American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
series that aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
'', ''Gemini Man'' was created to replace the previous season's ''The Invisible Man'' using simpler and less expensive special effects.
Plot
The series starred
Ben Murphy
Benjamin Edward Murphy (born Benjamin Edward Castleberry Jr., March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series ''Alias Smith and Jones''.
Early life
Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...
as laid-back denim-clad motorcycle-riding
secret agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
Sam Casey who, while diving to retrieve a fallen
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
spy satellite, was exposed to radiation in an underwater explosion, which rendered him invisible. The agency he worked for, a high-tech government
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
called Intersect ("International Security Techniques"), found a way to return him to visibility and control his new power by the use of a special wristwatch referred to as a " DNA stabilizer," which was invented by scientist Abby Lawrence (Katherine Crawford). Pressing a button on the digital watch would make him vanish, clothes and all, which was a helpful tool in his line of work, but he could only do this for 15 minutes per day or else he would die.
Reception
A pilot of the series aired on May 10, 1976, and the series began airing on September 23 of that year. The show was canceled after five episodes due to low ratings and relatively high production costs. Although 11 episodes were produced, the remaining six were not aired in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, although the entire series was seen in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
with somewhat greater success that led to a
record album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
and hardcover
annual
Annual may refer to:
* Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
** Literary annual
* Annual plant
* Annual report
* Annual giving
* Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
* Annuals (b ...
based on the show.
Richard Dysart
Richard Allen Dysart (March 30, 1929 – April 5, 2015) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland McKenzie in the television series ''L.A. Law'' (1986–1994), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award from four consecutive nom ...
played Casey's boss, Leonard Driscoll, in the pilot and
William Sylvester
William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American television and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001 A Space Odyssey'' (1968).
Life and career
William Sylves ...
played Driscoll during the series.
Cast
*
Ben Murphy
Benjamin Edward Murphy (born Benjamin Edward Castleberry Jr., March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series ''Alias Smith and Jones''.
Early life
Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...
William Sylvester
William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American television and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001 A Space Odyssey'' (1968).
Life and career
William Sylves ...
Two episodes, "Smithereens" and "Buffalo Bill Rides Again", were re-edited into one 90-minute
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
establishing shot
An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...
s for sweeping computer room scenes. The "Guardian" logo ("Guardian" was the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
version of "Colossus") appears in at least one segment. Though not immediately verifiable, at least one segment uses the "Colossus" speaker/microphone.
Production had to deal with Crawford departing the series by the latter episode, the length of time between filming (Sylvester had grown a thick bushy mustache in the interim), and the appearance of an arch-villain in the second "half" who did not exist in the opening (covered via an overdub referring to the villain's elusiveness in the final minutes of the first segment). Both parts feature singer
Jim Stafford
James Wayne Stafford (born January 16, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and comedian. While prominent in the 1970s for his recordings " Spiders & Snakes", "Swamp Witch", "Under the Scotsman's Kilt", "My Girl Bill", and "Wildwoo ...
as a trucker named "Buffalo Bill" who befriends and helps Sam.
In 1997, ''Riding with Death'' was featured in an eighth season episode of movie-mocking television show ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
highlighted the thin connection between the two halves, and the general incoherence of the plot.
Home media
The complete television series was released as a region 2 DVD in the French territory in November 2013 by Elephant Films with two language tracks, French and English. The episodes are uncut.