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"The Invaders"
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VBS episode
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1x20 / 20th of 110 aired
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First aired
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Written by
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Irwin Allen, William Read Woodfield
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Directed by
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Previous episode
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"Doomsday"
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Next Episode
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Summary[]
The Seaview is exploring an underwater area that is pretty volatile with seismic activity. After a shockwave hits and it is discovered that a layer of sediment is hiding the floor, divers are sent out to have a closer look. It is then realized that there is a city on the floor, along with many mysterious capsules scattered about. One is brought onto the Seaview, and many crew members (along with Harriman Nelson and Lee Crane) are trying to get it open. There appears to be no way to trigger an opening, nor will the most powerful blowtorches, acids, etc. make a dent in the capsule. A man is seen inside a small window, who awakens, then begins suffocating, then ceases moving after a while, appearing to have died.
The people working on the capsule then freeze part of it, then break it open, which the man is actually alive. He stuns Crane with a weapon. Once Crane comes to, Nelson insinuates that any more violence is not necessary, as they are friends. The man (named Zar) asks if that is how "friends" treat each other, especially since there are others of his people still left behind. Nelson says that they will see to freeing more of his people, which Zar then allows Crane to take him to some quarters.
Along the way, Zar obviously starts getting on Crane’s nerves, asking about how he could sleep, as his people had evolved to the point where they did not need sleep any more. He also seemed interested in a voltage room that they passed and asked about how the ship’s power was distributed, which Crane explained that it was routed through their central command, then leaves Zar to his room.
Zar leaves the room at some point, using his weapon to short out a few panels in the voltage room, which disorients the Seaview’s navigation system. Later, Zar is examined by the doctor, revealing that he seems to have no internal organs, skeleton, etc. He would explain that he was actually built (along with mentioning earlier that he originally lived a million years before, but had to be put into stasis [along with the rest of his kind] due to the Earth’s surface becoming too hot). When the doctor takes a sample of Zar to be studied under a high-powered microscope later once they acquired enough power to run it (which, due to Seaview’s various electrical systems not working correctly due to Zar shorting out several of the panels earlier, was currently inoperable), Zar becomes agitated, saying he did not want possible contaminants to spread, and incinerates the sample with his weapon.
Not long afterwards, Zar begins to dive into human research, reading up on them for over 20 hours straight in the ship’s library, especially in regards to disease. He then cuts himself on the microfiche machine he was using, asking crew member Foster (who is keeping watch over Zar) to look at his hand, which fluids were visibly draining from it.
Later, the Seaview winds up back at the area where they found Zar and the other capsules, which should not have happened if the ship’s instruments were working correctly. When questioned about it, Zar admitted he was behind it, and meanwhile crewman Foster had died. Due to becoming suspicious of Zar, Nelson, Crane, and several crew members try to wrestle Zar’s weapon from him, but he is too strong and is still able to break free of everyone and draw his weapon, threatening to discharge it if anyone else were to provoke him.
Finally, with enough power diverted for the high-powered microscope, it is discovered that the majority of Zar’s internal structure is composed of benzene, which is a highly dangerous substance and it contributed to Foster’s death. Nelson concludes there is no way Zar could be allowed to live amongst regular people, as just one cut could wipe out millions (especially if it were to become airborne). He devises a plan to dispose of Zar, which Crane rigs up Nelson’s chess board in his cabin so that when he moved a certain piece on the board, that would give Crane the signal to act.
Zar is brought into Nelson’s quarters, which, not long after he begins speaking to Zar, he picks up the rigged chess piece, which then Crane and Chip Morton start (unknowingly to Zar) pumping in an element (probably pure oxygen) into Nelson’s quarters via air duct. Nelson and Zar both conclude that there is no way their two people could coexist together, and then with one last point to be made, Nelson runs from the room and locks the door behind him. Zar yells that Nelson is "dead and" draws and fires his weapon, not knowing that the room was made severely combustible, consuming him in flames.
Finally, an order is given to set off explosives, which covers the area where Zar was found in sediment in hopes of no one ever finding the capsules ever again.
Cast[]
- Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman Nelson
- David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane
- Henry Kulky as Chief Curley Jones
- Del Monroe as Kowalski
- Robert Dowdell as Chip Morton
Guest stars[]
- Robert Duvall as Zar
- Richard Bull as Seaview Doctor
- Michael McDonald as Foster
Trivia[]
Zar’s name is never mentioned during the episode.
Links[]
The episode can be seen at hulu.com on the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea channel