A 1984 BBC miniseries based on H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The Invisible Man. It starred Pip Donaghy in the title role.
A mysterious man all swathed in bandages so that his face can't be seen takes up residence at the Coach and Horses Inn in the small Sussex village of Iping. The guy has a nasty temper and stocks the parlor with all kinds of scientific equipment. When pressed, the bandaged nutcase insists he's a scientist doing very important work and has been disfigured in an accident. This is sufficient for the owners, a married couple named the Halls, but a regular at the bar, Teddy Henfrey, suspects their guest is a fugitive hiding from the law. However the Halls tolerate their guest because he pays his rent on time. Except when he doesn't. Jenny Hall's patience with the man begins run out, and, following a burglary at the home of the Reverend Edward Bunting, suspicion falls on the newcomer.
Finally confronting her guest, Mrs. Hall demands an explanation for all the strange goings-on... and gets one when the stranger whips off his bandages to reveal his horrifying secret... nothing! He is completely invisible underneath his clothing and bandages! Undressing completely to escape from the incompetent Constable Jaffers, the invisible man presses homeless man Thomas Marvel into service to retrieve his notebooks for him, only for Marvel, growing fearful of his unseen companion's temper, to flee, taking the notebooks with him. After being shot by a bartender coming to Marvel's aid, the invisible man seeks refuge in the home of Dr. Samuel Kemp in the neighboring town of Port Burdock, who quickly realizes his uninvited guest is his old schoolmate, a tempermental albino named Griffin. Griffin schemes to kill Marvel and recover his books, and attempts to enlist Kemp as his accomplice to help him Take Over the World. Kemp instead decides to team up with the local police to thwart him.
The novel provides examples of:
- Adapted Out: With a mix of Composite Character. In the novel, the guy who shoots Griffin in the Port Burdock bar is a visiting American. Here, the gunman is the bartender, who is even given some of the American's lines.
- Badass Bystander: The bartender and customers of the Jolly Cricketers prove themselves more than capable of fending the invisible man off to protect Marvel, complete with the bartender packing a revolver. At the end, the townspeople of Port Burdock band together to unleash some not entirely unjustified mob violence against the invisible villain.
- Coitus Interruptus: Griffin startles a couple smooching on the riverbank before the man can get to third base.
- Insufferable Genius: Griffin, arguably moreso than in the book, particularly because we see his time at college from a perspective other than his own, where he comes off as arrogant and paranoid, particularly in his interactions with his professor.
- Naked People Are Funny: Griffin swipes Reverend Bunting's clothes, forcing the poor guy to cover his nakedness using whatever is to hand.
- Named by the Adaptation: In the novel, Kemp, Cuss and Bunting aren't given first names. The miniseries however christens them Samuel, William and Edward respectively.
- Police Are Useless: Averted with Colonel Adye and his men. Like his novel counterpart, Adye is a brave and resourceful - if somewhat reckless - officer. Played straight however with Constable Jaffers who in stark contrast to the novel is portrayed as buffoonish, clumsy and a little on the odd side (including a scene where he tries on Griffin's wig for some reason).
- Truer to the Text: Compared to the 1933 film, the miniseries is much more faithful to Wells' novel. Several characters that are typically Adapted Out such as Thomas Marvel, Cuss, Reverend Bunting and Colonel Adye are included and have major roles. Scenes such as the robbery of the Bunting residence, the bar fight in Port Burdock and the flashback Griffin tells to Kemp are also retained, as is Griffin's albinism.
