Some of us old farts remember the V miniseries that debuted in the early ’80s. It still has a pretty solid fanbase but to be completely honest – I wasn’t a fan. I cannot remember why all these years later, but as a kid it just wasn’t my thing. Who knows. Maybe it was Marc Singer. Or maybe it’s because I’m weird about sci-fi. I cannot stand Star Trek, but love Firefly. I didn’t like the original V, but love Battlestar Galactica. Either way, when the announcement was made that the television miniseries was not immune to the remake and that V was next…well let’s just say I wasn’t too excited about it. But admittedly, I was intrigued by the ABC’s advertisements (as well as Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin) and decided what the hell, I’ll give it a shot. I am so glad I did. It may turn out to be a shitty series, but the pilot was damn good. Following is my review of the new V, with no reference to the old one as I only remember a rat scene and Robert Englund anyway. No worries, as usual there are no major spoilers or plot details given away you don’t already get from the commercials.
They couldn’t have had better timing. Wars, economic crisis, environmental issues seem to have come to a head with no relief in site when out of the sky come the Visitors. Unannounced, these humans from space arrive in 29 massive ships the size of small towns – each parking over a major city across the globe. Their High Commander, Anna (Firefly’s yummy Morena Baccarin) immediately calms our fears and apologizes for the rude entrance. She reveals that they come in peace. She inform us that their extremely attractive race has arrived because they are in desperate need of water and our planet has shitloads of it. They want to work out a trade. For some of our water they will give us technology that will help solve some of the biggest issues plaguing our planet.
They then set out to show how nice they are by setting up Healing Stations to cure people of any number of ailments. They set up Ambassador programs for our youth to help bridge the gap between our culture and theirs. They conduct tours of their ships and show off some of their advanced technology. They are almost too perfect. And kinda creepy actually. But then again, I never trust people who are happy all the time. And others don’t either. For various reasons, some people do not trust our new residents and there motto of, “We are of peace. Always,” triggers warning bells, not feelings of hope. Some of these people stage protests. Some of them form rebellions.
Father Jack Landry (The 4400′s Joel Grestch) is one of the wary ones. He’s a priest who makes a living on blind faith in an empty church, but even he thinks things are a bit off with the V’s. He thinks they have come at an awfully convenient time and that their helping hands will have gratitude morphing to worship and worse yet, devotion. But hey, the Vatican says everything is cool – so what’s a priest to do? Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) is a network talking head. Paid to read the news not create any. But after a chance meeting with Anna at a press conference, he finds himself chosen by the V’s as their personal mouthpiece. His desire to have the world hanging on to his every word is a strong pull and overshadows any trust issues he has with the V’s and their wish to have nothing reported about them that could show them in a negative light.
FBI agents Erica Evans (Lost‘s oh so gorgeous Elizabeth Mitchell) and Dale Maddox (Firefly’s Alan Tudyk) don’t have much time to focus on the V’s as it is still business as usual. Especially when one of the terrorist cells they have been monitoring had a spike in activity the day the V’s arrived, while all the other fell silent. Their investigation into this cell and their stockpile of C4, puts them right in the middle of a battle that has been going on for a while and ultimately places Evans at odds with her son Tyler (Logan Huffman). Tyler has become obsessed with the V’s and has fallen for one of their New York Ambassador Leaders, Lisa (Smallville‘s Laura Vandervoort). Rounding off the main characters are Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut), a business man about to propose to Valerie Holt (Lourdes Benedicto) until Georgie (David Richmond-Peck), a friend from his past who is leading the V rebellion, shows up and pulls him into a situation he had been avoiding.
As you can see by the various shows these key actors have been a part of, V has no shortage of good talent. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that the storyline can stay as interesting as this pilot was. Sure it felt like it moved a long a bit too quickly in the beginning – the V’s arrive and seemingly overnight people are buying “I Love the V’s” T-shirts. But I think the decision to not stretch out the basic premise and getting right into the story and the characters was a good one. The story moved along at a nice clip and I stayed interested throughout. The effects were pretty decent, the design of the V’s outfits and ship interiors were pretty damn good as was some of the action later in the film. There is some humor and pop-culture references (one kid stating “This is Independence Day!“) sprinkled throughout and even sneaking in an inside joke referencing The 4400.
But I’m sold. At least until the next episode. Why are the V’s here and what are their plans? You get most of that answered before the end of the pilot with some surprising reveals. In one scene, Anna’s interview in which she talks about their peaceful race and how much they can help Earth, is juxtaposed by Georgie informing the underground rebellion of the V’s true intentions and just how devious they are. In a matter of minutes, the entire series storyline is laid out and the potential is very promising. V very well could be a must-watch show for me this mid-season if they can keep it as interesting as they did tonight. Gonna have to give it 4 blinks out of 5.
Rating: 
Anyone else watch? If so, what did you think?
Tags: ABC, Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Laura Vandervoort, Logan Huffman, Lourdes Benedicto, Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf, V
Drink the Kool-Aid