V

Channel: Nine
Day & time*: Sunday, 8.30 p.m. (from Mar 7)
(*as at March 2010)

 

Velvety voices vex

Anyone who was around in the '80s and had a TV set will recall V, the sci-fi series that was at one time the most popular show in the world as I recall. Well, since everything old is new again in TV-land, it's hardly surprising that the show has been given a re-working (or, as the producers would have it, 're-imagining') for the 21st Century.

The V of the title had several meanings in the original, and in this new series, its first meaning is to identify the "visitors". They're an alien race whose giant spaceships suddenly appear over the world's major cities at the same time. But there's no massive Independence Day-style attack on the Earth. Instead, the remarkably human-looking "Vs" are here to help us. They want to share their remarkable technology and medical advances and to spread peace and love - all they ask in return is to be allowed to take away all our garbage. Hooray - global warming: solved! Nasty diseases: gone! War: eliminated! Give me a hug.

But wait... could it be that these insanely attractive and intensely friendly aliens aren't all they seem to be. Even before the pilot episode ends, we learn that not all is so rosy on planet V. For a start, the V commander Anna (Morena Baccarin) doesn't take kindly to be asked hard questions in her media interviews, leading her to single out ethically dubious newsman Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) to advance her message. Then - via FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) - we learn that the "arrival" of the Vs might not have been as sudden as we thought; and that perhaps the groundwork had been laid by hundreds or perhaps thousands of them living in plain sight on Earth before the ships appeared. And worst of all, we find that rather than a race of supermodels, the Vs are actually slimy reptilians cloaked in a human DNA "skin"; which is never a good look.

Although the basic premise of V remains intact, this new series (the production of which has famously been dogged by controversy) musters all the considerable clout of Warner Bros. and the American ABC network plus the latest digital effects to ensure this looks and feels fresh and exciting. I guess there's a huge audience section (those born from say 1980 onwards) who would never have seen the original series and will have little inkling of the hi-jinks the Vs are about to unleash on an unsuspecting populace. For them, this will indeed be a new experience.

I hasten to add that the writing on this new series is a bonus as well. Tension builds nicely through each episode, with at least those previewed ending on "cliffhanger" notes. There are multiple plotlines going on at any given time, and the writers - who include Kenneth Johnson, creator of the original series - skilfully juggle them all.

The other key difference is that, rather than a cast of unknowns, the new V features a talented and star-studded bunch. Possibly the most recognisable face at the moment is Elizabeth Mitchell, who has a key role in Lost. Older viewers will however note the presence of Scott Wolf, of Party of Five fame. I must say I was also impressed by Morena Baccarin as the creepy leader of the "Vs".

One big question mark - as it is much of the time with Australian network television - is how Channel Nine will deal with the show. When it first aired in America last year, ABC made the odd decision to show only the first four episodes and then to put it into hiatus. But then came ratings figures, which were healthy to say the least. So now ABC will be running new eps in the US from 30 March. By my reckoning, Nine's timing will mean that once the first four episodes are screened here, we will have pretty much be caught up and be only one or two weeks behind.

Will it have the same success here that it had in the US? There's no reason why it shouldn't. I know there have been a few sci-fi shows recently that have flopped on Oz TV, but nothing gets the blood pumping like a slimy reptilian, if you ask me.

Phil James