Invaders, The

1 9 6 7 – 1 9 6 8 (USA)
43 x 60 minute episodes

Produced by Quinn Martin, (the man who brought us that other cult running man classic, The Fugitive), The Invaders is the tale of architect David Vincent, a man alone, battling aliens with human faces.

David is the young partner of Alan Landers (James Daly), the senior partner at Landers and Vincent, an architectural firm based at 3006 Willow Street in Santa Barbara, California.

Vincent takes a shortcut while driving home from a business trip one night. He exits Highway 166 and soon finds himself on a dark and desolate country road. The time is 4:20 AM and David has been driving for 20 hours.

Suddenly startled by a loud, strange noise, he sees a bright light and witnesses the landing of a UFO.

David reports the incident later that morning, but an investigation by the sheriff’s department fails to uncover any evidence of what David saw. Unable to accept the explanation that he had gone too long without sleep and just imagined what he saw, David begins an investigation on his own.

In the town of Kinney, he uncovers proof of what he saw: in an abandoned hydroelectric plant, aliens from a dying planet (unnamed) have established a base of operations as the beginning of an invasion to make the Earth their home.

Before he is able to show others his proof, the Invaders vanish (a series problem for
David). From then on the series revolves around his one-man crusade against the invaders and him trying to convince others of their existence. His quest proves difficult because it is not easy to spot whether someone is human or alien.

Tell-tale signs are stiff little fingers (yes, that is where the band got their name) due to a defect in the bone structure, a lack of a heartbeat, and no bones showing up on an x-ray.

Their most frightening accessory is a small disc which, when applied to the back of the human neck, produces death by apparent cardiac arrest.

Police departments flag David as “a kook who believes aliens are trying to take over the Earth” but as David gathers evidence to prove his story, he makes contact with several powerful people who have seen what David has seen and who know the aliens must be stopped.

The group becomes known as the Believers. Millionaire electronics businessman Edgar Scoville is the only Believer with a recurring role. Guests Carol Lynley as Elyse Reynolds and Anthony Eisley, as Bob Talman are two of the group of seven Believers.

Throughout the series, the audience was treated to many a fiendish alien plot to control the Earth. These ranged from bribery and corruption, through to mind control due to sleep deprivation, and even carnivorous butterflies (I kid you not).

“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 country road looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed, deserted diner and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now David Vincent knows the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form. Somehow he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun.”

David Vincent 
Roy Thinnes
Edgar Scoville
Kent Smith