V (2009 TV series)
Encyclopedia
V is an American science fiction television series that ran for two seasons on ABC
, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011. A remake
of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson, the new series chronicles the arrival on Earth of a technologically advanced alien species which ostensibly comes in peace, but actually has sinister motives. V stars Morena Baccarin
, Lourdes Benedicto
, Morris Chestnut
, Joel Gretsch
, Logan Huffman
, Charles Mesure
, Elizabeth Mitchell
, Laura Vandervoort
and Scott Wolf
, and was executive produced by Scott Rosenbaum
, Yves Simoneau
, Scott Peters
, and Jace Hall
. The series was produced by The Scott Peters Company, HDFilms and Warner Bros. Television
.
), the beautiful and charismatic leader of the extraterrestrial
"Visitors", declares that they come in peace. The Visitors claim to only need a small amount of Earth's resources, in exchange for which they will share their advanced technological and medical knowledge. As a small number of humans begin to doubt the sincerity of the seemingly benevolent Visitors, FBI
counter-terrorism
agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell
) discovers that the aliens are actually reptilian humanoids wearing pseudo-human skin, have spent decades infiltrating human governments, businesses, and religious institutions, and are now in the final stages of their plan to take over the Earth. Erica joins the resistance movement, which includes Ryan (Morris Chestnut
), a Visitor sleeper agent
who over time developed human emotions and now wants to save humanity. Their rebellion is further challenged as the Visitors have won favor among the people of Earth by curing a variety of diseases, and have recruited Earth's youth—including Erica's son Tyler (Logan Huffman
)—to serve them unknowingly as spies.
, Jace Hall
, Steve Pearlman, and Jeffrey Bell. Filming of the post-pilot
episodes began on August 10, 2009. Cast member Elizabeth Mitchell noted that the show would do service to the most iconic moments from the original franchise.
Peters later confirmed that in addition to potentially using cast members from the 1983 miniseries, the new series would nod to the original in other ways. He said that when asking people what they thought were the most memorable elements of V, the top responses included "the huge ships, the red uniforms, eating the hamster, and [the] alien baby," adding that "we are well aware of those moments and are looking to put our own little spin on them to tip our hat to the old audience."
Entertainment Weekly
put the original V on its 2008 list "The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982" and called Visitor leader Diana's devouring of a guinea pig "one of the best TV reveals ever." Asked about the 1983 reveal of the Visitors' reptilian appearance beneath their human disguise, Peters noted "That was the other one, of course... We tried to put our own [spin on it]. We're... a little bit different than their execution of it. It wasn't so much latex mask as it is real flesh and blood."
The Hollywood Reporter
called the idea behind V "a powerhouse concept that combines conflict, suspense and imagination with some heavy-duty philosophical issues," noting that the update "preserves the original framework but shifts the atmosphere to accommodate contemporary concerns... the militaristic notes will be more subdued. Instead, there will be more of a post-9/11 emphasis on questions of trust and terror."
Production on the show was temporarily suspended in August 2009, pending the resolution of a dispute filed with the Writers Guild of America
by original creator Kenneth Johnson. Warner Bros.
sought to remove Johnson's "created by" status by claiming that the new show was so fundamentally changed from Johnson's original premise that it constituted a standalone work and not a remake
. The Writers Guild, however, disagreed, and when production resumed in September 2009, Johnson retained the credit.
In September 2009, it was announced that four episodes of V would air in November 2009, and that the series would resume its 12-episode season in March 2010 after the 2010 Winter Olympics
. ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said, "We always intended to break the show up into 'pods' to make it more of an event." As production of the fourth episode of V wrapped, it was announced on November 3, 2009, that Scott Rosenbaum
had been named executive producer and showrunner of the series, with Peters and Hall remaining as executive producers. Production of the remaining eight episodes resumed in January 2010 with new episodes returning March 30, 2010. On May 13, 2010, ABC renewed V for a second season. The second season premiered January 4, 2011, but the original order of 13 episodes was reduced to 10.
On May 13, 2011, ABC announced that V was canceled.
. E! Online stated "on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11. V is the best pilot we've seen in, well, forever." USA Today
Robert Bianco put V on his list of the top ten new shows, stating that the remake is well-made and "quickly establishes its own identity," and The Hollywood Reporter
called the new series "clever enough for a cult following and accessible enough to reach a broad demo."
King Features' entertainment reporter Cindy Elavsky
calls V "the best new show on television, by far. The special effects are feature-film quality; the writing is intelligent and time-relevant; and the acting is first-rate. The first five minutes alone will hook you for the entire season." The New York Times
wrote that "The ideas in V, about alien encounters and mass delusion and media manipulation, are enticing. It's too bad that they're floating around in a show that at this early stage, is so slapdash and formulaic in its storytelling."
The Onion
The A.V. Club
gave V premiere a 'C' rating, calling it "rote and by-the-numbers."
The second season premiere received a score of 49/100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed reviews.
of the presidency of Barack Obama
. In his review of the show, Troy Patterson of Slate
points out that bloggers and journalists had noticed parallels between the show's premise and the Obama administration, and writes that "if the show is to have the symbolic import that we expect from a science-fiction story, this is the only possible way to read V as a coherent text. The only problem with this analysis lies in its generous presupposition that the text is, in fact, coherent." Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post
noted in her review that the fact the series was debuting on the first anniversary of Obama's election "was not lost on some ... TV critics" and also remarked that the use of phrases present in the series (such as "hope", "change", and "Universal Health Care" being offered by the Visitors) made it seem as though "Lou Dobbs
had taken over the network, as those things only became popular with the current administration." Chicago Tribune
reviewer Glenn Garvin called the show "controversial", saying the series was "a barbed commentary on Obamamania
that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors."
The show's cast and crew deny the charges of bias. Actress Morena Baccarin acknowledges that she had modeled her character, Visitor leader Anna, after politicians but she and series executive producer Peters were surprised by the controversy. At a press conference at Summer TV Press Tour 2009, Peters said that the show was open to interpretation and that "people bring subjective thoughts to it... but there is no particular agenda." Bell agreed, stating that it was simply "a show about spaceships."
The second season averaged 6.93 million viewers per episode and had an average 18–49 rating of 2.5, ranking 75th for the 2010–11 season.
In the UK, the show premiered on the premium channel Syfy. The original broadcast of the pilot was seen by 481,000 viewers and was the most watched show for the network for its entire first season. The second season premiered to 401,000 viewers, again becoming #1 for the network. In October 2010, when the show debuted on the free-to-air channel Virgin 1
, it gained even higher ratings. The pilot episode garnered 541,000 viewers (and 338,000 for the repeat viewing two days later). The show remained the channel's number one show for several weeks, and was in the channel's top 3 for the entirety of its first season.
. The show was also nominated for Favorite New TV Drama at the 36th People's Choice Awards
and for Best Television Presentation. Morena Baccarin
was nominated for Best Supporting Actress on Television at the 36th Saturn Awards
. At the 37th Saturn Awards, the show received three nominations, for Best Network Series, Elizabeth Mitchell
for Best Actress in Television, and Morena Baccarin for Best Supporting Actress in Television.
The campaign initially sought to get the show renewed on TNT
, but more recent efforts have also concentrated on the CW Network as well. Both networks are owned by Warner Bros. Television
's parent company, Time Warner
.
Project Alice has been officially endorsed by executive producer
Scott Rosenbaum
, actor Mark Hildreth
and actresses Morena Baccarin
, Jane Badler
and Laura Vandervoort
, each of whom have made videos expressing their support and admiration of their fans' campaign.
Special features on the first season DVD and Blu-ray include a commentary track on "Fruition" by executive producers Scott Rosenbaum
and Steve Pearlman, deleted scenes, and four behind-the-scenes featurettes – "The Actor's Journey from Human to V", "An Alien in Human Skin: The Makeup FX of V", Breaking Story: The World of V", and "The Visual FX of V".
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011. A remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson, the new series chronicles the arrival on Earth of a technologically advanced alien species which ostensibly comes in peace, but actually has sinister motives. V stars Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
, Lourdes Benedicto
Lourdes Benedicto
Lourdes Benedicto is an American actress of Filipino/Dominican descent. She is most well known for her starring role as Eva Rios on The Nine, and for her role as Alicia Lawson on the short-lived series Cashmere Mafia. She is primarily known as a television actress, but has been in a few...
, Morris Chestnut
Morris Chestnut
Morris L. Chestnut is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as teenage father Ricky Baker in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, groom-to-be Lance Sullivan in the 1999 film The Best Man, as Tracy Reynolds, NBA star in the 2002 film Like Mike, and as the Visitor Ryan in the...
, Joel Gretsch
Joel Gretsch
Joel James Gretsch is an American actor. His roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400, the monstruous Capt./Maj./Col. Owen Crawford in the Steven Spielberg produced 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken and Father Jack Landry on V.-Early life:Gretsch was born in St...
, Logan Huffman
Logan Huffman
Logan Huffman is a television actor featured in a major role as the son of the protagonist in the 2009 remake of V. His character is named Tyler Evans.-Personal:...
, Charles Mesure
Charles Mesure
Charles William David Mesure is an English born, Australian and New Zealand actor.When Mesure was five, his family moved to Australia and he grew up in Sydney. Mesure attended Newington College and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia, with a degree in Performing Arts...
, Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
, Laura Vandervoort
Laura Vandervoort
Laura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V....
and Scott Wolf
Scott Wolf
Scott Richard Wolf is an American actor, known for his roles on the television series Party of Five as Bailey Salinger and on Everwood as Dr. Jake Hartman. Since 2009, he has appeared in the Sci-Fi series V as the morally ambiguous journalist, Chad Decker.-Early life:Wolf was born in Boston,...
, and was executive produced by Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum is a writer and producer for television. He first worked on the 1999 television series Grown Ups as a writer. He joined the writing staff of The Shield in 2002, writing 16 episodes until he left the series in 2007...
, Yves Simoneau
Yves Simoneau
Yves Simoneau is a Canadian film and television director.-Recognition:His acclaimed 1987 crime drama Pouvoir intime garnered multiple Genie Awards nominations including best direction at the 8th Genie Awards...
, Scott Peters
Scott Peters (writer)
Scott Peters is a Canadian television producer, television director and screenwriter, most probably known for his involvement in writing, co-creating and producing for the science fiction television series The 4400. He is also the head writer of the 2009 sci-fi series V, a remake of the 1980s...
, and Jace Hall
Jace Hall
Jason "Jace" Hall is an American film, television and video game producer, best known for being founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Productions Inc and President of...
. The series was produced by The Scott Peters Company, HDFilms and Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
.
Premise
Giant spaceships appear over 29 major cities throughout the world, and Anna (Morena BaccarinMorena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
), the beautiful and charismatic leader of the extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
"Visitors", declares that they come in peace. The Visitors claim to only need a small amount of Earth's resources, in exchange for which they will share their advanced technological and medical knowledge. As a small number of humans begin to doubt the sincerity of the seemingly benevolent Visitors, FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) discovers that the aliens are actually reptilian humanoids wearing pseudo-human skin, have spent decades infiltrating human governments, businesses, and religious institutions, and are now in the final stages of their plan to take over the Earth. Erica joins the resistance movement, which includes Ryan (Morris Chestnut
Morris Chestnut
Morris L. Chestnut is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as teenage father Ricky Baker in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, groom-to-be Lance Sullivan in the 1999 film The Best Man, as Tracy Reynolds, NBA star in the 2002 film Like Mike, and as the Visitor Ryan in the...
), a Visitor sleeper agent
Sleeper agent
A sleeper agent is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as a potential asset if activated...
who over time developed human emotions and now wants to save humanity. Their rebellion is further challenged as the Visitors have won favor among the people of Earth by curing a variety of diseases, and have recruited Earth's youth—including Erica's son Tyler (Logan Huffman
Logan Huffman
Logan Huffman is a television actor featured in a major role as the son of the protagonist in the 2009 remake of V. His character is named Tyler Evans.-Personal:...
)—to serve them unknowingly as spies.
Main cast
- Elizabeth MitchellElizabeth MitchellElizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
as Erica Evans—an FBI counter-terrorism agent who becomes a member of and eventually the leader of the global Fifth Column. - Morris ChestnutMorris ChestnutMorris L. Chestnut is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as teenage father Ricky Baker in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, groom-to-be Lance Sullivan in the 1999 film The Best Man, as Tracy Reynolds, NBA star in the 2002 film Like Mike, and as the Visitor Ryan in the...
as Ryan Nichols—a Visitor posing as human and a Fifth ColumnistFifth Column (V TV series)The Fifth Column is a subgroup of alien Visitors in the 1980s science fiction franchise V. They are depicted as Visitors who oppose the current leadership and plot to rebel against them-Original series:...
trying to undermine the insidious plans of the Visitors. He is later forced to betray the Fifth Column due to Anna holding his baby daughter hostage. He is strangled to death by his daughter while trying to remove her from the Visitor mothership in the season 2 finale. - Joel GretschJoel GretschJoel James Gretsch is an American actor. His roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400, the monstruous Capt./Maj./Col. Owen Crawford in the Steven Spielberg produced 2002 sci-fi miniseries Taken and Father Jack Landry on V.-Early life:Gretsch was born in St...
as Father Jack Landry—a Catholic priest and former U.S. Army chaplain whose unease with the Visitors is soon validated by his alliance with Erica over their discovery of the Visitors' secret. Over time, he finds his views of the Visitors conflict with the church hierarchy. He is eventually laicized after speaking out against the Visitors one time too many, following numerous warnings from the Visitor-controlled Vatican. - Logan HuffmanLogan HuffmanLogan Huffman is a television actor featured in a major role as the son of the protagonist in the 2009 remake of V. His character is named Tyler Evans.-Personal:...
as Tyler Evans—Erica's teenage son who becomes a V "peace ambassador" and Lisa's love-interest. He becomes closer to Anna over time, and at odds with his own mother. The Visitors stripped him of half his DNA when he was in Erica's womb, which led to his father believing that Erica had an affair. He is killed by Lisa's "twin" sister after mating with her in the season 2 finale. - Lourdes BenedictoLourdes BenedictoLourdes Benedicto is an American actress of Filipino/Dominican descent. She is most well known for her starring role as Eva Rios on The Nine, and for her role as Alicia Lawson on the short-lived series Cashmere Mafia. She is primarily known as a television actress, but has been in a few...
as Valerie Stevens (Season 1)—Ryan's fiancée who was originally unaware of his alien nature. Her discovery of his secret leads to her being murdered by Anna after giving birth to Ryan's baby. - Laura VandervoortLaura VandervoortLaura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V....
as Lisa—a Visitor and Tyler's love-interest who is revealed to be Anna's daughter and next-in-line to be the Visitors' queen. She displays growing human emotion throughout the first season and joins the Fifth Column in the season finale. In the second season finale, she is imprisoned by Anna, and replaced by her sister, who is identical in appearance (also played by Laura VandervoortLaura VandervoortLaura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V....
). - Charles MesureCharles MesureCharles William David Mesure is an English born, Australian and New Zealand actor.When Mesure was five, his family moved to Australia and he grew up in Sydney. Mesure attended Newington College and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia, with a degree in Performing Arts...
as Kyle Hobbes (recurring Season 1, starring Season 2)—a former British SASSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
soldier and current mercenary, on top of the wanted lists of many law enforcement organizations, who is recruited by the Fifth Column. It is revealed the Visitors have someone close to him and are blackmailing him. - Morena BaccarinMorena BaccarinMorena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
as Anna—the cold, manipulative Visitor Queen and High Commander. She maintains loyalty and control over her subjects by use of a telepathic pacification process known as "Bliss". - Scott WolfScott WolfScott Richard Wolf is an American actor, known for his roles on the television series Party of Five as Bailey Salinger and on Everwood as Dr. Jake Hartman. Since 2009, he has appeared in the Sci-Fi series V as the morally ambiguous journalist, Chad Decker.-Early life:Wolf was born in Boston,...
as Chad Decker—a television news anchor who becomes the Visitors' spokesperson. He is caught between his journalistic ethics and his ambition when his exclusive access to Anna comes with a price. He turns Fifth Column when he learns the sinister truth about the Visitors, though this remains hidden from Anna until the season 2 finale.
Supporting cast
- Christopher ShyerChristopher ShyerChristopher Shyer is a Canadian actor who has appeared in over 50 film and television roles.-Acting career:...
as Marcus—Anna's second-in-command in charge of operations. He is shot in the second season during the Concordia announcements, but has since recovered. - Mark HildrethMark Hildreth (actor)Mark Hildreth is a Canadian actor and musician, based in the U.S. He has appeared in many movie and television roles. A graduate of The National Theater School of Canada, Mark Hildreth's theater credits include Hamlet , Bertram in All's well that Ends well , Richard of Gloucester in Richard III and...
as Joshua—The physician in charge of the medical crew on board the Visitors' New York mothership. In season 1, he appears loyal to Anna but is in fact a Fifth Columnist undermining the Visitors' operations from within. After being killed and revived, he awakens in season 2 with a wiped memory and renewed loyalty to Anna. In the end of season 2, he remembers being in Fifth Column after seeing Lisa snoop around on the mothership and rejoins the network against Anna. - David Richmond-PeckDavid Richmond-PeckDavid Richmond-Peck is a Canadian actor who has appeared in over 50 film and television roles in Canada and the United States since 2000.-Acting career:...
as Georgie Sutton (Season 1)—One of the original members of the human resistance, who wanted revenge against the Visitors for causing his family's deaths after he discovered the V's agenda. In an attempt to save Ryan, he is captued by the Visitors. He is tortured for information and later chooses to die rather than reveal Fifth Column members. - Roark CritchlowRoark CritchlowRoark Grant Critchlow is a Canadian actor, best known for appearing on the daytime US soap opera Days of our Lives from 1994 to 1999 as Dr. Mike Horton. He also had a recurring role on the soap Passions. More recently he was in the TV movie The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story as well as...
as Paul Kendrick—Erica's superior in the FBI counter-terrorism unit. He has long suspected that Erica might be a member of the Fifth Column and reveals himself to be part of another underground anti-V organization known as Project Aries. - Alan TudykAlan TudykAlan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...
as Dale Maddox (Season 1)—Erica's first partner in the season. Erica discovers he is a Visitor, and wounds him. He ends up on Anna's ship where he is killed by Joshua, the V physician, who is also a spy for the Fifth Column. - Rekha SharmaRekha SharmaRekha Shanti Sharma is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Tory Foster on Battlestar Galactica.Her ancestors are from the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, which they left during the British period. Her family resettled in the Fiji Islands and her parents moved to Canada...
as Agent Sarita Malik—An FBI agent assigned to work with Erica. Like Erica's previous partner, she is also revealed to be a V mole. After her true identity is discovered, she is tortured and killed by the Resistance. - Scott HylandsScott HylandsScott Hylands is a Canadian actor who has appeared in movies, television, and on the stage. He is probably best known for his role of Detective Kevin "O.B." O'Brien on the television series Night Heat, played from 1985 to 1989...
as Father Travis—An elder priest at the same church where Father Jack works. He appears to side with the Visitors in several conversations with Father Jack. - Lexa DoigLexa DoigAlexandra L. "Lexa" Doig is a Canadian actress. She portrayed the role of Rommie in the science fiction TV series Andromeda, and had a recurring character on Stargate SG-1.-Career:...
as Dr. Leah Pearlman (Season 1)—A V doctor posing as Valerie's human physician. She is also Fifth Column. - Nicholas LeaNicholas LeaNicholas Lea is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on The X-Files and on Kyle XY playing Tom Foss.-Biography:...
as Joe Evans—Erica's ex-husband, who left her after blood tests revealed that their son, Tyler, could not possibly be his. He tries to reconnect with his wife and son after learning the truth about Tyler's altered DNA. In season 2, he is caught in a crossfire between FBI agents and the Fifth Column, and is shot and killed. - Jane BadlerJane BadlerJane Badler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Diana, the chief antagonist in NBC's science fiction TV series, V, between 1983-85. Badler also appeared in ABC's "reimagined" version of V in 2011, again playing an alien named Diana, who this time is the mother of...
as Diana (Season 2)—Anna's mother, who is being held prisoner on the Visitor mothership in a secret prison cell made to resemble their homeworld. She was once Queen until she proposed that the Visitors live in peace with humans. Anna finally overthrew her and imprisoned her for fifteen years. She was eventually rescued in the season 2 finale but rather than escape, she chose to confront her subjects and was killed by Anna as a result. - Bret HarrisonBret HarrisonBret Michael Harrison is an American actor and singer known predominantly for his work on comedies such as The Loop, Grounded for Life, Reaper and Breaking In.-Early life:Harrison was born in Tualatin, Oregon...
as Sidney Miller (Season 2)—an evolutionary biologist, whom Erica tracks down in order to explain the Red Sky. Since then, he has continued to work with the Fifth Column. - Oded FehrOded FehrOded Fehr is an Israeli film and television actor now based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as Carlos Olivera in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil:...
as Eli Cohn (Season 2)—an ex-MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agent and the leader of a radical Fifth Column cell, with whom Erica shockingly has a mysterious past. He is killed in a staged hostage crisis after turning over his global contacts as well as leadership of his cell to Erica. Rosenbaum has stated that, "The two of them have something in common that she [Erica] never would have guessed." - Jay KarnesJay KarnesJay Karnes is an American actor, born in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended the University of Kansas . He is well known for his role as L.A.P.D. Det...
as Chris Bolling (Season 2)—Erica's newly-assigned FBI partner who trained with her at QuanticoQuantico, Virginia- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
. He begins to suspect that Erica may have divided loyalties when it comes to her dedication to bringing down the Fifth Column. In the season 2 finale, he is revealed to be a member of a secret global anti-V cabal known as Project Aries. - Martin CumminsMartin CumminsMartin Cummins is a Canadian actor known for his role as Ames White in Dark Angel . He attended the Vancouver Actors Studio where he trained under Mel Tuck, a highly respected pioneer of Canadian theatre...
as Thomas (Season 2)—the chief engineer of Anna's Concordia project, who is temporarily promoted to second-in-command following the shooting of Marcus. - Ona GrauerOna GrauerOna Grauer is a Mexican–Canadian actress, best known for her portrayal of the Ancient Ayiana and later Emily Young in the science fiction television franchise Stargate.-Life and career:...
as Kerry Eltoff (Season 2)—Chad's co-anchor on Prime Focus, added by their producer to provide opposing viewpoint to Chad's Visitor-centric reporting. He tricks her into claiming that sources showed a city-wide blackout was the result of the unstable Visitor Concordia generator, causing her to be fired for false reporting. However, Anna had revealed to Chad that Kerry's viewpoints were "dangerous" to Visitor/human relations and would not be tolerated. Therefore, in getting her fired, Chad not only removed her as a threat to his cover but also protected her from Anna's wrath. - Marc SingerMarc SingerMarc Singer is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the Beastmaster film series and as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series V.-Personal life:...
as Lars Tremont (Season 2)—a member of a top-secret organization of high-ranking military and government leaders (called Project Aries) who know more about the Visitors than most and have been secretly preparing for a Visitor attack.
Production
The series was announced in May 2009, to be executive produced by Scott PetersScott Peters (writer)
Scott Peters is a Canadian television producer, television director and screenwriter, most probably known for his involvement in writing, co-creating and producing for the science fiction television series The 4400. He is also the head writer of the 2009 sci-fi series V, a remake of the 1980s...
, Jace Hall
Jace Hall
Jason "Jace" Hall is an American film, television and video game producer, best known for being founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Productions Inc and President of...
, Steve Pearlman, and Jeffrey Bell. Filming of the post-pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
episodes began on August 10, 2009. Cast member Elizabeth Mitchell noted that the show would do service to the most iconic moments from the original franchise.
Peters later confirmed that in addition to potentially using cast members from the 1983 miniseries, the new series would nod to the original in other ways. He said that when asking people what they thought were the most memorable elements of V, the top responses included "the huge ships, the red uniforms, eating the hamster, and [the] alien baby," adding that "we are well aware of those moments and are looking to put our own little spin on them to tip our hat to the old audience."
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put the original V on its 2008 list "The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982" and called Visitor leader Diana's devouring of a guinea pig "one of the best TV reveals ever." Asked about the 1983 reveal of the Visitors' reptilian appearance beneath their human disguise, Peters noted "That was the other one, of course... We tried to put our own [spin on it]. We're... a little bit different than their execution of it. It wasn't so much latex mask as it is real flesh and blood."
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
called the idea behind V "a powerhouse concept that combines conflict, suspense and imagination with some heavy-duty philosophical issues," noting that the update "preserves the original framework but shifts the atmosphere to accommodate contemporary concerns... the militaristic notes will be more subdued. Instead, there will be more of a post-9/11 emphasis on questions of trust and terror."
Production on the show was temporarily suspended in August 2009, pending the resolution of a dispute filed with the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
by original creator Kenneth Johnson. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
sought to remove Johnson's "created by" status by claiming that the new show was so fundamentally changed from Johnson's original premise that it constituted a standalone work and not a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
. The Writers Guild, however, disagreed, and when production resumed in September 2009, Johnson retained the credit.
In September 2009, it was announced that four episodes of V would air in November 2009, and that the series would resume its 12-episode season in March 2010 after the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said, "We always intended to break the show up into 'pods' to make it more of an event." As production of the fourth episode of V wrapped, it was announced on November 3, 2009, that Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum is a writer and producer for television. He first worked on the 1999 television series Grown Ups as a writer. He joined the writing staff of The Shield in 2002, writing 16 episodes until he left the series in 2007...
had been named executive producer and showrunner of the series, with Peters and Hall remaining as executive producers. Production of the remaining eight episodes resumed in January 2010 with new episodes returning March 30, 2010. On May 13, 2010, ABC renewed V for a second season. The second season premiered January 4, 2011, but the original order of 13 episodes was reduced to 10.
On May 13, 2011, ABC announced that V was canceled.
Critical reception
The series premiere of V garnered generally favorable reviews, scoring 67 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. E! Online stated "on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11. V is the best pilot we've seen in, well, forever." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
Robert Bianco put V on his list of the top ten new shows, stating that the remake is well-made and "quickly establishes its own identity," and The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
called the new series "clever enough for a cult following and accessible enough to reach a broad demo."
King Features' entertainment reporter Cindy Elavsky
Cindy Elavsky
Cindy Elavsky authors Celebrity Extra, a syndicated column distributed by King Features Weekly Services, a division of North American Syndicate of the Hearst Corporation holdings, which has a subscribership of approximately 175-200 weekly newspapers in the U.S. . Celebrity Extra has a weekly...
calls V "the best new show on television, by far. The special effects are feature-film quality; the writing is intelligent and time-relevant; and the acting is first-rate. The first five minutes alone will hook you for the entire season." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that "The ideas in V, about alien encounters and mass delusion and media manipulation, are enticing. It's too bad that they're floating around in a show that at this early stage, is so slapdash and formulaic in its storytelling."
The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave V premiere a 'C' rating, calling it "rote and by-the-numbers."
The second season premiere received a score of 49/100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed reviews.
Interpretation
The re-imagined series has been interpreted by some reviewers as an allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
of the presidency of Barack Obama
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
. In his review of the show, Troy Patterson of Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
points out that bloggers and journalists had noticed parallels between the show's premise and the Obama administration, and writes that "if the show is to have the symbolic import that we expect from a science-fiction story, this is the only possible way to read V as a coherent text. The only problem with this analysis lies in its generous presupposition that the text is, in fact, coherent." Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
noted in her review that the fact the series was debuting on the first anniversary of Obama's election "was not lost on some ... TV critics" and also remarked that the use of phrases present in the series (such as "hope", "change", and "Universal Health Care" being offered by the Visitors) made it seem as though "Lou Dobbs
Lou Dobbs
Louis Carl "Lou" Dobbs is an American journalist, radio host, television host on the Fox Business Network, and author. He anchored CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight until November 2009 when he announced on the air that he would leave the 24-hour cable news television network.He was born in Texas and lived...
had taken over the network, as those things only became popular with the current administration." Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
reviewer Glenn Garvin called the show "controversial", saying the series was "a barbed commentary on Obamamania
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors."
The show's cast and crew deny the charges of bias. Actress Morena Baccarin acknowledges that she had modeled her character, Visitor leader Anna, after politicians but she and series executive producer Peters were surprised by the controversy. At a press conference at Summer TV Press Tour 2009, Peters said that the show was open to interpretation and that "people bring subjective thoughts to it... but there is no particular agenda." Bell agreed, stating that it was simply "a show about spaceships."
Ratings
The pilot episode which aired on November 3, 2009, garnered 14.3 million viewers and scored a 5.2 rating among 18–49 year olds, making it the highest debut of the 2009–10 season. The first four episodes of the first season averaged 9.75 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among 18–49 year olds, ranking 34th in the television season. The remainder of season 1 began airing in March 2010, and by the end of the second half of the season the average viewer count had dropped to 5.72 million viewers and a 2.3 18–49 rating, ranking 89th.The second season averaged 6.93 million viewers per episode and had an average 18–49 rating of 2.5, ranking 75th for the 2010–11 season.
In the UK, the show premiered on the premium channel Syfy. The original broadcast of the pilot was seen by 481,000 viewers and was the most watched show for the network for its entire first season. The second season premiered to 401,000 viewers, again becoming #1 for the network. In October 2010, when the show debuted on the free-to-air channel Virgin 1
Virgin 1
Channel One was a television channel owned and operated by British Sky Broadcasting. The channel was launched on 1 October 2007 at 21:00 on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky as Virgin1, replacing Ftn...
, it gained even higher ratings. The pilot episode garnered 541,000 viewers (and 338,000 for the repeat viewing two days later). The show remained the channel's number one show for several weeks, and was in the channel's top 3 for the entirety of its first season.
Accolades
V was nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series at the 2010 Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the pilot episodePilot (V)
"Pilot" is the series premiere of the 2009 reimagining of the 1983 miniseries V created by Kenneth Johnson. The episode's teleplay was written by Scott Peters, with story credit going to Johnson and Peters. Yves Simoneau directed the episode, which originally aired in the United States on ABC on...
. The show was also nominated for Favorite New TV Drama at the 36th People's Choice Awards
36th People's Choice Awards
The 36th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2009, was held on January 6, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcasted on CBS. Not all of the awards were presented on air during the show, as many including Favorite Movie were left out...
and for Best Television Presentation. Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
was nominated for Best Supporting Actress on Television at the 36th Saturn Awards
36th Saturn Awards
The 36th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2009 were presented on June 24, 2010, in Burbank, California. The most awards of the night were won by Avatar, winning all ten of its nominations...
. At the 37th Saturn Awards, the show received three nominations, for Best Network Series, Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
for Best Actress in Television, and Morena Baccarin for Best Supporting Actress in Television.
Cancellation response
Following ABC's cancellation of V in May 2011, the fan letter-writing campaign "Project Alice" began writing to Warner Bros. to renew the series on a different network.The campaign initially sought to get the show renewed on TNT
TNT
TNT is the chemical explosive trinitrotoluene.TNT or T.N.T. may also refer to:-Television:* TNT , American cable television channel and its international offshoots* TNT , a television station in Launceston, Australia...
, but more recent efforts have also concentrated on the CW Network as well. Both networks are owned by Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
's parent company, Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
.
Project Alice has been officially endorsed by executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum is a writer and producer for television. He first worked on the 1999 television series Grown Ups as a writer. He joined the writing staff of The Shield in 2002, writing 16 episodes until he left the series in 2007...
, actor Mark Hildreth
Mark Hildreth (actor)
Mark Hildreth is a Canadian actor and musician, based in the U.S. He has appeared in many movie and television roles. A graduate of The National Theater School of Canada, Mark Hildreth's theater credits include Hamlet , Bertram in All's well that Ends well , Richard of Gloucester in Richard III and...
and actresses Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
, Jane Badler
Jane Badler
Jane Badler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Diana, the chief antagonist in NBC's science fiction TV series, V, between 1983-85. Badler also appeared in ABC's "reimagined" version of V in 2011, again playing an alien named Diana, who this time is the mother of...
and Laura Vandervoort
Laura Vandervoort
Laura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V....
, each of whom have made videos expressing their support and admiration of their fans' campaign.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Saturn Award Saturn Award The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within... |
Best Presentation on Television | |
| Best Supporting Actress on Television — Morena Baccarin Morena Baccarin Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V... |
|||
| 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, took place on August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT... |
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series | ||
| Leo Awards Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry, celebrating excellence in artistic achievement. Held each May in Vancouver, Canada, the Leo Awards honour nominees and winners in 13 program categories and up to 19 craft categories... |
Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series — David Richmond-Peck David Richmond-Peck David Richmond-Peck is a Canadian actor who has appeared in over 50 film and television roles in Canada and the United States since 2000.-Acting career:... |
||
| Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series | |||
| People's Choice Award | Favorite New TV Drama | ||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial | ||
| Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series | |||
| 2011 | Saturn Award | Best Actress on Television — Elizabeth Mitchell Elizabeth Mitchell Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth... |
|
| Best Supporting Actress on Television — Morena Baccarin | |||
| Best Network Television Series | |||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series | ||
DVD and Blu-ray releases
| Season | Release dates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 (U.S./Canada) | Region 2 (UK/South Africa/Europe) | Region 4 (Australia) | Region 4 (New Zealand) | Region 4 (Argentina/Mexico/Brazil) | |
| 1 | November 2, 2010 | November 8, 2010 | November 10, 2010 | November 17, 2010 | December 9, 2010 |
| 2 | October 18, 2011 | October 24, 2011 | October 26, 2011 | ||
Special features on the first season DVD and Blu-ray include a commentary track on "Fruition" by executive producers Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum
Scott Rosenbaum is a writer and producer for television. He first worked on the 1999 television series Grown Ups as a writer. He joined the writing staff of The Shield in 2002, writing 16 episodes until he left the series in 2007...
and Steve Pearlman, deleted scenes, and four behind-the-scenes featurettes – "The Actor's Journey from Human to V", "An Alien in Human Skin: The Makeup FX of V", Breaking Story: The World of V", and "The Visual FX of V".