 |
| "The Invisibles" | |
|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 19 |
| Directed by | Gerd Oswald |
| Written by | Joseph Stefano |
| Cinematography by | Conrad Hall |
| Production code | 20 |
| Original air date | February 3, 1964 |
| Guest appearances | |
"The Invisibles" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 3 February 1964, during the first season.
A government agent infiltrates a secret organization, known as The Invisibles, intent on using alien parasites to take over the bodies of important humans.
"You do not know these men. You may have looked at them, but you did not see them. They are newspapers blowing down a gutter on a windy night. For reasons both sociological and psychological these three have never joined or been invited to join society. They have never experienced love or friendship, or formed any lasting or constructive relationship, but today, at last, they will become a part of something. They will belong. They will come a little closer to their unrealistic dreams of power and glory. Today, finally they will join th... I almost said the human race, and that would have been a half-truth, for the race they are joining today is only half human."
Three of society's outcasts — men named Spain, Plannetta, and Castle — are taken to a compound that serves as the headquarters of a subversive secret society known as the Invisibles. In their initial debriefing, Spain immediately recognizes the man speaking to them as the governor of an unnamed state. The "governor" rebuts him, saying that his only role is as ruler of the society of the Invisibles. Their purpose is to infect key government and business figures with crab-like creatures who attach themselves to people's backs and take over their minds. By doing so, the Invisibles plan to conquer the world. Each of the new recruits will be given a target to infect following his inoculation. Castle's inoculation is unsuccessful, and he ends up deformed, as is one of the aides at the compound.
It turns out that Spain is actually an agent for the GIA, sent to infiltrate the Invisibles. He sneaks out to meet his contact in the woods and states his plan to try to establish a friendship with the desperately lonely Plannetta so he can get Plannetta to call his "kid brother" so that they can meet up later. In reality, the number is that of GIA headquarters. Spain's plan hits a hitch when Johnny (his contact) is killed and brought in as a corpse for the trainees to practice on.
Spain is assigned to infect General Hillary Clarke in Washington, D.C., while posing as his faithless wife's chauffeur. However, the reality is that the Invisibles are onto him. Clarke is already infected, and Spain was sent there so that Clarke could infect him when his inoculation wore off. Spain manages to escape when Clarke says too much and is momentarily tortured by his Invisible. As Spain flees, Clarke's wife is driving up, and she hits him with the car, breaking his leg. Spain blacks out from the pain. When he comes to, Mrs. Clarke is tending to his injury, but he limps away and steals a car before Clarke can find him.
Spain finally manages to find Plannetta, only to meet another twist of fate: he was Plannetta's target all along. Weeping because he thinks Spain betrayed him, Plannetta sets an Invisible on the ground, which begins to crawl toward Spain. The Invisible does not move quickly, but neither does Spain in his condition. In the nick of time, his fellow GIA agents arrive, shooting both the creature and Plannetta, thus saving Spain's life. However, Spain can only think of the fact that the Invisible menace is everywhere, although a GIA agent assures him that the threat is over because the agency has captured General Clarke's aide Oliver Fair, who is "cooperating".
"You do not know these men. You may have looked at them, but you did not see them. They are the wind that blows newspapers down a gutter on a windy night -- and sweeps the gutter clean."
There is an unusual pause in the course of the opening narration which seems to indicate that the Control Voice makes a mistake of appreciation: “Today, finally, they will join the hu... I almost said the human race.” The Control Voice then explains the Society of Invisibles are only half human.
Neil Hamilton, who plays Gen. Clarke, is perhaps best known for his role as Commissioner Gordon in the 1960s Batman TV series. He also plays the father-in-law of Sally Kellerman's character in the following episode, "The Bellero Shield".
The website TV.com allows members to rank episodes on a 1 to 10 scale. As of 3/21/09, the average rating given to "The Invisibles" was 8.8, the third-highest of any episode in the series. Only "Demon With a Glass Hand" and "The Man Who Was Never Born" had received higher fan ratings as of that date.
Cotton Mather was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting House in Boston, Massachusetts, where he preached for the rest of his life. He has been referred to as the "first American Evangelical".
"The Singularity" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they attempt to defeat Hive. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by Lauren LeFranc, and directed by Garry A. Brown.
The Human Torch is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a similar, previous character, the android Human Torch of the same name and powers who was created in 1939 by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics' predecessor company, Timely Comics.
Invisible Woman is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1. Susan Storm is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during the Silver Age of Comic Books.
Ultraviolet is a 1998 British television series written and directed by Joe Ahearne and starring Jack Davenport, Susannah Harker, Idris Elba, and Philip Quast. The music was composed and performed by Sue Hewitt. The programme was produced by World Productions for Channel 4.
Charles Lane was an American character actor and centenarian whose career spanned 76 years.
Warlock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven". Like the others of the "Significant Seven", there are several versions of her, including Caprica-Six, Shelly Godfrey, Gina Inviere, Natalie Faust, Lida, and Sonja. She is the only model that does not use one particular human alias for all copies.
The Melody of Oblivion is a 2004 Japanese anime television series planned by Gainax and animated by J.C.Staff. The series originally aired between April 7, 2004, and September 21, 2004, on TBS.
The Phalanx are a fictional cybernetic species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They have come into conflict with the X-Men as well as other groups on several occasions. They form a hive mind, linking each member by a telepathic system.
Karnak is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuted in Fantastic Four #45 (1965) along with other members of the Inhuman Royal Family.
The Ark is the sixth serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 March 1966.
The Wrecking Crew is a team of four supervillains—the Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver and Thunderball—appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While not featured on the cover, the Wrecking Crew's first appearance is in The Defenders #17.
"The Chameleon" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 27 April 1964, during the first season.
Piledriver is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a member of the Wrecker's Wrecking Crew.
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term invasion of Earth by the Skrulls, a group of alien shapeshifters who have secretly replaced many superheroes in the Marvel Universe with impostors over a period of years, prior to the overt invasion. Marvel's promotional tagline for the event was "Who do you trust?".
Generator Rex is an American animated science fiction television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios as supervising director. It was inspired by the comic M. Rex, created by Aaron Sowd, Joe Kelly and Duncan Rouleau, and published by Image Comics in 1999. The series premiered in the United States on April 23, 2010, on Cartoon Network, and concluded on January 3, 2013, with a total of 60 episodes, plus two episodes remained unaired.
Supernoobs is a Canadian animated comedy television series produced by DHX Media for Cartoon Network and Teletoon. The series is about four kids who navigate through middle school and fight evil assassins at the same time. It first premiered on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 2, 2015. Supernoobs was created by Scott Fellows, who also created Johnny Test, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Big Time Rush, and 100 Things to Do Before High School.