Cool News
Another Review Of ABC’s V Remake!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Would real New Yorkers break into joyous applause if a giant alien ship blocked out the sun over the Manhattan and announced to the city's denizens they come in peace? Or would real New Yorkers flip off the ship and scream at it to move?
In a “V” clip released by ABC, the New Yorkers applaud joyously. That’s what I call sci-fi!
Here’s someone who thinks the “V” pilot “works” and wants to see more:
AICN has posted one of my reviews last May for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (one of the few very positive reviews that was cautioned by yourself as a plant to satisfy the talkbackers), and I’m here to report on another positive outcome on a highly anticipated production: ABC’s reboot of V; you know, the alien invasion miniseries on NBC from the 80’s. Well, I haven’t seen that series, so I went into it completely cold. I’ll give my verdict first: a very intriguing, well constructed, and intelligent pilot that has me very interested to see where this series plans to go. Possible spoilers.
Firstly, just to clarify for anybody wondering, no, I did not find a pirated copy of the pilot online. I take surveys and occasionally watch TV pilots on a site called UTalkBack.com. On that site, I’ve seen two other shows: a very shitty Amy Smart dramady about an aspiring Congresswoman called See Kate Run and the reality show Shark Tank, which is intriguing at first, but will quickly get old and tiring. This is where I saw the pilot for V in its entirety.
The plot for anybody interested: over a dozen UFOs appear hovering on top of major cities across the world, but these visitors aren’t there to attack like in Independence Day, but h elp the human race with their vastly superior intelligence and technology in exchange for water and minerals common on Earth. From there, the visitors (V’s, for those who haven’t picked up on it yet) set up healing stations all over the world and people, for the most part, accept them with open arms.
The leader of the V’s, Anna (played by Morena Baccarin from Firefly), is a beautiful woman and acts as the peacemaker between the two societies. She uses the services of popular TV anchor Chad Decker (played by Scott Wolf) to get her messages out to the humans, who reluctantly agrees since while his career would skyrocket, he’s torn by the fact that he has to ask her questions aimed to provide a positive impression instead of the hard-hitting questions that need to be asked.
The other characters of focus include Erica (the great Elizabeth Mitchell from Lost), an FBI investigator who is skeptical of the entire situation, Father Jack, who is conflicted by his faith and what is happening around him, Tyler, who is Erica’s son and wants to sign up as a junior ambassador between the V’s and the New York district, and Ryan, a V who does not agree with the actual intentions of the V’s and wants to help a team of rogue humans to stop them. In the pilot, Erica was the onl y one well developed since she was given the most screen time. Mitchell plays the role in a similar fashion as she does Juliet in Lost, yet this character is a little more proactive and confident than Juliet (who is/was one of the best characters on Lost). Tyler is, from nearly the first ten minutes on, a complete supporter of the V’s, almost to a point of annoyance since when he writes a graphite V on a trash bin (one of the writer’s has apparently seen V for Vendetta). Still, his storyline in something I’m interested in following as he devotes his time and services to the V’s and a junior ambassador on Earth. Wolf, and Chad Decker, does a good job in his role, effectively showing his skepticism while embracing his blossoming career. It’s too early to get a verdict on many of the other supporting characters (this is an ensemble production), but hopefully they’ll get their time to shine as each new episode is aired.
It doesn’t come close to rivaling Lost in terms of creating a team of memorable characters, but nonetheless, they aren’t bad characters in the slightest, and many of them I can see becoming some of the stronger characters on TV will some development, especially Erica the FBI investigator, Ryan the betraying V, and Chad Decker, the news anchor. The writers created a strong foundation for these characters and who they are; all that is needed is for them to develop them further and make them individuals the audience can root for throughout the entire series.
The writing by Scott Peters, as mentioned before, is strong. He wrote a script that is very heavy on the suspense and awe of the situations while showing the varying emotions of the characters from the V’s arrivals. On top of that, there are some nice bits of humor that really add to the overall tone of the pilot ("Dude, this is Independence Day!"…"Independence Day was just a rip-off of any number of alien invasion predecessors...”). It isn’t perfect, since I believe the first 5 minutes of the show are a pure cheese-fest that don’t really create a sense of tension when the V’s first arrive, but once Anna’s face appears on the ships for the humans to see, the episode is intriguing and involving enough to keep me entertained and interested.
Finally, the CGI, at times, looks cheesy (some of the spaceship shots are meh), but for the most part, this is a very expensive looking pilot with some beautiful shots of the interior of the motherships. It looks like a cross between a big budget Hollywood blockbuster and a high-concept TV show; the limited budget is obvious, but far better than anything else on TV.
So, in conclusion, V works. It does what pilots are supposed to do: provide a good core of lead characters, establish the storyline, and leave the viewer wanting more. This pilot did all three of those things, and I will definitely be tuning into ABC when the series gets up and running.
If you use this, I am the worst poster on Rotten Tomatoes GD according to Fabfunk.
“V” will reveal its Nazi lizard face to ABC viewers at midseason.
Follow Herc on Twitter!
SHIPPING NOW!!
Star Trek: Wrath/Search/Voyage (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: MP, WOK, SFS, VH, FF, UC (Blu-ray)
$18.99 Complete Animated Trek!!
DS9, Voyager & Enterprise: $37.99 Or Less!!
SALE TREK!!
Firstly, just to clarify for anybody wondering, no, I did not find a pirated copy of the pilot online. I take surveys and occasionally watch TV pilots on a site called UTalkBack.com. On that site, I’ve seen two other shows: a very shitty Amy Smart dramady about an aspiring Congresswoman called See Kate Run and the reality show Shark Tank, which is intriguing at first, but will quickly get old and tiring. This is where I saw the pilot for V in its entirety.
The plot for anybody interested: over a dozen UFOs appear hovering on top of major cities across the world, but these visitors aren’t there to attack like in Independence Day, but h elp the human race with their vastly superior intelligence and technology in exchange for water and minerals common on Earth. From there, the visitors (V’s, for those who haven’t picked up on it yet) set up healing stations all over the world and people, for the most part, accept them with open arms.
The leader of the V’s, Anna (played by Morena Baccarin from Firefly), is a beautiful woman and acts as the peacemaker between the two societies. She uses the services of popular TV anchor Chad Decker (played by Scott Wolf) to get her messages out to the humans, who reluctantly agrees since while his career would skyrocket, he’s torn by the fact that he has to ask her questions aimed to provide a positive impression instead of the hard-hitting questions that need to be asked.
The other characters of focus include Erica (the great Elizabeth Mitchell from Lost), an FBI investigator who is skeptical of the entire situation, Father Jack, who is conflicted by his faith and what is happening around him, Tyler, who is Erica’s son and wants to sign up as a junior ambassador between the V’s and the New York district, and Ryan, a V who does not agree with the actual intentions of the V’s and wants to help a team of rogue humans to stop them. In the pilot, Erica was the onl y one well developed since she was given the most screen time. Mitchell plays the role in a similar fashion as she does Juliet in Lost, yet this character is a little more proactive and confident than Juliet (who is/was one of the best characters on Lost). Tyler is, from nearly the first ten minutes on, a complete supporter of the V’s, almost to a point of annoyance since when he writes a graphite V on a trash bin (one of the writer’s has apparently seen V for Vendetta). Still, his storyline in something I’m interested in following as he devotes his time and services to the V’s and a junior ambassador on Earth. Wolf, and Chad Decker, does a good job in his role, effectively showing his skepticism while embracing his blossoming career. It’s too early to get a verdict on many of the other supporting characters (this is an ensemble production), but hopefully they’ll get their time to shine as each new episode is aired.
It doesn’t come close to rivaling Lost in terms of creating a team of memorable characters, but nonetheless, they aren’t bad characters in the slightest, and many of them I can see becoming some of the stronger characters on TV will some development, especially Erica the FBI investigator, Ryan the betraying V, and Chad Decker, the news anchor. The writers created a strong foundation for these characters and who they are; all that is needed is for them to develop them further and make them individuals the audience can root for throughout the entire series.
The writing by Scott Peters, as mentioned before, is strong. He wrote a script that is very heavy on the suspense and awe of the situations while showing the varying emotions of the characters from the V’s arrivals. On top of that, there are some nice bits of humor that really add to the overall tone of the pilot ("Dude, this is Independence Day!"…"Independence Day was just a rip-off of any number of alien invasion predecessors...”). It isn’t perfect, since I believe the first 5 minutes of the show are a pure cheese-fest that don’t really create a sense of tension when the V’s first arrive, but once Anna’s face appears on the ships for the humans to see, the episode is intriguing and involving enough to keep me entertained and interested.
Finally, the CGI, at times, looks cheesy (some of the spaceship shots are meh), but for the most part, this is a very expensive looking pilot with some beautiful shots of the interior of the motherships. It looks like a cross between a big budget Hollywood blockbuster and a high-concept TV show; the limited budget is obvious, but far better than anything else on TV.
So, in conclusion, V works. It does what pilots are supposed to do: provide a good core of lead characters, establish the storyline, and leave the viewer wanting more. This pilot did all three of those things, and I will definitely be tuning into ABC when the series gets up and running.
If you use this, I am the worst poster on Rotten Tomatoes GD according to Fabfunk.
SHIPPING NOW!!
Star Trek: Wrath/Search/Voyage (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: MP, WOK, SFS, VH, FF, UC (Blu-ray)
$18.99 Complete Animated Trek!!
DS9, Voyager & Enterprise: $37.99 Or Less!!
SALE TREK!!
-
+ Expand All
-
you gave Indy 4 a positive review. Sorry.
-
You probably should have watched the original mini. If you had you wouldn't have suggested they ripped off V for vendetta. The resistance sprayed red Vs in the original.
-
a shame the quality of the second doesn't. forget the series.
-
definitly still holds up today. the series that follows was like a Glen A. Larson show.
-
guarantees me switching in week after week. Check out "Running Scared", good movie and Mitchell is great in it.
Btw, I believe the "V" spraycan thing is also in the original pilot, right? -
If I remember correctly, in the original series the rebels sprayed a 'V' insignia as to mean Victory, not visitors as stated!! Then again I could be wrong!!
-
I can easily see where people would think that they got it from V for Vendetta. But it's not. It's from the original V mini series. The grandpa character(who I believe was supposed to be a concentration camp survivor?)took a can of red spray paint from a young kid who was painting graphitti on a wall. He then painted a large red V and told the kid "V is for Victory". Thats the only time I can recall them painting a V though. Correct me if i'm wrong.
-
plays lisa
-
...would not give a crap.
-
No, the original"V" was a two–part mini–series. "V: The Final Battle" was the abomination that took the majority of the elements from the original and basically broke anything that was cool.
-
is pretty astonishing. Amazing it was made for Americna TV in the 80s. A real quality production.
-
... since WWII. If they use it to mean Visitor, then they better have the resistance start repurposing it very quickly in the series or it'd be a slap-in-the-face to the entire concept of the original V mini-series (which was an analog to Nazi Germany).
-
You're admitting to all that you have no taste. Praising V in this case, is telling us all that its shit.
-
I remember watching the original and the speacial effects then were top notch for a TV show at that time that the cost per laser bolt shot was high on the mind of the producers and NBC regarding budget.
-
has a lot of the elements that they used in the 4400 when it went way downhill. That show started out well, then got worse and got canned, and now it's been resurrected as V. Which 4400 alums will join Joel Gretsch and appear as guests?
-
starchild saved the day with her magic sparkles
-
Another 4400/V parallel: getting a start as a pretty entertaining miniseries, then becoming a series and going to crap.
-
It's "expensive looking" but the limited budget is obvious?
What the heck is that supposed to mean? -
They changed things this time around.
-
It's a show with giant flying saucers and aliens for fuck sake! Spend some cash on the VFX!!!! 30 days and no money to deliver 200 VFX shots is assinine. Call up CITI BANK or LENDING TREE and set aside some cash for kick ass VFX to compliment a well written show!
-
Actually predates the TV show. It was first published in '82 whereas the TV show aired in '84 (all supported by wikipaedia)
-
V=Vistors
V=VICTORY
GO.TELL.YOUR.FRIENDS. -
The clips that have been released so far look intriguing, though I REALLY miss the Visitor uniforms. Not sure, for instance, how I feel about the Anna character dressed like a fashion model rather than a Visitor.
-
There are "V" interviews with Laura Vandervoort and Morris Chestnut over at www.visitorsamongus.com.
-
I just realized that's a detail I still haven't locked down. Is it something they intend to keep going with as long as they can?
-
That series still holds up well. The f/x are good, the characters were memorable, and the story was well written. I doubt they are going with another WW 2/Holocaust parallel so what is the angle this time around? More of "the enemy looks like us" stuff that BSG did so well? I too liked the jump suits and army look of the Visitors. Also that they were so insiduous and able to weasel their way in to various influential positions so fast and making the Resistance be regarded as crackpots and terrorists. Hopefully the remake retains that and makes them a truly formidable opponent for the Resistance.
-
I meant "mini-series". The TV Series was awful. Every episode another cast member was killed. After Willie got knocked off, I was done.
-
I don't remember if he was mentioned in the other review. I haven't seen any pictures or mentions of him in any of the promotional info. I'll still check this out, but he was like half the reason to watch.
Also, more confident than Juliet? Granted, she's way too insecure about Sawyer and Kate, but I think she's also one of the most confident female characters I've seen on television. -
...then this "V" thing is garbage.
-
...who offsets his plant-iness by talking about being a plant in the opening paragraph. But still, clearly, a plant.
-
...or idiot, or both...sorry to be mean....do you want some more water indy plant?
-
didn't it take a while before the aliens' intentions were uncovered? Wasn't there a bunch of episodes before you knew for sure that they were dicks? Sounds like they get right to it in this new joint.
Also, I want to make long, sweet love to Elizabeth Mitchell. -
Not much of a review... could have just watched all the online clips...
-
"oh no, he liked something i didn't so that means anything he likes will be bad". beautiful. :P
-
I will never read another one of your reviews.
-
...contain no information that couldn't be learned from press materials and the trailer. I call bullshit.
-
They're about TIME.
-
Now that's a novel I'd like to see them try to adapt for primetime.
-
May 22, 2009 7:21:02 AM CDT
I thought caring about special effects was beneath most genre fa
by smashing
They go for plot remember, if the CG looks a little cheap they don't care as there enthusiasts of the craft and art right? that is what I hear a lot so how come its always accompanied by a lot of bemoaning about how CG looks? its not real you know and is there to compliment a story not make it.
-
as in Elizabeth Mitchell's big beautiful ones. More looks of those can't be half bad.
-
May 22, 2009 7:43:44 AM CDT
This idiot loses all credibility within the first sentence.
by adiehardfanwithalethalweapon
That is all.
-
No point in planting now. They'll start blooming in December.
-
How do you manage to fuck up tv with a pre-written successful template?
Single season or less. -
I'm still gonna watch this, and I believe it will be pretty good, but it has nothing to do with this shmuck. The kid spraypaints a V and its automatically from V for Vendetta. I haven't even seen the original and I know that its an homage to the first series. I hate morons.
-
Much cooler than this dreck will be.
-
The fucking "V" comes from WW2. Do schools not fucking teach history anymore? "V For Victory"? I mean they had a fucking Jew spray-painting the fucking propaganda poster in the original series for a reason.
-
Yer, thats what I thought it was.
I loved this series, the whole family would sit around the TV to watch it. -
is from the movie V for Vendetta. Glad to see some others correct him.
-
dude, calm down. Yes, the schools suck. Don't bash the guy just because no one told him.
-
pretty quickly. You didn't find out what their intentions were for a while though.
Hard to believe they covered so much ground in those little mini-series.
For those who remember it as a 5 part mini-series, that's how it was broadcast in the UK and Europe. In America, it was broadcast as a 2 part mini series, followed later by a 3 part mini series called "The Final Battle".
-
on this one?
-
... for the original in NYC was brilliant. Subway posters were put up of the "The Visitors Are Your Friends" posters from the miniseries without explanation. A buzz started. "WTF are these posters for?" Next week, all those posters had giant V's spray painted on them as if someone went all over the NYC subway system and hit them all with a shot of red spray paint. "Huh? What's this, then?" The following week, just a block of text was slapped on promoting the premiere of the show. Very smart campaign that I still remember after all these years.
-
you never saw the original. You are either to young or were to poor to have owned a t.v. And as other talkbackers pointed out the V has nothing to do with V for Vendetta........
-
good?
It'll be good if Scott Wolf's character gets killed after the first twenty minutes.
Stop the boring stupidity and cut to the action. -
I still like it better then Temple. I will bash you for not seeing the first one. Its not hard to find on DVD, hell its a tax right off for you. Nothing about the new one has made we want to see this, the exact opposite has happened. Hell, I even love the Final Battle and pissed they never did the alien's home world mini-series that got axed midway through. V can be a great franchise if done correctly, so far I haven't see one thing that looks right about this thing and this review keys it in for me.
-
Only if they replace Scott Wolf after the pilot. Dude is one shitty ass wooden actor. It's who you get when you can't get Mark Wahlberg.
-
Thank you, seriously. I am sometimes amazed at people's lack of knowledge of VERY IMPORTANT HISTORICAL FACTS! V for Victory predates either V:Vendetta or Visitors.
-
Does that mean we can look forward to the immortal line "Feck off, Ship!"
-
One concern I have about the pilot is the fact that SO much happens in one hour. They arrive, they say they're our friends, we find out they're not and a resistance starts to form. That's A LOT of ground for one episode.
-
We don't need this new V series. I don't think...would like to be proved wrong.
-
and that guy's father probably should have gotten one.
-
Year 1: Visitors arrive, help mankind, season ends with main character finding out Visitors have ulterior motives, main character gets captured in cliffhanger (Twilight Zone "To Serve Mankind" similar ending)
Season 2: Main character escapes, V's pretty much take over the planet's governments, main guy helps to form resistance.
Season 3: Resistance tries to convince world that Visitors are evil (season finale is basically John Carpenter's They Live)
Season 4: season long battle between Visitors and world-wide resistance (whoever's left after Visitors begin exterminating the population).
End series. -
Nope. The miniseries was only two episodes, and it became very clear, before the end of the miniseries, that the visitors were evil.
-
you don't need 4 years to do that story. It's one of the most impressive things about the original. How strong the writing was. How they managed to flesh out such a large ensemble cast, and show a variety of points of view.
There are very few writers working in television today who could pull that off. So yeah, they might need 4 seasons to tell that story. -
Why bring that up at the start of your review?
-
There should be an entire season arc of Mitchell and that hot female alien leader having a naked tickle fight.
Fingers start slowing down and finding "special places" and alien toungue flicks and flicks (thus the big reveal of the aliens being lizards.
The season-ending climax would be just that. A mind-blowing season-ending climax that has both their backs raised in orgasmic spasms. -
They always begin with, "I never saw the original, but..."
How does this work exactly? This guy goes into V knowing nothing about it, then writes a review about it and posts it on a genre site full of people who HAVE seen the original? Who in the hell actually does that?
"I'm a casual movie goer... and I have lived my whole life watching remakes, but I'm going to write a review for all of the hardcore fans of the original." -
Who the fuck on this site cares whether or not the medium you viewed was pirated or not?
-
then you know the V-bags are here to kill you not be best pals and finger bang.
And to the reviewer. Watch the God Damn Original. Your clueless assumptions have forced me to be violent. Now my kid is crying and it is your fault. V for Verjiner. -
People whose opinion differs from the bandwagon riders are suddenly labeled as plants? The *real* critics gave Indy 4 positive reviews (see Rotten Tomatoes), and that film was one of the most memorable parts of the 2008 summer blockbuster season. That said, the reviewer totally fucked up when he referred to the Visitors as "Vs." The "V" in V stands for "victory," not "visitors."
-
Seriously. Fuck's sake, how often do people even clap at the movies? Almost never, from my theater-going experiences. So I have a really hard time believe people on the streets, looking up at some alien bitch spewing political crap, are really going to applaud and cheer. Then again...Americans are mostly dumbasses, and I've never understood how they could get so many people to clap at campaign rallies and debates where the candidates are basically just shoveling socio-political manure, spewing rhetoric designed to sound meaningful and significant when, in truth, they're just empty promises. So...yeah, maybe New Yorkers clapping at another steaming load from shiny, smiling bullshit artist is pretty spot on. And when the Visitors start teabaggin' the planet and eating people, fuck 'em. They're getting exactly what they deserve for being so fucking gullible.
This rant was brought to you by the letter V. -
I'm too young to have seen the original series, but was this type of character on there? I like the idea. I always love the idea of a character being a rebel or one seeking redemption by turning on his bosses and brothers after seeing how evil their plan is. I dig it.* * for instance, Christopher Walken's character Cutter in "Antz".
-
The original series had Visitors who helped the humans because they didn't like the raping of the planet and there were humans who were selling each other out to the visitors.
-
He was the one who really helped out the humans.
He also helped deliver the famous babies. -
You just have to be willing to make this a war. At the end of the first season either the V's intentions must be made clear or there must be casualties. What if it ended on V ship getting blown up? The whole second season could be about retalliation. That's what I loved about BSG, there was always forward momentum. Nothing ever stayed the same.
-
I've seen that clip where he helps deliver the lizard baby (which long ago I realized was what The Simpsons was spoofing when Maggie grew her tentacle-legs in a Treehouse of Horror episode). Never knew he was one of them. Excellent. I need to get this series on DVD. I worked with Richard Herd back in 2005. Wish I knew about V back then, I would have chatted him up.
-
move it the fuck outta the way yer blockin the fuckin light.
-
It even had a scene where a fully exposed lizard spat some sort of acid on someone's face.
I guess that is the lizard mini-series version of "the money shot"
Sort of like a dog movie money-shot when they show the dog shaking dry in slow motion. -
May 22, 2009 12:04:25 PM CDT
I guess you are seeing the Jon and Kate drama Vader
by chittychittygangbang
Wasn't you that had to work with Kate on that series?
Isn't she really a lizard underneath as well? -
Kate is a vile, evil, lizard-skinned bitch underneath that horrible exterior. And I fully believe every single story that comes out about them. Ever since the first day I worked on that show and Jon continually came up to me and said as an aside, any time Kate went nuts, "Don't get married, don't have kids."
-
Another thought- John Carpenter could have done a sick film version of this story back in the day. Kurt Russell fighting alien lizard assholes.
-
Please?
-
Don't buy Geico insurance!
You think that lizard is on our side? Fuck no!
That accent doesn't fool me either. Elitest prick lizard has tiny loophole in each insurance contract that basically gives it our soul.
I'm surprised you don't have to sign Geico conttracts in your own blood. -
Never mention the Crystal Skull at the beginning of a review if you want people to read it...
-
I think the best part of the original series, actually the final battle series, was when Michael Ironside poured that bag of red dust on that one lizards face. I believe he utters the line " say goodnight hot shot". Please talkbackers correct me if I'm wrong about the quote, which I probably am considering it was soooo long ago.
-
maybe it wasn't the best part, but I enjoyed it...sorry i'm still drunk....or is that drunk again.
-
Like when he blows up a bunch of Visitor soldiers, and looks at the lizard-skin remains and says "What a waste of good luggage."
Maybe not so funny now, but as a kid, I loved that shit. -
The red dust was the biological weapon they created from the dead lizard baby. It would kill visitors but not humans.
-
It was created (by accident) during the alien/human hybrid pregnancy. It killed the mostly alien twin, but the human/alien twin survived.
They made up a bunch in the lab, tested it on humans (didn't kill them) and on lizards (it killed them) so they mass produced the stuff and polluted the biosphere to make Earth unusable for the Visitors. -
that was a good line. Ironside has the best lines in almost everything, even the pieces of shit movies he does like highlander 2
-
When the ongoing tv series was introduced they said the dust was a bacteria therefore quickly dissipated in warmer climates like Los Angeles, convenient, so they could do the filming there....lol
-
The deadliest of the Vaders. White Vader's just the batshit insane one.
-
That was the single best scene in the Final Battle -- watching the guy writhe in agony on top of the lizard nazi symbol.
-
...that was CLEARLY a plant. Screen those calls, dude.
-
RIP, Don.
-
I like the human collaborator being framed for his lizard buddy's kidnapping.... and just when he thinks he's forgiven the lizard commander explains that his next assignment will be as an entree on a serving tray.... he then screams as he's carried away.
There were some great moments in The Final Battle, but star baby and a couple of other silly things ruined it. -
The book explained the ending better. I think it says the star baby was able to reprogram the computer to do an infinite countdown to destruction. Yeah still a little gay but not as much as the sparkles in the miniseries.
-
"Would real New Yorkers break into joyous applause if a giant alien ship blocked out the sun over the Manhattan and announced to the city's denizens they come in peace? Or would real New Yorkers flip off the ship and scream at it to move?"
If the recent Air Force 1 flyover fiasco is any indicator, real New Yorkers would be panicing in the streets.
If Obama appeared on the alien screen, however, they'd probably cheer.
"We've traveled from far far away, and we have come to redistribute the wealth and carry on all of the same policies as the previous admin -- including wire tapping."
*mass applause, women orgasming in the streets*
OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA! -
if so count me in, still remember thoughs seens
-
since you haven't seen the original. The whole point of that Independance Day joke is that ID4 directly ripped that scene from the original V miniseries. ID4 used an identical shot of the mothership coming in over the golden gate bridge that was in the original V.
-
that the people painting Vs on shit were the people AGAINST the visitors, you're dumb as a fucking post.
-
I must be the only one that enjoyed Final Battle. It was a bit more Star Wars then Schindler's List the the first one. Yet, for a World War II alegory how else was it supposed to end?
-
If this person gave that abortion a good review, then I can't trust a word they say. I am hopeful of the V pilot though.
-
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?! HOLY FUCKING GOD! HEY, YOU IN THE MINISKIRT, LET'S FUCK BECAUSE IT'S ALL COMING TO AN END! HOWYADOIN'?"
-
Notice the multiple references to Lost? This is ABC's new sci-fi show, and with Lost ending next year, they need the viewers to stick with the network. The reviewer mentions it often enough to suggest that he/she wants us to associate it with Lost, subconsciously. Clever. Still won't want V though.
-
Velvetta = cheese
No actua;lly looking forward to this - just wanted to post that. -
Ironside was quality. I even enjoyed the series up until he left. Then there was the awful Charles and Diana (geddit?)crap that was like Dynasty in space (or at least floating in the sky) - ack!
"Gooder!" -
These idiots look for any chance they get to take a shot at the great George Lucas.
People just can't think for themselves by judging Indy 4 on its own merits. Instead, fans regurgitated criticisms spewed from the anti-Lucas bandwagon that formed way back in 1999. Bashing George Lucas is the hip thing to do on the Internet I guess, and people just want to fit in.
-
Kids these days. Kenneth Johnson must be rolling over in his grave.
-
all over Jane Badler back in the early 80's. Hell..I'd probably still dump a load on her.
-
...to an obvious studio plant? Don't be so easily fooled.
-
As another reader once said...PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT
-
wouldn't even waste a look in the sky
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahjPQjQGdbU
Cant say that I was too impressed. I was really into V when it first came out. I'm 38 now, so, whatever. My point is, the new version looks to me like kind of a step back, more sci-fi channel-ish, i.e., some updated special effects (which look too kinda poor in comparison to the original) and the actors dont look or sound near as strong as the actors who were in the original miniseries. I'm all for the FireFly girl (Morena Baccarin) but gone is her beautiful hair for a pretty bad looking cropped cut. And I suspect that it is a lot more message oriented, like they have some sort of agenda. That's just my suspicion, time will tell. I would have loved to support a return of V. But this? After waiting all this time, its THIS? I'll pass at this point. -
http://tiny.cc/XhqxJ
-
Yes, Ham Tyler was awesome. He had his fat buddy with the beard (I think his name was Chris), and they were very bad ass and enjoyed killing the aliens. Also, I forget the dude's name, but the guy who played the Visitor sycophant/Hitler youth who impregnated Robin was an incredible asshole who made me angry everytime I saw him on screen. What a sniveling, bootlicking douche!
-
I think you may be confusing the human collaborator douchebag with his buddy, the lizard guy who knocked up Robin.
-
BECAUSE BEYOND THAT, DOES ANYONE REALLY GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THIS UTTERLY MORONIC PIECE OF SHIT REMAKE? FUCK ALMIGHTY.
NEXT UP: A MANIMAL REMAKE.
FUCKING ASSHOLES. -
why dont we all just act like children and insult anyone we disagree with. Thats a great idea now we can be assholes on the internet anonymously and face no repercussions for how we bahave. How else cpuld we possible try to feel superior to others due to the fact that this website is the only way we can feel powerful given our feeble worthless existance
-
He doesn't mention the Visitors' secret. Doesn't even hint at it!
You think a kid who'd never seen the original series, never even knew what the fucking V logo meant, wouldn't be mind-blown by the revelation that the Visitors were lizards?
"Go tell those Ain't It Cool idiots V is good, but don't go spoiling our fucking surprise." -
That said, after the trailer blatantly revealed it, I started thinking, maybe the lizard reveal was, in fact, a dream of one of the main characters (and a nod to the original), and, in fact, the new series had a new, more original, mind-melting surprise. Kind of like how BSG turned expectations on their head.
But then I read about that predictable Independence Day post-ironic reference and knew this was going to be the new Knight Rider. -
Maybe I thought I watched the trailer but I actually didn't?
-
climes.
-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/may/23/joss-whedon-dollhouse-brooker
I've never seen Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Not a single episode. Buffy fans are appalled by my negligence. "You MUST watch it!" they scream. "It takes about two seasons to get going, but then ... my God, it's the best show ever made".
Two seasons to get going? That's a commitment of 34 episodes before even its fans think it becomes worthwhile. And there's a further five seasons after that. Given the fans' sparkly-eyed evangelism, I don't doubt for a moment that there's something of worth there. But I'm not a young man any more. I'm greying. My bones ache. It's too late for me to embark on a quest of that magnitude. Consequently, Buffy's been consigned to the growing list of things I'll never try, like bungee jumping and crystal meth.
Yet I have found time to sit through the first two episodes of Buffy creator Joss Whedon's latest creation, Dollhouse (Tue, 9pm, Sci-Fi). And it's bloody awful. Perhaps it'll turn into a work of genius in its third season. I won't know, because I'll have either given up or died by then.
The premise is interesting: it's about a young person who has their mind wiped each week and imprinted with the personalities, memories and expertise of a bunch of other people, before being sent on a mission. In other words, it's like Joe 90, except you're supposed to want to screw the lead character, because the lead character is the improbably gorgeous Eliza Dushku, not a nine-year-old schoolboy marionette.
In week one, Echo (that's her name) was transformed into an expert in Latin American kidnap negotiations, which meant she donned glasses and wore her hair up in a bun. In week two, she's an outdoor-sports-enthusiast-and-fuck-buddy, which means she gets to dress a bit like Lara Croft and have sex in a tent. Typing this out, I've realised it isn't Joe 90 at all. It's Mr Benn, except you're supposed to want to screw the lead character, because the lead character is the improbably gorgeous Eliza Dushku, not a two-dimensional paper cutout of a middle-aged businessman.
It's not just Quantum Leap week after week, mind. No. There's a whole bunch of other characters walking around overseeing the "Dollhouse" which Echo gets returned to each week. For instance, there's a black ex-cop who has to oversee her missions by hiding round the corner in a van and tediously getting his cover blown. There's also an irritating nerd who performs the mind-wipe-and-brain-filling ceremonies - one of those implausible, punchable little tits who only exists in TV or movies. Apparently he's a scientific genius, although he looks about 12 years old and everything he says has to pass through about 500 pop culture irony filters before it leaves his smackable wise-cracking mouth. The minute he first popped up on screen, I instinctively knew me and Dollhouse would never be friends, in the same way that finding a Scouting For Girls album on someone's iPod would stop you wanting to have sex with them.
The improbably gorgeous Olivia Williams plays an icy boss-type woman who speaks in cool aloof "mission operative" military codespeak the whole fucking time, and Tahmoh Penikett from Battlestar Galactica shows up as Agent Jawbone Hunk, an improbably gorgeous FBI bloke determined to uncover the truth about this "Dollhouse" thing he's heard about which his colleagues insist is just a wild rumour but he's got this hunch there's more to it than that and blah blah BLAH BLAH OH WHO CARES?
It's just nonsense. And nonsense is fine when it consists of a small kernel of nonsense surrounded by something either plausible or interesting. Dollhouse has neither and, crucially, there's too much emphasis on empty prettiness, from the set design to the faces of all involved. Everyone's so improbably gorgeous you won't give a shit whether they live or die. Unless, perhaps, you've had your mind wiped and replaced with the brain of an orange - probably the premise for next week's episode, which I won't tune in for. Someone let me know if this bullshit gets going somewhere round season three, yeah?
Charlie Brooker is a fucking hero. Suck it Herc! :) -
in running scared...if she was great in that. i wouldnt to jump in the film and shoot her in the face
-
GREAT IDEA. YOU TWAT.
-
I am torn between whether to think this guy is a plant or whether his taste is simply shit. On the one hand, yes, despite his claims to know nothing about this property, he was not astonished to see the identity twist that frames the series. On the other hand, he admits to liking INDY 4. Either way, I do not feel like I can trust this reviewer and I will wait to see what other people say about the new V.
-
Glad to see you live up to your name.
-
May 23, 2009 10:59:06 AM CDT
Goddamn Batman, I'm sure they don't reveal they're lizards...
by d.vader
In the first frickin' episode!!!
-
They did in the original.
We don't know how long this thing is going to be, but I think they'll do the reveal in the first episode. -
I got the impression this was supposed to be a planned 100 episode series?
-
but the concept of coming to earth for water makes me laugh. Why not just mine the ort cloud, more water their then on all of earth.
-
Aye, the original two miniseries came to 10 hours in length. But come on. This is on ABC (Always Being Canceled).
They'll be lucky to get 10 hours out of the remake. -
I'm pretty sure she was the first chick I jerked off to back in the day. Good times !
-
May 23, 2009 2:04:46 PM CDT
STARTED READING. YOU LIKE CRYSTAL SKULL, THE END OF MY READING.
by vitter
-
...AN INNY OR AN OUTTY?
DISCUSS. -
May 23, 2009 5:05:18 PM CDT
So this guy liked KOTCS and AICN posts his "positive" review of
by glory_fades_immaxfischer
So I know not to waste my time on V..thanks
-
What about the mention in the upfront and the trailer by the Resistance leader that the visitors had "not just arrived, but have been here among us", etc... interesting twist on the original. Like we need saboteurs to f%^$ up the world so we'd be open to Vs coming in and "saving" us...
-
Better than Last Crusade. Now what, mother fuckers? Now WHAT?!!!
-
The original "V" started out promising, but then soon turned to crap. I expect the same from this.
-
Why wouldn't they reveal that the Visitors are lizards in the first episode? They show it in the trailer. And don't you think every single magazine and website is going to mention it (as a reference to the old series) in their previews?
So, either they reveal it in the first episode, or there's more to it than that.
Either way, this reviewer makes no reference to it in his review. Which is exactly what a plant would do.
Weirdly though, I think he's just an ordinary moron. -
They're going to peel back their faces to reveal that they are, in fact... plants.
They've been amongst us all the time.
Just look for the ones that like Crystal Skull. -
By the way, they're not just coming to Earth for water - they're harvesting humans for cattle too.
Mike Donovan found that out. He's a real reporter. -
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haa!
ABC exec: "And how long to you see this series going for?"
Writer: "100 episodes. I've gotta it all planned." -
That's why they look like us. We'll find out we're from the same God, or whatever.
-
I remember it even made the news! there was some scene where a Visitor shuttle makes a landing on a mothership and some Visitors get out - it was practically a shot-for-shot exact copy of a very similar scene in Return of the Jedi, which came out around the same time - the memory's a little vague here but I think it was a digital matte, composited with some live action?
real basic stuff by today's standards but hey, back then this show was BREAKING GROUND - now they're using up any old FX shots Stargate has lying around, it seems...
having said that, I really don't care about the quality of the effects - nothing I've EVER seen on TV has been "spoiled" by dodgy looking effects shots - hell, you'd never get through an episode of Dr Who if you started worrying about that sort of thing!!
I do have an awful feeling we're in for some serious Knight Rider deja-vu here -
with the Knight Rider thing...
THEY LIVE!
WE SLEEP! -
to images of Morena Baccarin. It's about time that hot young thing was back on a regular series. I'm hard just thinking about it.
-
There's all these beautiful people and then you've got this tired looking, prematurely haggard single mom running about.
-
They'll drop characters, have characters incoherent because six writers have six takes, wrong scripts being shot and re-edited by a drunk cousin of the director, fans yapping that it's all profound, new show-runner brought in to klutz it up some more, cancelled, renewed but revamped with a new cast and writers who nothing about what has happened so far, more drunk editing . . .
-
You wrote: "I'm hard just thinking about it."
You're a disgusting, immature ass. Grow up. -
I remember liking the "idea" of watching "V" but when I was watching it I found it very boring.
-
just watched the bluray again yesterday, fun comic-adventure just like the others. I can't stand fuckers who love to hate (unless something honestly sucks, like T4)
-
Dog shit that had been eaten again by said dog, regurgitated and then eaten by a cat, which was in turn regurgitated and shared by Lucas and Spielberg, which caused them to have some horrible gas, which in turn caused hallucinations, which made them think they were making a good movie. Harrison Ford, on the other hand, has no excuse.
-
May 25, 2009 3:55:32 PM CDT
It's Always Funny When There's a Spoiler Warning on a Review for
by swivile bobble fizz fizz
People have seen it before, why bother?
-
Herc... how in the fuck did you read that line and think "Gee, AICN talkbackers wont trash this based on that line alone..."
I stopped reading from there on out. -
but there's no way an alien race with the technology to get here would ever need to talk to us to get resources like water and minerals. They could get that stuff from a billion different sources throughout the universe without ever having to deal with alien people. They wouldn't even need us as food or slaves. They would never give us technology, for fear that we would turn into them and become a bigger threat to them than they are to us. They would probably either exterminate us so fast we would never know what hit us, or they would stay way away from us and see what happens later. The only way I could see them coming here and making nice with us is if they themselves were being hunted as rebels or outlaws, and their purpose was to turn us into a galactic menace.
-
Your arguments make sense, but a) this was supposed to be allegory for Nazi Germany and b) there was an unseen enemy that the Visitors had. As Marcus said, some humans would be "recruited" as shocktroopers in an ongoing war they were in with said enemy, apparently someone who's defeated them before. They never mentioned it again in Final Battle, but whatever. And, proving that I've watched this thing way too many times, Marcus also said that unlike other planets in the galaxy, Earth has an abundance of water, so they must've looked around first. You are correct; with superior weapons and technology they could've taken what they needed from the outset, but a war with us would've killed scores of people, depriving them of food and cannon fodder.
-
AND SO DOES THE CRYSTAL FUCKING SKULL YOU FUCKING HATERS
-
I was in HS when these came out. I enjoyed them both. The TV series was just suck. I did want to like, but meh...
-
That's what we need a reboot of. And more Babylon 5. And Twin Peaks. And Buffy.
-
your eloquence has proved my point
-
That generally means that it's a worthwhile, good flick. AICN talkbackers just have a pack-dog mentality and love a douche-bagy catchphrase. It's an Indy movie, no different, no more, no less.
-
May 25, 2009 11:06:02 PM CDT
Seriously, AICN talkbackers actually hate Star Trek. They're idi
by tallboy66
Star Trek is the highest grossing and one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. And AICN talkbackers hate it. They're fucking IDIOTS!
-
Your scorn makes me hard. I need to masturbate now.
-
I understand the storytellers were building an allegory, and to do that they could only take logic up to a certain point and no further, and that's perfectly fine, but I think it would be cool to set up a scenario that stood up to a few more seconds of thought. Firstly, water isn't a good enough reason to come to earth. We think we have a lot, but we don't have that much. Jupiter has way more water than we've ever seen, and the universe is packed with planets just like it. Plus there's water ice everywhere just floating around in space, all they have to do is scoop it up. And if all else failed, they could just oxidize some hydrogen and make their own. (That's why I stopped watching Battlestar Galactica after they blew out their water tanks and thought it was more than a minor inconvenience. Where did the water go? It's still right there in a cloud, just scoop it up.) Using us as cannon fodder isn't a good plan either. We would be pretty likely to turn on our invaders, so we can't be trusted. They would be better off using drones, and they don't need us for that. Alien Nation set up a better scenario for contact, by making it an accidental landing by escaped slaves (as long as you can figure out why a highly technological society like that would need slaves). Too bad all they did with that scenario was to use it as the backdrop for a buddy cop story. Oh well. [break] The best plan any alien invader could hope for would be to turn us into a galactic menace as an act of terrorism. They might as well forget about controlling us from the outset. All they could do is wind us up and get the hell out of the way, like lighting a bomb.
-
Raymar said:
"Kids these days. Kenneth Johnson must be rolling over in his grave."
He's still alive. But according to his web page, he has nothing to do, or is exactly exctied about, the new path of "V". He wrote a novel that kind of concluded the Visitor's story (and perhaps opened up a new story). It was both a good and bad book. Good basic concept, but with Galactica 1980 style flying witch brooms, that's where he lost me.
-
I think this could be enjoyable. The trailer was certainly interesting. As with anything, I'll reserve judgement until I've seen it. In the interim I'll be reading V The Second Generation.
-
I hope this new "V" will be really good science fiction utilizing way-above-average production values. Morena Baccarin, aside from looking hot, looks convincing as the alien leader.
What I'm really surprised by is the fact "V" deals with religion. To me, this is absolutely the first thing that'd be challenged by the appearance of aliens. Assuming you believe in God or Allah or another all-powerful deity (I don't), your belief that God created humans in His image would be proven false. Because, you know, he created saucer-flying lizards from some distant extra-solar planet too. Which would beg the question: what else were we 100% wrong about?
I'm glad the new "V" is tackling this issue. Aside from Baccarin, it's the reason I'll tune in.
Hope it's good. -
First of all, this show was Reagan 1980 commies threat propaganda show. as in commies red uniforms ( you need to watch the original) But now. . its Liberals Turn! Just like the Commies of the past! A yound sexy leader! A bit of anti- Obama blue uniform demoricates. a mindless teens who believe in beautiful leader outside his race. WOW! get that! a show will that everyone will watch that makes all demoricates evil! This week it's Universal Health Care! I wonder whats next week? Yes the NEO CON at ABC want to use this propaganda to tell you that propaganda is bad!! what? YES! its a show that tell you jumping on band wagon is bad especially if you wear a uniform like they do in the army!or turn against your kind! or trust people if they are beautiful and kind! contrary to what ABC trys to sell you during the commercial.
what is its with the neo con jew at abc? they didn't care about the propaganda of comformity when bush was in the white house. but now?
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 171 total posts 169 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 157 total posts 111 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 138 total posts 75 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 479 total posts 62 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 59 total posts 59 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 62 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 48 total posts 45 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 116 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 181 total posts 30 posts