"V" -- New Series -- "Pilot" -- Premieres 11/03/09

[dolphinboy]

I liked it a lot.

[DGibFen]

Originally Posted by Snowmaker

So have any religious nuts come forward yet complaining about the Jesus crucifix in the church crashing to the floor and shattering into a million pieces? I figure the same people that got offended by the Curb episode last week would bitch about this just as much.

There is a difference between the intent of the shattering Jesus crucifix in V and the intent of the urine-splashed Jesus painting in CYE. The crucifix played into the rest of the show, and helped to paint an overall picture (sorry for the punnish comparison) of how indeed the aliens have taken over all things on the earth - even devotion (that could be considered religious), as the Mitchell character later stated to the priest. There is, in a sense, a purposeful execution of the symbolic idea. I am sure there will be some that will take some offense; personally, I don't in this case.

Mind you, the idea that a painting of Jesus is crying is taken as a sign from God - as well as other "miracles" that have occurred such as Mary in mold, in a chip, etc. - is foolish in its own right. But the CYE gag is quite crude in execution. What person would have a picture of Jesus next to a toilet in a restroom, knowing that there would be the potential for (accidental or intended) defacement by urination/defecation? (A less than thoughtful one, I assume.) But following that up with the eventual revelation that David did urinate - if by means of "splashback" - on the picture, leading the mother to contemplate suicide, adds another layer of insult to a Christian viewer. Of course, CYE has never been consistent with good taste and restraint in its seven seasons, and that joke would fit in with the larger idea that Larry is basically a selfish idiot. I think the joke would have not been so offensive - and therefore, not have gained as much attention - had it been, say, saliva flying out of his mouth when he accidentally tripped over something.

It's the implied intent of meaning within each sequence, if I can manage to wrap this up, that differentiates why similar-esque situations in V and CYE could be viewed in a positive or negative light, depending on the viewer.

[Snowmaker]

I guess that makes sense.

[scott1598]

not bad. as others have said, felt a little rushed getting to the whole "truth" thing, but i'll stick around.

liked that Kenneth Johnson was all over this. much parellel to original tv movies. but couldn't they have kept the name Diana for Anna? i mean i would have loved more similarities and character names to original, but i guess Ken had his reasons.

[GizmoDVD]

Loved the nod to 4400 (the address where the C4 was).

Elizabeth Mitchell looked old.

[Dr. DVD]

For those that are complaining that this might seem dumbed down compared to Battlestar Galactica , remember that this is being shown on network and can't take time to build up a niche audience as BG did. While it was good, I think it's safe to assume that BG would have been pulled pretty dang quick if it weren't on sci-fi. Given their constraints, they made a pretty good show. Whether it remains such or the rating holds has yet to be seen.

[Dr. DVD]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Loved the nod to 4400 (the address where the C4 was).

Elizabeth Mitchell looked old.

Well, she is supposed to be the parent of a teenager, so she can't look too young.

[DJariya]

Originally Posted by scott1598

not bad. as others have said, felt a little rushed getting to the whole "truth" thing, but i'll stick around.

liked that Kenneth Johnson was all over this. much parellel to original tv movies. but couldn't they have kept the name Diana for Anna? i mean i would have loved more similarities and character names to original, but i guess Ken had his reasons.

Kenny Johnson was not involved with this show at all. They only gave him a story and created by credit for legal reasons.

[DJariya]

FYI, just cheked Hulu and this will not be posted until Saturday.

[Michael Corvin]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Loved the nod to 4400 (the address where the C4 was).

Elizabeth Mitchell looked old.

She's 39.

[MrX]

I thought it was good.


Poor Laura Vandervoot is going to be typecast as a hot alien from now on I guess

[Giantrobo]

Originally Posted by Deep_lurk

You can post all the mocking rolling laughs that you want, that does not change that 1.) I specified "the original miniseries" not the corny full series and 2.) the first miniseries was a dark, opressive allegory for Nazis and fascism in WWII. In fact, the producers of the original had wanted to do a miniseries explicitly about WWII, but the TV execs convinced them to Sci-Fi it up.

I'm sorry that you aren't bright enough to notice the symbolism of the original that is removed in the new one, making it much more banal. But have fun with your little icons.

One ep Deep_lurk....ONE EP... and already you know how the whole show is going to pan out.

How do you know they won't deal with Fascism? Did you write the script? Did you download the whole 2009 Series? How do you know what's going to happen or not going to happen is this series?


I may not be as "bright" as you; but I am "Bright" enough not to judge an entire series that hasn't aired yet based on one pilot and some 80's Nostalgia.

[scott1598]

Originally Posted by DJariya

Kenny Johnson was not involved with this show at all. They only gave him a story and created by credit for legal reasons.

well, i know the old show well and a lot of it can be seen in the new show, so the credit is justified.

[Giantrobo]

Originally Posted by Deep_lurk

It is a pet peeve about those "rolling on the floor laughing" icons. This is supposed to be a forum with civil discourse between members. I know plenty of forums allow personal attacks without restrictions, but DVD Talk tries to be above that. The "rolling on the floor laughing" icon is the virtual stand-in for laughing in someone's face at their idea-- not laughing with them-- laughing at them. If you would not do something so rude as to laugh in the face of someone you are having a civil conversation with in the real world, then you shouldn't do it on the internet. It is flame bait.

Wow...I think this is a bit much but I suppose you have your reasons for feeling this way.

Ok, look. I'll be a "Man" and apologize for insulting you with my icons.

[Gunde]

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD

For those that are complaining that this might seem dumbed down compared to Battlestar Galactica , remember that this is being shown on network and can't take time to build up a niche audience as BG did. While it was good, I think it's safe to assume that BG would have been pulled pretty dang quick if it weren't on sci-fi. Given their constraints, they made a pretty good show. Whether it remains such or the rating holds has yet to be seen.

And half of BSG's entire runtime sucked ass, so I'll take a dumbed down version anyday

[GreenMonkey]

I read the novelization about 15 years ago when I was in high school (man that makes me feel old). I remember liking it. Never saw the original show though.

Originally Posted by Red Dog

...I am sucker for those kind of stories on creeping fascism (such as Babylon 5) but why would you want the same approach taken with this one? It was already done in V and done well.

Ditto...history geek...love this theme in B5, my favorite show. But they need to do something new with a remake. Not just shine it up with fancy new special effects. It needs a new re-theming and updated ideas that will resonate with modern viewers.

I was amused by the aliens offering universal healthcare, funny, funny. And the crazy conspiracy theories ("the aliens are causing it all!" ) angle was amusing too. Like we didn't always have lots of problems through human history... Just because crazy cult leader guy says the aliens are causing all of the world's problems doesn't mean it will actually turn out that is the case.

[Raul3]

I actually agree with Pinata, kinda. I loved the original, and yeah, they crammed a lot of stuff in ~42 minutes here. I'll still keep my series recording.

And oh yeah, Elizabeth Mitchell was wearing too much clothes.

[DJariya]

I liked it alot. But as pretty much everyone mentioned here, it was too damn short. Easily could have been a 2 hour Pilot.

Really surprised by the reveal at the end about Chestnut's character and Erica's partner.

Love Elizabeth Mitchell and Joel Gretsch. Great leads for this show and I thought Morena Baccarin was really creppy as Anna.

Scott Wolf didn't bother me as Decker. The believability factor for someone being a "Journalist" is very subjective. If you don't count your old scruffy veteran achor, most anchors are either hot sexed up chicks or pretty boy talking heads.

[celmendo]

I liked it very much as well. I'm hoping that they wanted to get all the stuff out in the open that was very similar to the old series and then veer off in their own direction. If it's just a rehash of the old series, then I'll be disappointed but I'll still watch it.

[Mok]

I enjoyed it. Thank god they didn't put it on Thursday night.

[CPA-ESQ.]

Originally Posted by DJariya

Scott Wolf didn't bother me as Decker. The believability factor for someone being a "Journalist" is very subjective. If you don't count your old scruffy veteran achor, most anchors are either hot sexed up chicks or pretty boy talking heads.

I think he was supposed to be an anchor for a tabloid news show (like an Entertainment Tonight type of show.) That is why I think they "picked" him. But I'm basing that on what the set of his news show looked like.

[Red Dog]

Originally Posted by CPA-ESQ.

I think he was supposed to be an anchor for a tabloid news show (like an Entertainment Tonight type of show.) That is why I think they "picked" him. But I'm basing that on what the set of his news show looked like.

I thought it was a cable news network show (something you might find on MSNBC or FNC during the day), but you could be right.

[Cardiff Giant]

for those of us that missed it, it's not on Hulu and I don't think it's on ABC.com yet either so we're SOL at the moment.

[Deftones]

So who was the other person on 4400 that was in this show? Obv. Joel Gretsch was on there, but I either forgot about someone or missed it.

[Fanboy]

Originally Posted by pinata242

Scott Wolf ... ? Give me a fucking break!

My feelings exactly.