The Invaders 1.02

The Experiment

Dr. Curtis Lindstrom, a scientist who knows of the aliens fears for his life. He has made public statement about the aliens. They know that he knows and he is right to fear for his life. The episode opens with an attempt on his life.

Act I

David Vincent travels to Covington, PA to meet with Dr. Lindstrom. Vincent arrives by bus and is met by a priest who knows Dr. Lindstrom and offers to take him to see the scientist. It turns out to be a trap. David escapes from the vehicle and meets with Dr. Lindstrom in a hospital. Dr. Lindstrom is there on the advice of Lloyd, his son, and Dr. Paul Mailer, his personal physician. They were concerned about his mental state. Dr. Mailer tells Vincent to leave. Lloyd backs him up.

Vincent leaves. He goes to the local police and asks them to check on Dr. Lindstom. The police do but Dr. Lindstrom has already checked out of the hospital. Men, who claim to be government agents, find Dr. Lindstrom at the Pine Cone Inn and take him by force.

Act II

Dr. Lindstrom's body is found the next day in a car that ran off the road and down a steep embankment. David Vincent approaches Lloyd at a funeral home. Lloyd isn't very helpful. He doesn't know where his father might have put any evidence he has of the alien invaders. David Vincent leaves. The priest who tried to kidnap Vincent shows up. Lloyd complains about a very painful headache.

Dr. Mailer plays for David and Lloyd the only evidence he has, an interview with Lloyd's father that was conducted at the hospital. It isn't of much use to David who leaves to go search Dr. Lindstrom's room at the Pine Cone Inn. Lloyd has another headache and pulls out some pills. Dr. Mailer asks him about the pills. He wants to know what they are and where Lloyd got them. Lloyd is evasive about the pills but he seems much better after he takes one.

David searches the room at the Pine Cone Inn but finds nothing. He asks the woman who runs the place but she isn't of much use except that she finds a receipt lying on the floor. It is from a package that Dr. Lindstrom mailed the day before. She reluctantly tells him the address to which the package was sent and then after Vincent leaves she calls Lloyd and tells him about it.

Act III

David goes to Lloyd's apartment in New York City, which is where Dr. Lindstrom sent the package. Vincent bribes the man at the door to let him into Lloyd's apartment. He finds the package. There are photographs of equipment like David found in the previous episode and of UFOs. There are also sworn statements from a farmer and from a general in the US Air Force.

Lloyd calls David while he is still in his apartment. David explains what he found. He is very excited. He explains that he plans to take this evidence to Jack Bryant, a friend of his in Washington, DC. Bryant works for the CIA. Dr. Mailer shows up when Lloyd gets off the phone. He explains that he had the pills analyzed and wants to know where Lloyd got them. Lloyd once again is evasive.

Dr. Mailer goes to a phone booth and tries to call Vincent at Lloyd's apartment. Vincent hears the phone ring but he is about to get on the elevator. He considers going back to the apartment but decides not to. Dr. Mailer gives up after several rings. He gets back in his car but there is someone in the back seat, one of the men who abducted Dr. Lindstrom from the Pine Cone Inn. He touches Dr. Mailer in the back of the head with a circular device and Dr. Mailer collapses against the steering wheel.

David arrives at Jack Bryant's apartment in Washington, DC only to discover that it is a trap. The priest and his driver are there and so is Lloyd. David tries to escape but the driver knocks him out.

Act IV

David wakes up in locked room in Cedarview Health Resort. Lloyd is there and tells him not to worry. They are just going to rearrange his brain patterns. Some men come and take David down to a room with a lot of equipment. They lock him into a device that emits a lot of noise and different colored lights. They put him in more than once. Lloyd wanders into the control room and throws a chair at some machinery. There are lots of explosions and fires. David and Lloyd escape after fighting with the aliens who aren't overwhelmed by the explosions and the fire. Lloyd dies before they get very far from Cedarview.

Thoughts

How did Vincent know where to find Dr. Lindstrom? He claims to have learned about the hospital from Lindstrom's housekeeper but how did he find Dr. Lindstrom house after he escaped from the car with the aliens? How did Dr. Mailer know to call Lloyd's apartment when he was trying to reach David? Lloyd didn't tell him that that's where he was.

Covington, PA is a small town north of Williamsport, PA  and south of Corning, NY.

Roddy McDowall played the part of Lloyd Lindstrom. I'm not sure how it seemed in 1967 but 53 years later his act seemed kind of dumb. It didn't seem like he put very much into this episode. There was never any clear explanation given for the headaches or the pills. Which came first? Why did he sabotage the aliens control room? Up to that point he seemed on board with their plans. He kept saying that his father was an enemy. I don't understand.

Harold Gould played the part of Dr. Mailer. I've seen him in a number of things but nothing specific comes to mind. He has over 200 acting credits on IMDB including episodes of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock (both from 1963), three episodes of The Fugitive (he played different characters in each one of them), and another episode of the Invaders (from season 2 where he also plays a different character). He had at least one short-lived TV show but the role he played the most frequently was the part of Rhoda Morganstern's father, first on Mary Tyler Moore and then on Rhoda.

I thought this episode wasn't too bad until Act 4. It lost me there. I was not impressed by the flashing lights. Maybe if Jack Bryant has saved the day that would have worked better for me. It felt like they painted themselves into a corner and then came up with something stupid to resolve it. Maybe they were short on budget and couldn't afford to pay another actor? I don't know. I do know that this ending was weak.