Invasion: The Complete Series

Back when I was growing up in the fifties the greatest fear was Communists infiltrating or neighborhoods, hiding among us as they plot our demise. This spawned on of the great fears used as a science fiction theme, suppose the people you knew the best where actually aliens disguised as us. This would mean that anyone, even your own family members could be an alien. This was best done with Invasion of the Body Snatchers which remains up to today a classic. Now, with terrorism replacing communism the same paranoia has once again risen up in America. As such it is only natural that once again science fiction is called upon to present these fears veiled as entertainment. The result is the all too shorted lived series on ABC television, Invasion. Not only does it create tension with aliens hidden among us but the big news item of 2005, hurricanes, also gets top billing. With such themes you might think the series is coming back but no, it was cancelled. At least now we have the series on DVD to enjoy for years to come.

In the small Florida town of Homestead the people lived in relative peace that is until a hurricane blew in. The storm devastated the entire region resulting in many of the townsfolk becoming missing. Like all town officials Park Ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) is pulled into service to help find the lost people and get the town through the disaster. Helping up the search and rescue efforts is the town Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner). Things begin to get strange when several of the missing towns people are found near the or in the water completely naked. Add in some reports of strange lights landing in the water and moving around and the stage is set. Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), wife of the sheriff and ex wife of the ranger is one of the towns people found sans clothing walking out of the water. At first things seem okay but some have their doubts. Mariel’s young daughter by Russ, Rose (Ariel Gade) notices that mommy doesn’t smell like herself any more. The family relationships here are almost as complicated as the alien menace theme. Besides Rose Mariel and Russ have an older son, Jesse (Evan Peters). They share custody so the children shuttle back and forth between Mariel and Tom and Russ and his new wife Larkin (Lisa Sheridan). Larkin is an investigative report for a local television station and early on starts to see that something is drastically wrong. Also part of this extended, blended family is Kira (Alexis Dziena) the daughter on Tom and his now deceased first wife. As if an investigative report isn’t enough the writers also threw in Dave (Tyler Labine), Larkin’s brother who happens to be a conspiracy freak with an internet blog.

There is actually enough to peak the interest of both Larkin and Dave. The local priest Father Scanlon (Ivar Brogger) is also found coming out of the water naked. There is an unusual number of military troops around removing strange metal cases from the everglades. Scanlon then starts a survivor’s group that seems to include only those that got through the hurricane under mysterious circumstances. Dave finds a skeleton that he is sure is an extraterrestrial but it is soon stolen away. At the hospital Mariel discovers that the bloods of certain survivors, including her, are changed and not completely compatible with regular people. These survivors also develop an unnatural affinity for the water including being able to stay under for a prolong time. Tom is working with the military cordon off the entire town calling it a ‘safety circle’ but it seems far more restrictive than it sounds.

Like many series of this ilk Invasion starts off slow and builds. One reason for the cancellation appears to be how the network presented it. With a series such as this the audience requires continuity. There has to be a new episode each and every week. Instead ABC would run a couple of episodes and then a few reruns so that the viewers had to wait several weeks for the next new episode. Even with an extremely popular lead in like Lost the series was doomed. This series was complex and breaks such as the studio imposed just ruined trying to follow it. Every aspect of the story lines where textured. The family relationships alone required the audience to pay attention to put together all the pieces. Jesse has a crush on Kira but she initially has a jerk boyfriend later replaced by her infatuation with one of her father’s deputies. Poor little Rose is shuttled between the two families like so much baggage. Russ and Muriel have a nice enough divorce but there is tension between Russ and Tom as well as Muriel and Larkin. This series did not depend on a lot of special effects to drive it. It used good old fashion story telling instead.

This series had an excellent cast that was wasted on an innovative story that was killed off before reaching any conclusions. Eddie Cibrian just looks like a hero. I enjoyed his work in Third Watch as fireman Jimmy Doherty. Cibrian is able to play the crusading hero without turning the part into a caricature. He plays Russ as a reasonable man in the most unreasonable set of circumstances. He cares about his family, including his ex wife, but he is aware that there is far more at stake here. William Fichtner is a much underestimated actor. He is great here; he epitomizes a small town authority figure. Ariel Gade is spooky in her role as Muriel. She loves her family and enjoys being a doctor but she is also frightened by the changes in the town and herself. Young actress Alexis Dziena was a joy to watch. She could have played her role as the typical hysterical teenage girl but she gives a lot more depth to Kira. She wants to become one of the ‘pod people’ because she sees it as a means to gain the acceptance every teenager craves.

I noticed that some online sites list the DVD release as the complete first season while others list if as the complete series. The box cover on the screen did go with the complete series indicating that the reports of the new CW network turning it down are most likely correct. In any case the DVD was very well done. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is clear with an excellent color balance and contrast. The Dolby audio fills the room and pulls you into the action. This is a series well worth having even if the season cliff hanger is never resolved. Just get it and enjoy what we have of it.

Posted 8/10/06