I can easily mention the series of "The Invaders" in the same breath as "Star Trek," "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits." "The Invaders" follows the attempts of an architect, David Vincent, who tries to convince a disbelieving world of the existence of aliens who have landed on earth to escape their dying planet. Each episode consists of four acts, plus an epilogue. It's similar to the previous show from the same producers, "The Fugitive." Watching each instalment, you just know that David Vincent is going to find it a challenge in convincing anyone about the alien invasion. Once in a while, he gains a few allies but most of these are either killed or silenced in some other way. It makes for a somewhat lonely existence when it is just one man, fighting his enemies alone. However, Vincent does manage to inconvenience the aliens on numerous occasions by thwarting their plans almost single-handed. Roy Thinnes as David Vincent is superb. His acting style is what I would call "naturalistic" but very credible. I disagree that his character comes across as being aloof or cold, David Vincent is simply exercising a good deal of caution in not trusting anyone easily and keeping his wits about him. He certainly displays compassion with those who have been victims of some kind, courtesy of the aliens. This is a genuinely gripping series with a slightly disturbing theme tune. Each episode offers something quite different and the writing and acting are marvellous. There are plenty of familiar faces in this one: William Windom, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Rennie, Murray Hamilton, Gene Hackman, James Daly, J.D Cannon, John Larch, Jack Lord, Jack Warden, Roddy McDowall, Burgess Meredith and others. It's a bit unfortunate that "The Invaders" only lasted two seasons. I reckon an additional season would have been great. Don't miss this one, it is one of the greats.
Review of The Invaders
