V - Season 1 - Page 3

Well, Scott Peters is out.  From what I'm hearing about the next 3 episodes and 3 scripts after that, I'm not surprised.  The show allegedly lacks focus and drama.

I thought Morena was perfect, but this pilot fell dreadfully flat for me.  I can't say I like or care about ANY of the characters at this point. 
Edited by Quentin - 11/4/09 at 1:17pm

Very underwhelmed by the pilot. I'm not going to bail just yet, but I have a feeling I'll lose interest in this show rather quickly if things don't improve in the next couple of episodes.

What early reports? Everything I've read, including Variety's write-up ("'V' prevails in primetime ratings") says that the premiere was a bonafide hit, ABC's biggest series premiere of the season and second behind NCIS: Los Angeles as the biggest series premiere of the season. 14 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at.


Considering the production shut down after four episodes, I'm not surprised either. I'm afraid that going on a months long hiatus after just four episodes air is going to really hurt the show's momentum, too. It's a shame, since I am a huge fan of Peters's prior work. It seems strange that the problem would be a lack of focus and drama, since the pilot was one of the most focused and dramatic I've ever seen.


As long as creator/showrunner Chris Fedak stays on "Chuck", I'm not too worried. If a "Chuck" writer doesn't seem like the most natural fit with this far grimmer show, remember that Rosenbaum also was a writer-producer on "The Shield", credited with the scripts for 16 episodes.

EDIT: The Hollywood Reporter sheds more light on the situation. Apparently, Scott Peters only scripted the pilot. "Angel"/"Alias" alum Jeff Bell was supposed to take over showrunning duties starting with the second episode. Two episodes in, it was a complete disaster. Scott Peters was brought back in by Warner Bros. to clean up the mess. He got production started again for one more episode, which ends on a cliffhanger to in an effort to hold audiences through the hiatus. Scott Rosenbaum just signed a two-year deal with Warner Bros. Television, which produces both "Chuck" and "V". He will finish up the recently expanded third season of "Chuck" and then transition to showrunning duties on "V" by the end of the month. Scott Peters will remain an executive producer and staff writer on the show. Jeff Bell has been shown the door. Filming will resume in January. (Flashbacks to ABC's "Commander-in-Chief"? I hope not.)

Edited by Adam Lenhardt - 11/4/09 at 2:45pm

source?

i am too lazy to go back and find a link to what i read earlier but this is not true.

"It scored a 5.0/13 demo, and 13.9 million viewers, with a peak of 14 million."

And I expect that if I was a child I'd have really enjoyed last night's premiere. As it is, since I already know the story, I could only appreciate it for the production values, the art design, and the general tone and some performances. But it is a pretty thin story (always was), so it will have to introduce something really new and different to keep my attention. Plus, those two FBI agents seemed like the most mild-mannered agents ever portrayed. Jack Bauer they were not. I love the actress when she's on Lost, but her character was so mild here.

There was a hint of something new in the pilot: the V spaceship has what looks like a V city within itself. So there won't only be identical hallways -- there's room for communities (and different factions inside those communities) within the ship.

I'll probably watch a few episodes, and rent them when they're available later on.

Sounds like Peters got the shaft in that situation.

A 5/14 is a a number a lot of shows would kill for.  It dominated it's timeslot in the demos:

Time	Net	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers Live+SD (million)
8:00	ABC	V (series premiere)	4.9	13	13.764
	CBS	NCIS	4.0	11	19.044
	NBC	The Biggest Loser	3.0	8	8.406
	FOX	So You Think You Can Dance	2.4	7	6.360
	CW	90210	1.1	3	2.121
8:30	ABC	V (series premiere)	5.1	13	14.128
	CBS	NCIS	4.3	11	19.741
	NBC	The Biggest Loser	3.2	8	8.645
	FOX	So You Think You Can Dance	2.4	6	6.427
	CW	90210	1.0	3	2.016

And makes the first time ABC has beat NCIS in that timespot.  I doubt ABC is considering that a failure at all, expectations were that NCIS would hold down the timeslot, and that ABC would come in a decent second.. which would be a major improvement.  The Biggest Loser had been beating ABC in the demos until this week.

Thanks to the runup to TVBytheNumbers

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/04/tv-ratings-tuesday-v-arrives-viewers-follow/32541

I thought the pilot was excellent, and will be tuning in for the season.

Regarding the ratings, "flopped" is about as wrong as you can get, since it managed to unseat (probably for this one week, though) NCIS as Tuesday's top dog.  Beating NCIS (and a good episode at that) is pretty remarkable.

Loved the two original mini-series (except for rubber-lizard-baby...gah).  Hated the original series.

That said, I enjoyed this.  I think there is potential there.  I *did* enjoy the twist that the Visitors have been among us for some time.  Thought the lizard reveal was a little too fast, like others, but likely necessary for the viewers with short attention spans.  Should have been creepier somehow though.  (Still glad they didn't make Morena eat a rodent though.) 

On a personal note... yeah.. .Morena B is one stunning lady.  Had the good fortune to meet her a couple years back.  Just as gorgeous in person.. and super-nice to boot.  I hugged her.  To quote a former co-character of hers... "I'll be in my bunk".  ;)

Anyway... enjoyed the show enough that I'll be back for more. 

I'm from the Tivo contingent, having watched it tonight :)

So, referencing 9/11 in the opening seconds to set your mood? Really? You think your show is that good? So edgy and gripping and "real" that you can evoke the last, worst tragedy of our nation? As the kids say these days: FAIL

I think my problem is that I've seen this done too many times, and done better, on numerous Star Trek and Stargate and etc. episodes. V didn't bring anything new for my taste. I was annoyed by the opening text, and bored immediately by the setup. The bit of excitement from the sleeper-mole anti-V V's was fun, but not enough. Season Pass deleted.

I think it would have been somewhat cooler if they weren't lizards or something.  Maybe just genetic clones or something new to mix it up.

I was HOPING for that shot to be recreated. They've GOT to do it. It's the most famous moment from the original mini-series.

I just re-watched the original mini on SyFy before this and, though the scene freaked me out when it originally aired, now it looks laughably bad.

Yes -- the inflatable bulge on her Diana's neck (in the original miniseries) is so obviously inflating with air. I read an interview with Morena (of the new series) yesterday in which she was asked if they'd shot that scene yet, and she says no -- they only shot 4 episodes in 2009, and won't be shooting anything more until January 2010. So, if it happens, it won't be this year.



Good article about people discovering Morena Baccarin now (having missed her on Firefly, or not recognizing her with short hair!)

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/the-buzz-on-morena-baccarin--762

I for one am glad they reveled visitor's true reptilian nature quickly. I remember when I originally watch the show how that was such a huge climatic moment for the show. There is no way they could re-create the same drama from that plot point again. Either the audience is old enough to have had already seen it the first time or anyone else would probably end up googling the original series and finding out that way. It is much better just to get that out of the way early so they can take the show into an original direction.

It was good, not great.  A few plot holes/unbelievable moments (I'm in the "hated the clapping crowds" camp).  I am definitely NOT liking the scheduling that they are throwing at us:  only four episodes then a break til next year?  (IIRC, it comes back in MARCH!)

The schedule definitely isn't going to do the show any favors. I wasn't aware of the scheduling until reading it here.

 

Just wish they could have come up with a better way of the reveal.

I don't think there would be much point now. IIRC in the original, that was the first big reveal that the Visitors were not what they seemed to be. The impact would be gone now.

Does anyone know if there is going to be cameos from the original cast

I don't know of any definite cameos, but they've said they'd like to have some from the first series make an appearance.

I know that it's because the pilot was probably filmed a long time earlier than this episode, but wow, a lot of people look much different, not the least of which is Anna.

Address of the warehouse? "4400..." Nice shoutout.

I didn't really notice anything, except that they didn't try to deage Elizabeth Mitchell as much this episode; she was also a stronger presence.

While this episode didn't have the shocking revelation a minute feel of the pilot, I was still very much invested in the story. I love the Commie/"Body Snatcher" paranoia of it; other than the FBI agent and the priest, anyone could be Visitors. Did Mitchell's boss really get the 911 call from a DEA wire tap, or did he get it directly from the Visitors themselves? (I loved the reveal that 911 calls were being intercepted by the Visitors on a presumably massive scale; it really speaks to the insidiousness of their plot. How can the resistence, when it forms, communicate if all communications are being intercepted?) Is Scott Wolf a sell-out to the aliens, or is he buttering them up for something more hard hitting? What happened to the rebel Visitors before that has them all so scared now? Perhaps most of all, what technology do we humans possess that is so threatening to the Visitors that they need to mount this slow infiltration? They killed the engines of our advanced fighter jets, so why wouldn't they be able kill power to any nuke-carrying ICBMs? Why was Mitchell's son rejected by the Peace Ambassador program? Do they know Mitchell's onto them?

I thought it was pretty obvious that in a role called "peace ambassador," for a group whose motto is "peace, always," you don't want some punk kid roughing up the first person who protests.  When the entire plan hinges on diplomatic relations with the USA, front page violence would jeopardize that quite fast.  "V Peace Ambassador attacks local taxpayer" isn't exactly a winning headline.

My question is why is the V's video technology so poor?  Those guys really need to work on increasing their resolution, or get a few copies of photoshop :)

Still can't figure out exactly what it is, but even in the two screencaps I posted below something looks way different to me.


Pilot / Episode 1:





Episode 2: 




I know it's a different angle, but she looked much better in the first episode, I think.

Elizabeth Mitchell has the weirdest gait when she walks on this show.

Her face looks more gaunt - perhaps it's just lighting and the angle, but could she have lost weight?

Definitely a "warmer" lighting in the first screencap. Also, her hair has just a bit more longer wisps (neck, in front of ear) that give it a softer, more feminine look. Finally, the high, closed neck of her uniform looks a bit harsher than the open neck. But I think the lighting and angle is the primary thing.