The Invisible Man (2000 TV series) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Invisible Man is a Sci-Fi American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

television series starring Vincent Ventresca

Vincent Ventresca

Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca is an American actor, best known for playing Darien Fawkes on SCI FI's The Invisible Man .-Early years:...

, Paul Ben-Victor

Paul Ben-Victor

Paul Ben-Victor is an American actor.Ben-Victor was born Paul Friedman, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Leah Kornfeld, a playwright, and Victor Friedman. Ben-Victor debuted on the small screen in 1987 in the made-for-TV movie Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife and on an episode of Cagney &...

, Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones (actor)

Eddie Jones is an American actor known for playing Clark Kent's father Jonathan Kent in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Charles Broden Eddie Jones (born 1937 Washington, Pennsylvania) is an American actor known for playing Clark Kent's father Jonathan...

, Shannon Kenny and Michael McCafferty. Somewhat more successful than previous television series involving invisible secret agents

The Invisible Man (TV series)

The Invisible Man may refer to the following TV series:*The Invisible Man , a 1958 UK series*The Invisible Man , a 1975 NBC series starring David McCallum...

, it aired from 9 June, 2000 to 1 February, 2002, lasting two seasons.

The plot revolves around Darien Fawkes (Ventresca), a thief facing life imprisonment who was recruited by a low-rent spy organization and given the power of invisibility via implantation of a special "Quicksilver gland" in his head. The gland allows Fawkes to secrete a light-bending substance called "Quicksilver" from his pores and follicles. The substance quickly coats his skin, hair, nails and clothes and renders him invisible

Invisibility

Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...

. He can consciously release the Quicksilver, which then flakes off and disintegrates. However, the Quicksilver gland was sabotaged at its creation by scientist Arnaud DeFöhn to release a neurotoxin that accumulates in the bloodstream and causes intense pain, followed by antisocial behavior and psychosis. The host requires regular doses of "counteragent" to keep him sane and healthy, which is controlled by said government agency. This series lasted for two seasons, before being cancelled due to cost issues and internal bickering between the Sci Fi Channel

Sci Fi Channel (United States)

Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

and its then-parent company, USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

s. The show's first season ran concurrently in first-run syndication as well as on Sci Fi.

Pilot

The Invisible Man is both an action show and a comedy with plenty of buddy-cop

Buddy cop film

The "buddy cop" is a subgenre of buddy films and crime films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process...

elements.

Episodes were generally of two types. Many dealt with cases given to Fawkes and Hobbes by The Agency. These usually dealt with assassinations or government experiments that had run amok. During the first season, The Agency was given a nemesis agency called Chrysalis which was usually behind that week's conspiracy.

Alternatively, episodes dealt with Fawkes' quest to remove the gland from his head and reduce his dependency on the counteragent. His unorthodox methods included reviving the mind of his dead brother and periodically contacting Arnaud DeFöhn, one of the gland's creators, though these encounters usually ended with one of the two in pain. The agency considered the gland too great an asset to remove so Fawkes' personal quest usually brought him head to head with those in power.

Episodes usually begin with a voice-over with Fawkes who would open with a quote, usually from a famous person, and commentary about what he was currently thinking. The voice over would reemerge at the end of the episode to sum up Fawkes' opinion on the mission or allow him to voice lingering questions.

Season 1

Episode	Original airdate	Title
1.01/1.02	June 9, 2000	"Pilot, Parts 1 & 2"
1.03	June 16, 2000	"The Catevari"
1.04	June 23, 2000	"Ralph"
1.05	July 7, 2000	"Tiresias"
1.06	July 14, 2000	"Impetus"
1.07	July 21, 2000	"The Devil You Know"
1.08	July 21, 2000	"Liberty and Larceny"
1.09	August 4, 2000	"The Value of Secrets"
1.10	August 11, 2000	"Separation Anxiety"
1.11	August 18, 2000	"It Hurts When I Do This"
1.12	August 25, 2000	"The Other Invisible Man"
1.13	September 8, 2000	"Reunion"
1.14	September 15, 2000	"Cat & Mouse"
1.15	September 22, 2000	"Beholder"
1.16	January 8, 2001	"Ghost of a Chance"
1.17	January 15, 2001	"Flowers for Hobbes"
1.18	January 22, 2001	"Perchance to Dream"
1.19	January 29, 2001	"Frozen in Time"
1.20	February 5, 2001	"Diseased"
1.21	February 12, 2001	"The Lesser Evil"
1.22	March 23, 2001	"Money For Nothing, Part One"
1.23	March 30, 2001	"Money For Nothing, Part Two"
1.24	April 6, 2001	"It's a Small World"

Season 2

Episode	Original airdate	Title
2.01	April 13, 2001	"Legends"
2.02	April 20, 2001	"The Camp"
2.03	April 27, 2001	"The Importance of Being Eberts"
2.04	June 15, 2001	"Johnny Apocalipse"
2.05	June 22, 2001	"Going Postal"
2.06	June 29, 2001	"Brother's Keeper"
2.07	July 6, 2001	"Insensate"
2.08	July 13, 2001	"Den of Thieves"
2.09	July 20, 2001	"Bad Chi"
2.10	July 27, 2001	"Flash to Bang"
2.11	August 3, 2001	"Germ Theory"
2.12	August 10, 2001	"The Choice"
2.13	August 17, 2001	"Immaterial Girl"
2.14	August 24, 2001	"Father Figure"
2.15	September 7, 2001	"A Sense of Community"
2.16	September 14, 2001	"The Three Phases of Claire"
2.17	September 28, 2001	"Exposed"
2.18	January 4, 2002	"The Invisible Woman"
2.19	January 11, 2002	"Mere Mortals"
2.20	January 18, 2002	"Possessed"
2.21	January 25, 2002	"Enemy of My Enemy"
2.22	February 1, 2002	"The New Stuff"

Characters

The following is a list of characters featured in the American science fiction series The Invisible Man. This list may not list characters that have only made guest appearances.

Main characters

Darien Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca

Vincent Ventresca

Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca is an American actor, best known for playing Darien Fawkes on SCI FI's The Invisible Man .-Early years:...

)

Darien Fawkes is a former career criminal and catburglar, who gained multiple misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

convictions and two felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

convictions before he was thirty. Darien is described as having an "above-average intellect", and capable of being very deceptive. After their father left them, (it is later learned that their father was a sniper

Sniper

A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

for the government and after his cover was blown, he left his family in order to protect them,) and their mother died, brothers Kevin and Darien were taken in by their aunt and uncle on a farm. While Kevin followed in their uncle's footsteps and played with test-tubes, Darien followed in what he thought to be his father's footsteps and played with locks

Lock (device)

A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object or secret information , or combination of more than one of these....

and was stealing since at least his teens. After being caught because he stopped to give CPR to a heart-attack victim, under California's three strikes law

Three strikes law

Three strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...

he was sentenced to life in prison without parole

Parole

Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...

. This was where his older brother, Kevin, stepped in.

Kevin was a research scientist who had been working on a top-secret project, and cut a deal with his bosses to get Darien out of prison in exchange for using him as a test subject. When Darien agreed, he was then implanted with the Quicksilver gland, but Kevin's rush to remove Darien from prison meant that he implanted the gland before devising a way to remove it without killing Darien. One of the other scientists, Arnaud DeFöhn, was actually a terrorist that had infiltrated the project, and led an attack on the research facility that caused Kevin's death and the loss of most of the project research. Darien escaped but was unwillingly drafted into The Agency, who had funded the project.

In exchange for the counteragent he needed to stay sane, Darien agreed, albeit reluctantly, to being an agent under their employment. Upon working with The Agency, Darien develops an affinity for his co-workers and opts to continue working there even after his dependency on counteragent was reversed by Claire.

He has high morals for a career criminal – he could have easily escaped after his final break-in except he surprised the elderly owner into a heart attack, and stayed behind to perform CPR (unfortunately, the officers who caught him and the elderly man himself thought he was molesting the latter). He is a highly talented thief with expert-level breaking and entering

Burglary

Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...

skills, learned from his many incarcerations, and finds these skills quite useful in his new career as an espionage agent. His trademark expression is "Oh, crap.", usually said when he realizes he just got himself in trouble.

On one occasion, Darien was briefly possessed by the personality of Simon Cole, the previous owner of the gland, after Cole's residual RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

took over his body thanks to the imprint of his personality left in the gland, causing Darien to see Cole when he turned his eyes invisible and briefly act as him.

Robert Albert Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor

Paul Ben-Victor

)

Robert "Bobby" Hobbes is one of the agents working for the Agency, easily the most experienced and thus their most highly capable asset in the field, right next to Darien's invisibility powers. He is given Darien as a partner when Darien joins the Agency. At the start of the series, Hobbes has been at the Agency for several years, as The Official hired him when his quirks and mild manic depression had gotten him tossed out of every other government intelligence agency. Despite the Agency being his last chance at government work, Hobbes feels underappreciated there, receiving very little pay and being sent on mostly unfavorable missions. Despite his mistreatment at The Agency, he displays a strong loyalty towards it as displayed by his unwillingness to accept a position at the FBI for a higher salary.

His relationship with Darien begins somewhat badly, with Darien being new to undercover missions and frequently blowing their cover while nevertheless earning far more than Hobbes, but they eventually become close friends, shown willing to sacrifice their lives for each other on several occasions. They often banter with each other, much to the annoyance of those around them. Hobbes seems to enjoy using guns, constantly carrying at least one on his person at all times. He frequently pulls it out and threatens people with it, often referring to it as his "insurance policy". He frequently refers to himself in the third person, which is often mistaken for abject arrogance. He is a former Marine who served in Operation: Desert Storm, and in addition to his Marine Corps hand-to-hand combat training, is also an expert in the Korean martial art Hapkido

Hapkido

Hapkido is a dynamic and also eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, techniques of other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks...

, although in one episode he describes his skill as a "Grand Master of Wu Shu", trained by the CIA. In more than one episode, Hobbes has disarmed and knocked out as many as three armed combatants. Hobbes displays signs of extreme, sometimes comical paranoia in most cases, acting as if the world is out to get him. He frequently runs background checks on people he's suspicious of, and is not above stalking people to see if they are up to anything. Being trained by the FBI and the CIA, he is excellent at spying and information gathering, both of which only serve to make his paranoia worse.

Charles Borden a.k.a. The Official (Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones (actor)

)

Charles "Charlie" Borden is the long-time head of The Agency. Most of his background is unknown, due to Borden's flat refusal to divulge information about himself to his agents (for instance, Darien first learns Borden's name upon hearing two U.S. Marshals place Borden under arrest). He has been the head of the Agency for an indeterminate time, but it is insinuated from photographic evidence that he has served in this capacity since at least the Kennedy administration. He typically expects his orders to be carried out with no argument to the contrary from Darien, Hobbes, or Claire, usually dismissing any of their questions or concerns out of hand or after only brief consideration. The Official is concerned with two things above all else: carrying out the missions he is entrusted with, and keeping an eye on the Agency's bottom line.

Albert Eberts (Michael McCafferty)

Albert Eberts came to the Agency from the IRS, and serves as both assistant to The Official and the Agency's bookkeeper. He usually conducts Darien and Hobbes' briefings, frequently going into more detail than The Official deems necessary and being told: "Shut up, Eberts." He is highly skilled in the use of computers and also displays a proficiency in martial arts.

Claire a.k.a. the Keeper (Shannon Kenny)

Claire is The Agency's resident medical doctor and researcher, and was a minor researcher on the team that did preliminary work for developing the Quicksilver gland. She is responsible for monitoring Darien's health and compiling data on long-term usage of the gland. She is also the one who mixes and administers the counteragent serum. She does not particularly care for Darien at first, possibly because he reminds her of Kevin (who she had been romantically involved with before his death) although eventually she and Darien become friends; Claire even risks her career to cure Darien permanently of Quicksilver Madness. There are hints of romantic tension between her and Hobbes.

Alex Monroe (Brandy Ledford

Brandy Ledford

Brandy Lee Ledford also known as Jisel is an American actress, model and Penthouse Magazine's 1992 Pet of the Year. She played the role of Doyle in the science fiction TV series Andromeda...

, season two)

Alex Monroe is an addition to the cast in the show's second season. She is a federal agent working for the Agency, and is regarded as one of the finest agents overall. In addition to her skills as a deep cover operative, she is an avid martial artist and amateur profiler, skills that she has used to build a strong network of friends and spared enemies who frequently supplement her resources at the Agency with top-of-the-line equipment. She has top security clearance and is the sole agent that has her own office in the Agency. In doing so, she initially earns the ire of Bobby Hobbes, who covets the comparatively lavish budget and equipment that she enjoys. This eventually expands into a full blown rivalry between the two, though it later becomes more friendly as their respect grows. Before the end of the series, she fully trusts Hobbes as a reliable back up in any mission, particularly after Hobbes demonstrates his proficiency in next generation surveillance equipment and shows superior marksmanship. She has a personal vendetta against a group called "Chrysalis", who used her as a surrogate mother to produce a genetically engineered son. After birth, they took her son, and she has been looking for the group ever since. She eventually finds the baby but then decides to let his biological mother (Jarod Stark's wife Eleanor, the former being also the baby's biological father) keep it, sensing her feelings about him to be genuine and her wishing to defect from Chrysalis (though, unbeknown to the Agency, the latter is untrue). Even after this, Alex decides to stay with the Agency.

Minor characters

Arnaud DeFöhn (Joel Bissonnette

Joel Bissonnette

Joel Bissonnette is an American actor.He is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but was raised in Montreal, Canada. He is a graduate of the Dawson College Theatre Program in Montreal and has been in several plays. He is best known as Arnaud DeFöhn from the SciFi channel's show Invisible Man. He...

)

Terrorist and primary antagonist of Darien Fawkes, being responsible for implanting him with the Quicksilver madness – a defect he included in the gland to give him control over all invisible men – and killing his brother. Later on he developed his own version of the gland without the defect of quicksilver madness, but this version was improperly implanted and rendered him permanently invisible, forcing him to wear a life-like mask cloned from his own tissue to pass for normal. He is approached by Stark who agrees to have the gland removed in exchange for him helping them use the gland for Chrsalis's own purpose, but eventually escapes. He appears in 9 episodes.

Jarod Stark (Spencer Garrett

Spencer Garrett

Spencer Garrett is an American actor who has appeared in television programs, television films, films, and a few blockbuster productions like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Public Enemies, and Air Force One....

)

The charismatic leader of a branch of the mysterious Chrysalis organization.

Allianora (Idalis DeLeón

Idalis DeLeon

Idalis DeLeón is an American actress, singer, and television host.-Biography:DeLeón, who is of Puerto Rican ancestry, first began her career as a member of the girl group Seduction who scored a top ten hit "Two to Make it Right" in 1990. From 1994 to 1997, she was a MTV VJ...

, season one)

One of Chrysalis' top agents. Through bio-modification she has gained the ability to breathe water and regurgitate it under pressure, making her capable of drowning people with a kiss. She is killed by Stark in the season one finale after she saves Darian from drowning and in the process betrays Chrysalis. It is implied she received the modifications to save her life and there is much romantic tension between her and Darien, culminating in her betraying Chrysalis to help him.

Kevin Fawkes (David Burke

David Burke (American actor)

David Burke is an American television actor. He attended the College of William and Mary where his most famous role was that of Eugene Morris Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs.-Career:Burke has appeared on many television shows in guest roles...

)

Darien's brother and the developer of the Quicksilver gland. He is murdered by Arnaud DeFöhn, but appeared in a later episode as part of a plot by Arnaud to trick Darien into thinking he'd survived. Later on, Kevin's memory RNA

Memory RNA

Memory RNA is a now-discredited hypothetical form of RNA that was proposed by James V. McConnell and others as a means of explaining how long-term memories were stored in the brain...

was injected into the gland– essentially resurrecting him in Darien's body– in the hope that he would be able to figure out a way to remove it, but he declined, believing that the gland made Darien a better person. Despite their different lifestyles, the two appeared to be fairly close, with Kevin stating that he selected Darien as the test subject for the gland because he didn't trust anyone else with it.

Thomas Walker/Augustin Gaither (Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...

)

Formerly a (rather amoral) scientist working for the fictional Secret Weapons Research Bureau, the same government facility that helped Kevin Fawkes develop the Quicksilver gland. He volunteered as a test subject for one of his own projects, only to see it fail. The failure rendered him "insensate", meaning he was robbed of his senses – save for his sense of touch on the tips of two fingers. It also induced a psychotic break

Psychotic break

A psychotic break is a term used to describe an occasion of a person experiencing an episode of acute primary psychosis, either for the first time or after a significant period of relative asymptomaticity. Several types of psychoactive drugs have been shown to correlate with psychotic breaks...

; he forgot his previous life as a practitioner of human experimentation

Human experimentation

Human subject research includes experiments and observational studies. Human subjects are commonly participants in research on basic biology, clinical medicine, nursing, psychology, and all other social sciences. Humans have been participants in research since the earliest studies...

and instead constructed an identity as "Tommy Walker" (after the protagonist of The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

's album Tommy, a blind deaf mute) a relatively harmless technician who was used as a test subject as punishment for arguing with Gaither. With his remaining sense he was able to construct what he refers as a sensor array strapped onto his chest that enables two of his dysfunctional senses – hearing and vision – to function in a crude but useful manner, allowing him to perceive the world as "lights and shadows", and hear sounds as "loud and soft".

The Agency

The Agency is a U.S. government espionage and special operations agency, but one that is extremely secretive – so much that it doesn't have a proper name. Charlie Borden (known as "The Official"), the director of The Agency, explained that the organization takes on cases that the other agencies "can't, won't, or don't". References in the show point to the Agency as being a "Cold War relic", which makes it likely that The Agency was founded during that time.

The most curious characteristic of The Agency is how it keeps being "absorbed" by Federal Departments that are completely unrelated to intelligence. During the first season, The Agency was a division of the fictional federal "Department of Fish and Game." In the pilot episode, it was explained this was due to the fact that at the time the Department of Defense was having budget cuts while the DFG had a surplus of money.

During the second season, The Agency changed departments several times, having been absorbed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

, the Department of Health and Human Services, and (very briefly) the United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

before settling in the fictional Bureau of Weights and Measures. All of this led to a running gag

Running gag

A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

in which Hobbes and Fawkes are never taken seriously as federal agents, since their identifications always include their department name.

Invisibility concept

The series' concept of invisibility

Invisibility

is explained through the existence of "Quicksilver", a silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

-colored synthetic hormone presumably created by Kevin Fawkes and his team of scientists and put inside an artificial gland

Gland

A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...

through the "Project Quicksilver" under the codename of Project QS-9000. When secreted, the substance is initially liquid

Liquid

Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...

, but slowly solid

Solid

Solid is one of the three classical states of matter . It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a...

ifies over the surface of objects "like Saran wrap" (as explained by Kevin), at which point it "bends" light

Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...

that would normally reflect in the covered surface before refocusing it behind the object. As a result, the object becomes gradually invisible to the naked eye in a matter of seconds.

After the gland's implantation on Darien's brain, its secretion can be jumpstarted by the acceleration of his heart rate

Heart rate

Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....

and the excretion of adrenaline, triggered by the sensation of fear

Fear

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...

or tension

Tension

Tension may refer to:* The Void , also known as Tension in some regions* Tension , a factor that affects knitting gauge...

, although he eventually learns how to control its flow and to consciously secrete it through intense body training. As Quicksilver does not reflect light, it does not absorb it either; this drops the covered surface's temperature "below freezing;" however, it serves to insulate Darien against the extreme cold or heat. It is also stated that Darien can suffer from "premature visibility" if he gets distracted or loses focus on remaining invisible. When in control of the process, Darien has demonstrated the ability to turn only parts of his body invisible, such as quicksilvering his eyes so that he can see in the infrared spectrum, turning his head invisible to lure his enemies into close range or concealing his arms or legs so that he could pass as a handicapped

Handicapped

Handicapped or handicap may refer to:*Handicapping, various methods of leveling a sport or game**Golf handicap, a sport-specific handicapping method**Go handicaps**Handicaps in shogi**Asian handicap, bookmakers technique to level odds...

person for investigative purposes.

In addition, Darien acquires other invisibility properties such as "quicksilvering" other objects and even persons (like he does to Hobbes in "Cat & Mouse"). He is also able to "see" objects or persons rendered invisible (as shown in "Money For Nothing, Part 2", when he can see Arnaud covered with Quicksilver). This property is explaned by the fact that Quicksilver can absorb other types of radiation, such as infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

and ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

, despite not reflecting pure light itself (which explains why quicksilvered persons can be detected on thermal imaging sensors or lenses).

Quicksilver Madness

The main drawback of the Quicksilver gland is the periodic "Quicksilver Madness": a flaw engineered by scientist Arnaud DeFöhn causes the gland to leak Quicksilver into the brain of the host, leading to a breakdown of higher cortical function, initially leading to a lack of inhibition. The eyes become bloodshot and short bursts of pain result, but the host maintains most control over his behaviour. However, as the situation progresses, the pain becomes more severe until the host enters the "Madness", at which point it seems to cease, but the host begins to exhibit violent behaviour as his "darker impulses" are released. The whites of the eyes become completely red at this stage.

In the two-part episode "Money for Nothing", Darien has his counteragent confiscated by The Official as a way to force him into handing over Arnaud's stolen money from the casino. This results in Darien entering a higher stage of Madness called "Stage 5" (implying that the Quicksilver Madness had at least four phases so far). In this stage, the whites regain their normal color, but the iris

Iris (anatomy)

The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...

es become silver due to leak of Quicksilver through the host's lacrimal ducts. This stage leads to a complete loss of inhibitions, as well as psychotic behaviour

Psychosis

Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...

, constant euphoria

Euphoria

Euphoria is an emotional and mental state defined as a sense of great elation and well being.Euphoria may also refer to:* Euphoria , a genus of scarab beetles* Euphoria, a genus name previously used for the longan and other trees...

and megalomania

Megalomania

Megalomania is a psycho-pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, or omnipotence. 'Megalomania is characterized by an inflated sense of self-esteem and overestimation by persons of their powers and beliefs'...

, although the host seems to regain ability to plan and focus, which is lost at the lower stages. This stage is significantly more difficult to reverse, requiring specialized counteragent. It is stated that if Stage 5 Quicksilver Madness is not reversed within approximately 12 hours, its effects will probably become irreversible.

To prevent Darien from going into Quicksilver Madness, his Quicksilver levels are "monitored" by a tattoo of a snake devouring its own tail

Ouroboros

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....

divided into segments, placed in his arm by The Keeper. When Darien has a fresh supply of counteragent, the snake is completely green, but it becomes progressively red as the Quicksilver saturates Darien's body (spreading faster when Darien turns invisible), allowing the Agency to keep track of his Quicksilver levels. Over time, Darien's body became increasingly resistant to the counteragent, but Claire was eventually able to discover a formula that Arnaud had developed which permanently cured Darien of the Madness by the end of the series.

Broadcasters

Country	Alternate title/Translation	TV network(s)	Series premiere	Weekly schedule
United States United States		Sci Fi Channel Sci Fi Channel (United States) Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...	June 9, 2000	Fridays 21:00 p.m.
Canada Canada		Space, syndication
Brazil Brazil	O Homem Invisível	Globo Rede Globo Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...	March 9, 2001	Fridays, at 11:00 a.m.
United Kingdom United Kingdom		Sci Fi Channel Sci Fi channel (United Kingdom) Syfy is a television channel service specialising in science fiction, fantasy and horror shows and movies. It is available via digital cable, IPTV, satellite television and Top Up TV platforms. The channel launched in 1995 in the UK a sister channel to the US Sci Fi Channel , with a similar...		Weekdays 19:00 p.m.
Australia Australia		Network Ten Network Ten Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
Greece Greece	O Αόρατος Άνθρωπος	Star Channel Star Channel Star Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which is currently hosted by Aimilios Liatsos...
Austria Austria		ORF ORF ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
Independent State of Croatia Croatia	Nevidljivi Čovjek	Croatian Radiotelevision Croatian Radiotelevision Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite... (HRT)
Early Modern France France		TF1 TF1 TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
Finland Finland	Näkymätön mies	MTV3 MTV3 MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials...
Germany Germany		RTL 2
South Africa South Africa		SABC 3 SABC 3 SABC3 is a commercial South African Broadcasting Corporation television channel that carries programming in English and, as of April 2009, Afrikaans....
Italy Italy		Italia1;Rai 4	July 13, 2004; July 29, 2011	Monday to Fridays 02.00 a.m. ; Monday to Friday 18.50
New Zealand New Zealand		TV3 TV3 (New Zealand) TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
Turkey Turkey		MyMax		Monday to Fridays 08.30 p.m.
Russia Russia	Человек-невидимка	CTC CTC -Government bodies:* Calcutta Tramways Company* California Commission on Teacher Credentialing* Canadian Tourism Commission* Counter-Terrorism Committee * Counterterrorism Center or CTIC-Educational institutes:* Central Texas College... , TV3 Russia TV3 Russia TV-3 is a Russian television channel focused on entertainment. It is part of Vladimir Potanin's Prof-Media company.- Programs :* MythBusters* Brainiac: Science Abuse* MonsterQuest* Urban Legends* Mysterious Signs... , AXN Sci-Fi
Ukraine Ukraine	Людина-невидимка	ICTV ICTV (Ukraine) ICTV is a privately-held TV channel in Ukraine. Its coverage area allows it to be received by 56.6 % of the Ukrainian population, making the channel the fourth in the nation in terms of coverage , and third by the viewers' ratings.The channel is owned by...
Lithuania Lithuania	Nematomas Žmogus	Tango TV Tango TV (Lithuania) TV6 is a Lithuanian terrestrial, satellite and cable television channel owned by the Nordic television company Viasat. It was launched on March 31, 2002. In September 2008, it changed its name from Tango TV to TV6....		Monday to Fridays 7.00 p.m.
Hungary Hungary	A láthatatlan ember	RTL

DVD releases

The Invisible Man was released for Region 2 as a two-part collection in March and April 2003. The Invisible Man – Season One was released as a complete Region 1 DVD set on March 25, 2008.

The Region 1 release, however, contains the alternate version of "Money for Nothing, Part II," (where Hobbes attempts to take Darien into custody) instead of the episode that the fans had chosen (where Hobbes joins forces with Darien). No explanation has been issued for this, and may simply be included on the second Invisible Man DVD release, as it was in the release for the UK.

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