Did Anyone See "Invasion" Last Night on ABC?

Did anyone stop to see the premier episode of "Invasion" yesterday on ABC?

Aside from being a very interesting show, and one that I could see being a huge hit this season (even with the non-sci-fi geeks like myself!), it also featured a very interesting dynamic between a divorced father and his ex.

For those who didn't watch, the basics of the relationship dynamic were, from what I could get, was that the mother was a doctor, and the father was a park ranger. Both in stable jobs and both, by the nature of that episode, thrown into action mutually by the looming hurricane. Both the mother and the father have separate relationships....the mother is dating a cop, and the father is dating a news reporter.

Anyway, they have two kids together, one boy 15-ish and a girl around 5 years old. I didn't quite get the custody aspect, but during the episode the kids were staying with their father and seemed hostile towards the mother for starting a new relationship. It wasn't explained in the first episode how that came about, but the fact was that they were living with their father and the mother had a visitation schedule going on. Of course, neither the father or the new boyfriend seemed to get along to add to the mix.

What I did get out of the episode was the fact that the mother appeared to be very controlling and "overly" protective of their kids, which was driving the 15 year old boy away from her. The girl, of course, being 5 years old, had rose tinted glasses for both parents.

It was fantastic to finally see a major TV show that actually didn't do the standard "deadbeat dad" routine, and even better still to see them portray the father as the stable one (mentally) and in control while the mother was going whacko!

Of course, towards the end of the show the mother is affected by the alien invasion, and starts to change into one. Strangely, this was not a stretch for me....you should meet my ex-wife!! Ha ha.

Anyway, if you didn't tune in last night, I am sure there is an encore presentation (probably this weekend, check local listings), but I would encourage all of you to watch. I think this could be a small, but VERY WELCOME, change towards fathers getting a 'fair shuot' in TV land...

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http://abc.go.com/primetime/invasion/index.html

The official story about the show is below:

From famed writer/producer Shaun Cassidy ("Cold Case," "American Gothic," "Cover Me") comes a suspenseful tale of a blended family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane and its mysterious aftermath.

For centuries man has searched the skies for signs of intelligent life forms. What if those life forms were already here? And what if some of the natural disasters we've been experiencing of late were merely smokescreens to mask something far more ominous?

For dedicated park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian, "Third Watch"), a divorced father of two who is expecting a third child with his new wife, local television reporter Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan), the hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long journey into the unknown. Always skeptical about the paranoid conspiracy theories of his wayward brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine, ABC's "That Was Then"), Russell may have to revise his thinking when a number of bizarre occurrences start taking place in his community. Though Russell's young daughter, Rose (Ariel Gade), claims to have seen hundreds of lights floating towards the water during the storm, Russell initially dismisses her claim — until he begins to suspect that something is very wrong with his ex-wife, Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett, "Angel Eyes"). The morning after the storm, Mariel is found naked in the water — with no memory of what transpired the night before.

As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, 2005's "The Longest Yard," "Black Hawk Down," "Armageddon," "Go," "Contact") -- who is married to Russell's ex-wife -- suspiciously orders the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly begins a fight for the survival of his family, his community, and what might ultimately be the whole human race.

"Invasion" stars William Fichtner as Sheriff Tom Underlay, Eddie Cibrian as Russell Varon, Lisa Sheridan as Larkin Groves, Kari Matchett as Dr. Mariel Underlay, Tyler Labine as Dave Groves, Evan Peters as Jesse Varon, Ariel Gade as Rose Varon, Alexis Dziena as Kira Underlay and Aisha Hinds as Mona Gomez.

Shaun Cassidy created the series and serves as executive producer. Lawrence Trilling (director – "Alias," "Nip/Tuck," "Scrubs") is co-executive producer and multiple Emmy Award-winning director Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing," "ER," "Sports Night") is executive consultant. "Invasion" is from Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.