The Invisible Man (1975 TV series)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
The Invisible Man | |
---|---|
Genre | Science fiction |
Created by | Harve Bennett |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Henry Mancini |
Composer | Pete Rugolo |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Harve Bennett |
Producers | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 8, 1975 January 26, 1976 | –
The Invisible Man, the
Plot
The pilot
Inspired by
He reveals the process to his boss, Walter Carlson (
By the conclusion of the pilot, the process' lack of stability renders it effectively useless for commercial or military applications, and the Klae Corporation is persuaded to re-employ him in his research capacity despite his condition, and thus the series begins from this point. Westin seeks to perfect his work and at the same time find a cure — a means of restoring his visibility.
The series
There were differences between the pilot and the series. The pilot depicts Westin as a tragic figure, the "victim" of the invisibility process; despite his continued efforts, he essentially remains invisible all the time and must use technology to "fake" being visible.
The series was lighter and more humorous, featuring invisibility-related gags and scenarios (in the case of the latter, many of these were depicted in the opening title sequence — such as a telephone receiver rising unsupported off its hook and a Jeep driving itself, to name but two), and ignoring the tragic side of Westin's predicament. The first post-pilot episode indicates that Westin and his wife Kate have been working as agents for some time. Indeed, the character's invisibility was utilised as the Klae Resource of the show's introduction; an invisible man can go places and do things that the visible cannot accomplish.
Another difference is in the area of casting; in the pilot, Jackie Cooper portrayed Westin's superior, Walter Carlson, but for the series, the role was recast with Craig Stevens playing the part. The character was also altered to be more sympathetic and closer to the
Like its late 1950s predecessor, H.G. Wells' Invisible Man, the episodes featured sequences of the camera taking on Westin's point of view, showing whoever and/or whatever the character himself was seeing at the time.
The Invisible Man featured episodes that were episodic in that, save the pilot, the series episodes could be viewed in any order. However, the show was canceled after one season due to low ratings before the underlying arc of Westin curing his invisibility and returning to normality could be resolved. For the following season, NBC did however commission a near-identical series in terms of premise, entitled Gemini Man.
Cast
- David McCallum as Dr. Daniel Westin
- Melinda O. Fee as Kate Westin
- Jackie Cooper as Walter Carlson (pilot episode only)
- Craig Stevens as Walter Carlson
- Henry Darrow as Dr. Nick Maggio (pilot episode only)
- Charles Aidman as Dr. Nick Maggio ("An Attempt to Save Face" only)
Production
The series was shot on film, but the blue screen special effects were shot on video using "Image 655", a special 24 frame/sec 655 line video system based on modified NTSC cameras and videotape recorders, as this was much cheaper and faster than using traditional film-based blue screen effects. The videotaped effects shots were transferred to film and edited into the finished episodes.[1]
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pilot | "The Invisible Man" | Robert Michael Lewis | Harve Bennett Steven Bochco | Jackie Cooper, Henry Darrow, Milt Kogan | May 6, 1975 |
1 | "The Klae Resource" | Robert Michael Lewis | Steven Bochco | Conrad Janis, James Karen | September 8, 1975 |
2 | "The Fine Art Of Diplomacy" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | James D. Parriott | Ross Martin, Paul Stewart | September 15, 1975 |
3 | "Man of Influence" | Alan J. Levi | Rick Blaine Seeleg Lester | Loni Anderson, John Vernon | September 22, 1975 |
4 | "Eyes Only" | Alan J. Levi | Leslie Stevens | Thayer David | September 29, 1975 |
5 | "Barnard Wants Out" | Alan J. Levi | James D. Parriott | Nehemiah Persoff | October 6, 1975 |
6 | "Go Directly to Jail" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Steven Bochco | James McEachin | November 3, 1975 |
7 | "Stop When Red Lights Flash" | Gene Nelson | Seeleg Lester | Scott Brady | November 24, 1975 |
8 | "Pin Money" | Alan J. Levi | James D. Parriott | Helen Kleeb | December 1, 1975 |
9 | "The Klae Dynasty" | Alan J. Levi | Philip DeGuere | Peter Donat | December 8, 1975 |
10 | "Sight Unseen" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Kandy Rehak Brian Rehak | Al Ruscio | October 20, 1975 |
11 | "Power Play" | Alan J. Levi | Leslie Stevens | Monte Markham | January 19, 1976 |
12 | "An Attempt to Save Face" | Don Henderson | James D. Parriott Leslie Stevens | Charles Aidman | January 26, 1976 |
International broadcasting
The series aired on
Home media
On February 21, 2012,
In Region 4, the series was released on DVD in Australia on August 15, 2012,[6] and in New Zealand on September 13, 2012,[7] and distributed by Madman Entertainment.
In Region 2, the series was released on DVD in the UK on 8 July 2013
References
- ^ American Cinematographer, Vol. 56, No. 7, July 1975 "American Cinematographer July 1975".
- ^ "BBC Programme Index".
- ^ "The Invisible Man DVD news: Date Change for the Invisible Man - the Complete Series (1975) | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ^ "The Invisible Man DVD news: USA Release Date for the Invisible Man - the Complete Series | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
- ^ "The Invisible Man DVD news: Date Change for the Invisible Man - the Complete Series on Blu-ray | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- ^ "Madman Entertainment".
- ^ "Madman Entertainment NZ".
- ^ "The Invisible Man on DVD: FREE UK DELIVERY". Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
External links
- The Invisible Man at IMDb