Somebody at Dark Sky films really did their homework. While I was under the impression I was getting the sci-fi channel series from the 1990's, when this arrived in the mail I was really surprised. An Invisible Man television series from the fifties? I'd never heard of it ... and several searches on the internet came up empty (though a couple of links to buy this dvd popped up). Even sci-fi television geek sites seemed to miss this one on their radar. I was hoping to have a few research tools to help with my review of this show, but I'm just flying blind here. Fans of the show, please feel free to email me with any factual errors I make here in trying to analyze this rare bird.

Borrowing H.G. Wells' novel in title and author's name only, the Invisible Man of this British series is a government agent created by a nuclear accident. Why the radiation didn't just melt his insides rather than render him invisible is a question the show does not answer, though as time (and episodes) went on this question became less of a burning one. I suppose I swallowed the explanation in James Whale's film (and Wells' original novel) of creating a serum from the dyes and juices of certain plants mixed with certain chemicals as a much more likely explanation, but really, we're talking about an invisible man here. So at some point you've just got to figure any kind of explanation to be beside the point, which is to contemplate just what one would do if one were to become invisible.

The first episode is the character's origin story, and right off the bat the effects impressed me -- for a show from the 50's, especially a British show, they are done very well. While there are a few times the seams show (the black bodysuit and facemask worn by the actor to eventually "erase" his image from the film is visible in outline form in a few shots), the effects are considerably better than those on Doctor Who, which aired in the three decades that followed.

Most of the gags around the character's invisibility are pretty much the same as you've seen in any Invisible Man movie -- a smoke enjoyed here and there, cups and other objects that seem to float in mid-air, doors and drawers opening of their own volition ... you're either a sucker for this kind of stuff (like me) or you're going to roll your eyes at the familiarity.

One touch I found amusing was that the invisible man in the series was played by multiple actors -- after all, if your main character is either completely unseen or wrapped up in bandages, why bother commiting your show to an expensive contract with a single lead actor? Form episode to episode the physical frame and facial features under the bandages change, which may disorient sharper eyed viewers. At least the directors of the episodes don't hire their chiropractors to step in and finish the role ala Ed Wood.

By the show's second episode, her majesty's government has become pretty hip to the unseen fellow's existence, and he's drafted in the first of many missions for MI6. This was, after all, the era before James Bond and British intelligence couldn't afford to overlook such a gem in their midst. This sets up one of the dynamics that would remain in effect throughout the remainder of the first season, and presumably the rest of the series (there is a season two being released by Dark Sky later this year) -- while our invisible hero is trying desperately to find a cure for his ailment, the government has something of a "hey, not so fast" attitude toward these efforts, as they consistently come up with things for him to do.

As a result, he becomes less and less of a state secret as the series goes on and more and more people become hip to his existence, threatening those close to him, such as his young niece.

Standout episodes in the first season set include "Behind the Mask" (in which the invisible man's help is sought by a deformed criminal who wishes to become invisible to both aid his profession and make him more palatable to the public), The Mink Coat (which includes one of the creepier puppet acts I've seen lately), The Locked Room (the episode in which the invisible man's niece is kidnapped), and the hilariously titled Picnic With Death.

Transfer quality is top-notch, presumably taken from original film elements, with few signs of age present, though considering the age and obscurity of the episodes, they're pretty minimal. Dark Sky also packages the series in a case with a nifty 3-D cover with a now-you-see-him, now-you-don't rendering of the title character.