Invasion (2005 TV series)

Invasion
File:Inva0.jpg The cast of Invasion.
Created by	Shaun Cassidy
Starring	William Fichtner Eddie Cibrian Kari Matchett Lisa Sheridan Tyler Labine Alexis Dziena Evan Peters Ariel Gade Nathan Baesel
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	42 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 21, 2005 – May 17, 2006

Invasion was an American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for only one season beginning in September 2005 before it was cancelled. Somewhat similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the show told the story of the aftermath of a hurricane in which water-based extraterrestrials infiltrate a small Florida town and begin to take over the bodies of the town's inhabitants through a cloning process (first by merging with and then unknowingly replacing them). The show was produced by Shaun Cassidy Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

Due to the Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the aftermath in the southern United States, early on-air promotions were quickly pulled by ABC. The advertising then switched emphasis completely to the alien invasion aspect of the series, while the hurricane received no mention. The premiere was also preceded with a warning that the show featured images of a fictional hurricane that viewers could be sensitive to.

Cast and characters

• William Fichtner as Sheriff Tom Underlay
• Eddie Cibrian as Russell Varon
• Kari Matchett as Dr. Mariel Underlay
• Lisa Sheridan as Larkin Groves
• Tyler Labine as Dave Groves
• Alexis Dziena as Kira Underlay
• Evan Peters as Jesse Varon
• Ariel Gade as Rose Varon
• Aisha Hinds as Mona Gomez
• Nathan Baesel as Lewis Sirk (recurring guest star)
• James Frain as Szura (recurring guest star)

Episode guide

Main article: List of Invasion episodes

Ratings troubles

According to Nielsen Ratings, the series premiere was able to attract 17 million viewers from another ABC show, Lost. After the 10th episode, the series lost a total of 7 million viewers over nine episodes with the November 30, 2005 episode garnering only 10 million. In order to get the viewers back in for the 2nd half of 2005-2006 TV season, the show was put on hiatus until January 11, 2006, and it was replaced with another show already scheduled for cancellation, Alias.

For the episodes shown on January 11th, 18th, and 25th the Nielsen Ratings only reached 9.7 million, 9 million and 9.3 million. It had lost nearly half of the first episode's audience and was way behind CBS's CSI: NY, which had 13.7 million, 15.5 million and 14.9 million for the same period.[1] [2] [3] The show was then put on hiatus for the second time, during which time it was replaced with The Evidence.

Some fans of Invasion have attributed poor handling on the part of ABC as one reason for the show's continued problems, citing two hiatuses and a three-week break all within one season—periods in which no repeats were aired. Throughout the show's run, these incidents became a topic of speculation and concern among its fanbase.

Cancellation and Petition

The end of season one, which left the fate of Larkin and her unborn child inconclusive, furthered the amount of people who wanted a season two. There were some rumors that Invasion may move over to The CW in Fall 2006 upon its cancellation by ABC. Since The CW is co-owned by CBS and Invasion's production studio, Warner Bros., it was a strong possibility[4]. However, in May 2006, the CW had not picked up Invasion for its 2006-2007 program lineup.

Immediately following the show's cancellation, avid fans of the series started a campaign to get the series to continue. It included an online petition (The motto of which is "Did you see the signatures?"), letter writing campaign, and the mailing of water bottles to ABC and other prospective networks. In close to four weeks, over 35,000 signatures were recorded on the online "Save Invasion" petition including the signature of Invasion cast member, Nathan Baesel.

Starting in May 2006, campaign activities were organized via the World Wide Web through SaveInvasion.net and Invasion fan forums. On June 13, 2006, fans paid to have a banner plane fly over ABC Headquarters in Burbank, CA with the message, "ABC See the light! Save Invasion!"

Future plotlines

In the "August 14-20, 2006" issue of TV Guide, actor Tyler Labine (who played the character Dave Groves) relayed what creator Shaun Cassidy had planned for the following season, saying that Cassidy had said, "Larkin was going to be presumed dead. Russel and I were going to join forces against Tom. Tom was going to find out that his first wife was alive and running this whole military operation, and she was Szura's boss." 59,000 signatures currently on petition

DVD releases

Warner Home Video has released the entire series on DVD for the very first time in Region 1 & Region 2.

Season Releases

Cover Art	DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Ep #	Additional Information
File:Invasion CS.jpg	The Complete Series	August 22 2006	September 4, 2006	?	22	This 6 disc box set includes all 22 episodes of the series and 50 minutes of extras: a documentary, invading the mind of Shaun Cassidy, plus the gag reel and over 12 deleted scenes from several episodes of the series. External links ABC's Invasion Page Invasion at IMDb Template:Tv.com show Online Petition to save the ABC show Invasion