V (2009) TV Series Review

What is it about?
V is about a race of aliens who come to Earth promising benevolence but have far more sinister intentions.

V is the “re-imagining” of the 1983 mini-series which I was huge fan of, though I always felt left down by the follow up show which aired in 1984.

Is it any good?
When I heard V was being remade I was quite excited, science fiction shows have been of a generally high standard recently and a V remake has a lot of potential.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as the show starts the script and characters feels clichéd while the pacing is all over the place and manic. The first thirty minutes jerk from plot thread to plot thread, introducing each character via a series of tired old plot devices. If I was not as much of a fan of the original show, I may well have given up watching.

While the characters over-act their way from scene to scene, the lazy writing becomes very apparent. There are even some digs at current political affairs in America which seems somewhat self-indulgent for a show intended for an international audience. Fortunately though there is some welcome distraction on offer in the form of the excellent and creative visual effects. The design of the alien mother ships is interesting too, and while not the most original design, it is a nice evolution of what you’ll expect from a badass alien mother ship.

As the pilot moves into its final act with an obligatory twist or two the story and characters start to gel and a little glimmer of promise for the primary plot arc to come is seen.

As the credits roll I feel let down by the show, but there seems to be enough promise to keep me watching for a little while longer. The writing shows some promise, and the main plot could be interesting.

The Good
Excellent effects
Good cast
Huge potential

The Bad
Clichéd script and characters
Too many references to American current affairs
Messy pace
Over-acting and over directing

Summary
A shaky start which feels over cooked but shows just enough promise to keep me watching for a little while longer at least.