"Invasion: Earth" (1998) TV mini-series

Writer:

Jed Mercurio (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the lonely Scottish highlands, a small band of military personnel fight a desperate battle against a formidable alien intruder to prevent an invasion of the Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Invasion | Spacecraft | Military | TV Mini-Series

Cast

Vincent Regan	...	Flight Lt. Chris Drake (6 episodes, 1998)
Eric Jorrin	...	RAF Field OP (6 episodes, 1998)
Maggie O'Neill	...	Dr Amanda Tucker (6 episodes, 1998)
Vivienne Soan	...	Dr. Thompson (6 episodes, 1998)
Nicola Grier	...	Detective Sgt. Rebecca Holland (2 episodes, 1998)

Runtime:

50 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

References Jurassic Park (1993)

Good or bad? I don't know...

I'd be lying if I said I was satisfied with the ending. I appreciate what they were trying to do with it -- show the absolute desperation of the battle, and the need to use whatever means necessary to stay alive, even if it means sacrificing innocent people (or yourself). That was a theme that went through the entire series.

But still, too many things were left unresolved for me to fully appreciate the point...particularly the fate of the communications guy with the dreadlocks, and of the sacrificed townspeople, and -- let's face it -- the fate of the entire world!

Everything was very, very well set up. The actual series was spectacular in many ways...the special effects, the focus switching from development to development, the overall confusion of humankind dealing with an alien intelligence (though I did find that some of the characters were a bit TOO intuitive..."Wow, a strange swirling yellow portal...I wonder if we're dealing with aliens from another dimension?).

I think they struck a fine balance between tense (and often gory) action, uneasy suspense, and development of the characters. I don't think I've ever seen such well-developed character interactions in such a short series.

All in all, it unfolded much the way I imagine this sort of thing really WOULD unfold -- lots of confusion, anger, anguish, guilt, drama, and fear -- but I do wish there had been a BIT more direction to the process. It was almost TOO lifelike to be ultimately entertaining for me. How often, in a TV series, do you hear a mother admit to her child that she's terrified of what might happen next, and that she doesn't know if she'll be able to come home again? Or a desperate general decide that total destruction is the most preferable course of action -- and have it actually be TRUE?

The whole thing gave me the shivers, and I don't really sure that's a good thing.