90's, such as 'The X Files' and 'Dark Skies'. After an excellent first season, it returned for a second, but mid-way through there was a change in format. In 'The Believers', Kent Smith was introduced as 'Edgar Scoville', head of a group who also knew of the invaders' existence, and provided back-up. Ratings fell and the show was cancelled without a conclusion.In Britain, 'The Invaders' played in late-night slots on I.T.V., but in 1984 B.B.C.-2 screened the first of two bumper runs ( the other being in 1991 ), and as had happened with 'Outer Limits', the show found a new audience. Most recently, it has been seen on 'Five' at the ungodly hour of 4.00 A.M.In 1995 'The Invaders' returned in a two-part mini-series starring Scott Bakula with Thinnes reprising his role as 'Vincent'. It was dire, looking more like an 'X-Files' rip-off.Luckily, the original is on D.V.D. and has stood up very well. Just keep an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously in your neighbourhood with a stiff little finger!

screenman Definitely one of the best science-fiction shows ever.Unfortunately, it went on too long. Each week followed the same basic format. Vincent turned-up as magically as the aliens themselves at some particular location and set about screwing with their plans, whilst gathering witnesses and attempting to convince the sceptical. The biggest problem for him was that the invaders burnt to atoms when they died, short-changing him on evidence. Spooky Mulder found himself facing similar problems.He single-mindedly dedicated his life to their defeat, and, as some other commentator has mentioned, must have had a mysterious supply of money, because he never designed any more buildings after that fateful night.But space-hopping aliens are not stupid. It wouldn't take long for them to realise that just one human was messing with their master plan. Considering that they had the whole of their species to choose from, one might have expected them to do what the mafia or the pentagon would do, and that is mark him up as public-enemy No-1, and put a team of their best assassins on his case. Even if it really looked like murder, the authorities would hardly assume it was done by aliens. He had become such a thorn in their side that it was surely worth their while to suspend operations, and dedicate their energy to his disposal. He was just an architect working alone; he wouldn't stand a chance.The longer the show went on, the greater the likelihood that his luck must run out and they'd nail him. Yet they never did. I think QM got a little mixed-up with their other endless chaser: 'The Fugitive'. But one cop against one suspect is different from a whole species against one architect.Still, it was a very slick production with good acting and a decent script. Special-effects were simple but convincing. I was particularly unnerved by that hand-held cerebral-haemorrhage inducer. Very nasty. Theme music was grim and spooky. Roy Thinnes walked a solid if solitary line. I don't honestly recollect him in anything else.

wtdk123 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.

Thorsten-Krings Back in the late eighties there was always a double bill of The Invaders and Batman in the late afternoon on BBC unless I'm mistaken. Although The Invaders were an old show by 80s standards (bearing in mind that technology had developed at an incredible speed in those twenty years) it was still a gripping show. The Invaders took the basic concept of The Fugitive (also a Quinn Martin production) and combined it with elements of 50s paranoia science fiction. No security and no one was what he seemed to be. That made for great opportunities in story telling: Vincent was always in different places and the stories often took very unexpected twists. You also were unsure whether Vincent would lose this episode's battle or score a small victory against the aliens. The show was also fairly atmospheric. Interestingly enough that was reached mostly by the dramatic voice overs. Roy Thinnes was a good looking chap and I quite liked his performance as driven man who really was an intruder in ordinary people's lives. His acting style has been criticized as aloof but that's the whole point: Vincent is a man who doesn't belong. To me, The Invaders is probably the best 60s sci-fi show.