V: Invasión Extraterrestre

I just got my copy of V The Complete Series. I had forgotten about all the 80's make-up and Diana's crazy variations on the standard Visitor uniform. Now don't misunderstand me, I still love anything to do with the Visitors, even down to the ridiculous deus ex machina that is the StarChild. But there is one thing about The Complete Series that aggravates the crap out of me. Suddenly, NONE of the visitors have the strange voice, and I mean none - not even a trace. I have always felt that you can detect the early rumblings of decline of this series about 10 minutes into Final Battle. The Complete Series takes the decay up to quick rot. Martin in plaid flannel and a hunter's vest!? Because NBC(?) wouldn't allow Kenny Johnson to take the time he needed to produce another mini-series that probably would have been fantastic, they took the idea and fobbed it off on less talented, cheaper people.

So....back to my original point- is it just me, or is there simply NO voice? Sorry to be so long winded!

It's Liberation Day, a year after driving the aliens from Earth. The mother ship has been captured and being examined by scientists. Elizabeth has superpowers. Diana is on trial. While the situation seems to be going well, dangers persist. The aliens are bound to return.

It is 19 episodes and the last gasp of the original V. It follows two years of mini-series. The first season has a great premise but the second season falters a bit. Recently, I watch this again after three and a half decades. It's better than I remember. This 19 episode season is an improvement over the second mini-series Final Battle. It still has some issues with the scale of the TV production. The story logic is better although they still do the thing where the human rebels are always able to sneak in and win despite overwhelming odds. It's the 80's and realism is rarely on TV. It's canceled after one year. It's 25 years before they try rebooting the franchise. At the end of the day, it's fun 80's sci-fi and is still watchable today.

Watching "V" has become an Event at our house. We have the entire miniseries and TV series on video (thanks to having the Sci-Fi Channel and Primestar/DirecTV). Over Independence Day, 2000, beginning at 430 am Monday, July 3rd and concluding at 530 pm, Tuesday, July 4th, we watched the entire miniseries and all 19 episodes of the subsequent TV series! It was GREAT! I agree with those who says it's better than the movie Independence Day. Some big-budget producer or director (like George Lucas or Stephen Spielburg) ought to take this great sci-fi adventure and do it up right with a proper conclusion! It would be great to get Marc Singer, Robert Englund, Faye Grant, Michael Ironside, Jane Badler and all the other great actors and actresses (or others who would properly fill,the roles) (as well as all those in the production credits) who worked so hard on this and give this production what it (and we) truly deserves!! So, if any of you are reading this -- "let's do it!"

V and V the final battle is 8 of the best sci-fi hours on video anywhere. Yes it's long but any shorter and it would lose something. All the characters, all the inter-weaving stories and the entire plot are just perfectly executed. The underlying anti Nazi message and WW 2 under tones give the story a depth that make it even better. The special effects are very good for an 80's mini-series. The acting is good. But watching it you're glad they don't cut anything out. The best scene is the birth of the twins. Great sci-fi. If you think Independence Day was good you ain't seen nothin' yet.

"V" and "V: The Final Battle" were definitely two of the 80's best mini-series. It actually became a full series after "Final Battle", but those episodes never made it to video. The original two mini-series are classics, and wonderfully done. The plots are intense, the special effects are cool and were, at the time, state of the art. Even by today's standards, these are still two very exceptional pieces of work. People who like this series may also want to check out "Alien Nation".