The Invaders

I only started watching the original series of The Invaders about a year ago. It had intriguing plot twists based on the various ways the alien invaders wormed their way into society and the methods they used to manipulate people to do their bidding. The show wasn't 9n long but it was enough of a cult classic to lead to a mid 90s reboot attempt.

Roy Thinnes sort of reprises his role as David Vincent but the writers didn't do a great job updating the character. The story shifts entirely to Scott Bakula's character, Nolan Wood probably because it makes better sense having a 40 year old doing action sequences.

The story is a little weak. Aliens come to earth and they seek to ruin the environment because they have an easier time breathing polluted air. Once the environment is beyond the point of no return, they will be able to take over. They all uniformly smoke like chimneys and eat steak and eggs.

The same elements in the original series are in this with updated special effects. I think what wrecked this is the success of the X Files. This reboot feels as bad as the Kolchak reboot. I can't imagine either attempt happening if the X Files weren't thriving.

I recommend the original series. That's a good 60's action show but with aliens. This miniseries is a good curiosity to view if you really like the QM series from the 60s but if you aren't a fan or never saw it, you'll likely think this is a waste of 3 hours or a lame X Files knockoff

The Invaders by Quinn Martin with Roy Thinnes was successful because, in my opinion, we never saw the true form of the alien beings from a dying world.....

There were also certain rules that we learned about what they were and their terrestrial limitations. We learned, for example, that they had taken human form and had to remain in that form while on Earth or they would die. They had been here for untold years before David Vincent's fateful encounter with them one dark night on a lonely road at a deserted diner, thus they had infiltrated positions in society from a prostitute in a bar to positions of power within the Department of Defense. They could be men, women, and even children. Paranoia was rife because one could not be certain that anyone from the paper boy on his bike to a high ranking politician on telly was human. In every way they looked and behaved like normal human beings.

We also learned that the aliens did have limitations that could reveal their identity. Though they had the outward appearance of being human, they were very different inside: They had an irregular skeletal structure, no heart, and no blood; when cut, they would not bleed. An X-ray, blood test, or any number of medical procedures would quickly disclose their less than human nature, however a simple test was just to take a pulse which would give the appearance that they were dead even though they were fully conscious and ambulatory.

They had to regenerate periodically to remain in human form. Only in human form could they breath our weak 20% mixture of oxygen for limited periods of time before they would have to regenerate; pure oxygen would bring on an instant requirement for regeneration. They knew their limitations and would regenerate long before the need became critical. When, on occasion, the need became critical, they would begin to return to their alien form, but since they could not live on Earth in their native form, they would die before the transformation was complete. Either by design or happenstance, they would incinerate at the moment of death in our atmosphere. Before they could turn to their native form, they would begin to glow (an indication that they were dying and that incineration was imminent). Thus they could be killed as easily as any human, but since David Vincent's need was not just to kill them individually, but to have a living specimen to prove to a disbelieving world that they were here and the nightmare had begun, and since their dedication to their purpose and anonymity was greater than their fear of death, he just could never bring off a perfect disclosure.

IN THE FILM VERSION, we were given the hype that this would answer the question of what became of the aliens and David Vincent in the quarter century since the show was terminated without catharsis. The reality was that the only hint of a tie-in was the presence of David Vincent for what amounted to a cameo appearance in the first and second part. They did not have the polished human appearance of those in the series; they looked and behaved like whacked-out zombies and instantly drew suspicion that all was not well. The rules were all changed and they made the mistake of trying to show the aliens in their native form. This killed the mystique and violated the principle that THERE IS NOTHING THAT THE EYE CAN BEHOLD THAT IS AS HORRIFIC AS THAT WHICH CAN BE CONJURED IN THE MIND. With the series, we each had a mental vision of what they looked like that was far more terrifying than the Hollywood magicians could give us at their best, let alone the 1950s style, rubber masked freaks that were offered here.

Artistic infidelity is not just limited to book to film translations. The film version of the classic television series of The Invaders shows that in various media, some things do not lend well to artistic license and should be left in the form for which they were designed.

The original INVADERS series from the 1960s was exceptional and very engaging. So, I was thrilled in the 1990s when it was announced that they were making a new pilot movie for a new series. I made super-sure to see it and enjoyed every minute. It was pretty faithful to the original ideas and plot and I looked forward to the shows. And I waited,...and waited,...and waited. It seems that this movie just didn't spark enough interest and so the idea of a new series was killed. It's a real shame, as I loved the notion that aliens had landed and were slowly taking over the Earth and no one seemed to know or care. And, each week the hero would try, often in vain, to get everyone to wake up to their insidious plan. Too bad. The people that made this film really did do well despite inspiring little, if any, hoopla about the series.

I agree that the movie "The Invaders" had its problems, it was long and tedious, and sometimes confusing. But to diss a movie because of Factual errors? Its Hollywood; what did you expect? them to hire Physics experts to give them the information to keep these factual mistakes down? raoulfenderson must be such, maybe he or she should offer services to Hollywood.. I enjoyed the movie for what it was, a movie, even though it was low tech, and tedious sometimes, as I believe the makers were shooting for. After all, the movie was based upon a somewhat campy/cheesy TV show from 1966/1967. As I write this, I am watching the series on SciFy Channel, just as cheesy as the movie, but just as enjoyable as the old days...

Terrible attempt to cash in on The Invaders TV series of the 60s. This sort of thing was going on in the 90s with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) becoming SeaQuest DSV (1993). There was also a remake of the 60s Outer Limits series.

In fact during this period I felt so swamped by remakes of 60s shows that some of them just went right over my head.

The original Invaders TV series of 1967 was a very professional looking production with knockout music cues (mainly in the first season) and it had the unusual situation of having wonderful looking Ford cars appearing all the time (this was because Ford sponsored the series and they demanded the cars be constantly seen).

The old series was a product of the time and it simply does not belong in 1995. Which is probably why this 1995 production gets negative reviews.