1.01
“Pilot”
Triumphant. After all these years and struggles to bring V back to the screen, the wait has definitely been worth it. The premiere wasn’t quite note perfect, but there was far more good than bad in my mind. The opening segment drew me in quite well despite knowing the gist of what was about to happen. The special effects were well done indeed. When a plane crashes into New York City, it is genuinely spooky.
The characters, despite there being a lot to introduce, shine in their own way in limited doses. Sometimes you feel you don’t know a character when they are this rushed, but in V I felt I knew enough about the character to want to know more.
Elizabeth Mitchell is top notch as FBI agent Erica Evans. Evans is much like Juliet from Lost but with a bit more sense of humor. She also makes a great Juliet from V – type as eventual strong willed leader of the resistance. Joel Gretsch’s young priest who struggles with the V’s arrival and the subsequent immediate blessing given them by the Vatican seems to fill the Mike Donovan role pretty easily. Not as cocky as Donovan, but definitely has that outsider but still resisting kind of feel.
But most importantly is Morena Baccarain as Anna. She has the toughest job given the iconic role that the original Diana is. She manages with aplomb to be both sexy and devious. Creepy, chilling, and yet somehow irresistible all in one.
Morris Chestnut adds a lot to his role as Ryan Nichols, a business man with a hinted past. His relationship with soon to be fiancee Valerie Stevens (not given a lot to work with in the premiere) is the most grounded in the show so it seems.
Much time is spent on the Visitors attempting to ingrain themselves with the world’s youth, a hearkening back to the original mini-series and the Hitler Youth. Erica’s rebellious son Tyler is definitely the most amalgamous of the new pilot’s characters. Part Daniel Bernstein (V-Youth), part Sean Donovan (son of the resistance leader who is entwined with the aliens), part Kyle Bates (motorcycle driving young hothead), his relationship with Lisa of the Visitors appears to be important.
Scott Wolf plays Chad Decker, the new version’s Kristine Walsh, a reporter who sacrifices some integrity to get the story of a lifetime. He shows more regret than Kristine did and I can’t help but wonder what’s to come with that particular role.
After the V’s show up and start mingling, Erica continues to work on her anti-terrorism, when one particular cell of terrorists has spiked communications and the acquisition of C4. Her and her partner Dale (played by the ALWAYS intriguing and entertaining Alan Tudyk) make some good leads that eventually lead her to the meeting of a resistance cell.
Unlike the previous V, it seems in this incarnation, the Visitors have been here for awhile, infiltrating us for years. Georgie (played exceptionally well and erratically by David Richmond-Peck lays out the idea that not only have the Vs been around for years, so has this underground movement.
During the meeting the V’s attack with a probe reminiscent of the one Luke Skywalker trained against in the Millenium Falcon, which sights the resistance and in a nod flashes some kind of red language that was highly reminiscent of the Visitor language. During the fight we get the first big secret when suddenly Dale is there attacking Erica. This is where we first see the big surprise – they’re reptillian. I’ve seen some talk against revealing this so soon but to me, it’s a remake – this is not a new story. Most people probably know the history of the show enough that this is not a huge reveal so I was all for getting it out of the way.
What’s even more of a twist is despite the very human actions of Ryan all episode it seems Ryan is a traitor V. He shows Georgie and tells him there are others like him. They will help fight. At the end we’re left with a world that has almost become devotional to the V’s who have been offering cures for sixty five diseases, offering peace and love to the world. And a small group to be led by Georgie (the Ham Tyler of the show it seems), Erica and Jack, with help from Ryan.
There was a few negatives to the episode. One. At the end of Ana’s first speech, New York breaks out into applause. Um. No. Not very realistic at all reaction. At best the public would be skeptical which is shown later when the press acts a little more harshly to them.
Second, the episode does feel a bit rushed. There’s a ton to fit into a one hour premiere. It might have been better to have had a two hour premiere. Things happen a bit quickly, but it is not awful.
Another interesting if possibly unintended side of the show is a very anti-Obama viewpoint. The V’s show up out of almost nowhere to be our saviors promising change of the better, acting as one, and of course…universal health care. Are they trying to say Obama is truly a lizard from outerspace who wants to eat us??? Inquiring minds want to know!
Overall it was interesting to watch the reactions of the public to their arrival. It hopefully will showcase that a bit more as we go on. What the show does do well though is set up an overall feel to the show. The V’s seem creepy, the resistance seems nearly hopeless at first, and there is a certain sense of gloom but the show never loses it’s hope. It was certainly enough to draw me in and keep watching for certain. There is a ton of potential here if ABC gives it the shot it deserves.