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There's a lot to like about V, an exceptionally well-made series combining science fiction, action-adventure, and personal drama (and debuting here on DVD with all 12 first-season episodes on three discs). From the moment 29 enormous spaceships appear over an equal number of major cities (the principal action takes place in New York and aboard the mother ship that hovers over it), nothing will ever be the same. But the Visitors, commonly known as Vs, "are of peace"--or so says Anna (Morena Baccarin), their young, beautiful, preternaturally serene leader (the Vs look human, but as we soon discover, their appearance is only one part of them that isn't what it seems). Folks around the globe are smitten as the Vs perform Christ-like medical miracles and use their awesome technology and messianic powers of persuasion to wow the Earthlings--especially a smarmy, headline-hugging TV "journalist" (Scott Wolf) who becomes their willing mouthpiece, helping the Vs seduce the entire global population… almost. Of course, there are some who know better, specifically the "Fifth Column," a resistance group comprised of humans (with Elizabeth Mitchell as an FBI agent whose son is in thrall to the aliens) and a few "traitor" Vs who've lived on Earth for years (including Morris Chestnut as a V whose human girlfriend is pregnant). They know what the Visitors' real agenda is--and that dirty deeds like establishing terror cells and surreptitiously injecting drugs into humans are only the beginning.
All of this is offered in a very slick, entertaining package; the plotting is clever and just unpredictable enough, the effects work is outstanding (especially good is a technique whereby Vs on their mother ship are rendered like video game characters), and while V is hardly what you'd call profound, it does touch on some interesting ideas (such as the role of emotions, of which the Vs have none, or the danger of putting one's faith in false gods). That will help viewers overlook some of the show's more dubious elements. For instance, the utter gullibility of the vast majority of humans in the face of the aliens' transparent duplicity is preposterous, even by sci-fi standards; by the same token, it's hard to swallow that the Fifth Column, which seems to consist of about four people, could possibly pose a threat to the omnipotent Visitors. Still, by the time it reaches its season-ending cliffhanger, V has given us more than enough reasons to tune in again next year. --Sam Graham
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Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
John May lives,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: V: The Complete First Season (DVD)
In about 99% of science fiction, aliens come to earth in two ways: charging in to invade, or they come in peace... so they can invade quietly. The second kind are the main problem in "V: The Complete First Season," a remake of the 1980s series/miniseries about mysterious alien Visitors who come to Earth with some nasty ulterior motives. While this remake suffers from some "Lost syndrome," it's a sleek, complex story with an intriguing cast of characters.City-sized alien ships have appeared over twenty-nine cities worldwide, and the aliens' leader "Anna" (Morena Baccarin) declares that, "We are of peace." The Visitors offer their advanced technology to better the world, and cause massive changes -- social, religious, medical, and so on. While hunting a terrorist cell FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) stumbles across an anti-Visitor resistance -- and the shocking discovery that not only are the visitors reptilian creatures in humanoid skins, but some Visitors are hiding among us. She and the skeptical priest Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) begin forming their own little resistance cell, along with the V-in-hiding Ryan Nicholas (Morris Chestnut) who is trying to reactivate an alien rebellion known as the Fifth Column. At the same time, news anchor Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) finds himself the media ambassador of the V's, caught between ambition and his growing doubts. But the resistance has more than Anna's cruel, duplicitous nature to deal with -- Erica's gullible son Tyler (Logan Huffman) has become a "peace ambassador" for the V's and is falling in love with Anna's daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoort). Ryan's girlfriend is pregnant with a hybrid baby. One of their number is captured by the V's and brutally tortured, even as Anna hatches terrifying new plots to wipe the Fifth Column from existence... "V: The Complete First Season" is very different from the 1980s version -- there are sweeping changes to the story, characters, the political commentary and the aliens' manipulation ("Gratitude can morph into worship. Or worse... devotion!"). The only problem with this season is that it suffers from "Lost syndrome" at times, where it feels like the plot is moving WAAAAAAYYYY too slowly. But the writing is good -- it's full of suspense and some amazing plot twists (just see what Anna's unleashing on the Fifth Column). The characters are painstakingly sketched out and developed, along with strong dialogue ("Human decency's a privilege, father. He's lost his. And, when we prove to you that he's lying, you're gonna lose yours, too") and some very powerful emotional moments (a Fifth Column doctor is forced to murder his own friend). And yeah, there's some creepy stuff too, such as when Erica gets her shocking first glimpse of a V face. Not so much rodent-eating, though. And the story revolves around two strong actresses -- Mitchell has a powerful, wiry presence with plenty of hidden sorrow/strength, and Baccarin is wonderfully creepy as the ruthless, cunning Anna. Chestnut is simply brilliant as a good-hearted V who cherishes freedom and his human lover, and Gretsch is also excellent as a priest torn between his priestly duty and the need to stop the V's. The problem: Huffman doesn't have the chops to make Tyler anything but a whiny little pain, and Vandervoort feels like a token love interest for Tyler. It has some freshman flaws, but "V: The Complete First Season" is a promising start for one of the few sci-fi shows on network TV -- powerful acting, solid scripts, and some nicely creepy aliens.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Expect the Original V,
By David Connell "basileus2" (Hamilton, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: V: The Complete First Season (DVD)
As a die hard fan of the original V I had mixed feelings about the newest reboot of it. The original was definitely EVENT television, and the reveal that the Visitors were actually lizards in human skin was pretty shocking at the time.This time around, we know all that, so what could a new series have to offer? Well the premise is the same: ominous alien ships hover over major cities world wide with the aliens offering peace and a better world. Where it differs is that while these aliens are not telling the truth much as in the original, we still don't know what it is they want. As a previous poster mentioned it suffers from the "Lost" syndrome. Or for that matter, the "X-Files" syndrome. Unless the new show plans to go a totally different route from the original, we already KNOW what they want, so there really is no need to keep us guessing and dragging things out over several seasons. Just get to it! But the new changes are intriguing. That the aliens have been on Earth for quite awhile, and we do not know who they are and we can't trust anyone. Yes, shades of X-Files and Battlestar Galactica, but both were excellent shows and no shame in borrowing a few things from them. The acting is superb, especially Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin as Erika and Anna respectively. I won't reveal anything of the plot, but expect a showdown between those two strong characters at some future point if/when season 2 starts. Another thing I like about the new season is that the Aliens actually are alien. In the original, they were basically just bad people (similar to Nazi's). This time around there actually does seem to be a totally alien culture that on the surface seems human, but in fact seems almost insectile. Definitely a show worth investing your time in.
5.0 out of 5 stars
we come in peace-always,
This review is from: V: The Complete First Season (DVD)
Excellent update to the original series. They have used the lessons Battlestar Galactica learned well. Hope this series lasts longer than the original.
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