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If the TV biz, like professional sports, gave out a "most improved" award, then The Invaders would be a prime candidate. Not that the first season of this ‘60s sci-fi/adventure series was bad, as it dutifully introduced the concept (aliens from a dying planet have come to Earth to lay the groundwork for a massive invasion) and the hero (Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent, who sees the spacemen land and becomes obsessed with stopping them and alerting his fellow humans to the threat). But the second season, delivered here with 26 episodes on seven discs, hits the ground running, greatly amping up the tension and sense of imminent dread. For one thing, while Vincent is still the main man, many others now realize that there are aliens among them; just four episodes in ("Valley of the Shadow"), an entire town watches as an alien glows red and then disintegrates after being shot, and about a third of the way through the season we learn that Vincent is one of a small and valiant group of so-called "Believers" who have dedicated themselves to thwarting the bad, um, guys (who, although they lack blood, a pulse, and a heartbeat, look just like humans, save for their distended little fingers). And Vincent himself doesn’t just root out aliens anymore--he converses with them, negotiates with them, considers working with them, and even kisses a comely female (in "The Life Seekers"). As for the invaders, they still have a host of dastardly methods for wiping out Earthlings: disabling the military’s air defense system before their ginormous invasion flotilla arrives, upping the radiation in the atmosphere to lethal levels, assembling the world’s leaders in one spot under false pretenses in order to wipe them all out, and so on. But while their ray guns, spaceships, brainwashing devices, and various other technologies are way ahead of ours (the effects work is still primitive, but there are plenty of fistfights and chase sequences to make up for that), they are not infallible; and it’s their very lack of human emotions that may prove to be their undoing. But we’ll never know, because Episode 26, "Inquisition" (in which Vincent and his allies determine exactly when the alien invasion will occur), was the last one produced. As was the case with the first season boxed set, Thinnes’ episode intros and a new interview with the actor are the main bonus features. --Sam Graham
Product Description
Genre: Television: Series
Rating: NR
Release Date: 27-JAN-2009
Media Type: DVD
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best 1960's drama series of it's kind!,
By James Finch "James" (Bradford, PA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Invaders - The Second Season (DVD)
The Invaders - Season Two
Roy Thinnes stars in the second and final season of the excellent science fiction drama series developed by Larry Cohen called The Invaders. For those of you not familiar with this franchise, the premise deals with one man's discovery of and subsequent battle with malevolent aliens who appear human on the surface. The show combines elements of Quinn Martin's chase series The Fugitive with concepts developed in prior films like I Married A Monster From Outer Space and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. There are 26 episodes on 7 DVDs to be released in region 1 January 27, 2009. Extras at this writing most likely will include individual show introductions recorded this year by Roy Thinnes in New York City. Roy is a New Yorker now and working on matters to do with his artwork. Some major character actors appear in the second season of the series, including Gene Hackman as an alien "seed salesman"; Fritz Weaver as an Iron Curtain ambassador; Carol Lynley as a collaborator with the aliens; R.G. Armstrong makes his second appearance this time as a cop; Diana Muldaur as a "good" alien; Michael Rennie makes another appearance as an alien posing as a Scandinavian ambassador; Ed Asner appears once again, this time playing a corrupt father; Richard Anderson of Perry Mason and Six Million Dollar Man fame stars as an alien who learns about human emotions and pain; and Suzanne Pleshette of The Birds and Bob Newhart fame reprises her role (of a sort) as an "emotional" alien. Many other key actors of that classic era of television make appearances, including Ed Begley, Wayne Rogers (who later found fame in M*A*S*H) and Laurence Naismith to name a few. The show is known for having prioritized drama over special effects, with adult, plausible scripts. As with most, if not all Quinn Martin productions, the show took itself very seriously, with little humor and much melodrama. The music, primarily fueled by Dominic Frontiere's enigmatic theme, often propelled the show. The special effects were sparse, but intelligently done. The most famous visual elements were the alien immolation death scenes and the somewhat rare but trademark classic flying saucer appearances. Season 2 is also notable for more adult themes, specifically some politics ("Summit Meeting" Part 1 and 2) and revealing banter in a court case ("The Trial"). Some scenes might be considered humorous by today's audiences. An example would be a scene in "The Pit" where a group of aliens bang their famous unbendable fourth fingers on the glass of a phone booth. Nevertheless, the show is solid drama with an interesting mix of science fiction elements. Here are the episodes you will see in this set, in order of broadcast, which will be the same order observed in the set: Season 2, Episode 1: Condition: Red Original Air Date--5 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 2: The Saucer Original Air Date--12 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 3: The Watchers Original Air Date--19 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 4: Valley of the Shadow Original Air Date--26 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 5: The Enemy Original Air Date--3 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 6: The Trial Original Air Date--10 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 7: The Spores Original Air Date--17 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 8: Dark Outpost Original Air Date--24 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 9: Summit Meeting: Part I Original Air Date--31 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 10: Summit Meeting: Part II Original Air Date--7 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 11: The Prophet Original Air Date--14 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 12: Labyrinth Original Air Date--21 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 13: The Captive Original Air Date--28 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 14: The Believers Original Air Date--5 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 15: The Ransom Original Air Date--12 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 16: Task Force Original Air Date--26 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 17: The Possessed Original Air Date--2 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 18: Counter-Attack Original Air Date--9 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 19: The Pit Original Air Date--16 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 20: The Organization Original Air Date--30 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 21: The Peacemaker Original Air Date--6 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 22: The Vise Original Air Date--20 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 23: The Miracle Original Air Date--27 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 24: The Life Seekers Original Air Date--12 March 1968 Season 2, Episode 25: The Pursued Original Air Date--12 March 1968 Season 2, Episode 26: Inquisition Original Air Date--26 March 1968 The price for this set is VERY reasonable compared to most other classic series being released. In fact, the price in Amazon's current pre-order (as of this writing) is $2 less than Season 1's 5 disc set. The colors are rich and somewhat "technicolor" in appearance. While the mastering is from electronic sources as opposed to the original 35mm film elements, the episodes are clean intact as originally broadcast, averaging 51 minutes each, unlike many hour-long series of today, which range from about 42 to 44 minutes on average. All in all, an excellent investment for a great show that met a premature end in 1968.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hallelujah!!!,
By T-Bone (Baker, LA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Invaders - The Second Season (DVD)
Another favorite from way back when. I'm not sure what ingredients were used to make those classic sci-fi's, but this one had them all - suspense, innocence, 60's directing, and a low voice narrator. So, round up the family and get ready for part two.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but the First Season was Better,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Invaders - The Second Season (DVD)
I always enjoyed this show even as a boy but now, in retrospect, I can see why The Invaders was cancelled after only its second season.
For some reason, the writers decided to change the show's overall, and critical, premise - that of a man alone, persecuted, laughed at battling not only alien invaders but sceptics and disbelievers who would rather see him thrown into an insane asylum - to a new season where this same man, David Vincent, not only has a circle of co-believers around him but allies willing to collaborate in the battle. Some of these allies are even people like Edgar Scoville, who is wealthy and well placed with many connections in both military and industrial circles and who uses these connections (without much difficulty) to assist David Vincent in the struggle. Unfortunately, this change undermines the whole spirit of the show, for the desperation the main character had to get people to believe him is pretty much negated. Just why the writers chose to do this I have no idea. In addition, there are several episodes where Vincent and his allies actually collaborate with the aliens to achieve mutual ends. One episode even has the aliens bringing a dead Vincent back to life after he is accidentally electrocuted. Credibility is definitely stretched to the limit here. Probably the worst episode is one featuring black aliens along with a black investigator David has managed to convert. Inspite of some measure of obstructionism by his socially conscious black wife - who suspects reverse racism on her husband's part - this investigator remains undaunted as his suspicions about a well respected and famous black scientist continue to grow. To his credit, he has discovered one important and distinguishing feature of this interesting new type of alien that he quickly shares with David Vincent. He has realized that these black aliens are easily discerned from human blacks because, of all things, the palms of their hands are black too! It almost borders on the hilarious, not to mention the stilted, unconvincing performance of the socially conscious wife and several of the black extras which can only leave viewers shaking their heads. An obvious attempt to make the show 'socially relevant' stumbles badly. There are also a number of actors who return to the series after appearances in the first season however none of them, if they weren't first killed off, reprise their original roles. I consider this a mistake because opportunities to present viewers with some measure of continuity are needlessly thrown away. The example of the alien 'leader' played by Alfred Ryder sums it up best. In the first season he was the sinister Mr. Nexus who ruthlessly kills the human collaborator he suspects has turned against him. In the second season he still plays a leader but is portrayed as a completely different, yet virtually identical, character and an opportunity to develop an on-going nemesis for David Vincent is, accordingly, lost. Perhaps the writers later realized their mistake for Mr. Ryder was brought back to portray this same, new character in a subsequent episode. Nevertheless, there are still an overabundance of good moments throughout the second season, especially the first episode where the aliens have managed to infiltrate NORAD through the wife of an air force major. It makes for some really gripping moments. All in all, I would still recommend this collection for interested viewers and I certainly don't regret purchasing it.
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