The Invisible Man (also shortened to "The I-Man" in Season 2) is an American science fiction television series starring Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Eddie Jones, Shannon Kenny and Michael McCafferty.
The show aired two seasons, from June 9, 2000, to February 1, 2002, on the Sci Fi Channel and was syndicated to American TV stations. It was cancelled by USA Cable Entertainment, Sci Fi's parent company, primarily due to the high production costs of visual effects. For some episodes, budgets went over $1 million. Falling viewership meant advertising revenue was unable to support the high costs.
The series uses elements of science fiction and action to explore themes such as freedom of choice, determinism, and state bureaucracy.
Contents
Plot
The Invisible Man is both an action show and a comedy with buddy cop elements.
The plot revolves around Darien Fawkes (Ventresca), a thief facing life imprisonment who is recruited by a spy agency that is constantly short on funds, and is given the power of invisibility via implantation of a special "Quicksilver gland" in his head. The gland allows Fawkes to secrete a light-bending substance called "Quicksilver" from his pores and follicles. The substance quickly coats his skin, hair, nails, clothes, and whatever he is carrying, and renders him invisible. He can consciously release the Quicksilver, which then flakes off and disintegrates. However, the Quicksilver gland was sabotaged at its creation by scientist Arnaud DeFehrn to release a neurotoxin that accumulates in the bloodstream and causes intense pain, followed by antisocial behavior and psychosis. The host requires regular doses of "counteragent" to keep him sane and healthy, which is controlled by the government agency.
There were typically two types of episodes. Many of these were cases that The Agency had provided to Fawkes and Hobbes. These mostly dealt with murders or government experiments gone wrong. Chrysalis, The Agency's enemy agency from the first season, was frequently responsible for the week's plot. Episodes instead focused on Fawkes' struggle to have the organ removed from his skull and/or lessen his dependence on the counteragent. His unconventional means included using his deceased brother's intellect to revive him and occasionally speaking with Arnaud DeFehrn, one of the gland's inventors, albeit these interactions typically ended with one of them being in pain. Since the agency believed that the gland was too valuable to be taken away, Fawkes' personal pursuit frequently put him at odds with those in positions of power.
Episodes usually begin with a voice-over by Fawkes who would open with a famous quote and comment about what he was currently thinking. The voice over would reemerge at the end of the episode to sum up Fawkes' opinion on the mission or allow him to voice lingering questions.
At the conclusion of the series, Fawkes had been given a new counteragent that permanently cured him of quicksilver madness — his body having become gradually immune to the standard counteragent — but after briefly returning to his old thieving career and another stint at the FBI, he returned to the Agency to continue fighting Chrysalis.
Characters
The following is a list of characters featured in the American science fiction series The Invisible Man. This list may not list characters that have only made guest appearances.
Main characters
Darien Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca)
Darien Fawkes is a former career criminal and catburglar. Darien is described as having an "above-average intellect", and capable of being very deceptive. He and his brother Kevin were raised on a farm by their aunt and uncle after their mother died and their father left them. While Kevin became a scientist, Darien began a career as a thief while still in his teens. After being caught he was sentenced to life in prison.
His brother cut a deal with his bosses to get Darien out of prison in exchange for using him as a test subject. Darien agreed, and became the Quicksilver gland implanted. Due to the gland, he has various powers beyond being able to turn invisible; he can turn his eyes invisible and see in infrared, lower his body temperature lower to a point where he can escape heat-seeking weapons, he can turn others invisible so long as he remains in contact with them, and he can even turn parts of his body invisible while leaving the rest of him fully visible. He then works for the Agency.
Robert "Bobby" Hobbes is one of the agents working for the Agency. He is given Darien as a partner when Darien joins the Agency. Hobbes feels underappreciated there, receiving very little pay and being sent on mostly unfavorable missions.
Charles Borden a.k.a. The Official (Eddie Jones)
Charles "Charlie" Borden is the long-time head of The Agency.
Albert Eberts (Michael McCafferty)
Albert Eberts came to the Agency from the IRS, and serves as both assistant to The Official and the Agency's bookkeeper.
Dr. Claire Keeply a.k.a. the Keeper (Shannon Kenny)
Claire is The Agency's resident medical doctor and researcher, and was a minor researcher on the team that did preliminary work for developing the Quicksilver gland. She is responsible for monitoring Darien's health and compiling data on long-term usage of the gland. There are hints of romantic tension between her and Hobbes.
Minor characters
Dr. Arnaud DeFöhn (Joel Bissonnette)
Terrorist and primary antagonist of Darien Fawkes, being responsible the death of Dariens brother.
Jarod Stark (Spencer Garrett)
The charismatic leader of a branch of the mysterious Chrysalis organization.
Allianora (Idalis DeLeón, season one)
One of Chrysalis' top agents. Through bio-modification she has gained the ability to breathe water and regurgitate it under pressure, making her capable of drowning people with a kiss.
Dr. Kevin Fawkes (David Burke)
Darien's brother and the developer of the Quicksilver gland, he implanted the gland into his brother's brain.
Dr. Thomas Walker/Augustin Gaither (Armin Shimerman)
Formerly a scientist working for the fictional Secret Weapons Research Bureau, the same government facility that helped Kevin Fawkes develop the Quicksilver gland.
The Agency
The Agency is a U.S. government espionage and special operations agency, but extremely secretive – so much that it doesn't have a proper name. The organization takes on cases that the other agencies "can't, won't, or don't".
During the second season, The Agency changed departments several times, having been absorbed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, and (very briefly) the United States Postal Service before settling in the semi-fictional Bureau of Weights and Measures. This led to a running gag in which Hobbes and Fawkes are never taken seriously as federal agents, since their identifications always includes their unassuming department name.
Episodes
Home media
The first season of The Invisible Man was released on DVD for Region 2 as a two-part collection in March and April 2003. The Invisible Man – Season One was released as a complete Region 1 DVD set on March 25, 2008. The Region 1 DVD set also includes the first episode from Season 2.
The Region 1 release, however, contains the alternate version of "Money for Nothing, Part II," (where Hobbes attempts to take Darien into custody) instead of the episode that the fans had chosen (where Hobbes joins forces with Darien). No explanation has been issued for this, and may simply be included on the second Invisible Man DVD release, as it was in the release for the UK.
The Region 1 release also features the episodes in widescreen 16/9, unlike the Region 2 one which had the episodes in full screen 4/3.
The second season is not available on DVD.
Streaming
Both seasons of the series were available for streaming on the NBC.com app in cropped 4:3 instead of the original widescreen aspect ratio.
