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The Invaders on DVD
Thanks to all of the dedicated fans of the late 60s Scifi masterpiece, both seasons of The Invaders are now available on DVD at a bargain price! Check Amazon out for more details.
***When I was a kid, this show truly terrified me and DID give me nightmares - but I loved it anyway! Now, at long last, the original, iconic Sci-Fi TV Classic "The Invaders" is being released on DVD in boxed season sets. The first 17 episodes have been gathered in the initial DVD release.
The Invaders, which premiered on ABC in 1967, starred Roy Thinnes. It was a mid-season replacement show that was an hour-long, full-color science fiction thriller that sadly lasted only 43 episodes. Families across the country truly gathered around their TV sets when the series aired on Tuesday's at 8:30 p.m. to see what happened next.
The show opened with an unforgettable and chilling narration: "The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production starring Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent. 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. It began with a closed, deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here; that they have taken human form. Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world, that the nightmare has already begun..."
Voice talents were Hank Simms, who was the introductory narrator, and William Woodson who was episode narrator for the entire series.
In the first episode, Vincent is driving home at night after working a long, tiring day. He turns onto what he believes is a shortcut, then down the dark, isolated road. Unexpectedly, he ends up at Bud's Cafe, situated in a ghost town. Exhausted, he decides to park to rest for a while before continuing home. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, something wakes him: a strange glowing object is "landing" in front of his eyes.
Leaving his car and edging forward, he sees the advance army of what he learns is an alien invasion. From that moment forward, he tries to warn a skeptical world that there are aliens in their midst masquerading as humans. At the same time, he struggles to stay alive - because not only had he seen the aliens, but they had seen him!
While the premise seems simple in this day and age, the series had such great production values, flawless acting by Thinnes, fantastically creepy music by Dominic Frontiere, use of creative and intentionally distorted camera work, and even weird title credits by Wayne Fitzgerald, that it really did scare the wits out of legions of fans. In addition, the true form of the Invaders was never shown, so viewers' imaginations were encouraged to run wild, an effective creative device that has been sadly abandoned in this "show everything no matter what" Internet age.
As the series progressed, Vincent was able to identify some Invaders through certain characteristics, and he also learned that their human forms were unstable and had to be "regenerated" occasionally, or they would perish.
In 1995, there was a feeble attempt to resurrect the show in a mini-series starring Scott Bakula as Nolan Wood, with an appearance by Thinnes.
"The Invaders" remains so popular that in 2004 the character of David Vincent was ranked No. 6 in TV Guide's list of the Twenty-Five Greatest Sci-Fi Legends.
***When I was a kid, this show truly terrified me and DID give me nightmares - but I loved it anyway! Now, at long last, the original, iconic Sci-Fi TV Classic "The Invaders" is being released on DVD in boxed season sets. The first 17 episodes have been gathered in the initial DVD release.
The Invaders, which premiered on ABC in 1967, starred Roy Thinnes. It was a mid-season replacement show that was an hour-long, full-color science fiction thriller that sadly lasted only 43 episodes. Families across the country truly gathered around their TV sets when the series aired on Tuesday's at 8:30 p.m. to see what happened next.
The show opened with an unforgettable and chilling narration: "The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production starring Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent. 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. It began with a closed, deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here; that they have taken human form. Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world, that the nightmare has already begun..."
Voice talents were Hank Simms, who was the introductory narrator, and William Woodson who was episode narrator for the entire series.
In the first episode, Vincent is driving home at night after working a long, tiring day. He turns onto what he believes is a shortcut, then down the dark, isolated road. Unexpectedly, he ends up at Bud's Cafe, situated in a ghost town. Exhausted, he decides to park to rest for a while before continuing home. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, something wakes him: a strange glowing object is "landing" in front of his eyes.
Leaving his car and edging forward, he sees the advance army of what he learns is an alien invasion. From that moment forward, he tries to warn a skeptical world that there are aliens in their midst masquerading as humans. At the same time, he struggles to stay alive - because not only had he seen the aliens, but they had seen him!
While the premise seems simple in this day and age, the series had such great production values, flawless acting by Thinnes, fantastically creepy music by Dominic Frontiere, use of creative and intentionally distorted camera work, and even weird title credits by Wayne Fitzgerald, that it really did scare the wits out of legions of fans. In addition, the true form of the Invaders was never shown, so viewers' imaginations were encouraged to run wild, an effective creative device that has been sadly abandoned in this "show everything no matter what" Internet age.
As the series progressed, Vincent was able to identify some Invaders through certain characteristics, and he also learned that their human forms were unstable and had to be "regenerated" occasionally, or they would perish.
In 1995, there was a feeble attempt to resurrect the show in a mini-series starring Scott Bakula as Nolan Wood, with an appearance by Thinnes.
"The Invaders" remains so popular that in 2004 the character of David Vincent was ranked No. 6 in TV Guide's list of the Twenty-Five Greatest Sci-Fi Legends.
Roy Thinnes
I have always been a fan of the very underrated actor, Roy Thinnes, who portrayed David Vincent on The Invaders. Let us hope that with the show now having been released on DVD, the series - and Roy - will find a whole new generation of fans.
***
Roy was born April 6, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. During his formative years, Roy had a desire to become a doctor or football player - or, if one wants to believe his early press releases, both. He started in show business at a radio station, where he did everything: engineering, DJ shows, news and dramatizations. That led to an interest in acting in general. When he left the Army he went to New York and then to California, where he started working in episodes of TV shows. Having made his professional acting debut as a teen-aged firebug in a 1957 pilot for the never-sold TV series "Chicago 212", Thinnes spent several lean years "between engagements," working as a hotel clerk, vitamin salesman and copy boy to Chicago columnist Irv Kupcinet.
His first regular TV work was as Phil Brewer on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital" (1963); during this period, the young actor became the television equivalent of a matinée idol, sparking a barrage of protest mail when he briefly left GH in pursuit of other acting jobs. Aggressively campaigning for the starring role of Ben Quick on the 1965 weekly TV version of the 1958 film "The Long, Hot Summer" (1965), Thinnes won the part, as well as a whole new crop of adoring female fans. While "Summer" was unsuccessful, Thinnes enjoyed a longer run as David Vincent on the Fugitive-like sci-fi series "The Invaders" (1967). The Invaders also spawned a comic book series in 1967, which ran for 1 year (4 issues) and is a hot collectible, often going for up to a hundred dollars each on the auction circuit. The Invaders TV show property is currently owned by Paramount/CBS-TV and fans have avidly written them requesting a legal DVD release of the series’ 43 episodes. The Invaders ran from Jan. 10, 1967 (as a mid-season replacement for two failed comedies) to March 26, 1968 on ABC-TV.
Success with the Invaders in 1967 led to marriage to first wife Lynn Loring, who acted with him in the show as well as in the movie Doppelgänger (1969) [aka Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun]; she is now a CBS film executive. They parted in 1984. Though he'd occasionally show up in such theatrical features as The Hindenburg (1975), Airport 1975 (1974) and Blue Bayou (1990) (TV), Thinnes has remained essentially a TV star. Among his post-Invaders TV-series roles was Dr. James Whitman on "The Psychiatrist" (1971), Capt (and later Major) Holms on "From Here to Eternity" (1980), Nick Hogan on "Falcon Crest" (1981) (who, in 1983, married Victoria Gioberti [Jamie Rose] in a highly-rated ceremony), and the dual role of Roger Collins and Reverend Trask in the 1991 prime-time revival of "Dark Shadows" (1991).
Roy's more recent appearances on the "The X Files" (1993) put him back in the forefront. He appeared in two episodes in the 1990s. He revived his role as the enigmatic alien Jeremiah Smith, a turnabout role Chris Carter renewed for Roy in the February 25, 2001 episode (#8.14) of The X-Files, called "This Can't Be Happening."
Roy continues to appear in Television and theatrical films, most recently in Undone, Spectropia and Leadcatcher, as well as a guest starring role in “Conviction” (2006). He has been a frequent guest star on the various incarnations of “Law & Order”. Roy has a background in stage as well, appearing in many plays, both as an actor and director. He is also known as an avid graphic artist, with gallery showings in Texas, California and other areas over the past few years.
***
Roy was born April 6, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. During his formative years, Roy had a desire to become a doctor or football player - or, if one wants to believe his early press releases, both. He started in show business at a radio station, where he did everything: engineering, DJ shows, news and dramatizations. That led to an interest in acting in general. When he left the Army he went to New York and then to California, where he started working in episodes of TV shows. Having made his professional acting debut as a teen-aged firebug in a 1957 pilot for the never-sold TV series "Chicago 212", Thinnes spent several lean years "between engagements," working as a hotel clerk, vitamin salesman and copy boy to Chicago columnist Irv Kupcinet.
His first regular TV work was as Phil Brewer on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital" (1963); during this period, the young actor became the television equivalent of a matinée idol, sparking a barrage of protest mail when he briefly left GH in pursuit of other acting jobs. Aggressively campaigning for the starring role of Ben Quick on the 1965 weekly TV version of the 1958 film "The Long, Hot Summer" (1965), Thinnes won the part, as well as a whole new crop of adoring female fans. While "Summer" was unsuccessful, Thinnes enjoyed a longer run as David Vincent on the Fugitive-like sci-fi series "The Invaders" (1967). The Invaders also spawned a comic book series in 1967, which ran for 1 year (4 issues) and is a hot collectible, often going for up to a hundred dollars each on the auction circuit. The Invaders TV show property is currently owned by Paramount/CBS-TV and fans have avidly written them requesting a legal DVD release of the series’ 43 episodes. The Invaders ran from Jan. 10, 1967 (as a mid-season replacement for two failed comedies) to March 26, 1968 on ABC-TV.
Success with the Invaders in 1967 led to marriage to first wife Lynn Loring, who acted with him in the show as well as in the movie Doppelgänger (1969) [aka Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun]; she is now a CBS film executive. They parted in 1984. Though he'd occasionally show up in such theatrical features as The Hindenburg (1975), Airport 1975 (1974) and Blue Bayou (1990) (TV), Thinnes has remained essentially a TV star. Among his post-Invaders TV-series roles was Dr. James Whitman on "The Psychiatrist" (1971), Capt (and later Major) Holms on "From Here to Eternity" (1980), Nick Hogan on "Falcon Crest" (1981) (who, in 1983, married Victoria Gioberti [Jamie Rose] in a highly-rated ceremony), and the dual role of Roger Collins and Reverend Trask in the 1991 prime-time revival of "Dark Shadows" (1991).
Roy's more recent appearances on the "The X Files" (1993) put him back in the forefront. He appeared in two episodes in the 1990s. He revived his role as the enigmatic alien Jeremiah Smith, a turnabout role Chris Carter renewed for Roy in the February 25, 2001 episode (#8.14) of The X-Files, called "This Can't Be Happening."
Roy continues to appear in Television and theatrical films, most recently in Undone, Spectropia and Leadcatcher, as well as a guest starring role in “Conviction” (2006). He has been a frequent guest star on the various incarnations of “Law & Order”. Roy has a background in stage as well, appearing in many plays, both as an actor and director. He is also known as an avid graphic artist, with gallery showings in Texas, California and other areas over the past few years.