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V, Revisiting the Visitors

By June Williams On November 4, 2009 In Reviews: Television 8 Comments

V, Revisiting the Visitors
by June Williams - Buzzy Multimedia

The premiere of ABC’s remake or as sometimes referred to as the reimagining

of V has brought with it a great many faces familiar to science fiction fans. If you are spoiler shy go no farther. There are many interesting interviews, reviews and news on our site which will allow you to remain blissfully spoiler free but this is not one of them.

There seem to be only two ways media based Science Fiction deals with aliens that show up on our doorsteps. They are portrayed either as saviors and redeemers or as inimical bloodthirsty enemies bent on our utter destruction. V has chosen the latter. Always a good bet when we the public are feeling paranoid.

It is a good thing for future story arcs and the people of Earth that even the cleverest of evil over lords sometimes have an Achilles heel or even two. While the V seem the model of unity there are a few exceptions in the ranks of The Visitors. These are V that have been living among us for years. I guess wearing their human disguises and living among humans for awhile has made their inner reptile less likely to want to dine on live rats and birds and lean more toward sushi and pizza. Things would have been so different for them had they shown up during the late Triassic or through the Cretaceous. While most of humanity has been ready to embrace The Visitors who have promised deliverance from a myriad of physical illnesses and infirmities as well as new technology, there are a few who have reservations.

Father Jack is one who is not convinced that the Holy See is making the right call in embracing The Visitors. FBI agent Erica Evans also isn’t ready to rush to judgment before there is more hard evidence to evaluate. Still others are already aware that The Visitors plans for humanity is closer to the Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone episode where the man boarding a spaceship leaving Earth finds out that the book titled To Serve Man was really a cookbook than the benevolent Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still.

While the rest of the world is entranced with the new phenomena of having 50 mother ships hover above cities throughout the world, Erica Evans does not forget to pursue leads and fulfill her duty to protect and serve. Spotting a spike in activity of a suspected terrorist cell she contacts her partner. He is more interested in the arrival of The Visitors. Erica persists because she is convinced this may be a golden opportunity for terrorists to strike while authorities are distracted by the advent of The Visitors. Well she was half right anyway and had she not followed up on that lead she would never have discovered the truth. Erica as portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell of ABC’s LOST, brings a gritty realism to the role and is instantly engaging.

Alan Tudyk who plays Erica’s FBI co-worker Dale Maddox is probably best known for his role in Joss Whedon’s Firefly although my first and best memory of him was in A Knight’s Tale. Dale Maddox doesn’t just turn out to be a bad partner; he turns out to be a real snake. Well OK not a snake but a cold blooded son of a sea cook. Yes, her partner is an alien reptile. When Erica Evans attends a cell meeting of human resistors he tips off his pals and comes in to kill them all off including her. She gets the jump on him, and thinks she has left him for dead. Poor Erica, it would seem that the reptilians aren’t all that easy to kill.

Anna, the leader of the Visitors or at least their spokesperson to the human inhabitants of Earth, is played by the stunning Morena Baccarin. She is another Joss Whedon alumni having played captivating Inara Serra on Firefly and the commanding Adria (a Tok’Ra) on Stargate SG-1. She is obviously not used to anyone, even her own people doing anything other than what she tells them to do. She wants to appear compassionate and generous. Her goal is to ensure that not the slightest shadow of doubt should appear in the hearts and minds of the public. To that end she makes sure to select a human television reporter to keep the image of the Visitors pristine.

The television reporter chosen by Anna is Chad Decker played by Scott Wolf. Anna grants Chad an exclusive interview followed by making him her one and only liaison to the human media. From the looks of it he is already having second thoughts regarding just how high a cost it is. He sees the iron fist in the pretty glove.

Father Jack Landry is played by the square jawed charismatic Joel Gretch. Joel Gretch may be familiar to audiences as having starred as the also square jawed former FBI agent turned NTAC agent to viewers of the 4400. He is entrusted by a dying man to bring an envelope with incriminating photos to a cell meeting that night. I don’t know about anybody else who was watching but the only photos I saw were of beings who looked perfectly human, if they had shown someone transforming between looking like a reptile and a human now THAT I would have found enlightening. Gretch’s performance as a troubled priest who finds himself thrust into unknown territory with his moral compass undergoing a crisis of faith is a pleasure to watch.

For those that saw the original V series in the 80’s I think this program should come as a pleasant surprise. The producers have updated things but the essence remains. Those who are either to young to have seen the original or hadn’t caught it for one reason or another in its first incarnation should enjoy it thoroughly. It has a great deal of promise. I for one was impressed by little details that were peppered in for future reference.

The sets and the special effects are all state of the art and I suppose in that respect it blows the earlier V series out of the water. In this updated version the sets and special effects only enhance an already enjoyable story. I hope this V lives up to its promise. Certainly the writing and acting seem to weigh heavily in its favor.

by June Williams

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June Williams

June Williams

June, also known affectionately as Buzzy Lady #2, has been with the company since it began. She was born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx (the first 12 years in the heart of the south Bronx) and spent most of her adult life living in Westchester County N.Y.

Always a Science Fiction fan and dabbler in writing she had thought herself too practical to pursue a career in the field. Before coming to Buzzy she spent over 30 years in the travel industry, then one day decided it was time to spread her wings and plunge into publishing. Everyone she knew thought she had gone slightly daft but as this was not the first time they had expressed that opinion she took the red pill anyway and now spends all of her time putting together projects that make each day a pleasure.

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  • http://www.v-tvseries.com Joe Tracy

    While I agree that the updating of the show visually was awesome, there were a few things fans of the old show might not like. For one, a spray painted red V is no longer a sign of the rebellion. They changed it to mean support of the Visitors. Also, the pacing for what is supposed to be a TV series was way too fast. Did we really have to see the alien reveal in the first episode? And why skip three weeks? I think the show would have played out much better if the first episode was done in “real time”.

    The show may also run into some problems for people who like “thinking challenges”. For example, we’re told that Visitors have been on Earth for years, put in positions to help with the final “invasion”. So why did they have to get a skeptical reporter to be their liaison for interviews and announcements. You’d think they would already have an alien in place for that.

    Despite pacing and a few other issues, the show looks to be really good. We’ll see as it goes on. It did dominate the 18-49 demographics in ratings on Tuesday, so that’s a good start.

    Joe Tracy
    V-TVseries.com

  • June K Williams

    The changing of the use of the V is in keeping with the politics of the day. In the early 80’s there was still the remnants of cold war fears. Today we are more fearful of terrorists hence the switcheroo.

    Did we have to see the physical reveal of alien flesh so soon? With the way networks rush to cancel scripted shows maybe the producers felt the need to engage the audience as quickly as they could.

    The reporter wasn’t really skeptical till Anna settled that bit in his mouth as surely as the horse whisperer could bridle a wild stallion. While I am sure there were operatives who could have done the job she selected him for her own amusement and her need to practice her control on humans.

  • http://www.v-tvseries.com Joe Tracy

    I think the spray painted V being a symbol of support for the aliens is the biggest misdirection the show took. For example, when Obama was elected president, you didn’t see people going around spray painting O’s everywhere. Yet someone who wanted to paint him as a socialist went around putting posters of him up looking like the Joker with the words Socialism written on it. This type of behavior is the work of a protester, not the work of a supporter. It was vital to the old story and is vital to the new story, yet they missed the mark completely.

    I agree with you on networks rushing to cancel scripts. As it stands, we will only see four episodes of V before it is put on a three month hiatus. But I still feel it was an injustice to rush it. In fact, it might have been more interesting to start with the initial secretive infiltration of aliens into the human race.

    BTW, good review.

    Cheers,

    Joe

  • Martin Lambert

    my only question on the future of the series is this. How many cameo’s will we get to see of the original cast, and what roles will they fill? chuck heston as an ape in the last planet of the apes remake was a real hoot.

  • Darryl G

    I had this on my dvr and just got to see it. My opinion is it looks pretty slick and has potential but I’ll have to tune in a few more times before I can make up my mind. The review was pretty thorough and I wasn’t worried about spoilers because I saw the original series when I was a kid.

  • Lomax

    I, must to the dismay of the Mrs, watched the primer of V and found myself truly regretting that I missed the first half of her show “So you think you can dance.” Last night it was a no contest, we watched the dance show.

    I really did not like the idea of the show so blatantly and continuously driving home the point that the aliens were replacing religion with themselves. Especially since they focused in on the catholic church. I am a christian and it really bugs the snot out of me when Hollywood uses my faith to push an agenda. All this said and done if aliens were to come to earth and a part of their conquest required the swapping of faiths they would focus in on ALL religions especially Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. I know its not P.C. to “attack” those religions because their followers use their god-given voice to protest (or worse) but I will do what I can to send my own non-violent message to the V folks - not watch the show and write to the sponsors why I will not be watching.

    Take that corporate America!

  • Juliet

    also the v that the kids were spray painting on the wall was a sign of they supporting the aliens but back in the old days with the original v tv show the spray paint v was a sign of relbelion. why would you change that it is confusing to me too.

  • Peter

    I loved original miniseries “V”. I was a kid when I watched it and I have the DVD’s. I think this particular TV remake can do better. There were things in this new series that were just incoherent. For example, what is this “reconnected” thing mentioned by the 5th column member in episode 3? Why was Anna giving instructions to V personnel and then they “energized” away in front of the podiums that they were standing in front of? If they can beam away why do they still need shuttle crafts.

    Seeing this new V just makes me want to see more of Kenneth Johnson’s V. I hope Kenneth Johnson comes up with a remake soon on the big screen or small screen.