"Invasion: The Complete Series" coming to HD DVD too?

TV shows turned into HD DVD/Blu-ray might turn out to be the golden lining for these formats. We already knew that The Sopranos are on their way with season 6, plus we are pretty sure that Smallville and The West Wing are next. Now, there are reports that ABC's somewhat-of-a-hit show Invasion might be coming to HD DVD too. The show was canceled by ABC and then the new network CW considered pick up the show but decided not too once they found out the production costs. The show was consider one of the best sci-fi shows outside of Lost and Battlestar Galactica, but it just didn't find a home on ABC -- maybe it will on HD DVD though. Shows like this are just prime picking for the high-def formats as they already have following, they are filmed in high-def but mostly, a person gets a plethora of HD content rather then just one movie.

[Via MovieWeb]

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2006 11:43AM]

Just for clarification: Even though "Invasion" aired on ABC, it's a Warner property.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2006 12:12PM]

And it was a snore-fest on top of that. I'd rather have ABC's other cancelled series (which they own) from last year - that being *Night Stalker* - available on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2006 12:17PM]

Yeah, I was disappointed that Night Stalker got canned so early. Seeing Darrin McGavin in the premier episode like that brough a tear to my eye.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2006 1:21PM]

Production and acting wise, Invasions was far and away a better show than Surface, to which it seems to be compared to often. But The Jeremy is correct, they dragged the story out way too much and didn't advance the plot until the last couple of shows. But it looked great in HD!!

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 18th 2006 6:13PM]

The problem with *Invasion* was that they thought dragging out the story increased the drama, or equaled it somehow. It made it boring. I tried watching it but gave up after episode 4 (or 5).

What really made me mad at the time was the fact that ABC did not show either series letterboxed on the SD transmission. It was pan & scan.

The HD-DVD release will probably look better than the ABC HD transmission because if I recall correctly, ABC only supports 720p HD transmissions. And 720p on a "high definition" disc based platform is only marginally better than a PAL (576p) based DVD release; certainly not as dramatic as moving from 480p NTSC to 1080p. Although I'm sure in the case of *Invasion*, WB shot it in 1080 and provided ABC with a 720p edition.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 20th 2006 8:55AM]

If there was a better show than 'Invasion' that has come out in the passt 20 years, I don't know about it. There is indeed a built-in audience for this show, and an HD DVD would be a financial boon for both the distributor and a tail in the feather for alienated fans.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 15th 2006 11:12PM]

I bought the invasion dvd hoping to see a completed story of the show and I can't believe I paid $50 for nothing!!!!I'm so PISSED !