The Invisible Man: Season 01 (2000) Reviews

The first season of The Invisible Man begins as lifelong criminal and chiseler Darien Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca), facing life imprisonment courtesy of the "three strikes you're out" law, agrees to be paroled in the custody of his scientist brother Kevin (David Burke), who is conducting secret invisibility experiments on behalf of a shadowy (and perennially underfunded) government agency called--well, The Agency. No sooner has Kevin planted a quicksilver-filled "invisibility gland" in Darien's neck than terrorists burst in and murder the hapless scientist. As a result, Darien is left with the awkward gland permanently grafted to his person, enabling him to disappear from view whenever he becomes terribly frightened (which is often!). Unfortunately, Darien now faces the likelihood of succumbing to "Quicksilver Madness" unless he is regular injected with a temporary antidote by gorgeous government scientist Claire Keeply, aka The Keeper (Shannon Kenny). Thus, Darien is in no position to refuse an offer from The Agency's head man The Official (Eddie Jones) to use his invisibility on behalf of the United States' counterespionage activities--if he had refused, the antidote doses would have been immediately cut off (and of course there would have been no series). In the course of Season One, reluctant spy Darien is teamed with slovenly, neurotic veteran agent Bobby Howes (Paul Ben-Victor) and is regularly menaced by the sinister Chrysalis organization, whose minions include terrorists Arnaud DeThiel (Joel Bissonette) and Jarod Stark (Spencer Garrett). Darien also faces the danger of sudden exposure whenever a severe change in temperature renders him visible at the most inopportune moments. Season highlights included the poignant episode "Ralph", in which Darien pretends to be the imaginary friend of a little girl traumatized by witness an assassination; "Impetus", wherein Darien's troubles are doubled when he contacts a disease that causes rapid aging; "Liberty and Larceny", guest-starring Priscilla Barnes as Darien's criminal mentor Liz, who hopes to use his invisibility to her advantage; and "Ghost of a Chance" in which Darien poses as a ghost in order to persuade a South American prime minister to vote against a dangerous weapons system--only to face extermination at the hands of a real ghost! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi