LeonLouisRicci This is probably as good as it could have been for a 1983 TV (Miniseries). All the ingredients are here for some fine Small Screen Entertainment. It is the stuff Sci-Fi is made of, fantastical gadgets and spacecraft, Visitors with mysterious intentions, an advanced Society making contact with a more primitive Culture, pockets of skeptics, Native sympathizers, Freedom Fighters, and so on.This is more than cliché. It is the bedrock of the Genre and everything from Jules Verne to H.G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke to Rod Serling to Gene Roddenberry to George Lucas to, well you get it, is homaged by Kenneth Johnson's little TV Epic as he just tapped into this Mythos and delivered an allegory that was top-notch TV.The Cult following that this Phenom has is well deserved and is mostly based on this Original Miniseries with some reservations on the follow-up and the Weekly Series that ran for two Years. None of the aftermath Shows diminished the Power of the Original and even today it is thought provoking and great Entertainment. It has Heart and is a timeless Horror/Sci-Fi Tale of caution and is rightfully placed as one of the best Miniseries TV has offered.

leplatypus "V" and me is a long story: it has been broadcast in France in 1985 and it was a huge hit: Sadly, as it was Monday night, my brother and me couldn't watch it. Indeed, our parents allowed us only Tuesday to watch TV after dinner. But as past legends, we were told the stories by our friends at school. Next, i was able to watch it on a rerun maybe 5 years later but i missed the essential episode, that is to say the first one. Thus, i never knew how the visitors arrived. Next, the DVD came out but there was only the first series (the two episodes of Johnson). It's only in 2004 in a London trip that i found the DVD of the "Final Battle" in English only. Finally, it's when i collected them all that a lavish collection with all episodes was released in France that I couldn't buy so.Now, i can watch peacefully my DVD thirty years after the release and the show is still a incredible one. It begins with great credits with this iconic painted V and the great musical theme. Sure the special effect are outdated but that's not the point otherwise we would never watch old movies as well. Maybe what's more annoying would be the short-cuts in the story: Why did Visitors conspire in English when they are alone in their own mothership ? Also, the events are ultra fast (as the scientist conspiring or the pregnancy) which made them unlikely and they do too much operations inside the mothership. For sci-fi fan, it wouldn't be very original because "V" strips a lot of classics ("Episode IV", "4th dimension", "War of the worlds").However, those cunning visitors allow the best lesson of democracy mass audiences can find. That's why this show would be always accurate. In short, it says that dictatorship comes ala ways under a mask. When its evil roots have taken, the pluralism is the first victim and the only way to restore liberty and freedom is the fight. What's original and totally truth in this show is that the resistance or terror are personal choices and it can bring strangers together or divide families as well. It's very different from what we see today when heroic characters are Potus, the army, police, which may be a signal that fascism is indeed coming.The so awaited first episode of the arrival is brilliantly directed and totally anticipatory. The invasion can be followed live on streets as well on TV. The news keep going on the screens of all the key families and it's a good trick to tell the story as well to introduce the characters. Finally, it's one of the few shows that deals with an extended cast in which all of them are real good. I have never seen them in anything else (except from the deadly Freddy) but they were unforgettable in those "V" shows! In addition, it's cool to have a show wrapping all the story lines at the end.Our young generations should take a look at this show and find inspiration for the nowadays threats that keep going stronger!

Matthew Kresal If a ninety-nine out of a hundred science fiction films fall into being cliché ridden, one will stand out above the rest. V, in its original miniseries, would be one of those that stands above the rest. V is anything but your typical science fiction story of an alien invasion. It is a tale of a fascist (alien) takeover of our society and the resistance of a few in a society to it. As a result V, while a product of the technology and culture of the 1980's, is a timeless piece of science fiction.One of the elements to V's success is its cast. Leading, so to speak, the cast of human characters are Marc Singer as cameraman Mike Donovan and Faye Grant as med-student turned rebel leader Julie Parrish. Both Singer and Grant give nice performances that, for the most part, come across as real people in extraordinary situations. In fact the performances of the entire cast be described by that last phrase as well ranging from the Maxwell family (Michael Durrell, Penelope Windust as the parents with Blair Tefkin, Viveka Davis and Marin May as their daughters) who find themselves persecuted to the point of joining the resistance much like the Taylor family (Jason Bernard, Richard Lawson and Michael Wright) to the Bernstein family (George Morfogen, Bonnie Bartlett) who find themselves torn between their Visitor friendly son Daniel (David Packer) and the Holocaust survivor grandfather Abraham (Leonardo Cimino). In fact the single best scene involves Abraham, who is wanting to hide the persecuted Maxwell's, reminding his son that this whole situation is all too familiar for the consequences of them not being hidden means "we haven't learned a thing". This is a scene that is not only well acted and well written but incredibly rare in your average science fiction story as well. There's also many other fine members of the cast including Neva Patterson (Donovan's mom), Evan Kim (Donovan's camera partner Tony), Jenny Sullivan (reporter turned Visitor spokeswoman Kristine Walsh) and Kristine Walsh (as Gardener turned rebel Sancho) amongst many others. The human side of the cast is just the tip of the iceberg though.There's also a fine cast playing the alien "visitors" as well. They range from their seemingly benevolent leader John (played briefly and well by Richard Herd) to Andrew Prine as the authoritative Steven. Then there's the innocent abroad in the form of Robert Englund as Willie and the resistance from within the visitors themselves in the form of Frank Ashmore as Martin and Jenny Neumann as Barbara. Then there is Jane Badler as Diana, perhaps the most attractive and conniving of the alien visitors, who plays the role with a seriousness not usually found in this kind of role. Together they form one of the best, and definitely one of the most diverse, cast of alien invaders ever assembled.V is also aided by fine work behind the camera. There's the cinematography of John McPherson especially the tracking shot of characters watching the first contact sequence and the scenes in the mother-ship. The production design in the form of the mother ship interiors are fine examples of science fiction sets. There's also the special effects work ranging from the excellent shots of mother-ships (a decade plus before Independence Day) to the aerial dogfight at the end which all work marvelously for the most part despite a very few shots which don't look quite finished. No review of V is complete without mentioned the fine prosthetic work of the miniseries which range from the Visitors true faces to some rather uncomfortable dining sequences. Last, but not least by any means, is the fine score by composer Joe Harnell which takes puts together classical music influences and choir in one of the most unusual and best scores produced for any science fiction television piece I have heard, especially for the opening and closing credits of any part. In short: strong production values go a long way.To my mind V's ultimate success lies in the script and direction of Kenneth Johnson. V was originally conceived not as a science fiction tale of alien invasion but as the tale of a fascist takeover of the U.S which can still be found deeply embedded in the final product. In fact that is what separates V from many other alien invasion stories. V is about fascism, how people can be lured in by it, how far those in power will go to secure their position, how the average person will react and what happens when ordinary people stand up to resist it. There's also more then a few hints of Nazi Germany as well from the Swastika-like symbol of the Visitors to Friends of the Visitors youth groups (the Hitler Youth) and, before the miniseries is over with, a strong allegory with the Holocaust as well (see the miniseries to get it). Wisely Johnson also puts a fair (but not gratitude) amount of action in as well which helps to compliment the story and move it along. V is embedded in the technology and culture of the 1980's when it was made to sure but that doesn't date the story at all. Instead V becomes, like H.G. Welles War of the Worlds before it, a timeless tale of alien invasion and human resistance to it.What makes V successful? Well it's large cast of fine actors, nice cinematography, good special effects work, excellent prosthetic work and fine score go along way. Yet the true success of V lies in its script and story. Why? Because ultimately V is not about spaceships and ray-guns but is about people and their reactions to the extraordinary events around them.

garrieaaron V: the Original 2-part miniseries is over 20 years old now. But anyone who saw it on TV in the early 80's (as I did) will never forget how entertaining it was. And upon recent re-viewing the series still holds up as a powerful and engaging piece of TV drama.Is the story contrived? Somewhat. Are the special effects dated? Yes, this was a made for TV movie/miniseries created in the early 80's, but comparative to that time frame the effects were rather impressive. Some of the acting is either over-the-top or rather mediocre. These flaws can be forgiven considering the overall intriguing concepts presented to the viewer. Several of the main characters including some of the malevolent alien "Visitors" are indeed quite enduring.Nonetheless V is surprisingly relevant to our current state of national affairs. I would recommend this movie not only to sci-fi admirers, but also to anyone who enjoys a good drama.