The Invaders - The First Season

THE Nightmare Continues!!!
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...

Vincents Crusade.
(Act 1) Sci-Fi thriller with a coldwar background.
Most shows in the sci-fi genre are either pure science fiction, science fantasy or sci-Fi/horror.
But this show takes the less used path of sci-fi/thriller.
I find it's blend of science-fiction/thriller elements are done very well indeed.
The format has a vein of cold war paranoia running through it, (at the time it was made, 1960's, that's not surprising.) it could have worked equally well with east European enemy agents instead of alien invaders, but I prefer the sci-fi element in it. (The Invaders even glow RED before they disappear.)
A clever device used by the writers to emphasize Vincents apparent paranoia, was the fact that whenever an Invader was killed, the body glowed then disappered, leaving nothing remaining as evidence.
But one element of the show I will criticize is, if these aliens were capable of making spacecraft that can traverse galaxies, why could they not make a mutated free little...

Episodes are complete! Region 1 case is better and set has bonus material.
I have updated my review of THE INVADERS.

The film transfers appear to be from 35mm positive prints, rather than the original negatives. There is some grain & too much film dust.
The episodes have been slightly sped up to run 49 minutes instead of 51 minutes. The theory is that these are from the European PAL transfers where their projectors run at 25 frames per second (as opposed to our 24 frames stretched to 30). Roy Thinnes says this show is very popular in France where it is in syndication. This is probably the source material.

Still, these look better than they originally did on first airing.

The 27:25 long interview with Roy Thinnes is very informative, giving us insight on how he got involved with the series & some of his memories with the other actors.
BUT I would suggest not watching the individual show intros that he does as he talks about the plot of the episode, and gives no insight about its production. I think it is better...

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