I loved the mini-series "V" back in the wayback - though I thought the series itself fell apart by the end of the first season - so I wasn't sure how they were going to pull this one together.
so, far, the pilot shows great promise, if they stay on this path, and don't pull a "Heroes"-style implosion, it'll be worth a weekly investment.
Morena Baccarin (who I just love in general) does another notable characterization. How can someone so pretty come across as so serpent-like??? I sincerely kept expecting her to strike, like a rattler; her body language, and that smile that never touched her eyes were absolutely unnerving. The interview was especially disturbing because she was SOOOOOOOOO nice... after having shown us a different attitude only moments before.
I was especially impressed by the sub-text and the "current events" themes in the writing; equating the V's to terrorists was a brilliant touch. I did however have a problem with the idea that so many of them somehow managed to infiltrate society without much challenge:with the high level of technology that we have today, interstellar scout ships bringing a number of aliens that are completely undetected by the military seems unlikely, as does the "upkeep" for these creatures to be living on earth. For example, they didn't go into any detail regarding how they maintained their human-like appearance, and that was a gaping hole for me. Perhaps it will be addressed in future episodes.
I was greatly appreciative that the singular "religious" element (Father Jack) wasn't a blithering, bumbling idiot - thank you!!! Usually, Christians of any denomination are passed off in such environments as doofuses, so it was nice to see that one of the good guys (I assume) wasn't played as a stereotypical jerk.
I agree with the comments of others that this has a high "paranoia" factor - the idea that the V's had been infiltrating our societies for so long prior to their "arrival", and that ANY one could be one... yeah, you'd be seriously wanting special glasses to see them (anyone get that reference to another evil-alien movie?*) I thought the costuming deserved special note: the V's clothing (I thought) utilized very subtly the subconscious impressions made by clothing. Erica Evans and Dale Maddox, the FBI agents, wore shlupy,"working" clothes, whereas Anna was super-polished, as were many of the other high ranking V's. The lesser ranks had pseudo-uniforms - not militaristic enough to create concern, but they had a degree of "authority," that made them seem so much "better" than boring humans, and implied a degree of trustworthiness and orderliness that people seem to think means "good".
Overall, well done, looking forward to more, good acting, good scenery, good storytelling, and once it had created the foundation, good pacing and character development.
*movie reference, in case you're DYING to know: "They Live". IMDb it: you're already here anyway!!
so, far, the pilot shows great promise, if they stay on this path, and don't pull a "Heroes"-style implosion, it'll be worth a weekly investment.
Morena Baccarin (who I just love in general) does another notable characterization. How can someone so pretty come across as so serpent-like??? I sincerely kept expecting her to strike, like a rattler; her body language, and that smile that never touched her eyes were absolutely unnerving. The interview was especially disturbing because she was SOOOOOOOOO nice... after having shown us a different attitude only moments before.
I was especially impressed by the sub-text and the "current events" themes in the writing; equating the V's to terrorists was a brilliant touch. I did however have a problem with the idea that so many of them somehow managed to infiltrate society without much challenge:with the high level of technology that we have today, interstellar scout ships bringing a number of aliens that are completely undetected by the military seems unlikely, as does the "upkeep" for these creatures to be living on earth. For example, they didn't go into any detail regarding how they maintained their human-like appearance, and that was a gaping hole for me. Perhaps it will be addressed in future episodes.
I was greatly appreciative that the singular "religious" element (Father Jack) wasn't a blithering, bumbling idiot - thank you!!! Usually, Christians of any denomination are passed off in such environments as doofuses, so it was nice to see that one of the good guys (I assume) wasn't played as a stereotypical jerk.
I agree with the comments of others that this has a high "paranoia" factor - the idea that the V's had been infiltrating our societies for so long prior to their "arrival", and that ANY one could be one... yeah, you'd be seriously wanting special glasses to see them (anyone get that reference to another evil-alien movie?*) I thought the costuming deserved special note: the V's clothing (I thought) utilized very subtly the subconscious impressions made by clothing. Erica Evans and Dale Maddox, the FBI agents, wore shlupy,"working" clothes, whereas Anna was super-polished, as were many of the other high ranking V's. The lesser ranks had pseudo-uniforms - not militaristic enough to create concern, but they had a degree of "authority," that made them seem so much "better" than boring humans, and implied a degree of trustworthiness and orderliness that people seem to think means "good".
Overall, well done, looking forward to more, good acting, good scenery, good storytelling, and once it had created the foundation, good pacing and character development.
*movie reference, in case you're DYING to know: "They Live". IMDb it: you're already here anyway!!