The Invisible Man (also shortened to "The
I-Man") is a Sci-Fi
American television
series starring
Vincent Ventresca,
Paul Ben-Victor,
Eddie Jones,
Shannon Kenny and
Michael McCafferty. Somewhat more successful than previous
television series involving invisible secret agents, it aired from June 9,
2000
to
February 1,
2002, lasting two seasons.
The plot revolves around
Darien Fawkes (Ventresca), a thief facing life
imprisonment who was recruited by a low-rent spy organization and 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 and clothes 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
said government agency. This series lasted for two seasons, before
being cancelled due to cost issues and internal bickering between
the
Sci Fi Channel and its then-parent company,
USA Networks.
The show's first season ran concurrently in first-run syndication
as well as on
Sci Fi.
The Invisible Man is both an action show and a comedy with plenty of
buddy-cop elements.
Episodes were generally of two types. Many dealt with cases given
to Fawkes and
Hobbes by
The Agency. These usually dealt with assassinations
or government experiments that had run amok. During the first season,
The Agency was given a nemesis agency called
Chrysalis which was usually
behind that week's conspiracy.
Alternatively, episodes dealt with Fawkes' quest to remove the gland
from his head and reduce his dependency on the counteragent
.
His unorthodox methods included reviving the mind of his dead
brother and periodically contacting Arnaud DeFehrn, one of the
gland's creators, though these encounters usually ended with one
of the two in pain.
The agency considered the gland too great an
asset to remove so Fawkes' personal quest usually brought him head
to head with those in power.
Episodes usually begin with a voice-over with Fawkes who would
open with a quote, usually from a famous person, and commentary
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.
Darien Fawkes (
Vincent Ventresca)
Darien Fawkes is a former career criminal and catburglar, who gained
multiple misdemeanor convictions and two felony convictions before he was thirty.
Darien is described as having an "above-average intellect", and capable
of being very deceptive. After their father left them, (it is
later learned that their father was a sniper for the government and
after his cover was blown, he left his family in order to protect them,)
and their mother died, brothers
Kevin and Darien were taken in by their
aunt and uncle on a farm. While Kevin followed in their uncle's footsteps
and played with test-tubes, Darien followed in what he thought to be
his father's footsteps and played with locks and was stealing since
at least his teens. After being caught because he stopped to give
CPR to
a heart-attack victim, under
California's three strikes law he was
sentenced to life in prison without parole. This was where his older
brother, Kevin, stepped in.
Robert Albert Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor)
Charles Borden a.k.a. The
Official (Eddie Jones)
Bobby
Claire a.k.a. the
Keeper (Shannon Kenny)
Albert Eberts (Michael McCafferty)
Alex Monroe (
Brandy Ledford, season two)
Arnaud DeFehrn (
Joel Bissonnette)
Jarod
Stark (
Spencer Garrett)
Allianora (
Idalis DeLeón, season one)
Kevin Fawkes (
David Burke)
- published: 28 Sep 2015
- views: 3708