"The Invaders" is episode 15 of season 2 (and episode 51 overall) of the American television

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. The episode, which originally aired January 27, 1961, starred

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

. It was written by

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...

, directed by

Douglas Heyes Douglas Heyes (May 22, 1919 – February 8, 1993) was an American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, composer, and author with a long list of accomplishments. He was sometimes credited under the pseudonym Matthew Howard. Pers ...

, and scored by

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...

. Distinctive features of this episode include a near-solo performance by one character (interacting with miniature puppet "characters"), and an almost complete lack of dialogue. The protagonist portrayed by Moorehead often cries out in pain, terror, etc., but never speaks.

Opening narration

Plot

An old woman lives alone in a remote cabin. She is dressed shabbily, and there are no modern conveniences in her abode. After hearing a strange deafening noise above her kitchen roof, she is accosted by small intruders that come from a miniature

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

that has landed on her rooftop. Two tiny figures, which appear to be robots or beings wearing

pressure suit A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pr ...

s, emerge from the craft. The small figures attack the woman, using small, pistol-like weapons that leave

radiation burns A radiation burn is a damage to the skin or other biological tissue and organs as an effect of radiation. The radiation types of greatest concern are thermal radiation, radio frequency energy, ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation. The most ...

on her skin, and, after following her into her cabin, slashing her ankle and hand with her own kitchen knife. She eventually kills one, wrapping it in a blanket and beating it until it is still, then throwing it into the burning fireplace. She follows the other to the saucer-ship on her roof, which she proceeds to attack with a hatchet. A voice speaking in English emanates from within the craft. The intruder frantically warns that his partner, Gresham, is dead; and that the planet is inhabited by a race of giants and impossible to defeat. The side of the ship reads ''

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Space Probe No. 1''. The "tiny" invaders were human astronauts from Earth; the woman in the small farmhouse belongs to a race of giant

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

s native to another planet. She finishes destroying the ship and then climbs back down from the roof into the house, exhausted.

Closing narration

On radio

When the episode was adapted for the ''Twilight Zone'' radio dramas, starring

Kathy Garver Kathleen Marie Garver is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom, ''Family Affair''. Before that, she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille in the film ''T ...

, the story was changed from an old non-speaking woman to an elderly couple.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * Provides episode details and summary, relevant and interesting trivia, and a free online episode. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Invaders, The 1961 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 2) episodes Television episodes written by Richard Matheson Fiction portraying humans as aliens Fiction about giants Television episodes directed by Douglas Heyes