V

Good evening. Just watched the second episode of ABC's "reimagining" of "V". The story of mysterious "V"isitors who arrive on our planet unexpectedly (and in stunning fashion. The iconic images of giant saucers suddenly appearing and hovering above all of the Earth's major countries/cities would later be ripped off years later by Roland Emmerich for "Independence Day".), and how we humans deal with their arrival (and their hidden agenda) was one of the more memorable sci-fi shows of my childhood. (If only for the presence of full-time bad ass, Michael Ironside. Oh, and that "Beastmaster" guy!)


I honestly didn't expect too much. Being that I fondly remember the original series (I believe it was on NBC back in the 80's. I could be wrong. Sometimes am.) from when I was a kid, I really didn't think that this new incarnation would interest me. I know it's only two episodes in, but so far, it's been pretty interesting.

Like the original, the Vistors arrive with a call for help from our planet. They are in desperate need of certain resources that are in abundance on Earth, and in exchange, they will share technological advances that could save us from our problems, and essentially ourselves. What I like about the 2009 "V" is that, much like (and maybe unfortunately) Marvel Comic's recent Secret Invasion event, the Visitors aren't just newly arrived. Like the Skrulls in Secret Invasion, there have been Visitors living amongst up for years now, integrating themselves into our society. Undetected. The show plays off of current events, posing that the Visitors, in the guise of humans are, in fact, responsible for "unnecessary wars" and are the cause of the world's current economic woes. In that way, the writers draw many parallels with today's world. Likening the Visitors to the all too real threats like terrorists cells and planting them among us, the show quickly creates a sense of paranoia amongst the characters. The cast has yet to prove that they can form as strong an ensemble as the players in "Lost" (Another ABC show. And the best show on tv today.), but there is potential. Led by "Lost" veteren Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) as FBI agent, Erica Evans and Joel Gretsch as Father Jack Landry, a priest (Hence, the Father.) who find themselves immediately in the thick of things whilst trying to dig deeper (each for their own reasons) into the mystery of the Visitors. They are joined by tv vetern Scott Wolf, Firefly's Alan Tudyk, Lourdes Benedicto & Under Siege 2's Morris Chestnut.

Just as in the original, there are some Visitors who are perfectly content with living amongst us humans, and who disagree with the actions of their fellow species. On the flipside of that coin, there are also plenty of humans who find themselves enamored by the Visitors and who find themselves (snake) charmed by their every seductive note. (Including Mitchell's teenage son. For a girl, of course!) And it's that whole aspect of "Trust no one!", where you don't exactly know who is human or alien, again paralleling our fear of hidden terrorist cells. And that I find a bit more interesting this time around.

Some of the things that don't work for me... so far? I don't know about the main Visitor, Anna (The Queen Bee, if you will.), played by (the very cute) Morena Baccarin. She isn't as outwardly vicious and conniving as the original's Diana (the incomparable Jane Badler. So hot!). One thing that the o.g. "V"s had was that no matter what lay beneath the surface, they portrayed themselves as a warm species. (Which is ironic, given their true nature.) They were friendlier, and even though you knew some shit was up, you wanted to trust them from the git.

The 2009 "V"ersion, despite constantly promclaiming, "We are if of peace, always." are much colder (Too obvious?), more detached. I guess this makes sense. They are aliens after all, but it also seems to obviously make them more open to our distrust. I don't know...

It is only two episodes in, but it seems to have the makings of a strong series. It definitely has gained more momentum than ABC's other new high profile series, "Flashforward" (Which, since the incredible pilot, has dragged a bit, but recently has started to pick up - with the death of it's first major character!), in a shorter amount of time. I'll give it a chance. (I mean, I'm still hanging on with "Heroes"!) Let's see where these new "V"istors take us.

Check it out.

"V" airs on ABC Tuesday nights at 8pm (Pacific).

Art Gallery: Two (very rough) sketchbook pieces of the sword and ax variety. "Warrior" and his good friend, might-be-cousin, "Warrior II".




As always, "click" to see these guys, but bigger...