The Invisible Man (2000) - 25th Anniversary! / BLOGS

2025/06/08

Introduction:

The Invisible Man, also known as I-Man, first aired on June 9th, 2000, on the Sci-fi channel, which of course later is known as the Syfy channel. Back in the day, the Sci-fi channel still had big seasons, like Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica but also, I-man, it had 22-episode seasons, excluding the two-part pilot episode. Created and developed by Matt Greenberg, Carlton Prickett & Breck Eisner. The show ran for two seasons, and I believe (conjecture) that the ratings where very reasonable, although falling, but the main reason for cancellation was because of the high cost of creating the show. For some episodes the budget went over the $1 Million.

Characters:

It had a great cast, Vincent Ventresca is Darien Fawkes, a thief, facing life imprisonment but he gets recruited by a spy agency that constantly is short on funds. He is given the power of invisibility via implantation of a special "Quicksilver gland" in his head. Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor) is Fawkes’ partner, at first, they don’t like each other but they become real buddies although the banter stays all through the show and that is, I have to say, the heart of the show!

These two characters, partnered up, becoming friends, but are always arguing with each other. The banter is so much fun. Claire Keeply (Shannon Kenny) is Fawkes’ keeper, she monitors his gland and gives him his doses of quicksilver. She often is in the middle, between management and Fawkes himself because she realizes that what he has in his head, is very dangerous. Charles Borden (Eddie Jones) is the boss, he is a tough bastard, and he doesn’t give Fawkes an inch. Albert Eberts (Mike McCafferty) was Borden’s assistant, he was mis-used by his boss Borden and the rest of the gang made fun of him all the time. The last one, Alex Monroe (Brandy Ledford), she was added to the cast in season two. For me it didn’t really work, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t necessary either. The first season cast was strong enough in my opinion

General:

Invisible Man is a very funny show, the characters Fawkes and Bobby are always arguing, mostly in a funny way for the audience. It is not only these characters but also banter between all five characters which is really important for the shows’ success. But beside that, Invisible Man could also be very serious, mainly because Fawkes really doesn’t want this gland inside him, he wants to be a free man but of course they won’t let him go away, the government has an interest in him, and since he is supposed to be the only human with this gland inside him, which can make him Invisible, he is very valuable to the government. I also really like Fawkes relationship with his keeper Claire. She is the only one who understands Fawkes, she is the gentle soul in that often tough working environment. Eddie Jones’ is character is a real caricature, I bet Eddy Jones was having the time of his life playing this role, bossing everybody around, making fun of his assistant, or Bobby or even Fawkes. He was so much fun. Unfortunately, Eddy Jones passed away in 2019.

Physical Media / Rewatch:

While the first season has been released on DVD back in 2005 or perhaps even earlier, not sure, the 2nd season has never been released on DVD, and it most likely never will. Back then I heard that it was some a contractual dispute. Not sure if it is available for streaming somewhere. I was lucky, I had taped them back in the day, PQ wasn’t that great, but I was happy I at least was able to watch it one more time. If season two ever gets a release, I will pre-order it on the same day! Four years ago, I did another rewatch after about 15 years or something, I truly had a blast, this show is so unique, these lead characters made the show so much fun! Yes, the shows certainly could be serious but there wasn’t an episode where I didn’t laugh out loud. If you get the chance to watch it, do it, highly recommended! Recently I tried to copy my taped episodes to a new hard drive for safe keeping, but unfortunately, for some reason, the files are corrupt now! So, my rewatch from 2021, seems to be its last, at least regarding season two, because I do have season one on DVD. To check out the rewatch blog: Rewatch – The Invisible Man – The Complete Series.

Final Word:

25 years, where does the time go! Back when we had great shows without long seasons, 22-season episodes, humor that isn’t appreciated so much anymore in these times! The 90’s and the 2000’s were the best times to be a SCI-FI fan. The very best shows were produced in these era’s, The Invisible Man belongs to that period of time, and it should have had 2 more seasons minimum. Happy 25th Anniversary I-Man!