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V (2009 TV series)

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This article is about the 2009 series. For other uses, see V (TV series).
V
V intertitle
GenreScience fiction
Created byKenneth Johnson
Developed byScott Peters
StarringElizabeth Mitchell
Morris Chestnut
Joel Gretsch
Logan Huffman
Lourdes Benedicto
Laura Vandervoort
Morena Baccarin
Scott Wolf
Country of originUnited States
Original languageTransclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes2 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersScott Rosenbaum
Scott Peters
Jace Hall
Jeffrey Bell
Running time46 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseNovember 3, 2009 (2009-11-03) –
present

V is an American science-fiction television series first broadcast on ABC starting November 3, 2009.[1][2] A reimagining of the 1983 miniseries V created by Kenneth Johnson, the new series chronicles the arrival to Earth of a technologically advanced alien species who ostensibly come in peace but actually have sinister motives.[3] V stars Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Scott Wolf, and is executive produced by Scott Rosenbaum, Scott Peters, and Jace Hall.[4]

Premise

See also: List of V (2009 TV series) episodes

Giant spaceships appear over 29 major cities of the world, and Anna (Morena Baccarin), the beautiful and charismatic leader of the extra-terrestrial "Visitors," claims to come in peace. 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 have spent decades infiltrating human governments, businesses, and religious institutions and are now in the final stages of their plan to take over the world. Erica joins the resistance movement, which includes Ryan (Morris Chestnut), a Visitor sleeper agent who wants to save humanity. However, the aliens 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.[2]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Cast of V

Guest starring

In August 2009, executive producer Peters suggested that stars from the original version may be offered guest roles as new characters in the future.[5]

Production

The series pickup was announced in May 2009, to be executive produced by Scott Peters, Jace Hall, Steve Pearlman, and Jeffrey Bell.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). filming of the post-pilot episodes began on August 10, 2009.[5] Cast member Mitchell noted that the show would do service to the most iconic moments from the original franchise.[6] 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.[5] 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 looking to put our own little spin on them to tip our hat to the old audience."[5] Entertainment Weekly had 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 a guinea pig "one of the best TV reveals ever."[7] 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."[5] The Hollywood Reporter called the idea behind the 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-Sept. 11 emphasis on questions of trust and terror."[3]

In September 2009 it was announced that four episodes of V would air in November 2009, and that the series would resume in March 2010 after the 2010 Winter Olympics to complete its 13-episode season.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said, "We always intended to break the show up into 'pods' to make it more of an event."Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). 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.[4] Production on the remaining nine episodes will resume in January 2010.[4]

Reception

The series premiere of V garnered mixed reviews, scoring 67 out of 100 on Metacritic.[8] E! Online rated the pilot episode "on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11. V is the best pilot we've seen in, well, forever."[9] USA Today's 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,"[10] while The Hollywood Reporter called the new series "clever enough for a cult following and accessible enough to reach a broad demo."[3] 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."[11] The New York Times, however, 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."[12] The Onion's AV Club gave V's premiere a 'C' rating, calling it "rote and by-the-numbers."[13]

Controversy

As the original miniseries was inspired by the novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and has been called "a modern retelling of how the Nazis rose to power in Germany,"[3] the re-imagined series has been accused of being an allegory of the presidency of Barack Obama.[14][15][16] 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 Barack 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."[14] Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post noted in her review that the fact the series was debuting on the one-year 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."[15]

Chicago Tribune reviewer (and noted libertarian[17]) Glenn Garvin called the show "controversial", but took a more down-the-middle approach, saying the series was "a barbed commentary on Obamania that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors."[16]

The show's cast and crew deny the charges of bias. Actress 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."[15] Bell agreed, stating that it was simply "a show about spaceships."[14]

US Nielsen ratings

Weekly ratings

Order Episode Rating Share Rating/share
(18-49) 		Viewers
(millions) 		Rank
(Timeslot) 		Rank
(Night) 		18-49 Rank
(Timeslot) 		18-49 Rank
(Night)
1 "Pilot" 8.5[18] 14[19] 5.2/14[20] 14.3[21] 2 2 1 1
2 "There Is No Normal Anymore" 6.7 10 3.8/10[22] 10.70 2 5 2 2
3 "A Bright New Day" TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
4 "It's Only the Beginning" TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

International distribution

Country Broadcaster Series premiere
 Argentina Warner Channel February 2010 (2010-02)
 Australia Nine Network February 2010 (2010-02)
 Canada CTV November 3, 2009 (2009-11-03)
 Ireland TV3 November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05)
 Norway Canal+ 2010 (2010)[23]
 Singapore Mio TV November 4, 2009 (2009-11-04)
 Spain TNT December 27, 2009 (2009-12-27)
 Sweden Canal+ February 2010 (2010-02)
 United Kingdom Sci Fi Channel 2010 (2010)

References

  1. ^ Rice, Lynette (July 25, 2009). "V: ABC's alien series invades Comic-Con—but does it come in peace?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Sullivan, Brian Ford (August 8, 2009). "ABC Books V for November 3rd". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Garron, Barry (October 30, 2009). "V -- TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Abrams, Natalie (November 3, 2009). "V Switches Showrunner". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lee, Patrick (August 11, 2009). "V producer on who might return and other homages". SciFiWire.com. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  6. ^ French, Dan (July 29, 2009). "Elizabeth Mitchell talks Lost, V". DigitalSpy.com. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  7. ^ Jensen, Jeff (December 11, 2008). "The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982". Entertainment Weekly. EW.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  8. ^ "V: Series reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  9. ^ Team WWK (July 6, 2009). "Spoiler Chat: Who's taking a break from Grey's Anatomy?". E! Online. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  10. ^ Bianco, Robert (September 4, 2009). "Robert Bianco's top 10 new fall shows: Laughs, chills, music". USA Today. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  11. ^ Elavsky, Cindy (October 15, 2009). "The New V Is Must-Watch TV!". Celebrity Extra. Retrieved October 15, 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. ^ Hale, Mike (November 2, 2009). "They Came From Beyond, Sexy and Media Savvy". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  13. ^ Sims, David (November 3, 2009). "AVClub: "Pilot"". AVClub. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  14. ^ a b c http://www.slate.com/id/2234470/
  15. ^ a b c http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/09/AR2009080901970.html?hpid=topnews
  16. ^ a b http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-tc-tvcolumn-v-1102-1103nov03,0,7062976.story
  17. ^ http://www.theadvocates.org/celebrities/glenn-garvin.html
  18. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/11/tv-ratings-v-starts-strong-tuesday.html
  19. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/11/tv-ratings-v-starts-strong-tuesday.html
  20. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/04/broadcast-finals-v-premiere-increases-to-a-5-2-adults-18-49-rating-jay-leno-best-the-forgotten/32634
  21. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/11/tuesday-broadcast-finals-v-ncis-up-slightly/33433?utm_campaign=WP-TWITTER&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
  22. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/11/tuesday-broadcast-finals-v-ncis-up-slightly/33433
  23. ^ http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/11/05/kultur/tv_og_medier/tv-serier/tv/v/8896292/
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