The Invasion Will Be Televised

If you're looking for reasons to subscribe to Apple TV+ (other than the one everyone knows, Ted Lasso), I can very unhelpfully tell you that Invasion may or may not be one. The TV series depicts an alien invasion of planet of Earth, the action hopping around to countries all over the globe, following characters of many different backgrounds and their reaction to the unthinkable events.

The 10-episode first season is very oddly paced. The first episode devotes a great deal of time to a plot thread that ends abruptly and never recurs. The first half of the season stretches the narrative taffy to ridiculous extremes in keeping characters from the truth of their own story; you may well find yourself asking "wasn't this show supposed to be about an alien invasion?" The plot keeps walking up to doors, but seldom chooses to even open them, much less walk through them.

And yet, there is still enough inertia by episode 2 to give the sense that there is a plan here. And the second half of the season packs plenty of marvelous surprises and payoffs. The show is well aware that its audience has seen alien invasion tales before, and so it has set about creating a different one. It presents effectively "alien" aliens -- they look strange, they behave strangely. It's not clear what they want or what they're doing. The show is very creative at times.

That creativity is brought to life well in a very expensive-looking production. The visual effects are impressive. The vast array of locations involved makes the tale feel truly global in scope -- and, I've read, it was actually filmed in a variety of locations around the world. The production values do veer "too arty" in episode 6, when the decision to realistically depict events in a darkened home go so far that you literally cannot see what is happening without adjusting your TV settings. But the show is definitely taking big swings.

Still... I'm not sure how much I liked it. There are certainly two other sci-fi shows on Apple TV+ I'd recommend over it. (For All Mankind and Foundation, though it seems I haven't blogged about the latter yet? I guess that's on my to-do list.) I have to admit that I wasn't quite satisfied by the way season one wrapped up. But there is going to be a season two, and I also feel like I'll probably be there to watch it when it arrives.

To put a grade on it, though? I'd call it a B-. It's "passing," but there's plenty or room for improvement. Not a reason to get Apple TV+, but perhaps something you'd want to check out if you already have it.