The Invaders

Starring Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent, The Invaders was a classic example of 1960s sci-fi paranoia.

The opening episode, Beachhead, saw Vincent pulling in at a deserted diner on a lonely back road... only to see a flying saucer. Finding it impossible to prove to the authorities the truth of what he had seen, he subsequently found himself single-handedly fighting an alien plan to take over the Earth, travelling from place to place as he followed up leads on UFO activity.

Luckily for the budget, the aliens were able to take on human form, and this ability was also to mean that Vincent was forever on the back foot, uncertain whether the acquaintances he made were human or not. Worse, the proof he so desperately needed would constantly elude him, as each defeated plot would see the aliens reduced to ash, glowing red before disintegrating, and usually leaving behind just a blackened patch on the ground.

The repetitive nature of the storylines was to be the series' undoing, however, and in an attempt to breath some new life into the concept, the second and final season saw Vincent encountering Edgar Scoville (Kent Smith), a wealthy industrialist who actually believed his outlandish story.

Sadly, the introduction of Scoville and his group of "believers" was unable to halt a slide in the ratings and the series came to an end after 43 episodes.

That wasn't quite the end of the series, however, as a four-hour mini-series, produced for Fox, picked up the story in 1995. This time around, the lead role was to go to Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula, although Roy Thinnes would be called on to make one final appearance as David Vincent.