‘Invaders’ Getting Another Chance To Capture Earthlings’ Paranoia

If you’re harboring a vague, unreasonable mistrust of anyone with a crooked pinkie, blame “The Invaders.”

The TV series aired briefly in the late 1960s and introduced us to architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) and his obsessive, lonely quest to expose a plot by humanoid-appearing aliens to conquer Earth.

Their occasional odd glow or trick digit were among the few giveaways.

In Europe, the series became a cult favorite with its treatment of that abiding science fiction theme, aliens among us. It’s been rerun on French, English and German TV and was even feted in a Paris celebration.

But in its homeland, the series from producer Quinn Martin (of “The Fugitive” and “The F.B.I.” fame) vanished after a 1967-68 run on ABC.

As the drama slipped into the netherworld of fuzzy TV memories (excepting a brief cable run), all but the most avid fans were doomed to wonder about the roots of their finger-phobia. Until now.

“The Invaders” is back as a miniseries on Fox Broadcasting Co., the network that has developed an adolescent’s passion for sci-fi in the wake of its success with “The X-Files.”

Thinnes reprises his role as Vincent in the two-parter starring Scott Bakula, Elizabeth Pena, Richard Thomas, DeLane Matthews and Richard Belzer (airing 8-10 p.m. Sunday and next Tuesday).

Bakula plays Nolan Wood, an ex-con whose life has been shattered, unknowingly, by alien meddling. David Vincent, on the hunt after all these decades, eventually appears to alert him to the truth.

For their part, the indulgent army of cigarette-smoking, meat-eating aliens has become fonder of Earth: Increasing pollution assures them more of the carbon monoxide-laden air that they breathe.

They’ve also gotten better at disguising some of the physical ticks that could unmask them.

Although Thinnes doesn’t headline the miniseries, he’s glad to see the premise gain new life. The TV series, he says, came to an unfair and untimely end.

“We were planning to go on for another season,” he recalls. “They were writing new episodes when, suddenly, the show was canceled. Quinn had a falling out with ABC, and they canceled a lot of things. All political.

“So the show just came to a crashing halt.”

“At the time, I thought it should have gone on,” he says. “It had respectable ratings. It wasn’t a runaway hit, but it was catching on.

“It had a strong, very responsive audience. … Science fiction audiences are faithful, as you know by ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Dark Shadows.”’

Thinnes still is recognized for his “Invaders” role by American fans. But he saw real devotion abroad.

“Three years ago, there was a 25th anniversary celebration in Paris,” he said, with special theater screenings and the release of “Invaders” episodes on videocassette.

“The audience, a jampacked audience in one of those old movie palaces, knew all the dialogue like with ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,”’ Thinnes said in an evident tone of delight.

He noted that the series attracted first-rate guest stars, including Gene Hackman, Sally Kellerman and British actor Michael Rennie, star of the sci-fi film classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951).

Thinnes went on to other projects, including “Falcon Crest” and the soap opera “One Life to Live,” after “Invaders” was pulled.

He tried to revive the sci-fi drama, coming close to a TV movie with ABC that fell apart after the network was purchased by Capital Cities Inc.

But the timing now is clearly right. Fox realizes sci-fi “is a gold mine” that can attract more than hard-core fans, Thinnes said.

“There’s an aspect of science fiction that plays to the paranoia we all have about authorities, government, politicians. Those who might not be believers about the science fiction aspect like the intrigue,” he said.

Fox isn’t alone in milking the genre. There’s a surge in the number of sci-fi movie projects being developed, Bakula said.

“Many people are attributing a lot of this to ‘The X-Files,’ which is interesting because often the movies lead television, but in this, television is leading the movies,” he said.

The “Invaders” miniseries, filmed in the Los Angeles area and surrounding desert, might just spawn a franchise of TV movies, Thinnes said.

“I think it has a future,” he said.