"The Invaders" (1967) TV series 1967-1968

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Creator:

Larry Cohen

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

10 January 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The nightmare continues!

Plot:

David Vincent, an architect returning home after a hard, hard, day parks his car in an old ghost town...

Plot Keywords:

Dying Planet | Cult TV | Hurricane | Alien | UFO

Cast

Roy Thinnes	...	David Vincent (43 episodes, 1967-1968)
Hank Simms	...	Introductory Narrator / ... (43 episodes, 1967-1968)
William Woodson	...	Narrator (43 episodes, 1967-1968)
Kent Smith	...	Edgar Scoville / ... (13 episodes, 1967-1968)

Runtime:

51 min (43 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Rossmore Leisure World, Laguna Hills, California, USA

Company:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Trivia:

Frank Black (lead singer of Pixies) was a big fan of all things sci-fi especially this show and wrote 'Bad, Wicked World' with distinct references to this show.

Quotes:

[opening narration]
Narrator: The Invaders: alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: the Earth. Their purpose: to make it *their* world. David Vincent has seen them. For him, it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut that he never found...

Movie Connections:

Version of "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Time of the Apes (#4.6)" (1991)

Edge of the 60's

For me this show ranks as one of the 10 best TV shows ever made. It resonates with me even today, and I think Roy Thinnes' performances, especially in the first season, are brilliant in their subtlety. I guess what really hits me about this show is how you have a man, David Vincent, who was living in a very conventional 60's worldview--until the night he makes one wrong turn and ends up having his safe, comfortable little existence turned upside down. Somehow I see a parallel between David Vincent and the title character of another top ten TV show - THE PRISONER. Both Number Six and David Vincent have been dragged into worlds of great excitement and adventure - but both are also modern equivalents of Sisyphus, forever doomed to struggle against overwhelming opposition. Both Number Six and David Vincent are actually tragic characters. The trap of most TV shows - that the status quo must be maintained from episode to episode to keep the series going - proves in this case to be a great asset to the nightmarish quality of the premise. Also, you never truly see who the aliens "are", any more than you find out who's running the Village.

Watch this show along with THE PRISONER. You'll be amazed at how much is going on within the "confines" of conventional TV drama.