Instant verdict, please: What did you think of the first episode of 'V'?

Grade: F. I’m in my 50′s, didn’t see the orig. series, but this just didn’t grab and hold my attention like Firefly did (and it was cancelled!). Am also a BSG fan, too bad it’s gone too. Don’t think this one’s gonna get picked up by network.

The original “V” was way better, because it set up a political context for watching the series from the get-go, comparing The Visitors to WWII era fascists and showing – in the first scene – an active resistance movement in South America. In this incarnation the rebels are supposed to be an FBI agent and a Catholic priest? You really can’t get any more establishment than that. And while that might be cool with more of a political context given in this case it just sets you up to go “rah rah, the establishment we have on earth is so great; it’s only alien establishments that are bad”, basically draining the show of all the meaning the 80′s version held. Maybe the 80′s version was a bit didactic at times – the Holocaust speeches were kind of like an obvious smack in the face – but they were a smack in the face that was needed. I watched the 80s version in its entirety during the latest Bush administration. And it was just as relevant as the day it was filmed.

This one – this one is at sea and doesn’t know where it’s going. None of the characters are intriguing yet; none of the characters are truly risky. In the 80s version you knew what kind of guy Donovan was from scene 1 and you wanted to find out more. You knew who the female doctor was from Scene 1. The story played out like the rise of Hitler and so it had a meaningful real-world context.

This “V” is a mess with a crappy script. Elizabeth Mitchell is doing her best to keep the thing afloat along with some other competent actors. But good actors aren’t enough. I’m afraid this “V” just isn’t going to be worth my time. I might be better off you-tubing the original again.

Now I know who the bariny one is, I’ll keep looking for your posts.