Invasion (American TV series)


Invasion is an American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for one season beginning in September 21, 2005. Somewhat similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the show told the story of the aftermath of a hurricane in which water-based creatures infiltrate a small Florida town and begin to take over the bodies of the town's inhabitants through a cloning process. The show was produced by Shaun Cassidy Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
Due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the aftermath in the southern United States, early on-air promotions were quickly pulled by ABC. The advertising then switched emphasis completely to the alien invasion aspect of the series, while the hurricane received no mention. The premiere was also preceded with a warning that the show featured images of a fictional hurricane to which viewers could be sensitive.
The show was originally conceived for 5 seasons.

Cast and characters

Reception and Legacy

Invasion received mostly positive critical reception. Metacritic gave the season a score of 72, making it generally favorable.
The show was nominated on the 32nd Saturn Awards for Best Network TV Series and Best Television Actor for William Fichtner.
It has been included in many "gone too soon" lists. In the independent web critic, Critics at large, the show was reviewed as a Lost Treasure.
In 2010, to the question "You’ve played a lot of roles in a lot of different things in TV and Movies, what do you mostly get recognized for?", William Fichtner said: "I did a series a couple of years ago, Invasion, that was cancelled after one season and that’s a biggie because I remember at the time everyone was saying that Nielsen ratings were low. This show had no viewers, no one was watching it and that’s got to be in the top 3. A lot of people asking me if it’s coming back, and I’m like 'no, it was 6 years ago, buddy!' That happens a lot, Invasion."
On a chat live between Bullz-eye.com and Tyler Labine, the actor says: "Invasion did get lots of love. Critics loved it. There was quite a huge following by the time we got cancelled. It was just the network didn't love it, that's all." He also acclaimed Shaun Cassidy's writing, calling him a "mad genius".
Later Labine reiterates his statement about the show's cancellation: "I still to this day don’t know why that show got canceled. We had great numbers, we had a good show, good critical acclaim… I don’t know. But it was a really fun show.
Shaun Cassidy made a similar statement about the show's cancellation: "I think there were unrealistic expectations that any show following Lost should do better. But no show after ours ever DID do better, so I suspect some of the execs may have regretted taking our show off the air." To the question "Of all the shows you’ve created that were canceled far too soon, which hurt the most... and why?", Cassidy personally picked Invasion because "it was the most surprising".
In 2017, Eddie Cibrian named Invasion "one of my favorite shows to be a part of".

Broadcast history

The series premiered on ABC on September 21, 2005, and aired for one season. The series included twenty-two episodes, which aired Wednesday evening at 10:00pm. After the show's cancellation there were reports of a possible move to The CW, however, a deal never came to fruition. The final episode aired on May 17, 2006. On August 22, 2006, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the complete first season as a six-disc DVD box set.
In the UK, the show premiered as a double bill on Channel 4, with the third episode shown shortly afterwards on 4's digital sister channel E4. In Bulgaria, Invasion premiered on February 21, 2007, on Nova Television and in Romania it premiered on March 10, 2009, on Pro Cinema movie channel. In Australia, the series premiered on the Nine Network in March 2006.

Ratings troubles

According to Nielsen ratings, the series premiere garnered 17 million viewers airing after Lost. By the November 30, 2005 episode, the show was only garnering 10 million viewers.
For the episodes shown on January 11, 18, and 25 the Nielsen Ratings only reached 9.7 million, 9 million and 9.3 million, respectively. It had lost nearly half of the first episode's audience, far behind CBS's , which had 13.7 million, 15.5 million and 14.9 million, for the same period. The show was then put on hiatus for the second time, during which time it was replaced with The Evidence.

Future plotlines

In the "August 14–20, 2006" issue of TV Guide, actor Tyler Labine relayed what creator Shaun Cassidy had planned for the following season, saying that Cassidy had said, "Larkin was going to be presumed dead. Russell and I were going to join forces against Tom. Tom was going to find out that his first wife was alive and running this whole military operation, and she was Szura's boss."
William Fichtner also stated the following about the development of the storyline:
"There was something in there that I thought that was so good," said Fichtner. "I discovered who it really was who was orchestrating . I didn't even see it coming from a million miles away. It was my , who got on the plane with me. Two people lived after that plane crash, not just one. She went in another direction altogether. It's amazing. It was, 'ah, what you could have done with that.' "
In 2010, Labine gave an interview that detailed some of the ideas for season two and the entire show : "The idea of the show was we never gonna win. It was a evolutionary step. What was happenning was not a invasion at all, it was a evolutionary step. So we're basically gonna spend 5 seasons tryin' to win this battle we can't win. It was just the end of the human nature -- the human kind -- as we know it." He also said: "Larkin was going to come back as a evolved hybrid and i was going to join a militia to kill her."

Soundtrack

Invasion features an orchestral score performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra and composed by Jon Ehrlich and Jason Derlatka, incorporating many recurring themes and dramatic melodies. Their music was well received. The soundtrack of the show became available on October 21, 2008 at moviescoremedia.com. The album features more than 60 minutes of carefully selected tracks from the series.
Invasion is one of Ehrlich and Derlatka's favorite works saying: "Its always a treat working with a great orchestra. We love working with Shaun Cassidy."

DVD releases