"The Invaders", Poll and discussion thread

Tiny invaders from space terrorize a woman (Agnes Moorehead).
Originally aired January 27, 1961.

Full video of the episode on CBS.com
List of musical cues

This is the preferred thread for any and all of your "The Invaders" posts--facts, opinions, questions, speculations, and whatever else you can think of.* You can also give your opinion of the episode on a 1 to 10 scale, in the poll shown above.

Let the discussion begin!

*More specific instructions and suggestions about posting questions/comments related to this episode are located here.

i've only seen the last half of this one and i can tell it was a good one. the desperation and fear of the woman. and the desire to overcome the enemy...
and the ending...incredible.

*** SPOILERS ***

I'm very sparing with my 10s, but this gets one of mine. It's a gimmick show, having only one credited actor (although there are three characters), and this actor never speaks. Nevertheless, we learn at the end that this gimmick has a purpose: by never speaking, the woman never reveals that her native language isn't one spoken on Earth.

You'll detect from many of my posts that I'm a fan of the music used in the series, and this is a rare example of an episode ("Once Upon a Time" is the only other one that immediately comes to mind) where the viewer can appreciate the score (Jerry Goldsmith's last for TZ but very frequently reused, not only on TZ but elsewhere by CBS, such as Perry Mason) in its full glory, unobscured by dialogue.

In fact, I think of this episode as a ballet. I listen to the music, and I watch Agnes Moorehead's speechless interpretive movements. In its uncut form, this episode is in "real time" -- the action takes the same 24 minutes from the woman's perspective that it does from ours with no scene changes or time shifts. Even coming out of each commercial, the episode resumes exactly where it left off. This is exactly the way we'd experience a 24-minute ballet in live theater.

For these reasons alone it would be a great episode if it had a straightforward ending, but the actual ending makes it a classic. We've spent 23 minutes sympathizing with this poor woman and feeling her anguished terror, and one minute later we're left seeing everything from the viewpoint of the spacemen. Later we can sit back and realize that there are two sides to practically any battle. I'm not happy with Rod's appearance, which in retrospect implies that he, too, is a giant alien, but if he can walk on walls in "Nervous Man in a $4 Room," I guess he can do anything!

i don't use a high "10" to score with often as well, but i would have given this higher than a "7", most likely, had i seen the entire episode. it is that good.

listening to agnes moorehead on "the shadow" radio series.....i wouldn't know it was her without being told. i am so used to her mannerisms on "bewitched" that it sticks in my mind. but of all the actresses to portray "margot lane" on "the shadow", i prefer, ms. moorehead.
one thing about TZ, they did use some very established actors and actresses to be on the show. and they had quite a few to become stars later on as well.

My husband would most likely agree with you Dan. This was the ep he saw as a child that got him hooked because he didn't see the ending coming.

I on the other hand didn't either. But I just don't think it works as well with subsequent viewings.

How different our voting would be if we only saw the eps one time. But on the other hand I raise my numbers with others with frequent viewings. Like Walking Distance.

Leen

This one is a dud for me. They should have called it "Woman Terrorized By Prize Out Of A Cracker-Jack Box".

No, TZR, that's Ring-A-Ding girl. Oh, sorry if you are a Bunny fan!

Leen

Don't worry, Leen, I've never warmed up to "Ring-A-Ding Girl", either.

I voted 10 too, but the results still only give one vote for 10. What's up with that?

Welcome, Anthony!

Hmm, maybe Dan gave it a 10 in his mind, but didn't actually vote? Or maybe something went wrong somewhere. I hope not . . .

No, I voted 10, and it registered.

No, I voted 10, and it registered.

Hmm, back to the drawing board then. One thing I noticed recently is that if you look at the results before voting, the gizmo counts that as a "null vote" and doesn't let you vote again. I wish that had been phrased a little more clearly.

If this is what happened, Anthony, I'll vote a 10 for this episode instead of the 7 I probably would have settled on. This is because I should have mentioned that fact earlier--or at least would have liked to have mentioned it earlier, although I have been busy over the last few days. Sorry for any confusion.

BTW, I gave this episode a 3. I don't know who gave it a 1. Maybe it was Richard Matheson....

Yeah, Richard Matheson was never a fan of this one.

It's got a 10 in my book... It had me completely fooled feeling sympathetic until the very end.

Not in my favorites. Sorry.
Mr. Yates, thanks.
Peace.

No, I voted 10, and it registered.

Hmm, back to the drawing board then. One thing I noticed recently is that if you look at the results before voting, the gizmo counts that as a "null vote" and doesn't let you vote again. I wish that had been phrased a little more clearly.

If this is what happened, Anthony, I'll vote a 10 for this episode instead of the 7 I probably would have settled on. This is because I should have mentioned that fact earlier--or at least would have liked to have mentioned it earlier, although I have been busy over the last few days. Sorry for any confusion.

I think you're right. That's the first thing I thought when I encountered this problem. Thanks for putting in my vote. The Invaders is my favorite episode of the series by the way. Best twist ending EVER.

It's okay, I don't care much for it. The ending does get you, though, I admit it.

My mom is an original Zoner, and she absolutely LOVES this one.

OK, Anthony!

Best episode...EVER!

This episode riveted me as a child. I think the lack of dialogue helps. No subtleties - this is a raw struggle for survival and is very well-acted by Agnes Moorhead. She becomes so desperate and reverts to an almost animal-like state as she battles this unknown invader who seem to be there to prey on her. It almost seems primordial in nature. Great music, too. Agree it's nice to be able to hear an entire score without voice-overs. (I like Liz's walk down the hospital corridor in "Twenty-Two" for the same reason. Most seem to feel it's too long but I love hearing that eerie piece played full length without interruption).

http://mrlister.us/Photos/the%20invaders.jpg

I apologize to Crown for what I'm about to say. It would normally be rude to remark on a simple misspelling, but this deserves a little attention.

This is how Agnes's surname is spelled consistently in TZ Companion, and it's wrong every time. It should be "Moorehead," as it appears in the closing credits and, as far as I know, everywhere else in her life, including Bewitched. It's particularly annoying that Zicree (or his editors) got it wrong the first time and didn't fix it in the second edition.

Crown, if you want to hear the original rendition of that eerie walk down the corridor in "Twenty-Two," get the 40th Anniversary CDs and listen to Van Cleave's score for "Elegy."

So that's why I didn't get more hits on her in my Google images search. I was not certain about the spelling of her name and unfortunately used my Zicree book to check. No need to apologize - I'm glad to know.

Agnes in much younger days:
http://blogs.salon.com/0003139/images/agnesmoorehead.jpg

For more errors in Zicree's book, see http://www.ibforfree.com/members/index.php...r&showtopic=233.

I watched this one closely tonight. I thought it was funny how long at the beginning "Woman" chewed on that piece of potato hanging out of her mouth. I mean it's true one tends to not care what they look like when they are alone.

And those bumps on her skin. What were they? I think I'm going to start a "Ask Dan Hollis" thread. He's the brains of the outfit.

I'll begin:

Dear Dan,

In "The Invaders" there appears to be bumps/warts/lesions on the woman. What were they and what caused them?

Thanks in advance.

Leen

With all of the talk about the Hollis spittle, I now get too distracted by the Moorehead drool to worry about warts!

Seriously, I remember watching the premiere of this episode at age 11, and I also recall my mother's strong reaction to the warts. She deduced that they were wounds caused by the ray guns, and in 43 years I've yet to come up with a better explanation. It makes sense -- rays that would have killed someone the size of the spacemen would do nothing more than cause some welts on a giant, much like insect bites. I get the impression now that Mom may have had a wart or two of her own that were none of my business and was having sympathy pains with Moorehead's character.

Here's what the book of Matheson scripts says:

"The woman grows conscious of the places where she has been struck by the shells -- her left shoulder and left cheek. She makes soft whimpering noises as she touches the minute wounds."

That's pretty close to what my mother thought, and if this doesn't exactly match the filmed version, it's closer than the original narration with which Rod was supposed to close the episode:

"This is one of the out-of-the-way places; until now, one of the unvisited places in our solar system -- the planet Mars. Bleak. Wasted. Dying. But not quite dead yet."

I gave it a 1, the only thing that saved it for me was Rod's on-camera intro while Agnes was in the window trying her best to be nonchalant while keeping a straight face and Rod looking back at her before getting out of camera range.

I gave it a 1, the only thing that saved it for me was Rod's on-camera intro while Agnes was in the window trying her best to be nonchalant while keeping a straight face and Rod looking back at her before getting out of camera range.

Yes, this is one of the "love it or hate it" episodes. Well, not me personally--I'd probably give it a 6, except I voted it a 10 for Anthony (see previous posts)--but it does tend to polarize people more than most episodes.

Rod's intro to this reminds us that he was a big man indeed in the world of fantasy and science fiction...

Not in my top ten.
Peace

I'm in the camp of those who feel this one doesn't age well. As a kid, the notion of the unknown chasing you was the ultimate terror. It just doesn't pack that punch today. Moorehead's performance is marvelous, however, and I still watch it for that.

One more comment on this one.....SPOILER
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What's with those ridiculous wind-up spacemen? They looked like toys to me when I was 8 years old--and decades of subsequent viewing haven't improved them.

Not that bad of an episode, but extremely slow-moving at times.

7/10

Steve J wrote:

That has always been my biggest problem with this episode. That and the unexplainably odd behavior of the invaders. Using the kitchen knife as a weapon of convenience? They have the technology of interplanetary travel but have to use the lady's kitchen knife on her!! What really lost it for me, though, was when the little spaceman JUMPED on the lady. WHY?? All in all, though, I enjoyed the suspense and the uniqueness of an episode with no dialogue.

http://www.twilightzone.org/images/main/in...ce/fig_inv1.jpg

I could never figure out just how the spacemen could actually wield those knives. They had to be about as twice as big as the spacemen were.

To this day, this one still scares the be jezus out of me!

In the "Worst Childhood Fears" thread, several people mentioned doll-related fears. (My favorite was Leen's -- how she didn't like how her dolls looked in the dark).

Well, I'm still not crazy about the little wind-up ones, especially the ones that carry weapons.

That has always been my biggest problem with this episode.

http://www.twilightzone.org/images/main/in...ce/fig_inv1.jpg

You guys are too funny! But truth is funny isn't it? I mean look at that picture. Where is the neck on our spacemen? Are we to believe that Americans morphed into being neckless? And watching them walk straight legged one leg at a time, they reminded me of toddlers in snowsuits, so confining they can't move!

Anyhoo here's Jayo's entry for the spittle thread. When we are alone in our homes knowing full well nobody is watching us we tend to do uncouth things and our gal here is no objection with the chewing of her potato.

But also in the shot please note that our country bumpkin apparently did not miss her last appointment at the local nail salon.

http://img264.echo.cx/img264/2841/invaders9me.jpg

Leen wrote:

Uh..., I think the guy's neck (and the rest of him) is inside the space suit.
(My turn to be sarcastic).

Did feel the lady chewing the potato was a nice touch - made you feel you were there as a voyeur, catching her in an unguarded moment.

The more I watch this episode with it's silly toy spacemen, the more I feel this one was just done in fun, possibly with an appeal to the kids in the audience.

I think Crown 85 is being kind, though as a kid those Pillsbury boys from outer space did get my attention.

I love Agnes with the potato in her mouth. A worthy addition to the Spittle Collection.

***SPOILERS***




The space suits were Douglas Heyes's idea, and were based on his drawing. As quoted in the Companion: "The reason I made them this kind of bulky round shape is that, first of all, they should not look like human beings, but secondly, after the fact, you had to say they were human beings. Ah hah! Then therefore they were in inflated spacesuits, right?"

Matheson always hated the spacesuits. Apparently, Matheson's original script was written in such a way that the camera would never have taken a really good look at the invaders. As Heyes said in the "Howling Man" section of the Companion, however, he started as an artist and as a director, he liked to see things.