War of the Worlds: A Multitude of Idols

"Don't be scared. This won't hurt you."

- Alien in possession of a truck driver's body

"A Multitude of Idols" is the fifth episode of season one of the science fiction series War of the Worlds. It was directed by Neill Fearnley and written by Tom Lazarus. It first aired in syndication on Monday, October 24th, 1988.

Plot
The aliens move toward an operation that will begin integrating themselves into human society, thus developing agents to be active anywhere in the world.

Synopsis
The aliens steal two truckloads of nuclear waste from the government. Elise Conway, a local news reporter covering the nuclear waste transport, tapes them. From a copy of her tape, the team learns about the stolen trucks. Via TV news choppers, Elise locates the stolen trucks in an abandoned town called Beeton, California. Following the Defense Department satellite photos, the team goes to Beeton and realizes to their horror that the aliens are reviving hundreds of their brethren and possessing humans they have lured there. Discovered, the team flees, returning with troops, but the aliens have already gone with a thousand new soldiers.

Quotes

 * Elise Conway: These workers are loading cargoes of death onto these trucks. Sound like sensationalism? You'll wish it was. These steel drums are filled with what they call in the business hot stuff. Radiation waste – radiation waste that will remain lethal for over a thousand centuries. Their destination: a Government toxic waste storage facility high in the mountains at James Pass, over 800 miles away. And if there's an accident along the way, the thought is positively chilling. These and other shipments are rolling time bombs on our nation's highways.

....
 * Advocate #1: The logistics of this operation are complex.
 * Advocate #2: Complex or not, our war can be won if we are able to move among the Earthlings undetected.
 * Advocate #3: Be thankful that they're childishly casual with their nuclear materials. Stealing what we need should pose no problem.
 * Advocate #1: True, but we still haven't found a secure location to revive more of our sleeping brethren.
 * Advocate #2: Nor do we have an adequate supply of suitable humans whose bodies we might use.
 * Advocate #3: One problem at a time, comrades! It's a puzzle with many pieces. We deal with the nuclear materials first.

....
 * Harrison: Can you enhance this image digitally?
 * Norton: Does a computer download in the woods?

....
 * Advocate #1: The town they call Beeton seems tailor-made for our purposes.
 * Advocate #2: Away from their cities, off their main highways...
 * Advocate #3: And best of all, it's completely abandoned.
 * Advocate #1: The place called Beeton won't be abandoned for long, comrades. We must begin transporting the burial drums containing our sleeping brethren to this location immediately.
 * Advocate #2: The puzzle is almost complete.
 * Advocate #3: Yes, except for the last most important piece: we still need human bodies...many human bodies.

....
 * Advocate #3: For once, everything is proceeding according to plan.
 * Advocate #2: Yes, with new human hosts arriving every hour.
 * Advocate #1: These pathetic Earthlings have even less intelligence than our own planet's vegetation!
 * Advocate #2: Our own planet. If only we could see it one last time...
 * Advocate #3: Erase those thoughts from your mind, comrade. Our planet is already well into its final death rattle.
 * Advocate #1: You must remember that this planet is our home now.
 * Advocate #3: As it will be home to those on the way. Our colonists are relying upon us to be strong.
 * Advocate #1: The three of us.
 * Advocate #2: Of course. I must remember to deal with what is, not with what might have been. I appreciate your patience, comrades. My lapse will not be repeated.
 * Advocate #1: We have much to be grateful for. Within 24 hours, we will have increased our numbers by two-fold.
 * Advocate #2: Perhaps we should inform those on the way of our progress.
 * Advocate #3: Yes, they will be pleased...very pleased.

....
 * Ironhorse: This is really sick, Blackwood!
 * Suzanne: They're reviving new aliens! This whole town's been set up to recruit host bodies for aliens!
 * Harrison: It's like an alien Bates Motel.

....
 * Harrison: [referring to the aliens] Gone. They're all gone.
 * Suzanne: We did everything we could!
 * Harrison: It's not good enough, Suzanne.
 * Ironhorse: He's right. If we keep losing like this, we're dead meat on this planet.
 * Harrison: They must've revived a thousand of them. And now, they're out there. They're out there among us!

....
 * Elise Conway: [possessed] And now, the lighter side of the news. Apparently, it's that time of year again. Our station has received numerous local reports of, quote, "An invasion by aliens from another planet." We checked with nearby Goodwin Army base and public relations officers there have confirmed that military personnel were involved in routine training exercises at the time of the alleged incident. So far, no aliens have come forward to dispute these reports. But our door is open. Is yours?