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I am – Hercules!!

It’s a sci-fi hourlong, from writer Shaun Cassidy (“American Gothic,” “The Agency,” “Cold Case,” “The Mountain”) about a small town secretly plagued by extraterrestrial body snatchers who arrive in the wake of a hurricane. It stars Eddie Cibrian (“Third Watch”), Kari Matchett (“5ive Days to Midnight”), Ariel Gade (“Envy”), Evan Peters (“Sleepover”), Tyler Labine (“My Boss’s Daughter”), William Fichtner (“Crash”), Lisa Sheridan (“Freakylinks”), and Aisha Hinds (“The Shield”).

Variety says:

… A child's quizzical utterance near the end of "Invasion" provides enough of a chill to warrant a return visit to what's otherwise a mildly intriguing pilot … For a while, the series seems as if it's going to be blown away by an interminable (and, given recent events, unfortunately timed) hurricane sequence, as well as a child-in-peril plot involving an annoyingly cute kid. Nor is it easy initially to track the extended soap-opera web of relationships. … unlike "Lost," which had the brilliant device of the flashbacks to flesh out its array of characters, "Invasion" must inch this narrative forward with more alacrity or risk losing impatient viewers

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… what gives this serious heft and its own unique feel is the family drama woven throughout the premiere. That, and a group of particularly talented and skilled cast members who, under director Thomas Schlamme, take their performances to the highest levels. … The premiere, even with its well-drawn characters, raises countless questions but provides virtually no answers. That's fine for the opener but, at some point soon, the series needs to take on more shape and direction or run the danger of becoming a mecca for a cult following of Internet chatters. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… Unlike "Lost," which ended its first season twisted around itself with mystery and mythology, "Invasion" doesn't seem poised to madden you that way. Its ambition is smaller and more self-contained; weirdness will visit a town and change relationships among an extended, and messy, family. …

The Orlando Sentinel gives it three stars (out of five) and says:

… the drama's murkiness becomes frustrating. … William Fichtner exudes creepiness as the sheriff who's Mariel's new husband. Tyler Labine provides refreshing comic relief as Russell's goofy brother-in-law. Maybe Invasion will become more of a serial about a fractured family. But in the premiere, Cassidy doesn't dangle enough lures to hook the audience. The hurricane sequence provides laughable, unbelievable moments. The show endangers characters with trite terror, pushing one to put his hand in obviously dangerous waters at night (a trick repeated by NBC in Surface).

Newsday says:

Here's the twist in this latest psychological stew from "American Gothic" creator Shaun Cassidy. If your family members are acting so peculiar they might as well be aliens, well, perhaps they are. Cassidy likes probing the injured souls of parents and kids, so here he echoes the setup of his 1995 CBS cult fave (which hits DVD Oct. 25), further fracturing the family into a divorced structure with new spouses to complicate matters. Then he revisits the spooky authority figure who just might be evil personified, a la Gary Cole's demonic Southern "Gothic" sheriff. William Fichtner gets the Southern sheriff role this time, all eerily serene as a new husband of doctor and divorced mom Kari Matchett. … Take away the apparent "War of the Worlds" overtones, and you'd still have a pretty interesting saga. Layering such unnatural proceedings into the family-drama format only intensifies both story angles when you do it right. And Cassidy has, with strong casting, solid structure and a fine feel for what's most frightening. …

USA Today gives it four (out of four) stars and says:

… not just the best pilot of the season, it's also the best broadcast premiere since Lost. … Clearly, like Lost, Invasion is layered in secrets: Peel one off, and a new one reveals itself. Those kinds of shows are notoriously hard to maintain, but all we can ask of a pilot is that it create a world and draw us in, and Invasion does so in sterling fashion. …

TV Guide says:

… Invasion gets off to a spectacular start. We meet likeable characters and are immediately drawn into their exotic, isolated world. …

10 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.









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Reader Talkback

Definitely have to check this one out...
by JackBurton
Sep 21st, 2005
02:13:51 AM
Hopefully, it will be as good as American Gothic.
by L.H.Puttgrass
Sep 21st, 2005
02:20:34 AM
pretty good show
by Kayfabe
Sep 21st, 2005
02:48:18 AM
American Gothic did rule.
by Shermdawg
Sep 21st, 2005
03:47:13 AM
Shaun Cassidy...who'da thunk it?
by Darth Bono Jr.
Sep 21st, 2005
03:48:13 AM
use a myth tv or bittorrent Shermdawg
by Kayfabe
Sep 21st, 2005
04:05:58 AM
Invasion vs Threshold
by Ines5
Sep 21st, 2005
04:50:12 AM
Best Show Pilots
by Killah_Mate
Sep 21st, 2005
05:51:55 AM
Not really a fair comparison though...
by JackBurton
Sep 21st, 2005
06:59:06 AM
Not bad but next Lost? My ASS
by Chylde
Sep 21st, 2005
07:44:55 AM
sorry, but no
by erendis
Sep 21st, 2005
08:55:48 AM
I don't know if I can take it ..
by Itchy
Sep 21st, 2005
09:58:30 AM
Invasion sucks ASS
by the_pissboy1
Sep 21st, 2005
11:10:10 AM
I'm gonna watch for one reason...
by GenericGeek
Sep 21st, 2005
12:01:07 PM
Yeah, what DID happen to the BIG BROTHER talkback?
by SpyGuy
Sep 21st, 2005
12:42:13 PM
There never was a Big Brother talkback
by Big Jim
Sep 21st, 2005
02:44:26 PM
i think you mean doublethink
by mrgreentheplant
Sep 21st, 2005
04:05:05 PM
RE: Big Jim
by Incomplete Gamer
Sep 21st, 2005
07:48:38 PM
Invasion....
by Strabo
Sep 21st, 2005
10:03:43 PM
Wasn't Very Good
by Brother_Marquis
Sep 21st, 2005
10:07:49 PM
American Gothic was Frakkin' Awesome
by zer0cool2k2
Sep 21st, 2005
10:21:37 PM
Mediocre. Basically "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" with an "X-
by exit272
Sep 21st, 2005
10:58:25 PM
Didn't Dig It
by NeoAngelus
Sep 21st, 2005
11:06:21 PM

by foreignerbelt
Sep 21st, 2005
11:08:00 PM
Holy Shit It Was Bad.
by El Fuego
Sep 21st, 2005
11:12:27 PM
That litttle girl is annoying as hell
by 007-11
Sep 21st, 2005
11:12:51 PM
I did enjoy "Threshold"
by 007-11
Sep 21st, 2005
11:16:24 PM
Invasion
by Mafu
Sep 21st, 2005
11:40:39 PM
Yes, 007-11
by Banky the Hack
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:00:31 AM
Tired of the annoying kid in alien movie plot device. Didn'
by HappyHamster
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:05:35 AM
Banky
by Mafu
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:08:33 AM
What, no love for The Agency?
by Toby O Notoby
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:11:11 AM
Undecided.
by CatVutt
Sep 22nd, 2005
04:40:45 AM
Will keep watching...
by Wungolioth
Sep 22nd, 2005
07:39:06 AM
AWFUL JUST AWFUL
by HomerGator
Sep 22nd, 2005
08:09:17 AM
Incomplete Gamer, I am guessing you have not read "1984"
by Big Jim
Sep 22nd, 2005
09:11:40 AM
Utter Tripe
by Pogue__Mahone
Sep 22nd, 2005
09:20:08 AM
Most annoying little girl since the Pepsi Girl
by Jeditemple
Sep 22nd, 2005
10:36:50 AM
worst pilot ever
by fried samurai
Sep 22nd, 2005
10:38:44 AM
What the Hell Good is a LOST Talkback if it's gone from the
by Drath
Sep 22nd, 2005
11:06:45 AM
Aliens
by Thorfin
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:00:20 PM
Drath dude
by HomerGator
Sep 22nd, 2005
12:41:41 PM
I only watched it because it was on after that fantastic Lost ep
by Bob of the Shire
Sep 22nd, 2005
01:51:10 PM
What a POS.
by Phloton
Sep 22nd, 2005
05:22:53 PM
Everybody seems to see Invasion's biggest problem...so why c
by Hail
Sep 22nd, 2005
06:16:33 PM
Invasion sucked. I wish American Gothic would return
by Neo Zeed
Sep 22nd, 2005
06:28:40 PM
It reminded me...
by JonQuixote
Sep 22nd, 2005
07:53:04 PM
A revival of AG would be cool, but how about Hard Time On Planet
by Shermdawg
Sep 22nd, 2005
08:53:18 PM
Threshold is easily better than Invasion
by Subversive01057
Sep 22nd, 2005
09:31:39 PM
holy crap that sucked
by xphilter
Sep 22nd, 2005
10:29:20 PM
Prison Break
by Trim Master
Sep 23rd, 2005
12:41:56 AM
Of all the new shows, only Prison Break & Threshold
by Big Jim
Sep 23rd, 2005
09:19:16 AM
A toothless remake of THE INVADERS
by Clarence Worely
Sep 23rd, 2005
02:29:53 PM
Prison Break is indeed until now the best new Show
by lostbat
Sep 23rd, 2005
04:02:31 PM
Funniest new series
by mopkin
Sep 24th, 2005
09:04:15 AM
The weakest 'Alien Invasion' new show
by gadlaw1
Sep 24th, 2005
02:08:14 PM

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