posty Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Episode Title: (#101) "Pilot" Air Date: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 PREMIERE THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SERIES PREMIERE OF "V" ARRIVES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 ON ABC Elizabeth Mitchell, Scott Wolf, Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch Among Stars "V" is a re-imagining of the 1980s' miniseries about the world's first encounter with an alien race. With huge spaceships simultaneously appearing over 29 cities around the world, the Visitors (or V's) seem to promote a message of peace. Through their generous offer to share advanced technology, the V's quickly build a following that may be overlooking a more malevolent agenda. The premiere of "V," from Warner Bros. Television, airs TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on ABC. In the premiere episode, "Pilot," an image of Anna (Morena Baccarin), the leader of the V's, is projected worldwide as she speaks about everyone joining together and no longer being divided by country or separated by fear. She wants us all to unite, and is counting on a very important component of human nature -- devotion. At first considered a threat, the V's quickly become a fascination and a link to things that lay just beyond our reach. For Tyler (Logan Huffman), a teenaged boy, the V's are his ticket to being a part of something big and something that offers hope. To Chad (Scott Wolf), an egotistical news anchor who wants to further his career, his exclusive interview with Anna begins his desire to dominate the airwaves. Father Jack (Joel Gretsch), a priest with questioning faith, is hesitant to believe in the Visitors' righteousness and goes outside of the church in search of the truth. There are other dissidents who believe the Visitors aren't who they say they are, including Ryan (Morris Chestnut), who is faced with a life-altering decision when the V's show up. And to FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell), who discovers, while investigating a terrorist cell, what lurks beneath the alarmingly human exterior of the Visitors, resisting this new world has never been more important -- and never has there been more at stake. This truly is the dawning of a new day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posty Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/20...tly-futile.html The remake of "V" that lands amid heavy promotion by ABC on Tuesday gets a lot of things right. It sets up its story quickly, draws at least a few of its characters in more than one dimension and looks very good. But. Or maybe a small-b "but," because in part my feelings about the prospects for "V" as a series are colored by having re-watched some of the 1984-85 series (thanks, Syfy!) that grew out of the two "V" miniseries that aired in 1983 and '84. The weekly series, to put it charitably, was not good -- even my 13-year-old, alien-loving self recognized how thinly plotted and spottily executed it was. So if I have reservations about the new "V," they come mostly from memories of how the original went off the rails and not from what I've seen of the new show. Because Tuesday's premiere is really quite good. The setup is the same: Giant alien ships appear over the planet's major cities, causing awe, panic and wonder in the population. The leader of the Visitors, Anna ("Firefly's" Morena Baccarin), appears to the world and assures us that they've come in peace and are eager to help us. The Visitors inspire intense devotion in much of the populace, although a small band of dissidents discovers the Vs have more sinister purposes. Elizabeth Mitchell ("Lost") stars as an FBI counterterrorism agent who's investigating a possible terrorist group whose chatter goes way up when the Visitors arrive. It's the only one she's tracking that does so, and it soon becomes apparent why: The group isn't planning to attack any human targets, it's planning to defend against the invasion; its leader (David Richmond-Peck) says that a Visitor sleeper cell has been worming its way into every aspect of our society for years, and with the arrival of the motherships it's about to go active. The new series largely jettisons the original's unsubtle but effective Nazi allegory but keeps intact the Visitors' seductive promises -- access to higher technology and free healing of the sick -- and their manipulation of the media (wherever their home planet is must have good PR consultants), as represented by an ambitious TV reporter (Scott Wolf) who trades some his ethics for access in an effort to advance his career. Wolf's character, Chad Decker, gets one of the best lines of the premiere when he incredulously asks Anna, "You want to provide universal health care?" It's a timely line, and I've already seen more than one reading of the Visitors, with their heady promises and darker motives, as stand-ins for the cult of personality surrounding Barack Obama. If you're so inclined, then I'm sure you can read it that way -- but you can also read it, as I do, as a larger indictment of our collective desire to get something for nothing. And as far as I can tell, the new "V" is less concerned with scoring any sort of political or societal points than with telling a pretty old-fashioned tale of humans vs. aliens. The pilot does that very well, setting up multiple conflicts involving Mitchell's Erica Evans, her V-loving teenage son (Logan Huffman), a priest trying to process the larger meaning of the Visitors' arrival (Joel Gretsch, "The 4400") and a man (Morris Chestnut) torn between his former allegiance to the resistance and his love for the woman he wants to marry (Lourdes Benedicto). The pilot, written by Scott Peters (who created "The 4400"), wisely doesn't spend much time on exposition; even if you're unfamiliar with the original "V," the alien-invasion template is so familiar that it doesn't need a whole lot of explanation. The visual effects -- mostly shots of the massive Visitor motherships hovering over cities -- are well-done, and by the episode's end the battle lines are drawn. (And yes, the aliens are still lizard-people masquerading as humans.) The big question, then, is whether Peters, fellow executive producer Jeffrey Bell and the rest of the writers can sustain the impressive craft of the pilot for however long the series runs. Peters and Bell have said they have the first two seasons pretty well mapped, and going way back to May's upfronts ABC chief Steve McPherson hinted that the long-term plan for "V" is a finite, four-year run. All those things are good signs for a serialized show like this -- because after the promise of the pilot, I'd hate to see it go the way of the original weekly series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I remember the original show freaking me out when I was young. But i've kind of come around on this. I set one of my DVRs to watch it. I'm hoping for a bit of a Battlestar Galactica type sci-fi drama. No idea if it'll be good, but I'm going to give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posty Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Has anyone heard of "Caprica"? It supposedly a TV series in 2010 that's a BS prequel based on how the AI developed? From wiki... Caprica begins 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar Galactica as it tells the story of how Colonial humanity first created the robotic Cylons, who would later plot to destroy human civilization in retaliation for their enslavement. The first season, composed of the two-hour pilot (released on DVD in April 2009) and 18 one-hour episodes, is expected to begin airing on Syfy in the United States on January 22, 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Have it set up on the dVr. Looks like the swapped the genders of some of the main roles from the original. Male reporter, female Marc Singer character, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 A good start IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmypg Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I enjoyed the pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 A good start IMO A great start. Intrigue, hot wimmens and violence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I thought it was lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat2334 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 A good start IMO +1 I liked it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 So far feels almost identical to the original. Hope they shake it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaldan21 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Everyone in my household enjoyed it, there was a mix of people who have seen the original, and some that knew nothing about it. It has achieved Season Pass status. -DD21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 They got me, great hour of TV. The previews look good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Spoiler sort of...for those that have seen the original...a couple of thoughts... I guess one thing different from the original was the premise that the visitors have already been here a while and infiltrated society. That's a good spin (though done before in other sci-fi shows). I do see alot of similarities though from the original (some visitors on our side, looks like gender reversal in the whole human-visitor baby thing coming with the blond visitor saying she chooses the young kid i'm guessing to be the father. The original of course had the human carry the baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posty Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Any Firefly/Serenity fans? When she hit "Wash" and exposed his reptile head under the fake skin, all I could think was, "Oh sh1t, they killed Wash!" And don't forget he plays Alpha in Dollhouse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I was disappointed there was zero suspense of finding out they were reptiles. Couldn't one of them been caught eating a live guinea pig like in the original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 meh. I thought it was pretty stupid. Looks like they put all their eggs in the CGI effects basket and forgot to hire real writers. I deleted this one from the DVR. I may just be too picky when it comes to an hour long dramatic show.......programs like The Wire and Sopranos have spoiled me I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Not nearly what I was hoping for. I am going to watch again but it better turn it up a little if they want to keep me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Don't forget to watch tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Any Firefly/Serenity fans? When she hit "Wash" and exposed his reptile head under the fake skin, all I could think was, "Oh sh1t, they killed Wash!" I'll tell you what, I never watching the Firefly series when it was on TV. Then Serenity came on HBO one night and I decided, "Meh, why not". By far one of the better movies out there across any genre. The best part is that you do not have to watch the series for it to make sense. I ended up buying the series on DVD and watched it all within 2 days over a weekend. Fox really screwed the pooch on this IMO. Great series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat2334 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I'll tell you what, I never watching the Firefly series when it was on TV. Then Serenity came on HBO one night and I decided, "Meh, why not". By far one of the better movies out there across any genre. The best part is that you do not have to watch the series for it to make sense. I ended up buying the series on DVD and watched it all within 2 days over a weekend. Fox really screwed the pooch on this IMO. Great series. very underrated flick - loved it. Not a hardcore sci-fi guy at all in fact I thought Star Trek sucked, you couldn't pay me to watch it again I really enjoyed Serenity tho and always watch it when it is on the movie channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posty Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Episode Title: (#102) "There Is No Normal Anymore" Air Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 ERICA AND FATHER JACK ARE TRACKED BY A "SEEKER," WHILE CHAD BECOMES MORE INVESTIGATIVE IN HIS NEWSCASTS, ON ABC'S "V" "There Is No Normal Anymore" -- Erica and Father Jack, having quickly determined they're both against the arrival of the Visitors, suddenly find themselves being tracked by a "Seeker" from the V's. Meanwhile Chad, thinking he blew it for 80 million viewers with his exclusive first interview with Anna, looks to pick himself up and so becomes more investigative in his next newscast; and Dale Maddox's (Alan Tudyk) wife and law enforcement begin questioning Erica about his whereabouts, on "V," TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on ABC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 DAMNN IT! for some reason it did not record on my DVR even though it was set to record Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posty Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 DAMNN IT! for some reason it did not record on my DVR even though it was set to record Check ABC.COM sometime tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 The one thing I kept noticing is that the hour seemed to be almost constant commercials. I'd be interested to know how much actual show there was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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