Info:
Premiere Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 (Warner Bros. Television)
Network: ABC
Time: Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m.
Cast: Starring William Fichtner, Eddie Cibrian, Lisa
Sheridan, Kari Matchett, Tyler Labine, Evan Peters,
Ariel Gade, Alexis Dziena and Aisha Hinds.
Introduction:
A small Florida town of Homestead is being hit by a
hurricane. But is that all? For centuries man has
searched the skies for signs of intelligent life
forms. What if those life forms were already here? And
what if some of the natural disasters (like
hurricanes) we've been experiencing of late were
merely smokescreens to mask something far more
ominous? Invasion is a suspenseful tale of a blended
family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane
and its mysterious aftermath.
Following the success of ABC’s Lost, ABC brings you
yet another interesting and fun show that is well
acted, well written and well thought. It also makes
you wonder if there are aliens out there and if
natural disasters are really smokescreens to mask
something far more threatening?
Cast Details:
"Invasion" stars William Fichtner as Sheriff Tom
Underlay, Eddie Cibrian as Russell Varon, Lisa
Sheridan as Larkin Groves, Kari Matchett as Dr. Mariel
Underlay, Tyler Labine as Dave Groves, Evan Peters as
Jesse Varon, Ariel Gade as Rose Varon, Alexis Dziena
as Kira Underlay and Aisha Hinds as Mona Gomez.
For dedicated park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie
Cibrian, "Third Watch"), a divorced father of two who
is expecting a third child with his new wife, local
television reporter Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan), the
hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long
journey into the unknown. Always skeptical about the
paranoid conspiracy theories of his wayward
brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine, ABC's "That Was
Then"), Russell may have to revise his thinking when a
number of bizarre occurrences start taking place in
his community. Though Russell's young daughter, Rose
(Ariel Gade), claims to have seen hundreds of lights
floating towards the water during the storm, Russell
initially dismisses her claim - until he begins to
suspect that something is very wrong with his ex-wife,
Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett, "Angel Eyes"). The
morning after the storm, Mariel is found naked in the
water - with no memory of what transpired the night
before.
As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to
rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William
Fichtner, 2005's "The Longest Yard," "Black Hawk
Down," "Armageddon," "Go," "Contact") -- who is
married to Russell's ex-wife -- suspiciously orders
the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to
investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly
begins a fight for the survival of his family, his
community, and what might ultimately be the whole
human race.
Plot:
The pilot is very entertaining from start to finish.
We see this family preparing for a hurricane.
Homestead is the small city where real Hurricane
Andrew hit in 1992. During the hurricane, little Rose
is looking for her pet but can not find her. She
wanders off a bit and sees some lights coming from the
sky and landing into a pond or a lake of some kind.
She later tells her uncle Dave, “Did you see the
lights?” And he says, “What lights?” And ever since
Dave has been interested in her story, Dave already
believed in the paranormal. Dave and Rose go out to
that lake and Dave does see something, but doesn’t
tell little Rose. Later that night he tells Rose’s
dad, Russell. Russell does not believe him so they go
off to that lake and what they find is shocking.
Meanwhile, Russell’s ex-wife, who is now Sheriff
Underlay’s wife, was missing in the hurricane and then
was found the next day…naked. Later, Rose notices and
says, “Mommy, you smell different.” I will not give
more away, but that should make you want to watch this
show. There are a lot of characters, and all are very
important and vital to the show. It will take time on
who is who, though.
Analysis:
This is a very compelling show. The storyline is very
fascinating. Sheriff Underlay is so creepy. William
Fitchner does a wonderful job playing him. So is he
an alien? You will have to watch and see if you think
he is. Russell’s ex-wife seemed to act very strange
after the hurricane. An alien abduction of her is
very possible. So do we see the aliens? Yes, you see
a very tiny and brief glimpse on a few occasions. It
is very creepy and interesting. While the show is a
companion to ABC’s Lost, it really is not the same
type of show. But the viewers who enjoy Lost will
enjoy this show for sure. That’s the best analysis
and explanation I can give on it. If you don’t watch
Lost, you should watch that of course, but give
Invasion a try, you will not be disappointed.
Conclusion:
The pilot is awesome. The ending of the pilot is very
interesting and will lead in great to episodes 2 and
on. The show will threaten Law & Order and CSI: NY as
the top rated show for the hour. I certainly think
the show will win the hour in both total viewers and
adults 18-49, especially with Lost as its lead-in. It
is a very good show and I recommend all of you watch
it. Airing after Lost will make this two must see
hours back-to-back. Lost and Invasion are probably
the best combo out there. Invasion is probably the
best new show--period for the fall. Forget Threshold
and Surface—Invasion is one of a kind and will be
better than those two!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Watchability: 4.5/5
Appealing: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/11/2005.
Related Links:
ABC.com Official Site
TV.com
epguides.com
Internet Movie Database
