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V (2009) - US Speed - 9/3/2009 4:06:42 PM

Timon

Posts: 14545
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Bristol

ABC are rebooting another sci-fi series - V.

I never saw the original 80s miniseries but I know vaguely of the lizard people invasion, so this should be an interesting reboot for me.

Cast wise, Scott Wolf and Firefly's Morena Baccarin have been cast. If anyone could fill me in on the original series premise, that would be great.

< Message edited by Captain Black -- 3/4/2010 9:54:09 PM >

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:14:09 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

Big spaceships appear over the world with Visitors. Human looking people who wear red jumpsuits and have flags with red, black and white on them.

They start helping humanity, but then it is revealled they are actully trying to take all of Earths water and eat all the humans. Oh and they are actully lizards.

There is a lot more to it - its a kind of ham fisted Nazi parable, but it is enjoyable cheese.

The remake I'm not sure. I doubt they are going to go the giant spaceship route. Maybe more subversive - keeping in with current world themes. Which will suck, because giant city sized space crusiers piloted by rodent eating liazards is way cooler.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:17:33 PM

Timon

Posts: 14545
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Bristol

Man eating lizards? Giant spaceships? Awesome! Keep that idea.... with some propaganda elements and we're away!

Pity ABC is producing....get HBO on that bad boy!

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Post #: 3

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:20:38 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

If I were to guess we are going to see something like The Invaders.

No spacehips.

Humans finding out certain people are aliens and make it more along the X-Files route. ABC will be keeping budgets down on this one (the first V mini-series was the biggest budgeted show at one point) and will argue that having everyone sneaking around makes it more "reality based".

I could be wrong and will welcome the spaceships if they are in the show.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:22:51 PM

Timon

Posts: 14545
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Bristol

Do you mean Invasion? That ABC show from a few years back with William Fichtner? Cause that really wasn't very good....

A sort of lame 'Body Snatchers'....

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Post #: 5

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:24:14 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

Invaders was based on the 60s show The Invaders which in turn was a rip off of body snatchers.

Here is one of the shows most famous scenes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VObQfWMgmIM&feature=related

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 4:44:39 PM

elab49

Posts: 51590
Joined: 1/10/2005

'course there was also the marriage of Charles and Diana....

V was class cheese SF that was way more popular than it might otherwise have been as it was the only refuge from wall to wall Olympic coverage. I have very fond memories of both that and the TV series - but as the latter lost people regularly it was kill a main character a week through most of it. I understand they are ignoring how the series itself ended - but the set-up, frankly, sounds like an almost identical repeat of the first part of the mini-series.

Kenneth thingy has done another book - I had a look through it at the library the other week and it seemed pretty identical in story in a lot of ways.

I'm pretty sure I've got the original books somewhere - they seem to be priced quite highly on Amazon at the mo

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 5:53:48 PM

Captain Black

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I was given the full TV series (not seen the mini-series)as a pressie and watched a few episodes. It is very '80s, though I do love the way Michael Ironside snarls his way through every scene (no change there then), and Marc Singer's fantastically energistic 'I-coulda-been-an-action-hero-contendah!' performance (there are at least three shots in the first episode that are avatar worthy). Must get around to watching the full thing.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 6:18:31 PM

sharkboy

Posts: 6031
Joined: 26/9/2005
From: Belfast

Ah, V...what great memories I have of that time. Even though the LA Olympics were the biggest, most showy Games ever, it was this show that provided most of the water cooler moments. And I was particularly taken at the time by the Visitor's female leader, despite her big hair and 80's make-up:

Michael Ironside is always enjoyable to watch, and he delivers some great lines here including the following after blowing up a squad of alien lizards: "What a waste of good luggage"

Bet the ABC remake is a disaster though - V was great because it was so cheesy, not despite of it!

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 6:21:55 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

I'm not totally against it as the Battlestar remake proved you could turn these things into really great shows but they still kept the space battles. I'm afraid that this show might move away even from the towering ships over cities in order to cut costs.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 6:35:16 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

V kicked arse - I still remember the killer moment when a human is looking at one of the aliens (who look completely human) through a grating and to everyone's horror his mouth elongates and he eats a live mouse!

. That was a dark bit of TV sci fi

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Post #: 11

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 6:39:23 PM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

quote:

ORIGINAL: Fluke Skywalker

V kicked arse - I still remember the killer moment when a human is looking at one of the aliens (who look completely human) through a grating and to everyone's horror his mouth elongates and he eats a live mouse! . That was a dark bit of TV sci fi

Its also the very scene I posted above.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:05:08 PM

Dirty Hartigan

Posts: 5890
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Manchester

quote:

ORIGINAL: sharkboy

Ah, V...what great memories I have of that time. Even though the LA Olympics were the biggest, most showy Games ever, it was this show that provided most of the water cooler moments. And I was particularly taken at the time by the Visitor's female leader, despite her big hair and 80's make-up:

Bet the ABC remake is a disaster though - V was great because it was so cheesy, not despite of it!

Yeah, I was a bit young for it at the time, but it got amazing ratings in the UK. I know what you mean about the cheese factor - I don't know if you can do those kinds of shows anymore. Even today's cheesy shows are slightly self aware about it.

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Post #: 13

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:17:13 PM

HughesRoss

Posts: 5641
Joined: 19/12/2008
From: Merthyr

V...Loved it as a kid, had nightmares when the human gave birth to an alien who rapidly grew in hours. Also gave the world a certain Robert Englund as the nice Alien. Its dated horribly now but a re-boot will be awesome. I thought Diane (was that her name) was hot as well.

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RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:27:58 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rgirvan44

quote:

ORIGINAL: Fluke Skywalker

V kicked arse - I still remember the killer moment when a human is looking at one of the aliens (who look completely human) through a grating and to everyone's horror his mouth elongates and he eats a live mouse! . That was a dark bit of TV sci fi

Its also the very scene I posted above.

My memory is clearly a bit hazy - a) it was a woman and b) that was a bigger rodent than a mouse!

The birth of the reptile hybrid baby was also another fucked up moment for a sprog to endure.

In fact here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TufUH1T-F18&feature=related

The only thing about remaking it is - BSG made the original 100 times darker and more serious. Despite some of the clips on show (which do look a bit naff now), V was pretty dark and so how could they take the remake in a new direction?

< Message edited by Fluke Skywalker -- 9/3/2009 7:32:49 PM >

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Post #: 15

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:29:42 PM

elab49

Posts: 51590
Joined: 1/10/2005

Mike Donovan creeping through the conduits of the ship with a camera if I recall.

Ham Tyler was a fabulous character

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Post #: 16

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:31:48 PM

Dirty Hartigan

Posts: 5890
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Manchester

quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

Ham Tyler was a fabulous character

With an utterly genius name straight off Futurama!

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Post #: 17

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:36:18 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

Good old Marc Singer - he was always a cool actor in my book!

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Post #: 18

RE: V (2009) - 9/3/2009 7:44:15 PM

HughesRoss

Posts: 5641
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From: Merthyr

quote:

ORIGINAL: Fluke Skywalker

Good old Marc Singer - he was always a cool actor in my book!

Aye, the Beastmaster was something else

V has the potential to fill the void that BSG is set to make...

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Post #: 19

RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 12:35:02 PM

Captain Black

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Review of the pilot script from the futon critic (who are normally pretty reliable when it comes to such things):

http://thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090309_v

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RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 12:41:49 PM

Rgirvan44

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From: Punishment Park

Sounds like its going to be a very rushed hour of tv. I don't know about anyone else, but it feels like the set up will need a few hours to really work.

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RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 1:00:45 PM

borstal

Posts: 8725
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: its grom up nirth

Ive been saying this has been on the cards for a few years now. It was essential viewing when I was younger, always loved the crusty old jewish guy

'NO! V is for Victory not for Vengence' or something.

Overall the TV series was a bit Roland Emmerich (sp?) in that the first part was great then the second bit got a bit silly with the birth of the Star child or whatever she was called. I always remember the shock of the hamster eating scene and when Freddy Kruger rushed into the liquid nitrogen thingy and came out OK (mmm, these arent humans!).

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RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 1:01:25 PM

matty_b

Posts: 12861
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From: Outpost 31 calling McMurtle.

I love the original mini-series (never seen the tv series that followed). The first part is exceptional, but the second is slightly less-so with a truly crummy ending. But Rgirvan's right - the first part is so good because it has a patient, detailed build up that gives the aliens insidious invasion real plausibility. It can't be rushed...

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RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 1:03:42 PM

elab49

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Nearly a straight repeat of the original just a different time - that is exactly how the synopsis came across as well, even down to characters.

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Post #: 24

RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 1:08:43 PM

Timon

Posts: 14545
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Bristol

Sounds quite good, but yes a bit rushed... like that they're including an religious extremist element that don't accept the 'V's'.

There does appear to be an 'annoying kid' element present though. Eat her, lizard people! Eat her! We offer her up as a sacrifice in the pilot!

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Post #: 25

RE: V (2009) - 10/3/2009 11:45:32 PM

The REAL Bozz

Posts: 3273
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No way will this beat the excellent 80's series. I loved the whole lot of em!!! Even Jenifer Cooke as Elizabeth in the later series. Hear she never went down too well with original creator?

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RE: V (2009) - 11/3/2009 12:51:30 AM

theoriginalcynic

Posts: 6517
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This has been in the works for some time the only question was whether they'd remake the original or start the sequel (Johnson released the new book last year I believe?) Guess ABC are gonna start again and hopefully make the sequel afterwards.

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Post #: 27

RE: V (2009) - 11/3/2009 7:39:11 AM

Gimli The Dwarf

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I only ever saw the original miniseries and The Final Battle but I used to love them. I'm in the mood to watch them again now, I have them somewhere.

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RE: V (2009) - 11/3/2009 10:32:51 AM

Timon

Posts: 14545
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Bristol

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rgirvan44

Big spaceships appear over the world with Visitors. Human looking people who wear red jumpsuits and have flags with red, black and white on them.

I take it Independence Day was semi-inspired....?

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Twitter: @timonsingh

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Post #: 29

RE: V (2009) - 11/3/2009 10:36:34 AM

Rgirvan44

Posts: 18886
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park

quote:

ORIGINAL: Timon

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rgirvan44

Big spaceships appear over the world with Visitors. Human looking people who wear red jumpsuits and have flags with red, black and white on them.

I take it Independence Day was semi-inspired....?

I believe so. But both of them were inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke story Childhoods End.

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