(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.
More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.
Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.
(S01E03) When you're mounting a resistance against an alien presence that way outclasses you in technology, and even outclasses you in propaganda and being good-looking, you're going to need help, and preferably of the "inside" variety. With V scheduled to go on a long hiatus after next week's episode, it's important that the resistance come together by then.
While we made good progress this episode, and learned some more good information, I fear they won't get us to a compelling hook before they go into hibernation for the winter. People will forget about this show if we don't get hooked in good next week. Unless ABC wants to promote its relaunch like another new series, they need to grab us by the jowls and sink their teeth in ... or at least unhinge our jaws and cram a guinea pig of awesome down our gullets.
(S01E02) See, now things are starting to make more sense. The important thing, as a fan of the old V, is to remember that this is a whole new kind of war. The Visitors aren't coming down in bright red suits with funny voices. Instead they've been infiltrating our society for years, possibly decades.
The question of why Erica wouldn't just go straight to her bosses at the FBI with what she knows is self-explanatory when you consider that her partner of seven years was a Visitor. They look and act like us, and they could be any one of us. So who do you trust takes on a whole new meaning.
I think it's a smart move to establish more of a guerrilla war against the Visitors. And now that the one resistance cell Erica and Jack found has been scattered to the wind, it's a matter of starting over. But, as seen with the developments this week, it may be a race to uncover the truth before it's too late.
You probably heard that ABC's V premiere got off to a big start in the ratings. In fact, it was the biggest drama series premiere of the season, seen by 14.3 million viewers and netting a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49. What does all that mean? To me, it says that even without the skywriting promotion that was canned, ABC marketing had raised awareness and drew the curious, the sci-fi fans, the nostalgic and a few more watchers for the launch.
Despite the big number, there's a good chance that V will sink in future outings because viewers like me were not hooked. I wanted to fall in like/love, but it didn't happen. Here's five reasons why:
Did you miss the series premiere of V last week? If so, no need to despair, because it's on SlashControl and I've embedded it below. The show scored good ratings, and Jason had great things to say about the premiere, noting some similarities to Battlestar Galactica. He was also glad to see how the writers updated the storyline from the classic 1980s miniseries.
"I wasn't sure how they could modify the storylines from the series I remembered to accurately find parallels to our war on terrorism, and the terrorist movements themselves, but they did," writes Jason. "And they did it all while staying true to the struggles and fears that's kept the original series fresh in our minds for 26 years now."
Have the Visitors arrived on Earth with a message of peace? Time will tell, but not before they fully and irretrievably embed themselves into our society.
(S01E01) We were promised a modern re-imagining of the classic '80s V mini-series, and that's exactly what we got. Gone were the allusions to World War II Nazism and the treatment of Jews in Europe. Instead, we're offered allusions to the war we've been fighting for eight years now.
I wasn't sure how they could modify the storylines from the series I remembered to accurately find parallels to our war on terrorism, and the terrorist movements themselves, but they did. And they did it all while staying true to the struggles and fears that's kept the original series fresh in our minds for 26 years now.
Even better, I watched this with my 10-year old son who's never seen the original, and he was absolutely riveted. Everything I loved about V back then is here, and there's so much more to get excited about. I always thought V should be an ongoing series, and even though we eventually got one, I think this time they've finally got it right.
ABC'sremake of V starts on November 3 (for four episodes, then it's going to take a break). Here are the first ten minutes of the pilot (even though the video says eight minutes, it's over 9 minutes long).
It's an effective opening, introducing all of the characters and showing us how the aliens come to our planet. If something happened like this in real life, would people really stand in the street and point and go to the top of buildings to get a better look or would we see a big ship and completely freak out and run out of town?
Remember when the networks hardly did anything with their TV shows online? Heck, remember when we didn't even have official web sites and fan sites for our favorite shows? If we wanted to talk about, say, Knot's Landing, we had to open our windows and yell to our neighbors, "Can you believe Val did that last night?!" Either that or send a letter via mail, and that took days.
But now we have web sites for every show, and fans of ABC's remake of V have already put up a bunch of sites for that show (which premieres November 3 ):
If you were bummed out by the death (?) of Juliet on the season finale ofLost (honestly, who the hell knows what's going to happen in the last season with that storyline), you'll get to see Elizabeth Mitchell on ABC's new version of V this fall. But is Juliet gone from Lost? In this interview with Michael Ausiello, she addresses that question and actually gives a shout out to fans of the show.
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have: 24, Dexter, Gossip Girl, Heroes, Lost, NCIS, and Psych. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
John has already told you about the V remake that will air on ABC next season, and that got me thinking about the original 80s version. I clearly remember one scene where head baddie Diana (Jane Badler) chowed down. Here's the clip. I really hope they redo this scene in the new version.
OK, so Juliet set off the bomb at the end of the Lost season finale. I guess we can assume that this means that Jack and Daniel's plan to blow up the Swan worked and that history (or the future) has been changed and Oceanic Flight 815 will arrive safely in Los Angeles. I mean, the only other thing that can happen is the island blows up and they all ... die? There's probably a third option, though I'm out of Advil right now and don't want to think of it. Maybe the bomb goes off and it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be?
But back to Juliet. It was announced earlier today that Elizabeth Mitchell will be a full-time cast member of the ABC remake of V, so this probably means that she'll be gone from the show, even if her character is alive or they have flashbacks or whatever. Unless the island hides a race of alien lizard people, she's gone from the show. Or is she? Michael Ausiello is reporting she'll be in a "handful" of episodes next season.
I'm not really sure where to begin, but I think this is a pretty good starting point: holy crap. Just like every season finale before this one, Lost has once again left us all with our jaws on the floor and our brains on overdrive. This changes everything. The big question? How does it change everything? Is it January yet?
I can't believe how fast this season of Lost has gone by. There's probably a time-travel joke buried in that realization somewhere, but my head is still spinning from "Follow the Leader," so I'm not really in clever witticism mode. Honestly, I'm speechless. For the most part, this wasn't one of my favorite episodes of the season. But for me to be at a loss for words at one of Lost's sub-par installments - well that says something about the quality of this show. "Follow the Leader" was a lot of set up for next week's two hour finale and the events that have been set in motion (even though it seems they always happened) are mind-numbing.
(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.
(S01E03) When you're mounting a resistance against an alien presence that way outclasses you in technology, and even outclasses you in propaganda and being good-looking, you're going to need help, and preferably of the "inside" variety. With V scheduled to go on a long hiatus after next week's episode, it's important that the resistance come together by then. 
(S01E02) See, now things are starting to make more sense. The important thing, as a fan of the old V, is to remember that this is a whole new kind of war. The Visitors aren't coming down in bright red suits with funny voices. Instead they've been infiltrating our society for years, possibly decades.
OK, so Juliet set off the bomb at the end of the 
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