"The Invaders" Valley of the Shadow (TV Episode 1967) Poster

(TV Series)

(1967)

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9/10
Now, the Whole Town Has Seen Them
hrkepler29 May 2018
'Valley of the Shadow' is one of the most interesting and equally strange episode. The secret of the aliens is now out when the whole town sees one of them burn up, and finally, David Vincent's crusade is coming to a point where he has hundreds of witnesses and he is not treated like like some nutcase with paranoid delusions. Well, it seems that way. There can't be much said about the story of the episode without ruining it too much, but it is one of the best written chapters of the series with many interesting twists. Rarely have been David Vincent (and the viewer) more relieved and devastated at the same time.
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7/10
A good plot twist.
mm-3913 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Sci fi script at it's best. The Invader's are found out and before cell phones and social media the Aliens must wipe the town out. In the paper, a picture, witnesses Vincent has on big mess to clean up or else. Small town Wyoming is going get hit with a quake aka Invaders style. What works here is the twisted solution. There can not be a memory wipe, but instead a reenactment of the day with one part change so the repressed memories can be corrected. Valley of the Shadow is a change from the formulated feel of previous series. 7 stars.
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8/10
Tense episode - lots of interesting ideas
andrew-huggett25 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Very tense episode with a whole town (plus the local newspaper man) witnessing an alien burning up – then the aliens (who have taken the place of two air-force personnel Vincent sent to investigate) move in to seal the town off from the outside world so that they can silence all the inhabitants (using an artificially induced earthquake and a dam they intend to burst once everyone is drugged … ) when Vincent learns the aliens intend to wipe out the town he actually works with them to try to formulate alternative plans … An Interesting episode with mass hypnosis at the end and the whole town loosing a day due to some suggested 'natural phenomenon' – there is a little slight-of-hand employed to tidy up some loose plot ends (the switch to the prisoner who killed the doctor and whom Vincent second time around refuses to identify). There is a nod to Operation Bluebook and a reference to the real air-force investigation of UFO's in this episode. Also it is never explained or shown what became of the genuine air-force personnel. This is a good episode although not quite to the high standard of the very best season one episodes.
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The Secret Is Out
StuOz22 August 2016
A whole town is in shock after seeing an alien invader burn up.

I know this series gets limited IMDb episode reviews but I was expecting at least ten reviews for this episode. But just one other review instead? Obviously, this series does not have the following of Star Trek (1966), Lost In Space (1965) or The Outer Limits (1963)...but you need to remember something...many sci-fi fans just don't know this series even exists! Because The Invaders only lasted 43 episodes, and not 80 or 90 or 100 episodes, the series was not picked up for re-runs like the others. It was only when the DVDs came out that people really started finding out about this "long lost" show.

In terms of scripting, Valley Of The Shadow stands with some of the best Outer Limits as some of the best scripted sci-fi ever made. It is also the ultimate feel-good experience as at long last a whole town of people see an alien invader burn up. Now the secret is out after all this time!

I don't wish to reveal any more. However, the town in question was actually a backlot set that was also used in Irwin Allen's The Swarm (1978). The town went from aliens to bees!
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2/10
Another Badly Planned, Illogical Plot
WYAdams28 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The invaders are planning to kill every human on Earth so they can move in. In one episode they had plans to transform our atmosphere to one that would be compatible with their physiology, which would kill every human on Earth. But, according to this episode, they are unwilling to kill 1,200 people in some small backwater town.

This is more evidence of how bad the writers really are, There is no continuity or logic to their story line, they just make it up as they go along. They just make up whatever they need for their plot for that week with no regard for the overall direction of the series,

Based on the number of badly written episodes, this series did not deserve a third season, and quite honestly, two seasons was two too many.
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