H.G. Wells' Invisible Man

During an airborne test of an experimental airplaine fuel flow controller, something goes wrong and the plane crashes, killing the test pilot. The forth failure in a row leads to public hounding of the project's leader, Scott, and he plans to abandon it. However, his old friend Peter Brady suspects that there might be sabotage to blame... The second season begins with this rather generic episode - again Brady gets involved because he just happens to know about the project (although why he a light/radiation physicist has anything to do with aeroplane physics is never disclosed). No surprises here, and they don't even try and explain the motive behind the sabotage, although the climax is well written.

A young woman named Ellen Summer escapes from a private asylum and runs into Brady on a train, begging him to help her, she claims to have evidence that could save an innocent man who is sentenced to hang for a murder he did not commit. Skeptical at first, Brady decides to meet with the man himself, and when they both tell the same story, he decides to investigate further... Like many episodes from the first season, Death Cell is a well written story, but would be more suited to Sherlock Holmes or an Agatha Christie detective than the Invisible Man, and there is nothing he does that a visible man could not have done. Unintentionally humourous for the way that Brady pushes his weight around throughout the story, bursting into people's apartments and assaulting doctors.

After some important scientific research is stolen, Brady is sent to Amsterdam to identify it after its recovery, but when the British agent is captured by local police, Brady himself has to find the papers and save the agent from jail. Nothing too original here, with yet another young woman finding herself in trouble and needing to be rescued, although at least Brady is well written into the episode and there is some good humour.

When an outspoken Russian writer is detained at the country's frontier while on the way to a major awards ceremony, Brady decides to cross the border himself and let her out, but he quickly runs afoul of the local military commander.. This is the perfect example of the obvious flaws that started to develop in the show by the second series. A virtual remake of The Locked Room from the first season, it sees Brady risking his life, and international conflict just to rescue a writer - quite how he obtains official permission to do this seems completely baffling, or for that matter, where he learnt how to be an expert marksman. By the end you'll probably find yourself rooting for him to get his commupance.

When a scientist at Brady's lab suddenly burns all of his papers and runs away, Brady sets out to investigate and discovers that he wasn't entirely acting of his own accord. No real surprises, and yet more random people trying to steal secret research from Brady's friends. Nothing much here that a fully visible man couldn't have done, and the story flows much better when he isn't involved.

Toni Trent, one half of a pair of twins and a popular double-act, performing for the troops on a USO tour of Britain finds herself in trouble when she witnesses a killing, and is kidnapped. When her sister Terry arrives in the country and finds Toni gone, she looks to Peter Brady to help. Another rather typical crime movie plot with Brady himself poking his nose into the affair. Predictable and unsurprising.

A UN inspection fails to find the suppliers selling weapons to terroists operating in the Middle East, however the British representitive Zena Flemming suspects that she might be able to find more evidence if she heads back alone, but takes Peter Brady with her for protection, and as a second pair of eyes. Aside from a surprisingly grim opening, with a child watching as his parents are killed in front of him, this is yet another generic episode, as Brady has to save a woman from some soldiers, and sneak around in a foreign country. The issue is raised at one point, that even if they cut off this particular supplier, there will be others to take their place, but it is never discussed further. The ending is especially poor, resolving nothing.

A young woman walking through a park in France discovers a rabbit that materialises in front of her. Taking it to the government in Paris, they are concerned that it could represent unofficial scientific research and call in Peter Brady from London to take a look at the creature and discover if it could really have been invisible. Heading down to where the creature was found, he discovers a sinister project... Although starting off as a very promising idea, the story quickly descents into typical Invisible Man territory with Brady having to save a kidnapped girl and fight off some bad guys. Brady never seems to show an interest in the fact that there are people who have suceeded in studying invisibility (and thus might have a cure for him), and just why the government send people to arrest these scientists remains unclear, since they are simply performing private experiments.

Brady is tricked at a Paris airport, and has his bag and passport stolen - a criminal disguised as Brady uses his passport to travel across to England with a suitcase full of cocaine. Annoyed at this, Brady offers to help the police track down the dealers in London. A decent epsiode with Brady pulling some rather clever tricks to track down the dealers and plausibly getting involved in the story (wanting revenge for them impersonating him), although the ending is rather rushed and their plan to catch the villains relies on quite a big assumption.

In a small Middle Eastern country, the head of the army presents a plan to the King to exploit their position as friends of the major Eastern and Western powers to blackmail major governments. The King refuses to sign and is shot dead, his younger brother, Prince Jonetta is attending a science lecture at his University in Oxford when he learns the news. Brady was presenting the lecture, and decides to sneak aboard as Jonetta travels back home, suspecting there might be trouble... Again Brady pokes his nose into this situation without really thinking it through, but fortunately the story is generally good, one of the better episodes in the second season, with Brady's invisibility being very useful, and building to a good ending.

After loosing big at gambling, Smith, the transport officer at Castle Hill is offered a large amount of money to leak the departure time of a major new experimental rocket section that is being driven up to Scotland for testing. The shipment is hijacked, and Peter Brady who worked on it, sets out to track it down. Once again we find Brady working on a new project, and so when it goes missing he plausibly gets involved (although what isn't explained is why the shipment leaves 20 minutes early, arousing the suspicion of the scientists, when it could just as easily have been hijacked if it had left on time...). A well written episode but nothing too original.

Military scientists have been working on a new form of explosive mine containing a light sensitive cell (designed by Peter Brady), that will detonate when a shadow passes over it. During testing there is an accident and an officer is trapped in a pit next to the mine, unable to move. With only a few minutes before the edge of the pit casts a shadow over the sensor, they call the only man in the world who could get to the mine without casting a shadow... The first of the episodes written by Brian Clemens, Shadow Bomb is the most original episode in the entire series and makes full use of Peter's particular attributes. Playing out in almost real-time, the episode is tense and very well paced, with some good, unexpected twists. The script never does explain quite what the purpose of the light sensitive mine is (a mine that deactivated after a set amount of time would be equally effective), but otherwise it ranks as one of the best episodes in the entire two season run.

After a plane crashes on arrival at a British airport leaving no survivors, the investigators discover that a component for an atomic bomb had been hidden inside some of the baggage. They suspect that individuals might be planning to plant a bomb under London and begin the search for a replacement piece that would probably be on its way. The final episode in the series, and the second by writer Brian Clemens. Well written and tense throughout, this very dark story never really needs Brady (he is brought in because he is an expert on radiation) but is exciting enough that you never really notice. Deserving of a much longer run-time, the story builds to a good, if slightly rushed climax.