Retro : Thinnes’ ‘Invaders’ Is Thick With New Sightings

In the 1960s sci-fi series “Lost in Space” and “Star Trek,” earthlings explored the solar system in search of alien life. But in the 1967-68 ABC series “The Invaders,” the aliens were living among us on Earth.

And not aliens of the “E.T.” variety, either. These were evil creatures from a dying planet disguised as humans intent on conquering the world. After witnessing a flying saucer land, architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) set out on a one-man mission to gather evidence of alien existence and warn everyone before it was too late. Tracking down the aliens was difficult. Telltale signs were few: Their hands were slightly mutated and sometimes they would begin to glow when in need of regeneration to maintain their human form.

Twenty-seven years after the series left the airwaves, David Vincent is still on his mission in Fox’s new four-hour thriller “The Invaders.” This time around, though, he enlists Scott Bakula (“Quantum Leap”) to help him alert the world to the alien invasion. Also starring are Elizabeth Pena and Richard Thomas. Bakula’s Nolan Wood is a recently released prisoner who has been branded a dangerous psychotic because of the visions, voices and uncontrollable urges he has felt for years.

Vincent, Thinnes says, tells Bakula’s character that there is nothing wrong with him. “He has been under control of aliens who abducted him and implanted [his brain]. He was seeing things that they were broadcasting to him,” Thinnes says.

But the broadcasts have been scrambled because Wood had infant autism. “There is that element which makes my brain function in a different way than a regular brain,” Bakula explains. “Their implant doesn’t have 100% control over me. Initially, when we meet me, I’m getting out of prison because they successfully controlled me to kill someone for them. So I have been in prison for that.”

Bakula says he has a vague memory of the original series. “I’m afraid I was more into ‘Lost in Space,’ ” Bakula says, laughing. “That is what I came from from school to watch.”

But he indoctrinated himself in “The Invaders” lore before cameras rolled this summer in Los Angeles. “I had seen a couple of episodes,” Bakula says. “They are a trip. All of those old shows from the ‘60s are trips. It was great working with Roy. He’s someone I had known through another friend.”

Bakula says “Invaders” is vastly different in tone and style than “Quantum Leap.” “It’s way over the top in terms of story. It’s really hard line sci-fi, but you know it still demands, like any of these stories, a certain suspension of beliefs and a willingness to kind of go with a theme which I seem to enjoy.”

Thinnes says he was shocked in 1968 when the series was canceled. “We were prepared to go on for a third season and, during a hiatus, suddenly everything was canceled. The ratings were fairly respectable at that time.”

Thinnes suggests that it was a “political decision” to cancel it. “Just about everything [executive producer] Quinn Martin had on at that time was canceled.”

The series, which recently aired on cable’s Sci-Fi Channel, has developed a cult following in Europe, especially in France, Belgium and England. “It hasn’t stopped running,” Thinnes says.

He averages about two personal appearances a year in Paris, where he is treated like royalty by his fans. He notes the crowds have gotten so huge, he’s even had to duck into his hotel through the kitchen entrance after fans discovered where he was staying.

“About three years ago, there was a 25th-anniversary celebration in Paris where there was a screening of four episodes. The audience was jampacked. They knew all the dialogue. It was like ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ ”

A few days before the series premiered on Jan. 10, 1967, Thinnes had his own close encounter of the third kind.

“It was late at night,” Thinnes recalls. “I was driving a car at the time and had to roll the windows down. There was a witness with me. I have never seen anything quite like this. It was a white light and a streak going across the side of the skyline. It disappeared behind the horizon. When it came up on the other side, it was multicolored and had a colored trail behind it. It was just fantastic! Within minutes I could hear on the radio that everybody in the city had seen it, especially people in Malibu who were calling in. The radio stations all said there was no military craft [flying]. So it was a UFO experience!”

“The Invaders” airs Sunday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Fox.