V for Visitor

So I watched Tuesday's broadcast of the new "V" series... Why? Well, nostalgia, mostly. I was a big fan of the original mini-series (still am) and watched both the follow-up and weekly series loyally. But the realization Morena Baccarin was going to be in it tipped the scales (and she's not the only Firefly alumni in the pilot either). So what did I think?

Well, one of the things I really enjoyed about the original mini was the multiple points of view. We followed a large number of characters and what impact the Visitors had on their lives. The cast here doesn't feel quite as large, but we still get many POVs. Though none of the characters return per se, there are a lot of homologues. There's a journalist and a kid enrolled in the V's "Hitler Youth" and a blond resistance leader and a dark-haired V leader. You know, as much as I like Morena Baccarin, she's no Jane Badler, and by that I mean to question whether she can eventually be as cold and evil.
One of the things that's changed is the series' preoccupations. The original mini wasn't entirely topical, instead likening the Visitors to the Nazis, right down to the aforementioned Hitler Youth movement, a Final Solution and the Resistance. The 2009 version is more of our time. I don't know if the Visitors plan to cannibalize humanity, but they were here for a while before officially arriving, creating instability and strife to better position them as saviors. There are Visitor sleeper cells and everything. In other words, they're terrorists.

The choice of characters is also more actual. Instead of a maverick cameraman/action hero, we have an anchorman who is seduced into betraying his principles to advance his career and risks becoming the V's puppet spokesman. Manipulation of the media is a modern concern. (The V are also Big Business and Corrupt Government.) Perhaps to counterbalance the terrorism theme, we have a good Visitor in Ryan Nichols, hoping to marry a human woman. Not quite as endearing as Robert Englund's Willie, but a gateway to stories about how Arab Americans are perceived (using the same metaphor).

Speaking of themes, religion is a big one here. Christ falling from the cross when the Visitors arrive was perhaps a bit obvious, but the inclusion of a priest in the cast will give the show a spiritual/philosophical dimension. The Visitors are setting themselves up to be gods on Earth, in a way. The V complete their Axis of Evil by also being a Cult. So goes the set-up for our villains.
One of the things the new show has to fight against its status as a reboot. This probably won't affect viewers coming to the concept fresh, but as someone who knows the original, the pilot felt a little sluggish. I tended to get antsy whenever the same ground was tread, and though it must recognizably be "V", it can't follow the old series plot point for plot point. That took the stuffing out of a few revelations (they're lizards!!!), and likely will continue to do so unless details are changed. Certainly, there's nothing hear akin to seeing a Visitor gulp down a rat.

But despite the similarities (the seduction of the innocent, the Visitors' true forms, the Resistance formed), there are enough new elements to forecast complete deviation within only a few episodes (they're not here for water, the sleeper cells, the good V hiding among us). We must also realize that the mini-series was a television event, with less time to tell its story and longer installments to do it with. The creators of this version hope to run for 4 seasons, telling a complete story in those four years. A nice commitment, and with rather good viewing figures of 14 million the first night, apparently not premature. I do so hate to get involved in a show like this and see it fold halfway through the first season (good news on that front: it's not on FOX).

After one episode, I can say V looks promising. A good cast, and of course, good 21st-century effects, but also room to tell a long form story full of twists, turns, and the occasional food for thought.