Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf, Christopher Shyer, Lourdes Benedicto, Mark Hildreth, Jane Badler, & Charles Mesure
V stands for Visitors and it is one of the best show that you've never watched. Most fans of the original series weren't happy when they learned that V (2009) would be a re-imagining of the franchise as opposed to a modern day re-creation of the show, but that didn't stop them from watching it. V was the highest rated premier of any new show on any network in 2009, but as usual, ABC managed to screw it up. The show premiered with 14 million viewers and kept it's audience over it's first four episodes. ABC, in their infinite stupidity, decided to keep the fans hungry for more, and decided to hold the next eight episodes until nearly four months later! By that time, more than half the audience was gone and the show was barely renewed for a second season, but thank God it was, because as good as the premiere season was, the second season was ten times better! It wasn't until almost a year later that ABC decided to air the second season of V and the numbers were decent, but not enough to motivate the network into renewing the expensive show. The fans launched a huge campaign to try and save the show and to ABC's credit, they did try to sell it to another network, but ultimately failed to do so and V became another Nielsen casualty. As for the show itself, it had some similarities, but was ultimately very different than the original 1983 version. On a random day, at a random time, 29 alien ships appear over major Earth cities. Shortly thereafter, a beautiful woman appears explaining that they are peaceful beings who are here to help us and give the people of Earth some amazing gifts, but as always there's a twist. We learn that Visitors or V's are actually highly aggressive, reptilian creatures, who have been on Earth, disguised as humans, for years. Many have kept their cover, while others have learned to experience human emotion. These emotions have led them to join up with the human and rebel against their queen. The star of the show is Elizabeth Mitchell, better known as Juliette from Lost. She plays an FBI agent who doesn't trust the visitors and wants to find out what they're really doing here and I can honestly say that she makes the show. If you thought she was good as Juliette, wait until you meet Erica, a smart, tough, fearless woman who will do whatever it takes to find the truth and protect her family. She is joined by an outspoken priest, a rebellious V, and a wanted terrorist, as together they form their own resistance cell. The leader of the V's is Anna (Morena Baccarin), and yes, she is the daughter of Diana from the original series, and that's how the two series are linked. Diana was a pretty tough character, but Anna is absolutely ruthless. She has no limits and is willing to do anything to achieve her goals. She trusts no one and won't let anyone get in her way, even the people she loves the most. The first season is really about discovering who the V's are and seeing how ruthless, cunning, and cold they can be. The second season is more about getting inside the resistance and seeing why they are fighting and what they are fighting for. As you all know, I am a huge science fiction fan and I have no problem saying that this may have been the best sci-fi show to come along in the last twenty years. The writing is just incredible and when you pair that with acting that is just utterly mind-blowing, it's a recipe for a show that can't be missed. V had the potential to be the show that changed the very face of TV Science Fiction forever. I am not exaggerating when I say this, because this show really was that good. It is so imaginative and exciting, like a soap opera and action movie combined with the unique and unusual genre that is the essence of science fiction. There wasn't a single episode of this series that I didn't love, the cast is as good as a cast can be, and the writing is the kind of creative stuff that Hugo and Saturn awards are made of. V was the heart and soul of a potential Sci-Fi return to the top of network television, but they made the mistake of putting it on ABC and for that V paid with it's life.
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