Thursday, October 14, 2010
THE INVISIBLE MAN (1975) Opening Titles
There have been countless (okay, you could probably count them, but who has the time?) film and TV adaptations and variations of H.G. Wells' classic novel, The Invisible Man, but the one that's closest to my heart is the 1975 television series that starred David McCallum, Melinda Fee and Craig Stevens.
The show was pretty much a knock-off of The Six Million Dollar Man, but instead of the central character having cybernetic limbs, he was made permanently invisible in a laboratory accident. In both cases, the newly-super-powered hero became a secret agent for the United States government.
This was the TV era where, if someone got or had superpowers, they generally only had two options: fugitive (The Incredible Hulk, The Phoenix) or secret agent (Wonder Woman, Bionic Woman). Doctor Daniel Westin (McCallum) chose the patriotic route. If I remember correctly, though, he was a little different because, unlike most television superheroes, Westin was married and worked with his wife (Fee).
I remember really enjoying this show as a kid, and while the effects are primitive by today's standards, they were pretty impressive in 1975. I vaguely recall catching an episode or two in the 90s when they were rerun on theSciFi Channel, and thinking that they were still kinda fun.
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Oh man I remember this so well! I used to watch this with my dad - he introduced me to some classic stuff :)
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember this show when I was a kid. Kind of like The Man From Atlantis.
ReplyDeleteI remember there was a show in the early 80's called the Invisible Woman co-starring Bob Denver. It was more of a comedy, obviously.
Sorry, I don't remember this show as fondly as you. While at the time I did think the FX were cool, I wound up extremely disappointed by the choice of plots. I remember that the second episode was about a bogus speed trap in a hick town--and I couldn't believe it. An invisible superhero dealing with wrongful parking tickets? I was disgusted with the mundanity of it. Of course, if I saw it now I would probably be more kind that I was at 10 years old.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!
--Ivan
I loved when he pulled his plastic face and hands off..that was some serious cool stuff to this 6 year old at the time! The later 70's version with the wrist watch was ok but i think this was my favorite.
ReplyDeletedusty
McCallum is always watchable as an actor.
ReplyDeleteThe other "invisible man" series of a similar vintage was Gemini Man, which I remember watching as a kid.
This show is why I thought turtleneck sweaters were cool when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI loved Mccallum in this. That theme burnt itself into my brain and I never forgot it. 'Gemini Man' seemed to be the 'poorer cousin' of this show.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Europe as a kid we only had German TV except for Saturdays when we could get a whole day of English programing from some French station. They showed old cartoons, shows like Birdman and Space Ghost and TV programs like this one. I remember it well not only for the cool effects but for the English soundtrack which for us was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI was geeky tyke back then too and oh yeah, man, that was really my show. Steve Austin was all well and fine, but bending bars and running in slow motion were getting a little tired. For me, this was as cool as you could get. It didn't make it past the fall of that year, but I didn't forget it.
ReplyDeleteI stayed loyal to "Gemini Man" the following fall, but it wasn't quite the same.