"Gemini Man" (1976) TV series

Director:

Alan Crosland

Writer:

H.G. Wells (book)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 September 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A man has a watch that makes him invisible when pressed. However he can only remain invisible for 15 minutes or else he will stay invisible forever.

Plot Keywords:

Invisible Man | Based On Novel

Cast

Ben Murphy	...	Sam Casey (11 episodes, 1976)
William Sylvester	...	Leonard Driscoll (11 episodes, 1976)
Katherine Crawford	...	Abby Lawrence (11 episodes, 1976)

Runtime:

60 min (11 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The series was conceived as a second attempt to adapt H G Wells' The Invisible Man into a spy series, following the first failed attempt starring David McCallum the previous season.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels' (2004) (TV)

An idea slightly ahead of its time

This reworking of the failed 1975 Invisible Man series starred Ben Murphy as government agent Sam Casey. Following exposure to radiation Casey learns that he can become invisible. Unfortunately, he can only remain unseen for fifteen minutes each day or else he'll lapse into permanent invisibility and die! Nevertheless, the disappearing act proves quite handy for Casey as he undertakes assignments for yet another secret government organization. Gemini man avoided the biggest problem David McCallum had in his invisible man series by having the hero simply flip a switch on his watch to become invisible. The trouble with The Invisible Man was that, while it was inventive and attempted to be more realistic, filming scenes with the rubber mask took a lot of effort, and still remained highly unconvincing. Despite the watch gimmick, Gemini Man fared terribly in the ratings, only half of its episodes where aired before the show was canceled. Still the idea of allowing the hero to have the ability to switch between visibility and invisibility was not lost. The concept would reappear nearly 25 years later when The Invisible Man returned to television.