Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

*This review is for the release of the complete series on disc*I've said before and I'm likely to say again that one of the joys of DVDs has been the release of classic television programs on disc. Many of the shows that a vast number of us grew up watching and have fond memories of have already made their way to disc and more are coming. Some of these were shows that have never been shown in syndication or if they were it was long ago. Now the chance to enjoy those series once more is a blast for the baby boomer generation. Case in point THE INVADERS.Let me start by saying that growing up in the 60s and 70s everyone knew what a "Quinn Martin Production" was. Martin was a television producer whose shows always had a similar look and feel to. Each one opened by announcing it was a Quinn Martin production, showed the title of the show as well as the stars, then announced "this week's guest stars" and followed that with that nights chapter (aka episode) title. Once back from the commercial break the segments of the shows were labeled with act 1 through the epilogue. THE FUGITIVE, THE F.B.I., BARNABY JONES, CANNON and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO were just some of the shows done this way. THE INVADERS began with a pilot episode that found architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) on his way home for a meeting and taking a short cut that turns out not work out. Tired and near sleep he pulls up at an abandoned gas station and takes a nap only to be awakened later by a pulsing light shining into his car. Waking, he looks up to witness a flying saucer landing in the open field next door. Of course his first impulse is to let the authorities know.But the odds of the police believing that someone has actually seen a flying saucer are low. Contacting his partner Alan Landers (James Daly) in David tells him the same. The police finally agree to go to the location only to find the name of the gas station has changed and a young couple are camping there saying they saw nothing the previous night. It is here that David discovers the first tell-tale sign that distinguishes the aliens from humans, their pinky fingers tipped out at an awkward angle. The aliens try to kill David and then realizing if another attempt on his life were made it would only increase their odds of being found out they try to just discredit him. Each week found David trying to convince someone else while investigating the alien invaders on his own. Moving forward he finds more ways to identify the aliens from humans as well as the fact there are different types of aliens, some without the pinky problem. As the series progresses more people become aware, the aliens become involved with sabotage and what could have been an easy take over becomes more complicated.Various well-known stars at the time showed up in the series. William Windom, Michael Rennie, J.D. Cannon, R.G. Armstrong, Suzanne Pleshette, Roddy McDowell, Edward Asner, Ed Begley, Dabney Coleman, Peter Graves and Gene Hackman are just a few. These actors who were well known at the time played both aliens and humans trying to stop them.The series obviously was a look at the Communist scare that had run rampant in the 50s and remained and issue with the Cold War in full swing at the time. Everyone was certain that the new neighbor might be a spy sent to infiltrate the country at the time. Well not most people but if you were looking for a way to create a series what better plot idea to use? Having just come out of the blacklist ear film makers and TV shows were using this to break down the barriers set up during the previous years. Odd how this has worked out now with a series like THE AMERICANS about the same thing has become popular.CBS has released both seasons of the series in the past but are now releasing it in a single boxed complete series edition. All 43 episodes are included in this 12 disc set. The extras here are limited but include select episode introductions by Roy Thinnes, two audio commentaries, an interview with Thinnes, the extended pilot episode and series promos. CBS has been going back and releasing complete series editions like this for many of the older series and as a fan I've been glad to see it happen. It's a nice way to be able to revisit those old series or perhaps to binge watch them. At over 37 hours it might take a few days to completely watch this one but fans of the show will be more than happy to do so. So if you are one of those fans, if you enjoyed series like THE X-FILES, if you enjoy science fiction or if you enjoy classic TV series than by all means you'll want to add this one to your collection.

This show aired when i was about 10 years old. I've always remembered it, and was glad to see it available on DVD. I recall having the model kit of the UFO and building it. I remember going through my mothers button box, and finding some large black plastic faceted buttons, if you held them and moved your hand a bit they would catch the light and sparkle. They reminded me of the alien discs they used to kill people. I gave one to my friend, and we would walk the schoolyard during recess, go up to younger kids, and with a blank expression pull out the discs and hold them in front of us, the kids would take off running. They apparently watched the show as well haha. Really cool that they got Roy Thinnes involved with the DVD release. Good to see him after all these years.

My review: Many shows from childhood fail to live up to expectations when you're an adult. "The Invaders" is an exception. Produced by Quinn Martin ("The Fugitive")and created by Larry Cohen, "The Invaders" took elements from Martin's most popular series "The Fugitive" and successfully created a paranoid science fiction thriller that inspired later shows like "The X-Files", "Dark Skies" and "The 4400".Architect David Vincent(Roy Thinnes)stops to rest after a long drive back from a meeting with a client when he witnesses an alien spacecraft land in the middle of nowhere. When he reports it to the local police he's treated with distain by a detective (the wonderful character actor J.D. Cannon)and finds that even his own boss (James Daly) has a hard time believing him. They encounter a couple of their honeymoon who completely discount Vincent's account of the landing. Going back to the site to speak with the couple again Vincent discovers that they are aliens themselves and part of a large conspiracy that has infiltrated every part of our society.We get some very cool extras that fans will enjoy. On the last disc is the long missing 60 minute pilot episode. While it doesn't look quite as good as the series itself with faded colors, it still looks surprisingly good without any restoration. The longer pilot had a number of brief scenes that were cut prior to the airing of the show including a slightly different ending.Roy Thinnes provides an introduction to each episode including the unaired pilot. He also sits for a nearly 30 minute interview discussing how he became involved with the show, the numerous guest stars he worked with (he essentially was the only regular on the show (aside from the unseen episode narrator William Woodson and introductory narrator Hank Simms)as he was always traveling to uncover hot spots where the invaders were up to no good). Characters did show up in multiple episodes but Thinnes carries the show.It's easy to see where "The X-Files" got its inspiration from. Thinnes praises the writers for the show as well as the directors (the first two episodes where directed by TV and film veteran Joseph Sargant who does a terrific job of setting up shots with cinematographer Andrew MacIntyre creating moody and magnificent atmosphere during the first episodes that rival "The Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone" at their best.We also get three promo spots produced by ABC for the series. The promos are essentially clip jobs with narration describing the series. They are still very nice to have in this set.The first season set looks exceptionally good given the age of the series. Although images are a bit soft the color is surprisingly strong and bold. The mono audio sounds really good with dialog crystal clear. Interestingly, series composer Dominic Frontier who also did the music for the first season of "The Outer Limits" cannibalizes music from that series for the pilot episode.Often seen as a Cold War metaphor, "The Invaders" is far more than that. The writing is superb and the episodes resonate because of the skilled direction and exceptional, believable lead performance by Thinnes. While it would be a stretch to say this series had a "story arc" like most modern TV shows, there is a sketchy one which is that Vincent sets out to find proof and expose the invaders. They, in turn, want to eliminate him because he's one of the few crusaders trying to uncover their plot to take over our world.Overall Paramount/CBS has done a superb job bringing this classic series to TV. I'm surprised at how well it has held up with most of the writing/direction/acting top notch. Featuring well known guest stars such as William Windom, Harold Gould, Roddy MacDowell, Suzanne Pleshette, Ed Begley, Dabney Coleman and Michael Rennie during its brief two year run, "The Invaders" was an exceptionally good series with cool visual effects but, more importantly, well written stories that could drawn an audience into the world of David Vicent.I'm hoping that the second season set will see the 1995 TV pilot that starred Scott Bakula included and, perhaps, we can get more interview time with Thinnes about shooting season two.

Back in the late eighties there was always a double bill of The Invaders and Batman in the late afternoon on BBC unless I'm mistaken. Although The Invaders were an old show by 80s standards (bearing in mind that technology had developed at an incredible speed in those twenty years) it was still a gripping show. The Invaders took the basic concept of The Fugitive (also a Quinn Martin production) and combined it with elements of 50s paranoia science fiction. No security and no one was what he seemed to be. That made for great opportunities in story telling: Vincent was always in different places and the stories often took very unexpected twists. You also were unsure whether Vincent would lose this episode's battle or score a small victory against the aliens. The show was also fairly atmospheric. Interestingly enough that was reached mostly by the dramatic voice overs. Roy Thinnes was a good looking chap and I quite liked his performance as driven man who really was an intruder in ordinary people's lives. His acting style has been criticized as aloof but that's the whole point: Vincent is a man who doesn't belong. To me, The Invaders is probably the best 60s sci-fi show.