First Impressions of Premiere

Ratings, Demographics, Casting Incidentals:

Tuesday, November 3rd at 8pm, ABC aired the newly reimagined V series to high numbers in key demographics. Eonline reports Nielson estimates at an average of 13.9 million viewers and Zap2It reports that the show took the 18-49 demographic with a 5.2 rating. There were more viewers in the second half of the show than there were on the first half. This isn't bad at all considering the internet reports that some local rural markets co-opted the show in order to air sports programming instead.

So, according to the numbers, the show was a success. It certainly had science fiction media in the credits. Kenneth Johnson, the original creator, is listed in the credits alongside Scott Peters (The 4400) who takes the helm in the update. Cast includes scifi vets Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Joel Gretsch (The 4400), and Laura Vandervoot (Smallville). Experienced and more mainstream actors Morris Chestnut and Scott Wolf round out the cast. Logan Huffman (Tyler Evans) incidentally has a strong resemblance to Charlie Finn, a gueststar on Castle last season, making me think the kid had been on shows with three former Firefly cast - Alan Tudyk (Wash), Nathan Fillion (Mal), and of course Morena Baccarin (Inara). For a few minutes I was /really/ excited there.



Review & Reflections:

The easy stuff- The special effects were great and well-placed. I loved the entrance of the ships and the un"fleshing" of the Vs. There was an unnerving moment where you see the reptilian eye through the torn cloned skin. Some of it was heavy-handed - such as the momentous earthshake that jogs the entire population as the ships approach. While it makes sense from a technical point, it reinforces the plot like a piano falling on Grandma. Something huge has occurred and it will shake your perceptions and world. All in all, I liked the ship designs and loved how they used the bottoms of the ships as projectors of the message - although Anna as a divine being smiling down from the clouds was another discordant piano crash.


In my opinion, the series is moving entirely too quickly if it intends to be a sustained storyline. The arrival, reactions, and chaos occurring could have been contained in one hour alone culminating in the Visitors introducing themselves. Perhaps this would have evoked screams of War of the Planets or Independence Day... or even JJ Abrams' Cloverfield. A lot more could have been done with the suspense and terror of the population. The feeling that chaos has been reigning for a solid span of time and then in a classic fashion the aliens reveal themselves, promising peace, a new partnership, and an Obama-esque hope... I think that would have worked better.

The Visitors were outed too promptly, and with such an ensemble cast there needed to be more of a connection to the humans. The two minis both had such sense of menace from the Vs with the exception of Martin, Willy, etc, but I think it would have been stronger if the audience had been allowed to view the Vs like the Earth population did initially - as scary and then later as saviors. To reveal them as political animals who have been infiltrating society for a long time so promptly puts the viewers outside of the story rather than dragging them in.

However, the concept of the sleepers is genius. I do like this concept even if it does feel a bit BSG to me. The audience is presented very early on with the idea of a sleeper cell of bad Vs and another group of resistance Vs (which include Chestnut's Nichols). The sleeper will awake - shades of Dune. The audience is given the impression that most levels of society have been affected already, including Evans' partner Maddox (Tudyk), Father Travis, and Nichols. Like the Nazis Youth, the Vs expand their early indoctrination by aiming their hearts and minds approach at the young in their Peace Ambassadors program. They provide technology including health solutions and seek to eventually replace the entire health system.

The line between V and Humanity is blurred here, unlike the original material. The original minis did not make any pretense at confusing the Vs for humans with the pitch-adjusted voices, the regimented and hard costumes (shoulderpads and big hair baby), the military precision, and the cold arrogance on Diana at all times. The aliens present themselves as above the darker emotions but Anna reveals herself to be politically savvy and there is an instant moment of ferocity in the attacks on the cells. Maddox's attack on Evans at the end of the hour is also ferocious and unexpected - and personally too pre-emptive. He would have been significantly more effective if he could have remained supporting cast and been revealed later on. Viewers are not given enough time to seriously invest in any one of the characters or populations beyond simply being confused.

Other aspects of the show which I personally found troublesome have already been discussed in professional and blogger reviews, so I won't go into detail. I do find the allusions to Obama and his administration excessive and unnecessary. It is a free world however, but the fact that the show premiered exactly one year after we voted him in is remarkably odd. I wonder if they are intending to be critical of Obama's administration (especially with the Vs assuming control of health care) or if this is the nature of art to reveal opinions of the reviewer undesigned by the artist. BSG's third season also reflected then political turmoil, evoking images of Iraq and occupation. I'm curious where the show intends to go in this direction.

Visually, the Vs do present a softer image in their uniforms, but much of that can be explained by the fact that it isn't influenced by the 80s (hair, shoulderpads, Dynasty). The point is for the characters to be attractive to the audience and to be subtle in ways that the script is not. In particular, Anna's appearance with doe eyes, large soft lips, and pixie hair give her a very deceptive presence. In particular, I do like the racial mixtures in the cast. The original one had some racial diversity, but in both the major cast is predominantly white.

Regardless, it will be an exciting ride. Let the occupation commence.