The Invaders (1967-1968) TV Series Review
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- čas přidán 22. 02. 2019
- This video turned out a little long, but I had so much to say! This show dominated our tv for the better part of the last month, and my mom and I enjoyed it immensely. Since it doesn't seem to be as well-known these days as some other '60s sci-fi shows, I'm happy to do my part to introduce it to more people. :)
- Zábava
If you saw the interview with Thinnes , you would hear him repeat that the series is all about paranoia . And his ' fighting skills ' are explained throughout the series by the lead character's time in the Korean War . A classic .
Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (aka Doppelgänger) is a 1969 British science fiction film that Roy Thinnes starred in immediately after The Invaders. He brought the same understated charm of architect David Vincent to his portrayal of NASA astronaut Colonel Glenn Ross. That movie was refreshingly unique as well, and certainly worth a look if you enjoyed The Invaders, or just like to taste a good rare vintage of speculative fiction.
Yes, I saw that not long after concluding this series. Quite an intriguing concept and execution. If you're interested, I included a mini review of it in this video: czcams.com/video/qMBUsLFWWCU/video.html
It was a refreshing sci. fi. plot. Plus, I always love watching the Anderson's space equipment, it appeals to the kid that loved watching Fireball XL5.
This was the best sci-fi show of the 1960s and beyond. It’s too bad the show didn’t have a 10 year run. Every episode left you on the edge of your seat and wondering if this could really happen, or is it happening now.
If you watch this series you’ll be amazed at how many great actors played on this show. What a gem. The producers made a massive blunder by not continuing this show for many more seasons.
This was one of my favorite shows. Saw the first season as an 11-year-old. Missed the second season after my Air Force Dad was transferred to Taiwan. Bought the DVD 4 years ago and enjoyed both seasons ... especially the episodes with Suzanne Pleshette ... an early crush for me 🙂
Pleshette was an early crush for me also.
@@varanid9
Absolutely ! : )
I was nearly 8 years of age when The Invaders premiered in 1967. I remember it very, very well from my weekly viewings back then as it was one of the weekly shows of its type I never missed. Star Trek, Voyage to The Bottom Of The Sea, Lost In Space, and of course The Invaders were my favourites.
There were novel and children's books about David Vincent's fight against the invader aliens written back then and I still own the Big Little Book about it as well as a novel written for the youth market about the series available during the show's short run. Yeah, I loved that show.
This review mentions the huge cars used in the series and it's true they were huge, handled poorly, and were very thirsty gasoline wise but they had style and were about the best technology could give back then. It is perhaps an irony that the one of the most commonly used automobiles in The Invaders was the aptly named Ford Galaxy. I have yet read anyone mention that.
Roy Thinnes did excellent work in this series and there are several of his later TV films to be found here on YT. All of them are worth a watch too.
I just bought the boxed set of The Invaders a week ago and am really enjoying it. This show, an exercise in paranoia, was excellent for its time and well worth a look if you can get past what might be called the dated special effects and production style. To me it is a TV show that was a favourite back then and still well worth watching today. How many television series are there today that people will want to watch in fifty years? Yes, several but they are the exception. The Invaders is an example of this.
I Agree...I was 10 years old when this was on. I still have the model kit, several books, and the Gold Key Comic books. Love all of those shows you mentioned.
Same age as my mum. She introduced me to it and now I love it so much
I had the big little book too. If I remember dick Tracy was number one and invaders was number 2, I think?
@Peter Dejong I believe Ford did sponsor the show. That was common in those days and most QM productions featured Ford cars.
The Galaxy convertible was, to me, a stunning automobile. My father owned the far less attractive and much more basic Ford Custom Wagon. It handled poorly, and rusted out in two years but he did claim it was the best car in snow he ever owned.
@Pierre Magnan Thank you, sir. The Invaders for me in my 60s is a classic sci-fi show and as an 8-9 year old a fun show to watch. Nostalgic memories of a long ago time.
The ending music......haunted me for years.
Another thumbs up! Love the Invaders and thanks for reviewing this cool show.
Thank you for a wonderful and thoughtful review of a The Invaders, show and dvd set! I never saw it when it aired and I was too young to appreciate it. I worked at a tv station in Houston in the mid 1980's where I worked late into the night broadcasting the shows, movies and commercials usually working with only one other person. We would run The Invaders after the Late Movie. From the first episode I was captivated! A serious and well thought out drama I had completely missed! I've been a fan ever since. I'm glad it is on across the country on Me TV, but of course on late into the night.
Perhaps greatest sci-fi line EVER; “The Enemy” -Gale “in Vietnam…after what I’ve seen” -Blake *“I’m not like seen anything you’ve ever seen”*
Great to find your review, enjoyed it a lot. I first saw The Invaders back in 1990/1991 on BBC2 (British station). I immediately connected with it in a way that I didn't with other sci-fi shows. Perhaps the fact that the action took place 'on Earth' rather than deep space, and its 60s setting, was part of the appeal. As someone else has posted, there are definite parallels with the film They Live. I'm glad you mentioned Dominic Frontiere's score, which is a big part of the mood of each episode.
Its super cool to see anything on the Invaders. A part of me has always had an attachment to this series. A lot of stuff from the Invaders time up until the late 90's has an extremely calming effect for me, comfort viewing.
Very nice appraisal of the series. Well done.
I particularly appreciated your comments on the music, which I've never forgotten.
Watching this show as a 10-year-old kid, I remember being both tantalized and bored.
What I wanted, of course, was to see more monsters and spaceships. What I got was a classy, somewhat timeless production as the reviewer pointed out.
I'd love to take look at it again as an adult.
I remember watching this show a while back ! Very good show that's underrated. ..thanks for reviewing such a great show 👍
This show fell off the map. It must have been too close to the truth. They Live.
Agreed
Kind of like the wonderful and popular The Time Tunnel (1966-67), only one season there probably nixed before becoming too popular and maybe drawing attention to any such covert programs in real life, so the excuse of being too expensive was used.
@@LarryFleetwood8675
I was born in 67 and have vague memories of it on tv.It’s available on dvd - might be worth checking out.
That's what I thought. It might be what Thinnes meant when saying it was canceled for political reasons.
"The problem with "The Invaders" was that despite the cool premise there was "situational repetitiveness". I.e, every episode boiled down to the same thing. He always comes close to proving they're here but then the aliens get killed in the last act and self-immolate leaving no evidence. Also 60s Sci-fi shows tended to "front-load" the FX into the pilot. You rarely saw a saucer after the first couple of episodes.
I loved this show as a kid. A couple of years ago I got the dvd sets, and still think it's a very nice watch.
Very well said Jerome. I never get bored with this show. Every time I watch it I can get shivers up my spine.
I've only seen about 4-5 episodes so far, but I like what I've seen. When I hear the announcer say: "The Invaders.....alien beings from a dying planet....their destination, the Earth" it makes me want to go over to the window and look up at the sky. Just to make sure.
Many episodes are on You Tube
He’s describing alien liberal Democrats with a flesh Exoskeleton! And they’re here to make it their world!
I'm so glad you've reviewed this. I saw the original screenings and then bought both seasons on DVD about 10 years ago.. I have watched them through twice and I'm about ready for a third time ! I used to be fond of reciting the opening spiel out loud, including the sound effects - but apart from that I'm perfectly normal. Just like The Fugitive, 'every episode is the same' - but I still love it. I particularly like, too, that there always seemed to be a solid blue sky outside, which always lifted my spirits, especially living in England.
I was 12 years old in 1967 and watched The Invaders ever week (along with the other Quinn Martin productions: The FBI, 12 O'Clock High, and Combat). All very straight forward dramatic shows. I'm happy Q-M Productions made The Invaders, as I believe that kept the show from going from serious to silly as the producers of Lost In Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea let happen to their shows. I recently purchased the DVD of the series. Now I have to find the time to watch it, along with the interview you mention. Your very positive experience with the quality of the show is giving me the extra motivation I need to make the time, since I have not seen it since it originally aired. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy rewatching the show!
@@JeromeWeiselberry I watch it every Sunday morning on Me TV after Time Tunnel. There were several episodes that were not replays as such but had different elements whether racism or the Vietnam war or our use of petroleum.
I loved this show as a young teen.
Me too. Born 1954. Oh, it seems like yesterday!!!
I saw the Invaders in 1967 and 1968 and have watched episodes now. Your description of the show is spot on. The alien technology is minimalist which doesn’t date the series. The 1995 miniseries was disappointing. Why is a 50 year old show more interesting than the crap shown today?
I just recently rediscovered this show. Its been almost 50 years since I watched it as a small child!
I stumbled upon your review of “The Invaders” after rediscovering it after so many years. I found you to be articulate, personable and incisive regarding your many points. If you can find some professional niche for your manifest talents, I think you could do very well. I like your points concerning your mother’s observations from her memory. We must be close in age as I too watched this series on its original run (and never since) as a kid and on a black and white television set, not uncommon then. Like her, I couldn’t recall too many details regarding the show. One that I did vividly, however, is the deformed fourth finger on many of the alien invaders posing as humans.
Thanks again for your time and reviewing acumen. young lady, and I wish you (and your mom!) every good fortune!
I remember seeing this show as a child. I scared the bejabbers out of me! You captured the essence of its appeal in this review. Excelsior Miss Weiselberry!
Hiroshi Fukuda
In 1967 I was ten and I enjoyed myself watching´ The Invaders´ every Wendesday night.In the same days in Japan ´Time Tunnel´ was on the air.Since 1970´s we watched good spacemen on the movie ´Close Encouter´ and ´ET.´ By 1960´s the spacemen acted as the badmen like The Invaders in the Globe.I prefer old image of the spacemen like the invaders.
I was a small boy when this premiered on TV and immediately fell in love with it mainly because it really fueled my imagination. There was no going back after watching it and the heavens really did open up.
I never really liked Star Trek as a kid but the Invaders was compulsive viewing. I used to live near a gas factory which had rooms full of big cylinders with meters on them and it totally looked as though the aliens could be regenerated in there.
I love Roy Thinnes in this tv series, he was absolutely gorgeous which is a plus but What I admired most about him was his likability. I am like you I noticed how he treated the female actors in every episode they are in with him. He opens the door, he place them in front of him while walking. Even in the episode The Vice, which he stars with a black actress , when they are being shot at in her car he places himself in front of her. Rarely did you see gestures like that in the 60's. When he visited a little girl in one particular episode to hear what she had witnessed, he stumps down to her level to speak to her. Those are the things that captured my heart about this man and is voice is very desirable.The acting is superb by every cast mate. Love this show, appreciate it more now than I did in the sixties. Very good review and God bless
Great TV show review Jerome. I was 10 when this show premiered and I still remembering it scarring the hell out of me. The whole premise, especially early in the first season. It would had never went to DVD, had i not been for a fan group that pushed for years, to get it out there. Thank goodness, and I bought the series once it was released. It happened to be and will always be my favorite sci-fi show. I just finished watching the full series tonight, with the last episode. It was common in that era, show ended abruptly, and not all because of ratings. Some of the shows ended because of syndication. Colour came in about 1965, and producers felt they could not sell the show in syndication because so many years were in black and white, like the old Combat tv show. One other sci-fi I loved was Lost in Space, and I always remember liking Penny. That show also was cancelled abruptly and no resolve, for the Robinsons, still .... Lost in Space :)
Nice review of The Invaders, and a good introduction for those who haven't checked it out. The series runs occasionally on channels like Me TV. There are about 44 episodes, which is too few for a successful run in syndication, thus The Invaders has not received a lot of notice over the decades. The Invaders premiered in January 1967 when ABC kicked off a "second season" to replace a lot of the failed series they introduced in the fall of 1966. (Batman was another series that premiered on ABC in January 1967.) The shows are mostly well-written and often feature high-caliber guest stars (Suzanne Pleshette, Michael Rennie, and Gene Hackman, for instance). What the series lacks in special effects it makes up for in suspense. The second season introduced some sympathetic characters who help David Vincent in his mission to stop the alien invasion. Additional seasons might have allowed the development of some of these characters. Too bad we won't get to follow their exploits, but the limited number of episodes does prevent the series from becoming stale.
I've always liked Kent Smith so partly got the DVD sets because of him, it's a great show anyway of course but he's always been quite an underused actor being maybe too normal looking (and named) to ever have become a star himself. He's good in the classic The Spiral Staircase (1946), as well as the Val Lewton classics Cat People (1942) and its sequel Curse of the Cat People (1944).
I forgot he was in The Spiral Staircase! I saw that movie about ten years ago when my parents and I were stuck in a hotel room for several days due to bad weather. We had little to do but watch tv, but the cable package was pathetic so we watched old movies on my laptop instead. Not ideal, but it was a memorable experience. Anyway, Kent Smith was a great addition to the show.
I'm so impressed you appreciate the older stuff. The last part of my career (yes, I watched all this when it first came out) I taught video production in high school. I made kids watch all of these shows. Most of them complained: too slow, boring, bad special effects, Yikes! Black and White????...I said most, not all. Some got it, and with those we did great things. You should check out The Time Tunnel - some great episodes and effects until Irwin Allen ruined it.
Thank you for your very thorough and thoughtful review, it sounds like you genuinely enjoyed watching this 60s gem. I remember having to sneak into the back room of the house to watch The Invaders as a kid...loved it then, love it now. One thing I would like to add is how often average citizens rose to the occasion when confronted by the aliens. Once they came to terms with the fact of the invasion, many folks rallied and threw in with Vinson (even if just temporarily) to address the threat. The show was filled with heroism and self sacrifice, with a number of David's colleagues covering for him at their own expense. Very few shows have captured the tension, and terror, of people facing an unknown adversary within their midst. The Battlestar Galactica reboot did this pretty well, but I think The Invaders did it even better.
I used to watch The Invaders, back in South America, in Spanish, in black & white. I loved the show, so spooky!
Interesting that you were familiar with it in black and white!
My favorite at the time… and Chris Carter’s as well no doubt… it was the inspiration for the X-Files for sure.
Not sure if it still does, but the show used to come on late at night on MeTV. Loved this show. Very cool and a rare gem.
Something might be worth mentioning as a general "be aware of" about video releases (especially of older/pre-1980's films): Very often in the transfers that have been made of these films, very little ---if any---attention was paid to the brightness levels. These films where originally meant to be viewed in a darkened auditorium, and scenes that took place at night, in dark basements, tunnels, caves, sewers etc were timed to appear appropriately dark on screen. But when going to tape, dvd etc, very often (and almost always) the intentions of the director and/or cinematographer, art directors etc were not known, and films were transfered from the original camera negative with little attention paid to such "unimportant" or forgotten details. Result, of course, is that---most often---scenes shot "day for night" that were very dark and effective during original screenings wound up looking like broad daylight on video. I mention this in special regard to INVADERS FROM MARS you have commented on. Scenes with those alien characters were very very dark originally, and I have yet to see a video release that reflects the original look that was intended (recall that the film's production designer and director was also the production designer on films like GONE WITH THE WIND---he had very deliberate ideas about the use of color, shapes, compositions, image depth, brightness etc and made sure that those costumes he was stuck with would be mostly buried in the darkness of the original release timing of the theatrical prints.) The home market distributors generally liked the lighter, flatter look of flms on tape and dvd since people often complained if their videos were perceived to be "too dark". I saw INVADERS in the theater originally, more than once, and never had a clear idea what those Martian uniforms looked like until I saw a tv print! Yikes. Anyway...just some thoughts that might be worth considering. (Btw, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH also has suffered this "bright-day-for-night" curse in a few sequences....among a zillion other films. Today, more care is taken with films of the last 30-40 years.)
I must be about your mother's age. I was about 10 and finally allowed to watch an episode to see an alien die, then I had to go to bed. That episode was "Genesis' where the alien is shot by the cop played by John Larch. I even remember my parents commenting on how Larch looked like a friend of the family at the time. I saw odd episodes when I was allowed to, only during school holidays. Ones that I remembered so well were kind of in a row from "Quantity: Unknown" through to "Wall of Crystal". Probably my favourite show of all time and you do a brilliant review of it.
I loved the Invaders I was a teenager when it was on. I do have the DVDS. Nice review Jerome
Remember Jerome if you run into someone with a deformed finger stay away from them because he or she is one of them.
Yup. Every time I see someone's fourth finger sticking out, I have to wonder about him. And when I notice my own fourth finger sticking out, I have to wonder about myself. :o
I enjoy your thoughtful reviews. They are fun, insightful, and I agree on this show! This is above & beyond your charming manner & lovely visage.... Just 2 seasons...... what a shame. Thank you!
Day One fan. I have all the episodes myself, and yes, the paranoia really still does work. Now enjoy watching all the cool cars. Makes your mouth water ! In middle school at the time, my friends and I would scare kids at the bus stop, with the stiff pinkie thing. Creeped them out. Also discovered that the speaker device in a telephone looked very similar to the prop the Aliens used to create a heart attack; just unscrew the phone's mouth piece, and out it popped. The other attraction to the program was that my last name is also Vincent.
Excellent review!
Never watched it as a kid, but was well aware of the spaceship from seeing the model kit at my local hobby shop.
Binged the DVDs a couple years ago, and it's now my favorite Sci-Fi series from the 60s!
Very nice clear and direct review. Thanks!
I loved watching this series when I was a kid. Never really forgot it so now see them all again on CZcams is amazing....loved the fugitive / lost in space & man from UNCLE.....
I wanted to be a man from UNCLE so bad when I was a kid
This show is very unique and very awesome this show is way ahead of its time .............
I ran across a couple of episodes of this show on CZcams and even a pretty well done movie version of it yesterday. I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction and as you might imagine loved watching The Invaders on TV as a kid back in the 1960s. I very much enjoyed your very thorough and well presented review of this TV series and I also like that you were able to share this experience with your mom. I agree the relatively subtle use of special effects added to the air of mystery and suspense. Still, like you I would have preferred at least one or two more seasons and then a more shall we say definitive conclusion. Although one could also argue leaving the questions so unanswered leaves you to imagine that . . . somewhere some place the saga continues . . . Or was that the X-Files? Ha Ha, sorry resistance is futile . . I mean I couldn't resist . . . Oh you know what I mean!
Still my preferred TV show. same story as your mom's. I watched reruns later on, and have the same DVDs set you show in your video. Thanks for your sensitive, heartfelt review of "The Invaders". "The sultry Suzanne Pleshette" as the invader capable of having feelings is unforgettable.
There was so much good about The Invaders. David Vincent, a modern-day Cassandra, initially can't get people to see the threat that he sees all around him. This is a constant theme of 1950s Red Scare shows. I think the last of the Red Scare movies might have been Telefon, a Bronson flick that I really liked (review hint😊). I did like the way he slowly built up a network allies. That gave you that he could overcome the aliens. Great review. Loved watching.
very nice review, young lady !!! i watched this when i was a kid, it had been yrs since i had watched the show.
I appreciate your recognition of Dominic Frontiere's music composition ability.
My interest of who he is was when I watched "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold" with Tamara Dobson as Cleopatra Jones. Particularly the theme song "Playing With Fire".
Every now and then I want to hear that song again.
Nice video. I was 12 or 13 when it first hit the screens in the UK and was captivated straight away. When it was available here on the tube some years ago I made a point of watching all I could again and was happy to find myself still hooked. Doubtless at some point in the future I`ll do it all again, that speaks volumes.
One of my favorite shows growing up. I think I was 4 or 5 at the time 😮
I was and still am a big fan of The Invaders. I wish it could have went on for a longer period. The 1995 Mini-series was not bad, but it didn't have the same feel as the original. Great Review.
Young lady you did not take to long on this video. You did the show justice. Why this show did not get the air time that Star Trek , Lost in space, or Space 1999. This show was the X-Files of it's time. This probably the show that sparked the idea of the X-Files. This show is on Metv on Saturday where I live,but it comes at 4 a.m. in the morning. Star Trek, Lost in space , Buck Rogers , Night Stalker, Voyage to the bottom of the sea, Land of the giants, Time tunnel and then if you are awake The invaders. So people stil don't get to know about the show. So I hope that line up changes soon. Because like you said it is a great timeless show. Thank you so much for sharing your video. Maybe now it may get a better time slot for Tv.
I’m working my way through Space 1999 and enjoying it a lot!
Some episodes of the Xfiles probably took inspiration from The Invaders- very similar in the paranoia- not knowing who the aliens are.Also there’s The Thing (the novel Who Goes There?) again the same theme.
This was such a well done show love it from the first episode as a kid and I still do I have it on DVD great science fiction. 📽🎬📽🎬📽🎬📽
Here in england we used to get all the american tv ,maybe a year after they had premiered in the U S,one thing is for sure there will never ever be a period in the time of mankind ,when so many great shows were being made ,the list is endless i loved the invaders but i could name at least 50 other shows that were fantastic around that time ,thank you America
You are a wonderful young lady. Yes, I was lucky enough to view the short-lived (it was ahead of it's time) series as a boy. It totally freaked me out but, taught me a lot about the "human condition".....much as The Fugitive did as well. I still feel Roy did a fantastic job and I enjoyed seeing parts of California (back when less inhabited) in the filming of the series. Your analysis is spot-on and intelligent. I am lucky enough to own the series on discs and I treasure them very much. Wonderful job! Thank you.
Oh, Dominic Frontiere also did the music for the Rat Patrol series.
Good review. Am a The Invaders fan. Saw a few original episodes before shipping out. Never forgot.
thank you so much !!! i'm still so fan of this show I was born in 62 and the show came to Argentina along with others shows... i love all the music tracks. David Vincent always with beautiful girls around !! Hug Jerome from the south of this planet !!
This show scared me green when I was eleven years old, and still packs a punch.
Thank you again, Jerome, for enlightening me about this show. I was still in grade school when this show debuted. I remember watching an episode or two, and know the premise, but I can't remember any of the details. Keep up the good work in helping old viewers remember, and introducing new ones to the series.
You're welcome! And thanks for the encouragement. :)
Hello,
Thank you very much for your comment on the series the invaders, it's a very nice tribute from you !!!
Among the different guest star you mentioned, there is one that we could add, it is Russell Johnson who has nevertheless contributed in some classic science fiction cinema ...
In France this series was partially broadcast from September 4, 1969, we had to wait almost 20 years (July-August 1987 on TF1) to see the series the invaders in its entirety of 43 episodes!
Ps: Thank you for your good mood and your beautiful smile.
Sincerely, Marc.
Thanks, Marc! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
I'd never heard of The Invaders before today but I saw the series at Walmart and wanted to find out a bit more about it before I purchased it. Now just having watched your video review I am going to order it. I'm now really excited to watch a new (old) series.
Dominic Frontiere studied with Paul Hindemith. The show was created by prolific writer/director Larry Cohen who also created "Branded", although he ended his relationship with the show early in season one.
Thanks for another detailed and insightful review. I couldn't remember many details of this show but seeing your review I want to check it out again! So much of that era's sci-fi is just hokey but this looks like it deserved my childhood rerun obsession!
Hello Jerome esq. :)
Thank you for the thoughtful review of this show. I recently stumbled upon Invaders after hearing a podcast host reference it in a discussion on celebrity ufo encounters. I can’t articulate as well as you, but the show gives me a certain nostalgic feeling of the 50s/60s motif of military idealism, the space age, neat Main Street America, the desolate but stark beauty of the American southwest, and as you mention gentlemen and ladies of that era. I started watching episodes posted on CZcams, but now feel guilty about copyrights and plan to pickup a dvd copy :)
Fantastic stuff💯 👏
A great review by a pretty face.
I watched The Invaders when I was a kid when it was repeated on tv in the 1980's and later in the early 90's. I thought it was a great show. Roy Thinnes was good and it did have some great guest stars appearing like Gene Hackman, Suzanne Pleshette, Lou Gossett Jnr, Barbara Hershey, Murray Hamilton and many more. Use to watch it with my Mum too as she use to watch it when it first aired in the 60's.
The show always had a fairly creepy feel to it and eerie music.
Always remember one episode where you saw the Invaders true form which was creepy!
Thanks for this review thumbs up👍
Great Review! @ 5:58....that's Michael Renni... the main character in the Classic 50's UFO Sci Fi Movie, 'Day the Earth Stood Still'. lots' of other great guest stars as well! I loved this Series as a kid. ( I would have been 7 & 8 years old...respectively...when this Aired) but i remember it, and watched some episodes...'in the day'...if you will. So many great late 60's Sci Fi TV Shows at the time. ( Land of the Giants; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Lost in Space, etc...) anyway...greetings and thanks for the enjoyable look...at this classic series! cheers!
Thank you for reminding me that I need to watch this series . Back in the late 60s I watched a number of episodes , but never really go into the series completely . I need to correct that , and I look forward to exploring the series in detail . Cheers !
Excellent review of a well produced sci fi show 👍 don't remember if in the Uk but just came across it on CZcams compelling viewing hope I get to see more before they are pulled 😱
Excellent review, I plan on getting my own set soon . This show had it all and I often wonder if it hints at cover ups ! Thanks for the review ! ...
Hi, this was a decent and insightful review, thank you. I really liked The Invaders when it was repeated in the UK in the early 90s. It seemed to breathe a different air from the admittedly strong competition of Star Trek/Lost in Space by playing it dead straight. Thinnes as Vincent really sold the character's loneliness and frustration.
Just restarted that exact box set. Superb tense television science fiction. You just couldn't trust ANYONE. Great guest stars.
The theme music____HAUNTING, indeed.
Just when I was getting over of Alien invasions conspiracies, sigh... to be honest every time I watched any episode as a kid I felt that the stories were real, ok, as a kid I knew it was a tv show but it felt like a recreation of real events. The music soundtrack of the series made the whole fight against the invasion a hopeless cause which made the series very realistic and somber. ...sigh, years of psychiatric treatment wasted. Time to put tinfoil on my head and whistle the X-Files theme. The truth is out there.
I loved that series !
Hey! Just found you as I was looking for videos involving Roy Thinnes! I was 10 years old when The Invaders debuted and loved it. And just yesterday I watched an episode, and I don't think I've seen one since 1968! It's amazing how the musical score had such a significant effect on me. Hearing it again brought back similar emotions. I think I may have to watch it all again! And by the way, you do an awesome job reviewing! Flawless! Ok, off to find the pilot episode...
Roy Thinnes starred in the SciFi Classic "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun"🚀☉
We watched that this month too, in between the first and second season. :)
Jerome Weiselberry I Love 1960's Retro Movies/TV/Pop Culture-The Last American Golden Age...
I enjoyed "Döppelganger" (the movie's British title) which I purchased on DVD at least 20 years ago. It was produced and largely written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the team who created a number of sci-fi-themed children's television shows using marionettes rather than live actors. The film is based on a fantasy scenario that's at least 2,400 years old, specifically the existence of a counter-earth -- a planet similar to our own but invisible because it is always exactly on the opposite side of the sun in relation to our world. In Anderson's script, the counter-earth is absolutely identical to ours. Everything is duplicated to the smallest detail except reversed like a mirror image. (The amount of screen time it takes for Thinnes's character to notice all the writing visible on the counter-earth is backward is unintentionally hilarious.) More trivia: "Döppelganger" was released in 1969, the year after "The Invaders" got canceled, thereby freeing Roy Thinnes to star in the Anderson film, which made enough money here and the UK to finance a new Anderson TV project based on the same premise as "The Invaders" called "U.F.O.".
@@enscroggs Cool info. I love that movie even though that launch sequence seems three days long.
Great job! It happens to be one of my all time favorite TV shows. I don't have the DVDs and finding any streaming platforms that carry it is almost impossible to find. LOL, seeing it without commercial interruption would be strange, but welcomed. Thanks again for the super review.
Got me curious about especially seeing some of the guest stars, Gene Hackman especially.
Me too,I was wondering if Gene will change he's carrier and becomes a sci fi actor.
I tried to click away from your review a few times but you are so likable and relatable that I wouldn't dare go away and also your review was excellent and you encouraged me to check out the series again.
Thank you!
Hi,I enjoyed your review I thought it was intelligent and insightful - spot on 👍
The Invaders is a somewhat overlooked and maybe underrated series.I used to watch it on occasion and enjoyed it.
After your review I might now buy it on dvd.I appreciate it’s unpretentious tone and respect for the audience.You can definately see it took inspiration from Invasion of the Body Snatchers- I love the films,both the 50s & 70s versions.
Strangely The Invaders seems relevant right now to me as I feel I’m living in a world of aliens (or maybe I’m an alien?)
All the best ❤️
Well done Jerome, a very good revue. I became a fan in the 1960s, it was repeated several times. I was delighted to receive the DVD Box set some years back.
What a wonderful analysis of a classic sci-fi TV series by a younger viewer. Ms. Weiselberry hits on all the reasons why this show never jumped the shark. I watched "The Invaders" first-run when I in was junior high and the show often terrified me. You could never trust anybody, the invaders had compromised all of society's respected authority figures, and, most frightening of all, we never saw what the aliens really looked like. We only saw the mental trauma experienced by those who did.
Thank you!
What an unexpected delight to see an Invaders review from you! Even with a limited number of episodes it still reached syndication back in the day. I loved the dead seriousness of the show as a kid and the palpable sense of dread the series managed. The show had limited merchandise but I had several of the Aurora model kits of the alien saucer - the stilts on the landing gear so easily broken. One episode featured one of the aliens, briefly, in its true form, and I remember the effects being quite good (and creepy). And I don't care how similar they are, both of those Suzanne Pleshette episodes are keepers! I wish they'd found a way to at least have her be recurring like the Edgar Scoville character...
I've seen some pictures of the show's merchandise. So much fun! Yes, I would have enjoyed it if there were a few more recurring characters. But on the flip side doing it the way they did helped emphasize how alone David Vincent was most of the time.
The music is wonderfully foreboding. I loved the show as a kid and also now at age 60. There were some guest star intelligent beauties, like Suzanne Pleshette.
What a pleasant review! The TV series were aired at least in fall of 1998 in Russia and I watched them in Belarus, Minsk after my University classes at a daytime. Even then they really excited me although I have never found out the explanation of all those affairs of the plot as didn't manage to watch the final episodes...
Thank you Ms Weiselberg! I thought I was the only one who felt passionate about the Invaders! Your critique is so incisive and eloquent!
I love films from Edison’s silent movies up to the present day! After listening to you, I feel less weird and less alone!
If I may, I’d like to recommend my favorite book. My all time favorite book is The Magic Mountain, written by the author Thomas Mann. He was a friend of Albert Einstein, and the book is about the seeds of mortal time.
Ms WEISELBERRY, the TCM network would probably love to make your acquaintance. Your breadth of knowledge about all elements of film is extraordinarily impressive!
I was 9 when it first hit the air; my favorite show about my favorite subject - UFOs. I used to recite the opening.monologue to my baby sister and then my twin daughters, and have the theme as my ring tone!!😂😎
Thank you for your interesting review. I'm old enough to have seen the show at the time, but I didn't. I'm only now catching up on the entire series. It's definitely underrated and under appreciated.
Really enjoyed this review. The Invaders is a classic show that still stands up today for sure.
Great review of a great show that I watched as a young person. It was gripping then, and I still think it is exciting and creepy with a super mood of suspense. I love the intro music and the music at the end and even have the opening monologue halfway memorized! Watch out for those funny little fingers!!
Its funny that I just discovered this show because I watch old stuff all the time, it was on MeTV on Saturday night. Good show & good review!
I had the opportunity of watching 'The Invaders' first run. I turned 8 years old in 1967. This was the first show I watched on my own. 'David Vincent' was my first hero as a kid. I had nightmares about the show or really cool dreams that the aliens were after me, because I knew about them. Sometimes I had to kill them and they incinerated like in the show. The most memorable one happened in 1970. I may have been watching re-runs or I had the show on my mind. The aliens were chasing me and I ran into this house and hid under a bed in one if the bedrooms. When we moved to another house in 1974 it was the house in the dream. The house wasn't built until 1972.
I remember watching this show and The Time Tunnel as a kid. Loved both of them. Altough I would have liked for both shows to have proper endings. I thought Roy Thinnes was a very good actor and I feel he doesn't get enough recognition. Also remember him from The Norliss Tapes a creepy little TV movie.
What a great review, i remember watching this in the 70s thank you :)
I watched the show when it first aired. As a science fiction fan I enjoyed the show. Having an actor on a show as a guest star multiple times as different characters happened often at the time. You're right as with "The Fugitive" and "Run For Your Life" you have characters open up to someone they just met and know nothing about. Thank you for posting I really enjoyed the video. Brought back a lot of memories.
Great review. It's a terrific show, and it's subtle not over the top the way it works, not overt, etc. Kind regards from Australia.
Very good review Jerome! I loved this show as a kid, and still do. It is odd that Quinn Martin paid the creator but removed him from all input in the show and never consulted with him. They seemed to pick writers week by week to create the episodes. Alot of improvisation. This show has great mood and atmosphere. Love the sets and love the beautiful actresses that appear throughout the two seasons. Suzanne Pleshette......sigh! Love the cars too. Lots of Fords, as that was one of the sponsors! I also agree that the cast of supporting actors is like a who's who of television stars. So many great actors appear in this series, really boosting its suspense and drama and elevating the show. Roy Thinnes did an excellent job bringing his character to life. I've watched episodes many times, but still find newness in them. Very cool show!!
The creator, Larry Cohen, created three of the best shows of the 1960s: Branded, Coronet Blue; and The Invaders. Cohen was the poet laureate of alienation.
I loved this show as a kid & then got the DVDs when they came out. I still watch episodes on METV & I'm trying to get my younger friends to check it out. The Invaders, The Outer Limits & Kolchak: The Night Stalker all ended way too soon(usually due to networks not wanting to spend money on special effects, etc.). Roy Thinnes said that he expected to do a 3rd season & was surprised that the show was cancelled as ratings hadn't dropped.