The Invaders: If Only He Owned A GPS

06.11.10 | Fred Burdsall | FanFare GuestsPrint this Post

On January 10^Th 1967, ABC introduced us to The Invaders, alien beings from another world who have come to Earth to make it their world. David Vincent has seen them and now has to convince a disbelieving public the threat is real. Let’s see how it all began in the pilot episode, “Beachhead.”

Architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) is returning from a business trip. Tired and lost, he pulls over in the parking lot of a deserted diner to get some sleep. He wakes up to the shrill sound and bright red glow of an alien saucer landing in the clearing in front of him.

The local police are less than receptive to his story, but they return with him only to find nothing except the Brandons—a honeymoon couple and their camper. Needless to say, they refute his story. When he returns that night to confront the couple, a struggle ensues and Mr. Brandon begins to lose breath and starts to glow a bright red. He runs for the camper and takes off.

Vincent tries to convince his business partner, who reluctantly got him the Brandons’ last known address—a town called Kinney—to no avail. Returning to his apartment, he soon falls asleep and wakes to find the apartment ablaze and narrowly escapes.

He heads to Kinney and finds a ghost town being bought up by the Kogan Investment Group. Only a few locals remain. He makes his way to the Kinney Hydro-Electric Plant, where he finds all the proof he needs….an alien regeneration station. He rushes back to town, not knowing he’s tripped an alarm and the Invaders are coming.

By the time the dust settles, his business partner is dead, the regeneration station has vanished, and he looks more like a crackpot than ever. Will things work out for David Vincent? Will he ever get the proof he needs? Watch The Invaders and find out.

The show only lasted two seasons, but over the course of it Vincent gained several victories, suffered setbacks and eventually secured a number of powerful allies in his battle to save mankind. The highlight of the show was always an Invader’s death. They would turn bright red and disintegrate into ash. As a seven-year-old, it was a really cool thing to see--and at 50, it’s still pretty cool.

And don’t get me started on that godawful 1995 TV movie.  Instead of reviving the series, they killed it.

The Invaders are here. Watch and enjoy!