A series that aired for 13 episodes from the 8th of September 1975 to the 26th of January 1976.
The series follows Dr. Daniel Westin (David McCallum), who, along with his wife, performs experiments in teleportation for a company called the Klae Corporation. One day, these experiments lead to him accidentally uncovering a way to make objects temporarily invisible instead. When his boss, Walter Carlson (Jackie Cooper in the pilot, Craig Stevens in the series) wants to use the process for military purposes, Westin destroys the research and turns himself invisible to escape.
However, it turns out that the process is permanent, and the antidote he developed doesn't work.
Now stuck permanently invisible, Daniel and his wife, Dr. Kate Westin (Melinda O. Fee) return to work for the Klae Corporation to allow them to research a cure. Daniel meanwhile makes use of a substance called Darmaplex to provide him with a mask for his hands and face, allowing him to appear visible (and ensuring David McCallum could appear on screen).
Referred to as 'the Klae Resource' (and kept as a tightly guarded secret), Daniel Westin's invisibility allows the two Dr. Westins to be sent to deal with various problems where normal methods would fail.
The series is inspired by, but only very loosely related to, the book by H. G. Wells. The series is not connected with the 2000 TV series of the same name, despite being inspired by the same source material or the earlier The Invisible Man (1958) series also featuring an invisible secret agent. It also should not be confused with the 1976 series Gemini Man which is also inspired by the novel and features an invisible secret agent. Nor should it be confused with the The Invisible Man (2011) cartoon of the same name.
This series provides examples of:
- Blind and the Beast: Both the pilot and "Sight Unseen" deal with Daniel being invisible in front of characters who don't know that he's invisible because they're blind.
- Call-Back:
- Pike in "Power Play" knew about the security systems and about the Klae Resource itself, thanks to having been locked up with Morgan Klae, who was imprisoned following the events of "The Klae Dynasty".
- In the pilot, Daniel's face mask was developed by a brilliant plastic surgeon called Dr. Maggio. The events of "An Attempt to Save Face" are set off when Maggio returns, having been hired by a dictator specifically wanting to make use of these skills.
- Contrived Coincidence: "Pin Money" features Daniel 'robbing' a bank (he actually wants to sneak money into the vault) while disguised as Frankenstein's monster. Actual bank robbers turn up at the same time wearing the same masks.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The pilot is much darker in tone than the rest of the series, with less focus on comedic elements. Walter's character changes both in terms of the actor and in terms of his characterization.
- Happily Married: The Westins seem to be very much in love with various and never argue. After beating her in cards, Daniel informs Kate of the number of kisses she owes him.
- Invisibility/Invisible Main Character: Naturally, the core premise of the show is that the main character is consistently invisible.
- Invisible Streaker: To appear visible, Daniel has to wear a mask, gloves and clothes. To stop being visible, he has to get naked.
- Kangaroo Court: The court in "Stop When Red Lights Flash" is run by a judge who simply wants to raise revenue from a scam and so has no interest in hearing any sort of defense.
- Knockout Gas: An experimental anesthetic in "An Attempt to Save Face" is used for this purpose. The characters specifically note that ordinary anesthetic would not have been powerful enough, but, by luck, they're at a clinic which is experimenting with new types of anesthetics, one of which is perfectly suited for this purpose.
- Latex Perfection: Any time you can see David McCallum on screen (after the pilot), it's because he's wearing a "Dermaplex" mask over his face/hands (and clothing over the rest of his invisible body). The mask never looks quite as realistic when he's not wearing it.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In "Go Directly to Jail", Daniel goes to prison to help out a woman whose son has apparently been wrongly convicted. What he doesn't realize is that her son is actually an undercover agent who intentionally chose to go to prison, and Daniel's presence ends up making things a lot more complicated (though of course he saves the day in the end).
- Phony Psychic: "Man of Influence" features a 'spiritualist' who can supposedly talk with the dead and is using this to exert political influence. Of course, the Westins uncover the very much non-mystical truth.
- Photographic Memory: This is a plot point in "Eyes Only", in which a woman who isn't allowed to take any documents away from her job has been using her perfect memory to replicate them exactly.
- Public Secret Message: The titular doctor in "Barnard Wants Out" wants to come home but can't say so, so he asks Daniel to remember a rule an old teacher had used. He then quickly says how happy he is there. Daniel later explains to Kate that the doctor had been lying about being happy. It turns out that the rule the teacher had used was about how quick answers suggested deception.
