The Invaders

This was a milestone series in my opinion - the acting was usually above average. Roy Thinnes was excellent - the way he shows his frustration when explaining the aliens is very good. Roy was cast perfectly for this series. I recently was able to buy all the episodes on DVD - just watched "Dark Outpost" - This is one of the best episodes as well as the first one.

If I remember rightly, the whole series doesn't end by driving the invaders off the Earth, when I get to that DVD I'll see of course

Theme music excellent too (Dominic Frontiere I think)

WELL DONE ROY!!

Of all of the TV shows of the past made into movies that stink, maybe, just maybe, some young, serious minded script writer will stumble upon this on late night TV somewhere and produce a script for a motion picture version.

No MTV style quick cuts, no gangsta rap, no tricked up CGI, except as needed. Keep the seriousness of the Quinn Martin original and turn it loose. This was an amazing series, especially for a 12 year old, coming as it did, at the height of series of UFO sightings and reports during that time period.

The whole concept was chilling. This would be a good movie, or even better, a new series, keeping in line with the original.

The Invaders was a wonderful show. Roy Thinnes played architect David Vincent. One night, he stumbled upon an alien craft landing. Aliens had come from a dying world to take over the Earth. What should Vincent do? Contact the Air Force and get them to kick butt?

Actually, no, Vincent was alone on this one which is what made this show great. The authorities didn't believe him, in fact no-one did. Whenever an alien was killed, he/she would vaporize. At first, there was no way of knowing who to trust; anybody could be an invader, the Invaders could take over anyone. Of course, later on we learned that the aliens had a funny little finger even when in human form.

Like most films and shows of the 1950's/60's, the Invaders was about paranoia. No-one could trust anyone. Vincent could never be sure that potential allies were not really invaders themselves. He tried in vain to convince people but he was fighting a losing battle. The great thing was that he was alone in his battle. It was a great-if depressing-show.

One of the other things worth mentioning is that there are viewers who suspected that Vincent was actually an invader himself and had been placed on Earth and told to try and convince the population of the danger. Apparently, the invaders used him to test the likelihood of their discovery. Is it true? Your guess is as good as mine.

For a guy supposedly on a lone (un-paid) crusade he seems to be doing incredibly well. Every single week he's out there in a crisp new suit, with a different gleaming car and limitless gas money. I wonder if there's a good dental plan too? But seriously, I love this series. One of my earliest memories of childhood was watching The Invaders on my parents' first TV set back in the late 1960s. This was just before the moon landings and we were all obsessed with Space; even little kids like me. It's really nice to see the show back on British Channel 5 - even if it is shown at 04:20. Basically, Architect David Vincent stumbles on an Alien plot to conquer Earth and each episode shows his lone struggle to fight the nasty aliens and convince fellow earthlings of the threat. I really don't know if this show will appeal to young people but to 40-somethings like myself it's delicious nostalgia & I'm hooked all over again. A really good example of '60s US television. What I particularly enjoy is seeing minor roles played by people who went on to become famous, even stars. Last week the lead "guest" alien was an obscure young actor called Gene Hackman. Several months later he won the role of Buck Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde, and the rest is history. It's quite fascinating to ponder on what made him SO much more successful than others who've long faded into oblivion, including (sadly) Roy Thinnes who played David Vincent so well. "That's Hollywood" I guess. All in all it's an excellent sci-fi series and to my mind it hasn't aged. The admittedly "formulaic" lay-put and 1960s feel to the show seems to be fashionable again. Well worth watching.

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.