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Aliens return to Earth with a new take on 'V'
"V," ABC's new sci-fi series, stars Logan Huffman (from left), Laura Vandervoort, Scott Wolf, Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut and Lourdes Benedicto. This re-imagining of the 1983 miniseries debuts at 7 p.m. Tuesday on ABC, channel 8. BOB D'AMICO/ABC
By RITA SHERROW World Television Editor
Published: 11/1/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 11/1/2009 5:14 AM
The aliens are coming. The aliens are coming.
Storyline
Then
1983: Giant spaceships appear over 51 cities around the world with aliens announcing their intent to help the humans, but their plan is take all of the Earth's resources for their own and use some of the humans as soldiers and as food. Some learn of the aliens' true reptilian nature and organize resistance. But it's hard to tell who's a human and who's not.
Now
Probably due to the economy, giant spaceships only appear over 29 cities around the world this time. The V's (Visitors) seemingly come in peace and are generous with their technology and supply universal health care. While many in the world populations applaud their arrival, there are those who question if they have a malevolent agenda in mind.
Alien introduction
Then
"We have come on behalf of our great Leader, him who governs our united planet with benevolence and wisdom. We have come because we need your help. Our planet is in serious environmental difficulty, far worse than yours; it's reached the stage where we will be unable to survive without immediate assistance. There are certain chemicals and compounds which we must manufacture, which alone can save our struggling civilization. And you can help us manufacture these and in return, we will gladly share with you the fruits of our knowledge."
Now
"Don't be frightened. We mean no harm. Please accept our apologies. We are truly
anguished by the turmoil our arrival has caused. This is a momentous day. Until now we believed we were the only intelligent life in the universe. We are overjoyed to find we're not alone. My name is Anna and I am the leader of my people. We are delighted to meet you but we need your help. We are far from home and require water and a mineral which is common and abundant on Earth in order to sustain ourselves. In exchange, we'd be willing to share some of our technological advances with you. Technology that will help enrich your lives in all areas. After we have replenished ourselves and shared with you what we can, we will leave you, hopefully, better than we found you. We look forward to getting to know our new friends."
Tagline
Then
"They come in peace to enslave mankind."
Now
"We are of peace. Always."
Cast
Then
Michael Durrell as alien leader John.
Jane Badler as Diana, the second-in-command alien, who speaks with a forked tongue and swallows whole guinea pigs.
Faye Grant as medical student Julie Parrish, who reveals the aliens' reptilian makeup and real intentions.
Marc Singer as journalist Mike Donovan who joins Parrish in her quest to get the truth out.
Now
Elizabeth Mitchell as FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans.
Scott Wolf as Chad Decker, TV news anchor.
Logan Huffman as Evans' teenage son Tyler who is enamored with the V's.
Joel Gretsch as Father Jack Landry, who questions his faith and the aliens.
Laura Vandervoort as Lisa, the alien Visitor who sets her sights on Tyler.
Morena Baccarin as Anna, the leader of the Visitors.
Morris Chestnut as Ryan Nichols, who faces his own life-changing decision.
Series genesis
Then
May 1, 1983: In a commentary track on the DVD release of the miniseries, Ken Johnson reveals that "V" was originally intended as a political thriller, charting the rise of a fascist movement in America, according to IMBD.com. But NBC wanted a sci-fi series to build on the success of "Star Wars." It started as a miniseries (1984), then spawned a second miniseries ("V: The Final Battle") and a weekly series (1984-85).
Now
Nov. 3, 2009: Scott Peters, Emmy nominee for "The 4400," is the writer-executive producer. "Whenever I mention 'V' to anybody, they still have a lot of good memories about the original movie and series," Peters said in an interview with Variety. "Everybody has that imagery of their uniforms, or the visitor eating a hamster. It's a science-fiction icon and too good to pass up." The original "V" served as an allegory for the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, he said. Peters told the magazine he's not "duplicating that concept, but the new 'V' will still focus on what happens when the masses have blind faith in their leaders."
Trivia
Robert Englund (the original Freddy Kreuger in "Nightmare on Elm Street") had a role in the original "V" as the good-hearted alien Willie.
In the first "V," the music that played when the ship was first seen consisted of three short notes followed by one long note. It's the letter "V" in Morse code.
Famke Janssen turned down the role of Anna in the new "V."
Iconic clips
tulsaworld.com/V83
Replay
The original "V" miniseries repeats at 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday with "V: The Final Battle" airing from 4-10 p.m. that day. Episodes of the '80s TV series air 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday on Syfy, cable 45, Dish 122 and DirecTV 244. To hear the theme music, go online to tulsaworld.com/Vtheme
Grade: A
The new "V" has a huge budget, the latest special effects and a cast to die for. The writing is first rate (excepting a few cheesy lines) and the script is written with modern ideas in mind. The opening few minutes should have viewers wanting more.
Rita Sherrow 581-8360
rita.sherrow@tulsaworld.com tulsaworld.com/ontv
By RITA SHERROW World Television Editor
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