Anyone remember the sci-fi miniseries "V"?

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

I saw the original broadcast when I was a kid, and and absolutely loved it. Nice human looking aliens that are really lizards that eat rats and people of course. Unintentionally funny, but do they even make them like that anymore? That Diana character was The Supreme Bitch - and wasn't that Ed MacMan playing the alien leader?

[omshanti]

1. I wanted glitter in my hair too!

The dark-haired evil alien with the glitter in her hair - was that Diana? Or was she the blonde one?

[supernova]

2. Loved "V"

OMG! There hasn't been anything like it on TV since. It truely creeped me out. The parallels to the nazis are unmistakable. :scared:

[RebelOne]

3. Loved it.

Totally awesome series. And Mark Singer was my hero. And Andrew Prine who played one of the alien officers lived in my small town, just outside of Miami. My friend used to date him.

[tsipple]

4. Oh, Boy, Do I Remember That!

Campy, in an unintentional way.

Also starred the guy who played Freddie Kruger in all those horror movies. (Without the makeup, so nobody recognized him.) He was a dweebish alien who, for some reason, sympathized with the humans and helped them out. Total antithesis of his movie character.

You can find "V" on the bottom shelf in many video rental stores, so it's still available. Might even make it to DVD if it hasn't already.

Aired on NBC as a miniseries, I think with an original run and then a shorter sequel if memory serves.

On edit: "Wild Palms" on ABC, directed by Oliver Stone, was much creepier than "V." Anyone remember that one? I still vividly remember the scene with Robert Loggia watching a holographic performance of Diana Ross and the Supremes singing "Love Child." (That was a key moment of foreshadowing in the tale.) James Belushi was miscast and over his head in his role, unfortunately.

[eyesroll]

10. Wild Palms! Yes!

I remember that one. Doesn't it take place around 2006 or so?
From what I remember, it was a bit over-ambitious and didn't always work (and I agree with you about the lesser Belushi), but it was a pretty cool story.

[tsipple]

19. It Was Too Conspiratorial for Mainstream TV

And the plot lines were also a bit complicated for mainstream TV, which is really saying the same thing. Might have worked on SciFi nowadays, so it was brave of ABC to take it.

Angie Dickenson was in that one, too, and she was fantastic. She can act when she gets a good role.

[jeter]

21. The alien played by Freddy Kruger was named Willie

Yes, he was a good alien.

The original series was two episodes. It did so well that several months later they added three more - V: The Final Battle.

Then there was a short lived TV series that lasted only one season.

It was probably my favorite movie as a kid.

I can tell you anything about it.

[Don_G]

5. I Remember It Well

I wish I could find it on DVD. The Leader wasn't Ed, but Karl Maulden and the good alien was the same guy who's portrayed Freddie Kruger in the Friday The 13th series.

[Dead_Parrot]

13. Yup, it's on DVD...

But region 1 only - bad news for us furriners and yurpeans... :(
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005B8UD/qid=1068571542/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/102-2528119-1196938?v=glance&s=dvd

[1monster]

6. Robert Englund was terrific in that mini series...

And it was the one movie that Marc Singer did that wasn't an embarrassment.

I think the idea may have come from THE (original) TWILIGHT ZONE's episode called To Serve Man. "It's a cookbook!!!!!!!"

[SoCalDem]

7. I saw it just recently

It's very apropos of the Bush regime.. Compassionate on the outside....reptilian on the inside :)

[Deja Q]

17. I thought that too! In "The Final Battle"

The references to "terrorists", "rebels", and the Visitors' actions do rather parallel Bushco*.

[CanuckAmok]

8. Created by Kenny Johnston.

I've worked with him a couple of times. A smart, smart man. He wrote "V" in response to what he saw fermenting in Reagan's America.

He wasn't happy with the subsequent series, though, just the first few "cautionary tale" episodes of the original series.

He also created "AlienNation" and has directed episodes of Star Trek TNG, Voyager, Seven Days, and much more.

On a personal level, Kenny Johnston is absolutely hilarious. What a sense of humour!!

[tsipple]

18. Excellent Resume

Sounds like a smart guy.

I wish there was a channel called "Archive TV" (or something like that) that would take old, relatively "discarded" television (like "V") and air it to new audiences. (No, I'm not talking about TV Land.) Here's some of the stuff I'd put on the list:

V
Wild Palms
Supertrain
Manimal

I was actually one of those poor saps who watched NBC during its darkest days. (It was the only station that I could get on my basement rabbit ears for some reason, mostly because it had two closely spaced UHF affiliates in Connecticut: Channel 20 and Channel 30.) In addition to "Supertrain" and "Manimal," they had this sort of stuff:

Harper Valley PTA
B.J. and the Bear
Sheriff Lobo

"B.J. and the Bear" is totally funny now. Featured "Stacks," a rather buxom woman who for some strange reason had absolutely no sexual chemistry with B.J. Probably because the actor who played B.J. later came out of the closet, I think, making the whole title of the show hugely comical. The "Bear" was actually a chimpanzee. NBC was desperate for ratings, and they figured that old trick from the old Today show combined with breasts would do the trick. It sort of did.

"Supertrain" was a hugely expensive "Love Boat"-on-wheels. Lasted about six episodes, I think.

"Manimal" was about a man who could turn into an animal (like a black panther) to fight crime. I think that one lasted about four episodes.

Oh, let's not forget "Cop Rock" (ABC) and "Hull High" (NBC). Two TV series musicals. I absolutely loved "Cop Rock," which is probably why ABC canceled it. The tune "She's Guilty, Judge!" still cracks me up.

See what I mean? There needs to be a TV channel for this sort of stuff, with a George Plimpton-type explaining context. ("On Thursday nights, NBC was trying to compete against...")

And another one: anyone remember CBS Cable? It lasted a couple years in the very early 1980s, and it was an attempt by the old CBS management -- the same generation that brought us Murrow and Cronkite -- to do the ultimate in Tiffany programming. Opera, foreign films, classic dramas, discussions of books...it was absolutely fantastic. (So was the competing "Alpha Reperatory Television Service," or ARTS, that shared the channel with Nickelodeon and came on at 9 PM on the East Coast. ARTS later merged to become A&E, but A&E is much more downmarket.) For about two years cable TV *really* went high-brow with these two channels. ARTS, for example, had a show with Studs Terkell and Calvin Trillin discussing various topics. Oh, man, that was good television.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

20. Manimal!

ha ha I remember that one, but barely. What was the TRON-rip off show that had this guy driving around in a "light car" or somesuch. I remember it could do precise 90 degree turns?

[supernova]

24. Adored AlienNation!

Nice to learn a little about the guy who created it.

[WillParkinson]

9. The scene that chilled me...

Diana and the Guinea pig...

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

11. oh yes!

It must have been amazing special effects at the time, but watching Diana calmly put a guinea pig out of a cage by the tail, stretch her jaw 8 inches, and swallow it whole was quite a gross-out-that-you-can't-look-away-from moment for me at 10 years old.

[WillParkinson]

And then...

To watch it work its way down her throat.

[Maine-i-acs]

12. Check out "Jump the Shark" ...

If you like reminiscing about your favorite shows like V.

www.jumptheshark.com

They have a message board for V. V had the sexiest females on the tube in that era...

[Deja Q]

16. Men, too... but Barbara II was hot for a chick...

The woman who played "Barbara" in the original miniseries did not return, so they had to find some other blonde. "Barbara" mark II is better looking...

Oh, and Martin is HOT. Donovan's not bad either. :-)

[Aristus]

14. Jane Badler was one hot chickiebabe.

What ever happened to her?

And I liked Robert Englund's character. Total departure from Freddie Kreuger.

[Deja Q]

15. Richard Herd played the leader dude

The miniseries is released on DVD, in a faux widescreen format, enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

Seems uncut, but Warner Bros, as usual, screwed around with sound effects (just like they did in the Superman movies). x( No extras either, which is a shame - not even the original tv promos.

Very well acted, the miniseries saga... Which is sad, they are better actors yet they don't get the A-level status and jobs that overrated mannequins like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves get.

V The Final Battle was an okay followup, but there are numerous plot problems (the first episode alone has a couple of glaring plot problems - they show right away that the resistance guns' have little effect. By the end of the episode, using the same weaponary, they're able to wipe out all the Visitor troops. And how easily could they duplicate the alien technology used in those passes? There are numerous other mistakes that are present in the followup miniseries, but it's still fun to watch - the character interaction and very good acting more than make up for the sloppy writing, and do note that Kenneth Johnson did not write The Final Battle. (the original miniseries is simply perfect.) And Michael Ironside freakin' rules! Very good at playing villainous/antihero types...

[Demonaut]

22. best Forgotten

horrible show, poor acting and lame premise

[DS1]

23. It was good as a kid, watching the re-run was amazingly bad

Ahh, things change :7