The Invisible Man Premiered 16 Months Before Smallville — Then Its Own Effects Bill Killed It

Despite its love of technological dystopias and cyberpunk leather costumes, the early 2000s also loved literary classics. The year 2000 saw the release of not one, but two loose adaptations of H. G. Wells’s classic, The Invisible Man, each with a rather unique take on the original novel.

While Kevin Bacon’s Hollow Man was a bloody slasher flick, The Sci-Fi Channel was working on a lighter Invisible Man. Created by screenwriter Matt Greenberg, Sci-Fi’s The Invisible Man (later called The I-Man, to stay hip) was equal parts buddy cop comedy and serious conspiratorial drama. Kind of like The X-Files with a sense of humor – and only a fraction of its success.

The Invisible Man (2000) Plot: Darien Fawkes and the Quicksilver Gland

The Invisible Man focuses on Darien Fawkes, a two-bit burglar sentenced to life behind bars after a botched robbery ends with him giving CPR to one heart-attack-stricken pensioner. Fawkes is the classic thief with a heart of gold, which leads his scientist brother, Kevin, to broker him a deal with a secret government organization. They can keep him out of prison… if he agrees to become their guinea pig. He’s implanted with a “Quicksilver gland” that allows him to turn invisible at will, at the cost of his sanity.

Agent Hobbes keeps tabs on Fawkes, covering for him, while the Agency’s doctor holds his Quicksilver madness at bay with a counteragent. Together, they solve all sorts of crimes and try to cure Fawkes from his increasing counteragent dependency. All in all, The Invisible Man could have been a syndication hit – and to a certain degree, it was. There was only one issue, though: money.

Why Was The Invisible Man Canceled? The $1 Million-Per-Episode Problem

As it turns out, The Invisible Man wasn’t doing too bad. Its premiere pulled a 2.4 cable rating, the best for a Sci Fi series premiere up to that point, and its first 13 episodes averaged 50% above the channel’s primetime norm, according to Variety. It was an early trailblazer in superhero dramas, beating Smallville to the screen by 16 months (the DC series turns 25 on October 16, 2026). The special effects were also quite respectable for a TV show of its time. The silvery Quicksilver visuals were reminiscent of the T-1000’s iconic effects. That was great, but it also meant that The Invisible Man could make dollars disappear faster than Fawkes ever could. Episode budgets often climbed past $1 million, which was steep for an original basic-cable series.

RELATED: Bruce Wayne: The TV Series That Inspired Smallville

Season 2 tried to reinvigorate the show’s declining ratings. Ratings had slid from a 1.4 average to roughly 1.0 after the network moved it to Monday nights in early 2001. While the show started strong, audiences just wouldn’t keep up with Fawkes and The Invisible Man for another season. That’s when the network tried the “I-Man” rebranding, to no avail. It was getting increasingly difficult to justify such an expensive show, and it was about to get even more complicated.

The Sci-Fi Channel’s parent company, USA Cable Entertainment, looked to distance itself from the more serious programming – “serious” being code for “expensive” in most cases. With ratings sliding and advertising revenue unable to cover the costs, series like The Invisible Man just didn’t cut the bill anymore. The final episodes aired in January and February 2002.

In many ways, The Invisible Man was ahead of its time. Greenberg and his team delivered a solid superhero dramedy that could stand on its own two legs without support from a long-running comic book. Surprisingly, the showrunners even managed to tie up Fawkes’s Quicksilver storyline by the end of Season 2, avoiding the fate of many other shows of its time that would never receive a proper conclusion.

RELATED: Smallville Actor Says the Worst Episode Is As Good As Any Superman Movie

The Invisible Man apparently vanished from the airwaves after its second season. Still, for fans of modern comic book projects, who are used to seeing virtually every comic book character brought to life, series like these show what entertainment was like before Marvel became the monolithic titan it is now.

Where to Watch The Invisible Man (2000)

Both seasons of The Invisible Man are currently streaming for free with ads on The Roku Channel in the US.