Invasion Iowa

If you read Shatner's biography, he says this was initially intended to poke fun at small town yokels, but once they got started they realized how innocent the townspeople were and how cruel it would be to do that.

So, they quickly changed it so that Shatner and company would be the butt of the jokes. That's probably why it doesn't work terribly well. They just really weren't prepared for that angle.

"Invasion Iowa" has a great concept (explained elsewhere on the site, so I won't repeat it here). But the people involved totally fail in every single way to make the mess entertaining. Firstly the cast members that make up the fake film crew are not funny people. They aren't even as eccentric as real film people are. They all seemed WAY too afraid to be the weirdoes or jerks they needed to be to pull off the humor, way to nice, way too normal. In fact, even though Shatner describes his "character" as self absorbed and eccentric, he actually treats the townfolk really well, as though he can't help but try to be liked. Also, the situations that must have seemed funny on paper just don't work in real life. The townfolk just aren't that taken aback by the cast's lame antics, so since the "victims" don't react, we lose the "Candid Camera"/Punk'd aspect of the gag. In fact, the comedy in the execution of the practical joke itself is SO lacking that the producers resorted to filming the cast, including Shat, in private interviews making lame jokes ABOUT the practical joke. I mean the practical joke ITSELF should be the funny part, right? But the joke just doesn't work at all. So then the show becomes not about something funny but rather more about whether or not the practical jokers can at least not get caught in their lie. But there's nothing funny about any of it.

"Invasion Iowa" is justifiably obscure.

What if an American entertainment living legend came to your small town with a large camera crew to make a movie, what would you and your fellow town-folk do? And what will you and your friends do once you learn that the whole production is fake?

SPIKE TV continues their Joe Schmo fake reality show tradition with INVASION IOWA. Yes, a whole town filled with unknowing Schmo's! Unlike the Schmo shows, INVASION uses a world famous TV legend and the town-folk act with much more respectful restraint than they otherwise might.

Ironically, the most interesting and most candid moments come when the camera captures the reactions of the Hollywood actors. The last hour has much raw emotion pouring from William Shatner and his fellow actors. Watching as the town folks receive their "thank you" gifts was by far the highlight of the series.

I watched The Mini Series on Spike TV.I must say William Shatner has done it again.At first I figured.What The Heck Nothing else on TV.Boy I'm Glad there was not anything else on TV.While I was watching it I could Not Believe How Gullable some people are.I mean Come on don't People in Iowa Watch TV?I admit what he did was wrong.But Boy was it Funny When he told the People of Riverside Iowa That this so Called MOVIE HE WAS MAKING WAS A FAKE!!JUST A REALITY SHOW!But in the end hopefully he learned a lesson.But The question remains,will the good people of Riverside Iowa Forgive and Forget.Or Won't They?Tune in For Yourself.I know that this is Very Hard to find.Good Luck.

Hope it Was worth It.

Greg