Back in the 80’s the concept for V was extremely cool. The both of the mini-series’ were highly watched. I really liked V when I first watched the show. The television series that followed the mini-series wasn’t as good and relied on cliché plot twists and very poor scripts. Now ABC has revived V and tweaked it to make it more relevant in our post 9/11 world.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Since the concept isn’t exactly fresh, those of us who were fans we already know that the Visitors are not what they seem. On the surface they are perfect looking humanoid specimens but under their fake skin they are lizards, similar to the Gorn on Star Trek. This was a surprise back in 1983. We didn’t have the internet so the surprise wasn’t spoiled before Mike Donavan (Mark Singer) uncovered the secret while sneaking around the Los Angeles mothership. The first time we witnessed Diana, played by Jane Badler, eating a guinea pig we were grossed out. Times have changed and now we have Andrew Zimmern dining on cuy (cooked guinea pig) on the Travel Channel, so a hot chick munching on rodents in prime time just doesn’t have the impact it once had.
This updated V does have a fresh approach for the property. The first major change most notably is the network. When V first aired it was on NBC, the show now is on ABC. Another thing that is different is the Visitors are no longer dressed in Nazi style uniforms. They are dressed in posh suits giving them an even more human appearance. On the original series all of the Visitors wore red uniforms and appeared as a large army, as opposed to the “friendly” appearance they have now. The Visitors no longer have the reverberation in their voices. They sound exactly like us, which makes it easier for them to infiltrate Earth. Which brings us to another change, Visitor sleeper agents have been on the planet for years gathering information; some are still working for their alien masters whilst others have turned their backs on their mission.
The pilot episode opens with motherships taking up position above numerous cities around the planet. These massive ships cast large shadows over the buildings below. Their design is not perfectly round, making them not quite the flying saucers we have come to know. After 3 days the bottom of the ships begins to transform, inducing panic on the populace but instead of an attack the face of a smiling woman is displayed. This is Anna played by Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Stargate SG-1) she is the leader of her people and she announces that the Visitors have come in peace.
The crowds below are quickly taken in by the offer of medical advances and other technical help, but not everyone is quick to accept our new alien friends. One of these malcontents is Erica, played by Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) she is an F.B.I. agent who works in the counterterrorist unit. Sadly Erica’s son Tyler, played by Logan Huffman, is fascinated by the Visitors and enthralled by one in particular. Behind his mother’s back he joins the Peace Ambassadors.
Erica and her partner Dale, played by Alan Tudyk (Firelfy) have noticed that while most of the terrorist cells they are monitoring have communicated less, one cell has increased their chatter. Another thing is that every lead they are following in regards to this one cell seems to have been compromised. They keep arriving too late to get any concrete evidence. The agents’ investigation leads them to a clandestine meeting on the docks. Erica goes in alone. Once in the warehouse Erica finds that this cell is not the typical terrorist group they seem to be a group against the Visitors. The leader of this cell tells the group that the new faces in the group, even though they have been recommended by a trusted person they must go through a test. The test is an incision behind the ear that goes down to the bone. This is the only way for someone to prove they are human. While the test is being performed armed men storm the warehouse and begin to kill everyone inside. Erica is attacked, not just by anyone but by her partner. During the struggle she smashes him across the face with a pipe, then once he is on the floor she runs she notices part of his face is coming off; as she peels it back she sees the green scales. He isn’t quite dead so Erica runs him through with the broken pipe. She then makes her escape with another person who showed up for the meeting.
Once outside she talks to Father Jack Landry played by Joel Gretsch, who was given an envelope by a dying man. In the envelope there were pictures of what he was told alien agents living on the planet. When Erica looks at the pictures she recognizes one of the men from a passport that was recovered at a terrorist safe house. She realizes that the Visitors have been on Earth for some time and that her gut feeling about the Visitors was correct. She tells him to go home and forget what happened. Erica now has to deal with the fact that her partner of 7 years was an alien spy. She also needs to come to terms with the fact that she killed him.
This incarnation of V is very well done. The new series id devoid of any of the camp and cheesiness that was present in the old show. I really like the way the alien invasion is depicted. As of the time of this writing the Visitor’s plan has not yet been revealed. Why are they here? What are they looking for? In the original series they were here to use us for food and steal our water which seems logical for this version as well. In this paranoid time in which we live this show hits home. Granted, the whole idea that anyone can be an alien has been in other shows, specifically Battlestar Galactica, but it still works in making you wonder who is who. The world we live in is very different from the 1980’s when the first V aired and you seriously do not know who can be a terrorist. There are foreign terrorists as well as terrorists from our own country so we really do not know who walks among us; much like the show.
The acting on the show is also quite effective. I can not say that I am a fan of Elizabeth Mitchell which could be the fact that I associate her with the character she played on Lost, Juliet. Scott Wolf who plays a reporter, Chad Decker, is a bit cardboard and needs to loosen up a bit. Morena Baccarin pulls off the role as the evil leader of the visitors with poise and grace and is perfect eye candy.
The show is compelling and really holds my interest. I do hate that it is up against NCIS but thanks to the Internet I never have to miss an episode. Speaking of which new episodes are posted on line on Saturdays so if you miss one it is an additional wait. V will be on hiatus until next year starting with this week’s episode. I hope that whatever fan base the show has garnered waits around to see how it all works out. Too many shows have fallen victim to long hiatus’ and I hope that V is not one of them. This show as the capability of becoming one of my favorite shows so I hope it stays around for a while.
