Search - The Invisibles: Series 1 on DVD

COMEDY, CRIME, SUSPENSE, DRAMA, AND ACTION = 5-STARS

Harold Wolf | Wells, IN United States | 04/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two crooks return to Brittain for a retirement life in a small seaside village. What could be better? What could go wrong after so many years?
Plenty. The local bar owner IDs the pair, hero's to him, and offers to join a renewal of "The Invisibles" gang. Safe cracker, Maurice Riley "Mo" (Anthony Head), and security alarm specialist/partner, Syd Woolsey (Warren Clarke) want nothing of it. A family situation arises that causes them to reconsider and attempt one last job.

That sets the stage for the series because the two 60-year-old "crooks of class" are a bit rusty. Being burglars with class, the pair only go after loot that was illegally obtained from the beginning. They are the equivalent of modern, condo-dwelling Robin Hoods. Hadley (Dean Lennox Kelly), the pub owner, proves his worth as the young muscle needed for the "Invisibles" continued activity.

Needless to say, not all goes well. Bungled burglar missteps are as funny as the performances of the 3 actors are good. You WILL laugh out loud, but also see some tender moments, even the rare romantic side of the men. The men portray everything that a really classic crook can be. You'll cheer for the bad guys.

6 episodes, widescreen with subtitles, unrated (but probably PG):
1 A loan-shark is paid off with his own illegal funds.
2 Cop-gone-bad looses funds unlawfully obtained.
3 A theft from Mo's own flat needs recovered.
4 (6 stars for this episode) Invisibles go after a safe Mo failed to crack 6 times in the past.
5 Retrieving a war medal goes bad 3 times & Hedley wants out.
6 While recovering a stolen violin, the Invisibles get tailed and trapped in a police siege at Hedley's pub.
7 There is no #7, but you'll wish there was.

James Bond, Get Smart, and Sherlock should step aside because The Invisibles are back. And I should mention the beautiful scenery as the series was filmed in Ireland."

Campy and Fun!

Mel Odom | Moore, OK USA | 06/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE INVISIBLES was a crackerjack BBC comedy crime series that arrived in 2008 and is now hitting the shelves in DVD format. The whole run is only six episodes and, sadly, there won't be a second season.

My wife and I love these kinds of shows, kind of edgy with fun characters and snappy one-liners that you have to pay attention to in order to appreciate. And THE INVISIBLES had all of that in spades.

Anthony Head (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) and Warren Clarke (DALZIEL AND PASCOE) star as Maurice Riley and Syd Woolsey respectively. They're retired thieves that were once at the top of the game. Called The Invisibles by the media because there was never a trace of them though everyone knew they were about, Maurice and Syd were never caught and chose to retire to a seaside Devon village.

The shows center on the relationship of the two men, the respective extended families, and the fact that they don't like growing older. Even though both of them have enough to live comfortably on, they both can't keep their minds out of the crime arena.

I really enjoyed the comfortable byplay between Maurice and Syd, as well as Maurice's wife Barbara (played by Jenny Agutter, SPOOKS). When Dean Lennox Kelly weighed in as Hedley Huthwaite, the son of the deceased third Invisible, things really started to cook. All six of the episodes turn on robberies and thefts, so there is plenty of action, but they all explore bits and pieces of the characters and their interactions as well.

The first episode really leaned into the relationship between Maurice and Syd and how they rely on each other. But Syd's son Joe gets crossways with loansharks and the Invisibles have to get back in the game to steal Joe's life and future back for him. Syd's life is as chaotic and full of disaster as Maurice's seems to be filled with smooth sailing.

The second episode delivers a twist on expectations when a retired police detective shows up with evidence he has on the Invisibles. Instead of arresting them, he blackmails them into doing a job for him. Maurice's daughter Grace (played by Emily Head, Anthony Head's real life daughter) puts in her first appearance in the series. She has no idea what her father did.

The third episode deals with Maurice's relationship turning rocky for a time while Syd goes head over heels for an old flame. By this time, the writing and the characters have gotten really smooth. There are more gags, more biting sarcasm and funny repartee, as well as enough character weight to feel the risks that are going on.

In the fourth episode, Maurice has to deal with the one safe he couldn't crack. Everyone around him assures him that the safe is cursed, but Maurice just can't back away from the challenge. I especially liked this one because it showed how competitive Maurice is and also played him off all the other characters.

The human factor kicks in again in the fifth episode when Hedley discovers his wife is pregnant and wants out of the gang. I liked the fact that she knows what her husband is doing, though, and that touch really makes this episode spin.

And the sixth episode puts Maurice and Syd smackdab in the middle of a police siege. The dialogue and situation here is great even though we've seen similar plots. The cleverness is really well done too.

All in all, these six episodes are real keepers for fans of BBC crime shows. With summer reruns glutting the channels, picking up this series on DVD would be a good investment.
"

An undiscovered gem

Beau Yarbrough | Hesperia, CA | 07/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to overstate how good this show is (well, except for the music, which is very BBC House Band), and should be an immediate grab for fans of Anthony Head at his very best, caper films or even stories like Lonesome Dove, focusing on aging heroes.

The basics of the show are strong on their own: Nationally famous burglars who have never been caught and who retired to Spain, return to England to be closer to family and friends in their 60s. It's not long, however, before they're back on the job. Like the best police shows, though, the capers are really just the backdrop for the meat of the show: The Invisibles relationships with their families. The show may feature burglars, but it's about growing older, dealing with adult children, dealing with old loves, dealing with being the person you want your children to know their parents as, and so on.

This is really Head's show. He may be beloved by Buffy fans, but he didn't get to do much other than be very English, and when they tried to give him more to do, his post-high school bachelorhood was awkward and somewhat directionless. Here, though, he gets free range with a character and story made to showcase his talents.

Head's Maurice (pronounced "Morris," in an English attempt to baffle American audiences) was the greatest burglar in England, the smartest man in pretty much every room and a man among men. Now he's grappling with the notion that his best days are behind him, his daughter doesn't know who he really is (he's lied to her for decades about what he does for a living), his beautiful wife is focused on creating a life for herself outside of the world of crime, his best friend is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer and while he still looks (very) good for his age, getting older scares the hell out of him.

It's baffling that this wasn't picked up for a second season by the BBC, but by no means should that dissuade anyone from picking this up. This is easily one of the best shows I've ever seen, and an absolute tour de force for Anthony Head.

Endorsed without reservation for fans of caper movies or Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Rascals

V. Campbell | 07/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The newspaper review of the Invisibles is why we ordered it, the critic reccomended it. We watched all episodes and enjoyed it very much. If you like British shows go ahead and get this!"