V - Season 1 (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by WillG

Yeah, I also felt that the show seemed a bit rushed. I liked the slow build of the original miniseries better where the strange things that were happening were more subtle. I think they could have stretched it out for maybe another episode.

The question is why? Why pad things out when the story can be told fluidly in a single episode. After trying and failing to get into Flash Forward, which has the pacing of a snail, I found the cheetah pace of the pilot really engaging.

By introducing all of the major revelations from the original miniseries in the first hour, it allows the show to embark on its own direction. Tonight's pilot was both an introduction to our eclectic cast of characters and a declaration of basically, "Here's what we're keeping from the original. Now see where we go with it."

It did seem like there was some allegory to a certain figure, from the immediate applause of people after Anna's initial message to even a direct reference to a controversial issue that the Vs were offering.

You can read a Barack Obama allegory into the Visitors, but I think you can also read a FreedomWorks/Tea Party allegory into it as well. The larger idea, which I found fasinating, is that the Visitor sleeper cells actively worked to increase political polarization into more radicalized camps around the world. The more radical each side is, the more discord and turmoil in the world. The more discord and turmoil in the world, the more the population will desire a savior. Adolf Hitler exploited the discord and turmoil of Germany under war reparations between the world wars to build support for his national socialist party. What the Visitors have essentially done is artificially manufacture the conditions that allowed someone like Hitler to thrive politically so that they themselves could thrive politically.

One thing that bothered me is that if you were an alien race trying to appear peaceful, why would you show up in a ship, and open it up like you're about to attack and scare the shit out of people, couldn't they have just said "we're opening up a display panel, don't be frightened" I guess maybe since they are "always peaceful" they never bothered to think that other races might perceive them as a threat (or at least what they would want us to think)

My guess is because they're not peaceful. I would bet these ships are warships which have been hastily retrofitted to their current diplomatic purpose. I would bet that more civilizations have experienced the Visitors' ships "about to attack and scare the shit out of people" than have experienced them in the manner that humanity has experienced them. Even if that's not the case, scaring the shit out of people before reassuring them convinces them of your power.


I don't have any "Lost" baggage, so Elizabeth Mitchell didn't really bother me. I had a tougher time buying Alan Tudyk as her happy-go-lucky, insanely selfless partner. When he turned out to be a homicidal reptile, my concern was resolved.

I think the thing that excites me the most is having Scott Peters running a show again. While "The 4400" sometimes suffered from wooden dialog and questionable acting, it was IMO indisputably the smartest science fiction show on television during the years it aired. It regularly went to places that were serious science fiction in the way that other shows like "Heroes" rarely seem to. That he brought Joel Gretsch along with him is an added bonus. Morena Baccarin is so excellent as the head Visitor that the creepiness might impair my enjoyment of "Firefly". Scott Wolf's likeable in anything he seems to show up in. Laura Vandervoort looks about as attractive as she did on "Smallville", which is very attractive indeed.

 

[Citizen87645]

My only thought is the Vs must be rather small if they have such thick flesh covering them.

I think a lot of Anna's creepiness is in her odd blinking patterns. In that final scene it seemed she was sending out a message in morse code.

 

[Citizen87645]

"Die Diana!" never flowed trippingly off the tongue.

Diana is now Anna. I don't even know why bother to change it.

 

[Joe_H]

Originally Posted by Nelson Au /forum/thread/277398/v/30#post_3624516

 

[Nelson Au]

Originally Posted by Cameron Yee

"Die Diana!" never flowed trippingly off the tongue.

Perhaps you had this in mind:

Die.....Anna

I liked that they just removed the "Di" from her original name.

 

[Spero D]

Loved the original series. But this new version doesn't give much hope after watching the 1st ep. People clapping in the streets at the beginning after she gave her message is where it started to loose me. I was like the entire of Season 1 of the original crammed in to one ep. Meh effects, meh reveals, didn't really entice me to tune in to the next ep (even though I will).

Let me take a guess at the next ep since they want to go at light speed here-

The son of the FBI agent who is all flirty with the V recruit girl will have a hot and steamy sex scene, then an episode later she will tell him that he is pregnant with her child......thats how it is done on the V world.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

You can read a Barack Obama allegory into the Visitors, but I think you can also read a FreedomWorks/Tea Party allegory into it as well. The larger idea, which I found fasinating, is that the Visitor sleeper cells actively worked to increase political polarization into more radicalized camps around the world. The more radical each side is, the more discord and turmoil in the world. The more discord and turmoil in the world, the more the population will desire a savior. Adolf Hitler exploited the discord and turmoil of Germany under war reparations between the world wars to build support for his national socialist party. What the Visitors have essentially done is artificially manufacture the conditions that allowed someone like Hitler to thrive politically so that they themselves could thrive politically.

You nailed it. Like I said earlier, you can see whatever message that you're looking for in the show but the reality is more likely that they're just making a broad comment about people and their behavior rather than making a statement about any specific person or time.

 

[Peter McM]

So, when do we revisit the part where a cheap plastic lizard crawls out of the woman's belly?

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I loved the miniseries as a youth and even toiled through the series for it's single season. Which leads me to my comment...I'd prefer a miniseries. A regular series will put the pacing all over the map. Fast set-up, interminably drawn out sub-plots, too quick resolutions. We will see. Didn't like the ep much, but I'll still give it a few chances. I much prefer Diana and the 80s hotness, but beggars can't be choosers. And if they have infiltrated...why not use your own newsman to interview with softball questions? Why risk a journalist?

 

[WillG]

People clapping in the streets at the beginning after she gave her message is where it started to loose me. I was like the entire of Season 1 of the original crammed in to one ep. Meh effects, meh reveals, didn't really entice me to tune in to the next ep (even though I will).

Yeah, that gave me a groan as well. I certianly wouldn't be clapping because of an Alien message that perports all kinds of great and happy things (call me cynical). This is where I started seeing allegory to a certain person.

You can read a Barack Obama allegory into the Visitors, but I think you can also read a FreedomWorks/Tea Party allegory into it as well. The larger idea, which I found fasinating, is that the Visitor sleeper cells actively worked to increase political polarization into more radicalized camps around the world. The more radical each side is, the more discord and turmoil in the world. The more discord and turmoil in the world, the more the population will desire a savior. Adolf Hitler exploited the discord and turmoil of Germany under war reparations between the world wars to build support for his national socialist party. What the Visitors have essentially done is artificially manufacture the conditions that allowed someone like Hitler to thrive politically so that they themselves could thrive politically.

Absolutely you could. As I said, I doubt you would see a Hollywood production be directly or exclusively critical of this certain person. "The Devoted" could easilly be applied to the religious people. I think we'll find that there will be parallels to many types of people and speficic people as well. But the other themes you mention are intresting.

 

[Nelson Au]

Also The Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man, comes to mind.

 

[ChristopherG]

Morena Baccarin is about the hottest woman on the planet in my mind. Oh yes, I will be watching this...

 

[Hanson]

Originally Posted by ChristopherG ">[/url]

Morena Baccarin is about the hottest woman on the planet in my mind. Oh yes, I will be watching this...[/QUOTE]I have a friend who saw her in a play, and the audience gasped when she entered the stage because she was so beautiful. And since you are a fan, keep an eye out for

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

She was one of the best things about Firefly that's for sure.

The ladies had Nathan Fillion to gawk at and we had Morena.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Originally Posted by Shawn Shultzaberger

Wash!!! and Inara. I was not expecting to see Alan Tudyk. That was a nice surprise. Still watching it now.

Since I wasn't aware of Tudyk's participation on "V", my spidey sense was screaming "dead meat", i.e. early kill victim, or as the episode wound down: mole.

But it's always good to see ABC showing some love to the Firefly crew, nonetheless.

I never realized how crooked Morene'a mouth is when she speaks, it was a bit distracting during her first addressing of the human race via the ship screen.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Nelson Au

Also The Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man, comes to mind.

That's the same thought I had. I'd want to believe that they were there for benevolent reasons but I'd be cautiously optimistic rather than clapping or going right onto one of their ships or spray painting 'V' on walls, etc.

 

[MarkMel]

Originally Posted by TravisR



That's the same thought I had. I'd want to believe that they were there for benevolent reasons but I'd be cautiously optimistic rather than clapping or going right onto one of their ships or spray painting 'V' on walls, etc.

Group think does funny things to - well, groups.

 

[LynxFX]

I don't know why people have a problem with the clapping, it seemed very believable to me. People will clap at anything. How many of us have been to the movies and after an intense scene, or good build up and payoff people clap? And this is at a screen where none of the participants can see or hear you clapping. So why wouldn't people clap after the huge build up of these giant ships coming over their city ID4 style (which they surely have seen) not knowing if they are hear to blow us up and to finally get a peaceful message with promises of new technology. I sure would be clapping right along with them.

 

[todd stone]

early reports is that V has flopped

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

I think the thing that excites me the most is having Scott Peters running a show again. While "The 4400" sometimes suffered from wooden dialog and questionable acting, it was IMO indisputably the smartest science fiction show on television during the years it aired. It regularly went to places that were serious science fiction in the way that other shows like "Heroes" rarely seem to. That he brought Joel Gretsch along with him is an added bonus. Morena Baccarin is so excellent as the head Visitor that the creepiness might impair my enjoyment of "Firefly".

The address of the Sleeper Cell meet was "4400 ______." I thought that was a reference even though I didn't know one of the people involved in V was from that show (besides Gretsch). Morena. Yum. I liked the show, but also thought it was quickly paced. I'll keep watching. The mole angle was delivered without much subtlety so I wasn't surprised it was Tudyk. He was listed as a guest appearance in the credits so I was waiting for something bad to happen to him. I hate that they have to do that. Worst thing about the show was that (I assume) my local station came out of the last commercial break in SD. So after watching HD video Dolby sound for 45 minutes, I saw the battle in the sleeper cell in 4:3 stereo. Definitely not the reason I have a projector and screen setup.