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The Invisible Invasion

Synopsis:
The plant creatures on Uranus, who call themselves Duos, have singled out Earth for invasion. But knowing how well organised humans are, decide to infiltrate Space Headquarters by mind control. Operating from a spaceship on the seabed close to New York, they take over General Smith, Cassie, Colonel Raeburn and the crew of Galasphere 347. Only Professor Haggarty, attempting to restore his hair under a new invention of his, confounds their attempts and working with Marla tries to defeat them...

The Invisible Invasion
Cast
Captain Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Colonel Raeburn
Marla
Professor Haggarty
Cassie
Gabbler
Duo Leader
Second Duo
Third Duo
General Smith
Robot
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 Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Murray Kash
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh
And The Moral Is:
• Where There’s Smoke, There’s An Alien Force.

Today I Will Be Mostly Learning... :
• You can cross fertilise two different fruits to make a new one.

Huskyisms:
• “Dead as a doormat.”

Gabblings:
• "Me, stupid? I don't know what's got into you both! You're stupid! Very stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

Raeburnt:
• “I’ve more important work for you than chasing glow worms!”
• The colonel pushes forward the frontiers of space exclaimation with "Space Only Knows!" and "By Jupiter!"

A Venusian Has...:
• Concern for her Employer’s sanity, and her own employment.

“Don’t Call Me Pop!”:
• Haggarty has been cross fertilising fruits to make hybrids - a pinepear, a grapegoose and a ‘plunge’, a plum/orange!

To Coin A Phrase:
• Cassie: “Keep your hair on Pop, you’re shouting.” Haggarty: “You leave my hair out of it and don’t call me... that’s it! Me hair storing machine!”

Is This A Joke ?:
• Marla thinks Raeburn isn’t serious when told about accepting the aliens as their new leaders.

Riding Along In My Monobile... ‘:
• Dart visits Haggarty, and later Haggarty returns to his lab.

The UGO Needs You:
• “Someone has to police space and it’s our job to do so.”

‘I’m An Alien!‘:
• In this episode we learn the Uranian plant creatures refer to themselves as Duos, as does Raeburn, Dart and the rest of the Space Patrol.
• The Duos can send their minds out of their bodies to infiltrate other beings but if the mind is destroyed the Duo body dies and dissolves.
• Electricity is the only thing that can destroy them.
• Their speech seems connected to a stamen-like growth in the top of their heads.

Ooh, Bitch... :
• Haggarty: “One day I’ll be coming in with me whole head covered in hair.” Raeburn: “What are you going to use? Coconut matting?”

Continuity:
• Galasphere 347 is orbiting Uranus at the beginning of the episode.
• According to the Duo leader, the people who control Space Headquarters control Earth.
• There is an agricultural store at Space Headquarters (!?)

Plot Device:
• Haggarty’s hair restoring machine saves the day but it does crop up again in later episodes (HM). The electric gun used by farmers in winter to help their plants grow.

2100 ?:
• Haggarty bemoans the fact that in this day in age they still can’t cure baldness.

Haven’t I Seen... ?:
• The coastal region where the Duo ship splashes down was seen in The Human Fish when Galasphere 347 entered the Magda Ocean.
• The electric gun is a gamma ray gun.

"Alien visitors will soon be arriving here and when they come,
we must accept them as our rulers."
Colonel Raeburn


For Those Of You Just Joining Us... :
• Husky reminds us the planet Uranus is home of 'the walking, talking plants'.

Astro Viewer Working:
• The Duos have been modified slightly from their initial appearance (where they didn’t communicate) to allow the addition of a movable stamen that moves to indicate which one is speaking.

Take A Break:
• Having noticed Raeburn's odd behavior, Marla ponders "I wonder if the Professor can help him?"

Hoorah!:
• The effect of the Duos dissolving when their minds are destroyed is one of the best in the series.
• Nice that Marla is given more to do in this episode.

Boo!:
• The same footage being used each time a Duo dies.
• The ‘minds’ seem a little more solid in some scenes than the description of ‘smoke’ implies.
• When launching, Dart and Slim watch exactly the same sequence of the platform turning.
• Galasphere 347 seems to reach Earth orbit from Uranus almost instaneously after Raeburn's order.
• The laser gun seems to fire projectiles rather than a beam.

Computer Central:
• First screened: September 26th 1963 (Westward/Channel)
• Running time: 24 minutes 49 seconds
• BFCC Classified - 22nd September 1998
• VHS - Volume 5
• DVD - Complete Series Box Set, Disk 3

Listings
• London, January 2nd 1964:
While Dart and his crew are orbiting around Uranus, Husky sees a light on the planet which they learn is coming from the headquarters of the Duos, strange beings who inhabit the very heart of Uranus. The Duos, however, are in search of a less unpleasant atmosphere and decide to conquer Earth. How Dart and Husky helps to save Earth from their strange power is seen in today’s exciting story.

Ready To Lift ?:
A superb episode that rivals The Robot Revolution as the best of the series. The Duos seem vaguely reminiscent of the Neptunians in ability but that aside the infiltration of Space Headquarters is both as grim and dramatic as the series gets.






On to the next episode
Episode Guide Series One
Episode Guide Series One
The Planet Of Thought
The Glowing Eggs Of Titan
The Planet Of Light
Time Stands Still
Husky Becomes Invisible
The Walking Lake Of Jupiter
The New Planet
The Human Fish
The Invisible Invasion
The Talking Bell
The Buried Spaceship
Message From A Star
Explosion On The Sun
Episode Guide Series Two
Episode Guide Series Two
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'