Created by Kenneth Johnson
1984 - 1985
Following two different miniseries covering the alien invasion, hostile takeover of Earth, and the revolution(s) that take place to battle the invaders, V is a sci-fi series that didn't last long enough to tell a really interesting story, and by halfway through its 19 episode run, fell flat with the realization that the story it tells didn't need to be told to begin with.
It's a common complaint among people who just want to hate on sequels and spin-offs, that the story didn't need to be told, and while I sometimes agree, I don't always side with the nay-sayers on this particular argument. In fiction, no story NEEDS to be told, but if it's a fun or interesting one that goes somewhere, there is no way I can complain about it existing whatsoever. That being said, while I enjoyed seeing Michael Ironside come back and some of the storylines were followed up on pretty well, this entire show feels like a reset button that delegitimizes the miniseries that precedes it. The war is over, humans win, hurray!!! Oh, now they didn't, and everything that happened doesn't matter anymore. Oh well.
Narratively, this show took some risks that probably didn't help at all with its lack of success at the time. A serialized story that requires knowledge of prior works in order to even understand what's going on with it is not something that can work unless the source material is massively popular. V, the 3-hour miniseries and V: The Final Battle didn't quite have the popularity required to let an entire series kick off from the point it left off.
Visually, this show is a definite mixed bag. While there are some great looking moments, the majority of makeup and special effects are pretty awful -- and I'm judging it by '80s standards. The makeup on the lizard people looked like the Gorn from Star Trek in some scenes, but pretty okay in others. One scene stands out in particular, where someone grabs a gummy worm from a bowl of actual worms and eats it -- we were supposed to think they were eating an actual worm. Sorry, but I have eyes, so it didn't fool me for a second.
There are some decent performances here, but as I mentioned earlier, Michael Ironside is my favorite. A gruff, tough-guy badass who actually has a pretty soft heart, after he leaves the show about a dozen episodes in, there is very little left for me to care about. Ham Tyler is the best character in the show, and the best character in The Final Battle. But I must admit, it's pretty funny seeing Robert Englund in such a soft-spoken, innocent and goofy role, even if the results are a bit mixed.
Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed with this show. Which is a shame, because I thought the miniseries right before it was pretty awesome, but the lack of satisfying resolution and forced continuation of a story that already felt complete just made it all meaningless to me. I wouldn't call it a bad show, just slightly lacking.
It's a common complaint among people who just want to hate on sequels and spin-offs, that the story didn't need to be told, and while I sometimes agree, I don't always side with the nay-sayers on this particular argument. In fiction, no story NEEDS to be told, but if it's a fun or interesting one that goes somewhere, there is no way I can complain about it existing whatsoever. That being said, while I enjoyed seeing Michael Ironside come back and some of the storylines were followed up on pretty well, this entire show feels like a reset button that delegitimizes the miniseries that precedes it. The war is over, humans win, hurray!!! Oh, now they didn't, and everything that happened doesn't matter anymore. Oh well.
Narratively, this show took some risks that probably didn't help at all with its lack of success at the time. A serialized story that requires knowledge of prior works in order to even understand what's going on with it is not something that can work unless the source material is massively popular. V, the 3-hour miniseries and V: The Final Battle didn't quite have the popularity required to let an entire series kick off from the point it left off.
Visually, this show is a definite mixed bag. While there are some great looking moments, the majority of makeup and special effects are pretty awful -- and I'm judging it by '80s standards. The makeup on the lizard people looked like the Gorn from Star Trek in some scenes, but pretty okay in others. One scene stands out in particular, where someone grabs a gummy worm from a bowl of actual worms and eats it -- we were supposed to think they were eating an actual worm. Sorry, but I have eyes, so it didn't fool me for a second.
There are some decent performances here, but as I mentioned earlier, Michael Ironside is my favorite. A gruff, tough-guy badass who actually has a pretty soft heart, after he leaves the show about a dozen episodes in, there is very little left for me to care about. Ham Tyler is the best character in the show, and the best character in The Final Battle. But I must admit, it's pretty funny seeing Robert Englund in such a soft-spoken, innocent and goofy role, even if the results are a bit mixed.
Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed with this show. Which is a shame, because I thought the miniseries right before it was pretty awesome, but the lack of satisfying resolution and forced continuation of a story that already felt complete just made it all meaningless to me. I wouldn't call it a bad show, just slightly lacking.
My grade: D+
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