Giant alien spacecraft come to Earth, hanging over major cities. The inhabitants contact humanity in all its languages and request the Secretary General of the UN to meet them on the roof of the building. There, they reveal themselves to be like us and to come in peace, looking for help in turning our waste into synthetic materials for the survival of their own planet. In return they promise scientific advancements that are years ahead of human technology. A youth corps is promised for teenagers who are interested. There are, however, clouds to this particular silver lining. Some prominent scientists go missing after looking a bit too closely at the Visitors and a worldwide conspiracy against the aliens is announced, leading to a registration scheme for all scientists and their families. Mike Donovan smuggles himself aboard the New York Mothership and learns that the synthetic chemicals that the Visitors supposedly prize so highly are just being vented into the atmosphere. He discovers some unpleasant truths about their table manners and finds that they are wearing human facemasks over their real, reptilian faces. Before he can get this information on the air, the networks are taken over by the Visitors who announce that the scientists' conspiracy has attacked factories all over the world. Martial law is declared and the crackdown on scientists' families gets even worse. One is forced to take shelter in the poolhouse of an ageing jew who understands what they are going through. A fledgling Resistance cell forms under the leadership of biochemist Julie Parrish, but on their first raid one of their number is killed and she is wounded.

This opening episode certainly doesn't lack for ambition. The arrival of the ships over the cities of the world is very impressive, as is the visit to the top of the UN building and the sheer size of the cast, dozens of characters all touched by the awe of our first contact with aliens. It starts off explosively with a shootout just over the border in South America to provide a bit of action and then settles down into the awesome arrival of the aliens.

The special effects are pretty impressive, although occasional shots of the alien shuttles do struggle to break the matte barrier.

Special effects, though, are not what this is about. This is about the shock and awe of just what the arrival of aliens on Earth would do to the population of the planet. Some would be stunned, others excited and others would look to see how they could make a quick buck out of it all. The characters here aren't particularly deep, but then there are so many that we barely get to know any of them, only see their initial reactions to the aliens' arrival. The soap opera hints around TV cameraman Mike Donovan's love and home life are farily unimpressive, but there is fortunately not too much of that.

Then the story starts to get a bit uneasy. Scientists go missing and it is made clear that the aliens are behind that. They are hiding something. The creation of a youth programme is unsettling and the sudden news of conspiracies and the tagging of scientists and their families is the sign that things are not going to be all fun and roses. This build up is done carefully and in a slow, measured fashion, leaving the audience wanting more as the credits roll.

The the action kicks in as the Resistance starts to fight and the truth behind the aliens is revealed. Exactly why the visitors speak english aboard their own vessel is a question that isn't answered, but the sight of them swallowing live mice whole is pretty impressively revolting, though Diana's unhinged jaw effect is very poor when compared to the throat-swallowing action. The fight in the alien's cabin that reveals the Visitors' true reptilian nature is also a mixed bag since the human face with striking tongue is clearly prosthetic whilst the alien face with flapping human mask is very effective.

The oppression of the scientists continues in sinister fashion and it is ironic that the main scientist family is forced to take shelter with the jewish family that has come to doubt the loyalty of their own son, believing that he could inform on them at any time. The fact that he fancies the scientist's daughter Robin whilst she fancies alien Bryan makes for a very uncomfortable situation.

It is also impressive that the show is willing to sacrifice major characters. Just when it seemed that the aliens could hit the side of a barn with their guns, but nothing smaller they actually bag their man and even injure the would-be leader of the nascent Resistance, giving the show a lot more credibility, which the heavy-handed coda takes away almost immediately.