Okay, I’m actually old enough that I remember the original attempt at the TV series “V” from 1984, which is according to TV Guide purportedly based on Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930’s.
So from the start we’re looking at a re-imaginging.Heck I was actually going to give this series a pass until I noticed Morena Baccarin of Firefly in the advertisements.So I set up the DVR so I could check this one out.
You will note that I have not given this series a rating yet, as I’m not sold yet.I’m reserving judgment for now, so you will have to make due with my subjective observations for now.
First, the original V was 60 minutes of peaceful first contact that was awesome character driven story with a wicked twist at the end of the first episode that turned it into an alien invasion plot.
The new V isn’t terribly different, but they make the invasion a primary focus up front. Plus they’re a bit more brutal and “realistic” in their handling.
For instance, the alien ships just show up one morning and everyone is agog over the ships floating over the city.Mind you they feature an F-16 loosing power as it approaches one of the ships and the pilot jettisoning out of his downed craft.Uniquely this story is done from the perspective of the characters on the ground and we see this drama from the perspective of a clueless bystander.
Next we’re treated to the National Guard cordoning off downtown in shocking speed.
If you take the time to think about the situation (and considering the uptime necessary to a) deploy the National Guard in forces and b) task an F-16) it becomes obvious that the powers that be KNEW this was coming for quite some time.
Morena Baccarin’s character Anna is introduced next as the Alien leader and gave the predicted “We come in peace” speech.
Morena Baccarin is doing a wonderful job as the leader of the Visitors.She is duplicitous, conniving, manipulative, and beautiful.(Although I’m not sure that I’m digging her short hair.I mean plot wise it make sense, but short hair really doesn’t suit Morena all that well.)
As an added treat we also get Alan Tudyk (also of Firefly fame & nicely integrated into Dollhouse.)Alan Tudyk is reprised as a bad guy and I’ve got to just say that his performance is outstanding.Alan Tudyk is probably the finest supporting actor of our generation.If you don’t know what I mean you need to go and watch his performance in Knights Tale.
Now for the evaluation on the “Main Characters.”
We have a Chad Decker a news reporter and the primary intermediary between Anna and Earth.The two of them have a strained relationship.It starts off well enough when Chad comes to Anna’s defense during an initial news conference, but the primary roll of Chad Decker is to reveal for the audience, the absolute evil of Anna.As of episode 2 Chad has some fire in his belly and has the instinct to fight back against Anna’s manipulations, but he’s also in the pickle that he can’t outright countermand Anna either.
Erica Evans is our FBI agent who quickly goes rogue.She’s partnered with Alan Tudyk (at first) and is quickly thrust into the resistance as Tudyk’s character tries to kill Evans during a resistance meeting.
Tyler Evans is the son of Erica, an older and leather clad rebellious older high school student.He has a passion for his bike and fortunately for us it’s a ten speed and not an actual motorcycle trope.Tyler is being drawn into supporting the Visitors with the charismatic help of Lisa.In our aforementioned analogy Tyler is a brown shirt.(Not to be confused with the Brown coats!They’re two completely different things!)
Father Jack Landry is actually a Catholic Priest in this version, and though he is seeing first hand the benefits of the Visitors, he’s scared spitless by them and becomes a catalyst for the resistance.His interplay with his Father superior is fascinating especially after Jack learns about the true nature of the Visitors and the tension is palpable.In the end Jack is going to be the golden boy/leader of the resistance.
Ryan Nichols who is deeply in love with Valerie Stevens, on the surface* seems a decent fellow actually turns out to be an alien!Unfortunately when the big reveal hits it feels like, “My goodness is EVERYONE in this show an alien?!?” in the same fashion that by the end of Battlestar Galactica (the dread-make) you were asking yourself “My goodness is EVERYONE a Cylon?!?”As an afterthought, they could have saved Nichols big reveal for much much much later.
*(ow that’s a painful pun.)
And then we have Lisa who is Tyler Evan’s love interest.She’s the recruiter who convinces Tyler to join the V ambassadors against the direct and clear insistence of his Mother.She is so cute and adorable!I can hardly wait for the scene where Lisa and Tyler start making out and he notices, “My what a LONG tongue you have!Is it really forked?”
I do have an issue with the emblematic V as it is being used.In the original series, once it became obvious that the Visitors were evil, they had a poignant scene in which a couple of street punks were vandalizing Visitor propaganda posters.In the scene an elderly woman, obviously a survivor of WWII approaches the street thugs, and tells them “No you’re doing it wrong!”She then takes the kid’s hand, with the spray paint, and spray paints a “V” on the poster and declares that V is for Victory over the Visitors.
In the 2009 version, Tyler and one of his delinquent buddies are spray painting “V’s” to show their support for the visitors and it all comes off as a weak and flimsy attempt at homage to the original, while losing all of its impact.
As for my opinions?
First off if you really really still like Barack Obama please close your browser now, because what you’re about to read will make you blind with rage.
Really.Just walk away.
During the first episode I was shocked that the powers that be at ABC actually let this show on the air.In short Anna is a metaphor for Barack Obama, and even more so in that the producers have adapted this 2009 version with modern colloquialisms even to the point of having the Visitors offer “Universal Healthcare.”When you understand WHY they are offering healthcare and have a inkling as to why Obama REALLY wants universal healthcare, the comparison becomes brutal.
Further, if you’ve actually studied how Obama operates politically, interacting with opponents by eliminating them, and how he refuses to face challenging media attention, the similarities between Anna and Obama are all the more compelling.
The fact that ABC (the All Barack Channel) actually let this show on their airwaves, which metaphorically challenges our current president was, to say the least a surprise.
Now the original series was based, in part, on the events in Germany of 1930, and to avoid the obvious correlation, please let me point out that the National Socialist Party of Germany took considerable influence from progressive Woodrow Wilson.So to be fair, I’ll be referring to Wilson’s progressive policies.
I mean it’s not like Obama has a group of community based individuals pushing for his support (ACORN) and it’s not like that group actually wears a distinctive uniform (unless you can count FUBU.)
But I digress.
Or rather I don’t.
So our intrepid and cowed minority, who are seeing glimpses of an awful terror about to be unleashed are being moved toward some course of action.
Oh, but how does one fight against such a juggernaut?I mean how does one say “No” to someone like Woodrow Wilson?
I mean what could truly happen if they sit down and swap stories over a cup of tea?
The success or failure of this series is going to depend, largely upon how the writers and producers develop this story.As of episode 2 none of the main resistance characters know each other and they are separated from one another.There is a lot of potential, and this could be an awesome series.
But there are also plenty of ski jump ramps that seem to be set up as well.
At this point, if you like Sci Fi and are intrigued by the premise of the little guy taking on the big bad alien invader, this might be worth your while.The actors and crew are doing a good job.Lets just hope that the writers can keep pace.
