Pilot Review: Invasion

Network & Time: ABC, Wednesday @ 10pm

Stars (Out of 10): 4

One Word Summary: Bad

"Invasion" Review:

          After the success of Lost, networks did what networks do… they tried to copy it. Lost's own network even came up with a poorly made duplicate of its own. They called it Invasion.

          Some will argue that Invasion is nothing like Lost. They're right. Lost is so great because it balances the natural and the supernatural. Jack is the man of science, and Locke is the man of faith. Invasion gives no such choice to viewers unwilling to accept the unimaginable. Invasion is about aliens; there's not getting around that even if you try (and even if you try it's about a government conspiracy which is even more unappealing).

          The show stars Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch) as Russell Varon, an Everglades park ranger whose family is directly affected by a powerful hurricane that destroyed their local area. His ex-wife (Kari Matchett) survives the storm without a scratch after spending entire night outside, and her husband, the county sheriff (William Fichtner, The Longest Yard), is acting strange as well. Russell lives with his wife, two children, and his brother-in-law Dave, who is convinced that something is going on.

          The show has a great cast from Cibrian to the three child stars to the wife and brother (played by Lisa Sheridan and Tyler Labine respectively). Fichtner is miscast however. He in without fail typecast as a jackass in everything he does, and his character in Invasion is appears to be a little too creepy and evil even for a show about aliens.

I've never been huge on shows and movies about aliens, especially ones that take themselves so seriously, so this is a call you're going to have to make for yourself. I love the fact that TV is turning more towards these serial shows and less towards the everyday syndication-style dramas, but that doesn't make every show like this worth watching. There can only be one Lost, and the networks will realize that soon. Then they'll start copying something else.

Pilot's Nielsen Rating: 11.1/17