V (2009 TV series)

Did You Know?

• Special features on the first season DVD and Blu-ray include a commentary track on 'Fruition' by executive producers Scott Rosenbaum and Steve Pearlman.
• The second season DVD and Blu-ray include a blooper reel and two featurettes.
• Entertainment Weekly put the original V on its 2008 list 'The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982'.

Premise

Giant spaceships appear over 29 major cities worldwide, and Anna, the charismatic leader of the extraterrestrial Visitors, declares they come in peace. The Visitors offer advanced technology and medical knowledge in exchange for a small amount of Earth's resources. FBI counterterrorism agent Erica Evans discovers the aliens are reptilian humanoids wearing pseudo-human skin, who have infiltrated human institutions and plan to take over Earth. Erica joins a resistance movement that includes Ryan, a Visitor sleeper agent who developed human emotions. Their rebellion becomes part of a larger Fifth Column movement opposing Anna's plans, though the Visitors have won public favor by curing diseases and recruiting Earth's youth as spies.

Cast and characters

Elizabeth Mitchell portrays Erica Evans, an FBI counterterrorism agent who becomes leader of the global Fifth Column. Morris Chestnut plays Ryan Nichols, a Visitor posing as human and a Fifth Columnist who later betrays the group after Anna holds his baby daughter hostage; he is strangled to death by his daughter in the season-two finale. Joel Gretsch is Father Jack Landry, a Catholic priest and former U.S. Army chaplain whose unease with the Visitors is validated; he is eventually laicized after speaking out against them. Logan Huffman plays Tyler Evans, Erica's teenage son who becomes a V peace ambassador and Lisa's love interest; he is killed by Lisa's twin sister after mating with her in the season-two finale. Lourdes Benedicto appears as Valerie Stevens, Ryan's fiancée who is murdered by Anna after giving birth. Laura Vandervoort plays Lisa, a Visitor and Anna's daughter who displays growing human emotion and joins the Fifth Column; she is imprisoned by Anna and replaced by her identical sister. Charles Mesure portrays Kyle Hobbes, a former British SAS soldier and mercenary recruited by the Fifth Column, who is blackmailed by the Visitors.

Production

The series was announced in May 2009, with executive producers Scott Peters, Jace Hall, Steve Pearlman, and Jeffrey Bell. Filming of post-pilot episodes began on August 10, 2009. Elizabeth Mitchell noted the show would honor iconic moments from the original franchise. Scott Peters confirmed the series would nod to the original, including elements such as the huge ships, red uniforms, eating a hamster, and the alien baby. The 1983 reveal of the Visitors' reptilian appearance was updated with real flesh and blood rather than a latex mask. Reuters described the concept as combining conflict, suspense, and philosophical issues, with a post-9/11 emphasis on trust and terror. Production was temporarily suspended in August 2009 due to a dispute filed with the Writers Guild of America by original creator Kenneth Johnson, who sought to retain his created by credit. Warner Bros. argued the new show was fundamentally changed, but the Writers Guild disagreed, and Johnson retained the credit when production resumed in September 2009.

Reception

The series premiere received generally favorable reviews, scoring 67 out of 100 on Metacritic. E! Online gave it high praise, while USA Today's Robert Bianco listed it among the top ten new shows. The Hollywood Reporter called it clever and accessible. King Features' Cindy Elavsky described it as the best new show on television. The New York Times found the ideas enticing but the storytelling slapdash and formulaic. The A.V. Club gave the premiere a C rating, calling it rote and by-the-numbers. The second-season premiere scored 49 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed reviews. Some reviewers interpreted the series as an allegory of the presidency of Barack Obama, noting parallels in phrases like hope, change, and universal health care. Troy Patterson of Slate discussed this interpretation, while Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post remarked on the timing of the debut. Chicago Tribune's Glenn Garvin called the show controversial, describing it as a barbed commentary on Obamamania.