V

Plot synopsis:
The film opens during a furious battle in El Salvador. News cameraman Mike Donovan and his sound engineer Tony Wah Chong Leonetti, are interviewing the leader of a resistance movement battling a totalitarian government. Fleeing the dangerous combat zone, Mike and Tony try to escape in a pickup truck but are cornered by a helicopter. Mike bravely films the helicopter as it closes in but it suddenly stops and flies off. Mike looks behind him at the sky and sees a massive saucer-shaped ship moving slowly toward him. He begins to film it as it passes over him.More ships identical to the one Mike saw are seen all over the world. They hover over 50 major cities but do not communicate with Earth for a few days. One day a countdown is heard all over the world in every major language. When the voice finishes the countdown it tells humankind to have the Secretary General of the United Nations appear on top of the UN building in New York City at 8pm. That night, while the Secretary General, armed guards and the press (including Donovan & Leonetti) wait atop the building, a smaller craft emerges from the saucer, glides down and lands on the roof. An audio greeting is extended to the Secretary General in his native language, Swedish, and he steps inside the ship. He emerges a few moments later and addresses the audience, telling everyone that the Commander of the saucer fleet is aboard the ship and wishes to speak to the people of Earth. The being's name is John and he appears to be human. He also dons a set of glasses that shade his eyes, allegedly the light of Earth is too bright for his species. He explains that his planet needs the aid of Earth in solving massive pollution problems and that they can manufacture compounds to combat the crisis. In exchange, his scientists will share all their knowledge with Earth.The press junket is taken aboard the mothership as guests. While they are given a tour of the ship, which is unexpectedly plain-looking, Mike sees that there is a highly restricted secure area that John dismisses as a sector containing high amounts of radiation that would be lethal to humans. They also meet John's second-in-command, Diana, who has a somewhat cold demeanor. John tells the press that Diana heads the science division of the fleet.Public relations with the aliens build very quickly and they are accepted as guests of Earth. A young teenager named Daniel Bernstein joins the Visitors' "Friends of the Visitors" program and is given a brown uniform and high status by a Visitor commander, Brian. Mike Donovan's mother, Eleanor, becomes an unofficial ambassador, working closely with Steven, one of John's higher-ranking lieutenants and is in charge of Visitor security on Earth. Eleanor's husband owns a large chemical factory near LA and is asked to have it retooled for the Visitors manufacturing.Mike, who finds himself mostly filming Visitor events and activities, travels with them often to the LA mothership. One day on one of the small craft, he finds a small, gold object that looks like a key. He thinks of giving it to the vessel's pilot, Martin, but pockets it and later gives it to his son as a gift.The Visitors begin their retooling of manufacturing plants around the world to produce the compounds they need. At one such plant Visitor named Willie, whose unfamiliarity with English gets him lost, is aided by a young woman named Harmony, who he befriends. He is also put under the supervision of Caleb Taylor, who is gruff towards the kindly Willie. Later, when Caleb is trapped in a large tank filled with liquid nitrogen, Willie rushes into the chamber and brings Caleb out. Willie suffers what appears to be minimal injury. A biologist, Ruth, later is able to obtain a skin sample of Willie's flesh from Caleb's clothing and study it -- the results are puzzling. Ruth is later murdered by a Visitor who hides in her home, killing her with a strange pulse-laser pistol. A prominent anthropologist, Arch Quinton, also disappears, the only sign of wrongdoing is a strange burn on the upholstery of his car.A sudden announcement by a prominent scientist speaks of a conspiracy plot against the Visitors by scientists all over the world. The doctor signs a decree naming scientists allegedly involved in the plot, giving the Visitors authority over anyone who questions their motives. At Mike's TV studio, Tony shows Mike a piece of video of the same man who signed the decree, whose hand preference has inexplicably switched from right to left. Suspicious, Mike and Tony decide to sneak aboard the Los Angeles mothership and investigate. At one of the retooled plants, the two rush toward one of the transport ships -- Mike makes it aboard but Tony trips before the ship leaves, leaving Mike on his own. Aboard the mothership, Mike sees a Visitor crew expelling the gaseous compound they brought up into the atmosphere above Earth -- the aliens talk about what a waste it seems to be to haul the gas up to the ship only to dispose of it. Mike finds a ventilation tunnel that leads him to the crew quarters. Watching from behind a grate, Mike listens to a conversation between Steven and Diana where they discuss a "conversion" process of Diana's . As they talk, Steven takes a white mouse from a small holding cage and swallows it whole. Diana does the same with a large guinea pig, her jaw dislocating very wide to swallow it and her throat bulging from the effort. Horrified, Mike moves to the next crew chamber and sees a male Visitor in front of a mirror, removing what appear to be human eyes. When the alien turns around, Mike sees that it has red reptilian eyes. The Visitor sees Mike and grabs him, throwing him around violently. It flicks a forked, reptilian tongue and sprays Mike with drops of a mild venom. Mike is able to sink his fingers into the face of the alien, pulling off false skin to reveal green scales and a crested head. While the alien tries hide it's face and kill Mike, Mike bats it with his camera and runs off through the duct system, returning to the central landing bay. Though the Visitors have sounded the alarms and are looking for him, he's able to board another transport ship and fly to the ground. Mike is able to escape with Tony and they head back to their studio.They show the tape that Mike shot to their producers, who decide quickly to broadcast it in a live bulletin. As they are about to go live, the Visitors seize control of the station and broadcast their own bulletin, reporting that violence has occurred at some of the facilities they are using to produce their compounds. Visitors have been killed and John announces that Earth authorities have agreed to a state of martial law overseen by his security forces that will be imposed until the situation is brought under control. Additionally, John charges the authorities and citizens with finding Mike himself, stating that he is a ringleader of a growing resistance movement aimed at the Visitors themselves.Following the Ruth's murder, her friend Juliet Parrish, a biochemist, meets secretly with a handful of her colleagues, small business owners and an LA policeman. They have their suspicions about the Visitors and seemed alarmed by a recent rash of disappearances of other colleagues of theirs and many more in the sciences. The cop says that the rules of law enforcement are being changed slightly every day to benefit the Visitors. The idea of a small resistance group is floated and Juliet agrees, saying that they need to gather as much information about the aliens as they can and most importantly find other people who have the same theories and have experience unjust treatment. Juliet takes the responsibility of meeting with Kristine Walsh to try and convince her to work for the resistance. Juliet also charges each person with bringing as many people as they can to their next clandestine meeting and find out if there are other people across the United States who have formed their own groups.Robert Maxwell, Robin's father, realizes that as a anthropologist he could be arrested -- his lawn and garden worker, a Mexican named Sancho, tells Robert's wife that he may lose other clients because of his association with the Maxwells. Robert gathers his family and they pack up to go to their summer cabin outside Los Angeles. While waiting in line at a Visitor and local police checkpoint, they see a man flee his car and run toward them. The Visitor standing nearby, dressed in a helmet and visor, fires on the man with a strange pulse weapon that stuns him. He falls limply against the Maxwell's car and is apprehended. Robert decides to turn the car around and go back to LA. Back at their neighborhood, they go into hiding; their neighbor, Abraham Bernstein, offers his son's pool house to them for shelter. When his son Stan objects, Abraham reminds his son how they snuck him out of Poland during the Nazis reign in Europe. He also tells Stan the truth about what happened to his mother: she was sent to the gas chambers in a Nazi death camp. Abraham is still insistent that the family stay to avoid arrest or persecution and Stan eventually agrees. Abraham and his friend Ruby Engels later encounter a group of kids using blood-red spray paint to deface propagandist posters that declare the Visitors are friends to all. Abraham stops them briefly and shows them a proper symbol of rebellion: he has them spray a giant letter "V" on the poster and tells them it stands for "Victory". He tells them to tell all their friends to do the same.Daniel arrives home on a rainy night and finds Robin in his living room -- she'd snuck out of the pool house finding it cramped and uncomfortable and lets it slip that her family is hiding there. Daniel, infatuated with Robin for most of their lives, tells her that he's been spending a lot of time with his Visitor supervisor, Brian, whom Robin is attracted to. Daniel seems perturbed that Robin only seems to want to know more about Brian and isn't attracted to himself. Later, at dinner with his family, Daniel tells everyone that he intends to ask Robin to marry him, suggesting that his new power and prestige with the Visitors allows him to take what he wants forcefully. His grandfather, angered over Daniel's swagger at being a Visitor agent, throws his glass of champagne in Daniel's face. Furious himself, Daniel tries to take Robin by force and, rebuffed by Robin and his own family, reports the Maxwell's whereabouts to Brian. Daniel asks for amnesty for his own family but is deceived: his mother, father and grandfather are all taken into custody. The Maxwell's were able to escape with the help of both Abraham and Sancho. With the help of a sympathetic cop, they are able to slip past a roadblock, however Sancho is arrested on his return.Avoiding capture, Mike drives to the neighborhood where his divorced wife and his son, Sean. He finds it deserted. In his wife's home, he finds the place ransacked and no sign of her or Sean. He hears someone outside and finds one of Sean's young friends, Josh, who tells him what happened: a large group of people began to protest the martial law standards in the neighborhood and the scene turned violent. A small group of people had thrown a homemade bomb into a nearby Visitor vehicle killing a high-ranking official. More Visitor troops arrived and took large groups of the town's residents prisoner; Sean and his mother were among them, along with Josh's parents. Mike asks Josh if the key he'd given to Sean is still in the house; Josh retrieves it. Mike takes the still terrified Josh out to eat.One night, Mike and Tony try to infiltrate a chemical plant aiding the Visitors.While they stay out of sight, they see Sancho and Stan and Lynn Bernstein among a group of prisoners being taken aboard a Visitor shuttlecraft. They're discovered and try to fight their way out but are both apprehended: Tony is incapacitated when a Visitor sprays his face with venom and Mike is shot in the chest with a stun burst. On the mothership, Diana intends to torture Mike for information -- at first she wants to have him executed by Martin, a high-ranking officer, convinces her to attempt a conversion of Mike and escorts him to a holding cell. Before they leave Diana's chamber, Mike sees Stan Bernstein being brought in and strapped to a sinister-looking chair with a tray nearby that contains torture instruments.On the way to the holding cells, Martin tells Mike he'll get him off the ship. Mike is angry, demanding to know what the Visitors' plan is and the whereabouts of his son Sean -- Martin can't explain it in the short amount of time they have. Later, Mike is met by another Visitor, a beautiful blonde woman named Barbara who gives him her uniform and tells him to go to the shuttle bay and take the next ship to the surface. She also has Mike shoot her with her sidearm to give the appearance of her being overpowered. Mike makes it aboard the next shuttle, careful not to speak and give himself away and escapes the clutches of a large Visitor captain on the ground. He is soon captured by Caleb Taylor's son, Elias, who is a gang member and petty thief who has joined the Resistance. Mike is taken to Resistance headquarters and after they determine he's not an alien or a spy, he tells them what he knows; that the Visitors are vicious lizard-like beings and have an as yet undetermined plan to subjugate the human race. Sketches are drawn of the Visitors real appearance and Robert Maxwell theorizes that they underwent a similar type of evolution as humans with reptiles being the dominant species. They also determine that bright light could be used as a weapon and that they'll need to connect with other pockets of resisting humans around the world.Back at his parent's house, Daniel is unable to get word of his parents' whereabouts. Brian appears and tells Daniel that Diana wishes to reward him for his loyalty: Brian gives him a fancy ring and promotes him to his second-in-command. Daniel's parents later return and show visible disdain for their son -- they also have been injured during interrogation sessions.Julie teams up with Ben Taylor, Caleb's older son and a doctor. Using a contact they have on the staff of Ben's hospital, they steal supplies for the Resistance. Ben stays behind to delay the Visitor pursuit and is chased down a highway entrance ramp. Julie goes back for him and sees Ben shot in the chest by a Visitor with a pulse-rifle. He falls a short distance and Julie tries to pick him up and is shot in the hip. She barely manages to get Ben into her VW Beetle and they speed off. They catch up with Ben's brother Elias. Before Ben dies, he tells his brother to join up with Julie and fight the Visitors. Elias takes Julie to a hideout he knows of: it's the abandoned Toluca rail station in a back-alley section of LA, well-hidden from a nearby street.Julie and Robert Maxwell begin to make plans to have all their salvaged scientific equipment moved from a mountain camp outside the city to their HQ -- Robert's wife is there with their 2 younger daughters. Robin wanders off, unhappy at having to hide with her family and is captured and taken aboard the LA mothership. There, she's held prisoner until Brian comes to visit her. As part of Diana's notoriously inhumane experiments, Brian seduces Robin with the intention of impregnating her.When Mike Donovan is able to sneak aboard the mothership once more. Using the key he'd given to his son, he finds a room filled with gigantic tanks filled with fresh water. He finds Martin and again demands to know where his son is. Martin tells Donovan that water is a precious commodity in the known universe and that their theft of Earth's water will take an entire generation. Mike suggests that Earth would have shared it with Martin's species but Martin counters that his Leader wants it all, which will leave Earth a desert world devoid of life.When Mike asks Martin why his people would follow such a malevolent being, Martin answers that their Leader attained his position through subversion and charisma and reminds Mike that Earth has had it's share of similar influential dictators. Martin then shows Mike a cavernous chamber in the ship that holds 1000s of humans in odd tanks. Martin explains that some will be trained as soldiers to fight a war with another alien race that the Visitors have been defeated by previously. The rest of humanity will be used for food -- they are being kept in suspended animation by Diana because the alien invaders prefer live food sources. Mike is more horrified than ever.Martin helps Mike escape from the ship. He takes Mike to another holding room and shows him what became of Tony: Diana had performed sadistic probing surgery on Tony and killed him. Mike swears revenge. They also find Sancho in the room, with a swollen face and tied to an interrogation chair. Martin tells Mike to take Tony to the nearest shuttle bay and wait while he brings another refugee. That person turns out to be Robin. Mike is able to fly out of the mothership but is pursued by a Visitor trooper and another fighter ship. Mike is able to elude them and Sancho proves that he's good in a fight when he takes down one of the ships with a rear-mounted cannon. The other pursuer crashes into a mountain when Mike flies through a tunnel.In Los Angeles, the Resistance organizes an assault on a local armaments depot. Using a few stolen guns and several small bathroom mirrors to reflect light, they try to steal as much weaponry as they can and load it into a moving van. They find out immediately that regular bullets cannot penetrate the hides and armor of their enemy. They are quickly routed and a few of them are killed, however they are able to escape with a large amount of weapons. Robert realizes that the Visitors would now attack their mountain camp and rushes off in a jeep.Meanwhile, Diana, having been informed of the Resistance's mountain hideout, mounts a furious attack on it with a small squadron of fighters. Earlier, Robert had found by a Visitor captain who uses Robin's capture as leverage to force Robert to reveal the mountain camp's location. Robert had gotten assurance from the captain that the attack would not begin until he'd been able to get his wife and children out of the camp. However, the captain had lied and by the time Robert makes it to the camp, it is under full attack. Julie, while helping her comrades, fires a pistol at Diana's fighter, causing mild damage. Mike Donovan, still piloting his fighter, routs Diana's ship and she calls off the attack. Several of Robert and Julie's friends are dead and Robert's wife dies from her injuries. Robert finds his two daughters alive: Robin finds him and is immediately distraught, however she later takes charge of her two younger siblings, acting as a mother to them. Mike reunites with Julie and the other Resistance members.At the Bernstein home, Lynn thinks that they should go into hiding as well. Stan, inspired by his father's will, gives Lynn a note his father had left behind prior to his arrest. At the end of the letter, he bids his family to resist their occupiers or they "won't have learned a thing." Robert's younger children are upset at the untimely death of their mother but his family unites when Robin takes after their mother and sees to her younger siblings. Julie and Elias travel to a remote astronomical observatory. The astronomer there is a friend of Julie's, who agrees to send a distress signal into space in the hopes of contacting the Visitors' enemy and allying with them. Elias marvels at the plan but Julie also mentions that they don't know how far the signal has to travel to reach any ally -- it could take a few years for a reply. In the meantime, the Resistance will organize and try to fight the Visitors. Before they leave the site, Elias uses spray paint to mark the door with a large red "V".

Tags: allegory, revenge

Review:
Leading, so to speak, the cast of human characters are Marc Singer as cameraman Mike Donovan and Faye Grant as med-student turned rebel leader Julie Parrish.
In fact the performances of the entire cast be described by that last phrase as well ranging from the Maxwell family (Michael Durrell, Penelope Windust as the parents with Blair Tefkin, Viveka Davis and Marin May as their daughters) who find themselves persecuted to the point of joining the resistance much like the Taylor family (Jason Bernard, Richard Lawson and Michael Wright) to the Bernstein family (George Morfogen, Bonnie Bartlett) who find themselves torn between their Visitor friendly son Daniel (David Packer) and the Holocaust survivor grandfather Abraham (Leonardo Cimino).
Instead V becomes, like H.G. Welles War of the Worlds before it, a timeless tale of alien invasion and human resistance to it.What makes V successful?
Critically praised for it's introspective tale with strong themes, the special effects were top-notch, particularly for television of the time.NBC had taken a gamble with this cutting-edge, creative, and creepy alien-invasion story that pays off in some memorable performances from members of the large cast.
Obvious overtones common to any invader/oppressive regime in particular The Holocaust.Strong storyline and characters that one really felt involved with/cared for.Special effects (especially the at-times wobbly V shuttle craft) not state-of-the-art by today's standards but competently done and more than compensated for by the strength of the storyline.Would recommend to people who don't particularly like sci-fi, because of the personal side of the story.10 out of 10..
No movie on the big screen so far - no, not Independence Day or even Close Encounters of the Third Kind (amongst my favorite films, I might add) have been able to give you the kind of goose pimples that watching 'V' gave me.The ensemble cast with Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler and others have done a fantastic job and Kenneth Johnson has done a superb job making this show.
i loved this series growing up as a kid, it was one of my fav's along with the movies,, this movie seems to have it all it sets the stage for the series,, you have michael ironside, robert englund jane badler faye grant evan c kim,, the list goes on and on,, what a great story , you got aliens visiting our planet and trying to deceive us by saying they are our friends,, all the want is water they say , for their dying planet,, well a couple of our main heroes don't buy into that idea and they are off to prove to the whole world that the visitors are not who they appear to be.
Today, video shelves have the original 3 hour mini series with a separate tape, "the final battle." The following year has not yet been made available for the public..
So much is covered and so many styles are incorporated even to the extent of including a hilariously bad rendition of the Star Wars theme when the aliens land.As a final word on how good it is, compare the special effects of V with ID4.
The journalist Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) discloses the real intentions and the reptile appearance of the aliens, while groups of people organize resistance against the invaders."V" was a successful miniseries broadcasted in the 80's in Brazil.
The good story is an adaptation of a masquerade alien invasion with the Nazi actions and people reaction and resistance in Europe before and along World War II.
I am a fan of classic 50's science-fiction movies..but I just love "V", ALL of it..the whole thing makes you feel like you are right there fighting with them.I also am a fan of the original "Star Trek",which makes you feel you are right there with them.That is very important to me and I feel to a lot of people.The whole story in itself makes ones own mind and imagine think hard about our own planets countries in chaos,war and heavy problems,like former posts commented on.Would we as a world unite and fight "together" this evil foe from outer space??or react like the story shows it?All I can say is TV today is horrible beyond words.There is a lot of gore,killing without any feeling or human emotion into it.I haven't seen a good TV mini series yet since "V".I think TV back in the 80's was far superior in acting and imagination then now.I would be so excited if any of the TV stations would take on a continuation of this fabulous,sci-fi,drama,adventure.I just hope beyond words whoever is in charge of this continuation will keep to the original "feeling" of the story.I just love all the actress's and actors in it.They all where perfect for the part.I also don't see anything wrong in the special effects either.I have seen some rather lousy special effects in today's movies that are not as good as what they did in "V'What more can I say,except,if you don't watch it,you are really missing something very special..
But then it all starts to fall apart.Considering all the obvious similarities to events which took place during World War II: Storm Troopers, Symbol reminiscent of a swastika, recruitment of a youth corps, Gestapo tactics, use of the Big Lie; This film could have been titled "Nazi Lizards from Outer Space."The special effects are as good as could be expected on television in the 80's.
I had the same feeling about that show as I did V and they shared the same creator: Kenneth Johnson.I digress, once the show's finale (3rd season spoiler) created peace in the world, and I began my teen years, I grew apart from the show/concept and never to return any of the Vniverse until 35-freaking-years later.When I thought of what I could celebrate my 2,000th review with, this made sense as my 1,000th celebratory review was the very first movie I'd ever remember seeing: 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain.
I can totally see the 9-12 year old in me loving and believing this world was realistic.From what I'm told, the concept was supposed to be a retelling of the Nazi regime in modern (1983) times, but those in charge thought no one would buy it (fast-forward to the trump presidency of these modern times and, well...) and Star Wars was hot back then, so they switched it to an alien invasion.
At the time, anyways, the only way for a kid to see Star Wars was to go to the theatre for the first-run Return of the Jedi, for one of the many re-releases of IV and V (Episode 5 in this case) and pray one of the five channels we got ran them in prime time.I literally have not seen the V original series or singular season since around/about 1985ish and boy do I remember plenty of it, this time around.
Marc Singer stars as a heroic war correspondent who is the first to learn of the aliens true nature, along with Faye Grant as a biologist, Jane Badler as an alien commander, Richard Herd, Andrew Prine, Leonardo Cimino as a Holocaust survivor who sees the writing on the wall, Evan Kim, Michael Wright, Bonnie Bartlett, Neva Patterson, Robert Englund as a friendly alien, and many more.This was probably intended as a starting point for a series, but instead it led to another mini-series the following year, before finally a short-lived series (and a remake in 2009).
I was only 8 years old when this TV mini-series was unleashed upon the world, and I think by now then I have seen it four or five times already.
"The Incredible Hulk" creator Kenneth Johnson hit gold again with this excellent TV film about alien invaders who ostensibly arrive on Earth in peace, but really have a sinister agenda.Marc Singer("The BeastMaster") plays our hero Mike Donovan, a journalist who becomes increasingly suspicious of the aliens, led by Diana(wonderfully played by Jane Badler) who is revealed to be...well, watch this to find out the true identity of the aliens!
Faye Grant also plays a scientist named Julie, who joins Donovan in forming a resistance group to fight and expose the aliens' plans.Writer Ken Johnson cleverly portrays just how easy it would be for these invaders to ingratiate themselves in society, and fool the public with promises of miracle cures and shared technology.
Recently, I've seen it again, and while I realize that there was some cheesy 80s dialogue and hair, and that the special effects are not so great compared to CGI stuff, the story is still decent.The story features, of course, 50 UFOs from Sirius that come to Earth, supposedly on a peaceful mission, but the aliens, called the "Visitors", really have sinister motives in mind.
The resistance leaders are people not used to leading: a med student, a TV camera man, an anthropologist, a small time crook, a cop, etc.Look beyond the special effects (which really aren't that bad, all things considered), the silly hair styles (Marc Singer still has his even today), and try to follow the story.
A UFO right in front of their eyes, 3 miles across and one of 50 identical crafts positioned above the major cities all over the world.The alien visitors address the globe and assure the human race they have come in peace, to request our help in a matter that is slowly destroying their planet.
Jane Badler plays an awesome Diana, the head alien and the supporting characters are all brilliantly portrayed.The story, which is told in two parts, takes time to unfold so is not for the easily distracted or less focused people.
50 ships positioned above all the major cities around the globe and putting our planet in great danger.V wasn't exactly the most popular of shows when it first aired but the very incomplete ending left us with a promise of things to come so a three part sequel was planned and then eventually a television series, some novels, a comic set and a large fan base.It also features some upcoming stars that some of you will be very familiar with today.
We'll I was only 8 years old when I first watched V The Original in 1983 on NBC.That was the first time V aired anywhere.I now own all the V sega The original,Final Battle,& the 19 episode series on vhs and dvd.
The storyline was incredible first when the show started you had so many people having so many differnt backgrounds.There was Mike Donavan(Marc Singer) as a cameraman, Julie Parrish(Faye Grant) as a med student, & Robert(Michael Durral) as a scientist.Then all of the sudden the most horrifying thing that could happen did happen.There was space ships hovering over all the major cities across the world.So V made a big Question.What if this really happened?
V is the best sci-fi minseries ever!I was 19 and in college when it first rand,and I loved it then.I recently picked this and The Final Battle up on VHS video and still love this.The Nazi allegory is chilling.Directot/writer/executive producer Johnson is good at sci-fi{The Incredible Hulk,Alien Nation) and it shows here.The acting was uniformly good but several stand out.Marc Singer was excellent as Mike Donovan,whose discovery of the Visitors true nature is still chilling 19 years later.Faye Grant is also excellent as resistance leader Julie Parrish.And,as elderly Auschwitz survivor Abraham Bernstein,Leonardo Cimino steals every scene he is in.9 out of 10!.
The whole story as well as movie setting are very original prior to the release of Independence Day. The detailed depiction of the characters in the show really brings the series to life, making it not only worth watching as a sci-fi adventure mini-series but also as a sci-fi drama..
By the time frail Mr. Bernstein reminds us that "...we must help, or we haven't learned a thing.", the fear and resentment in the viewer's heart is kindled into a flame of anger and a call to action.This two-parter lays the groundwork for the following year's "V: The Final Battle" and a later series.
"V"is the greatest mini series ever made by NBC or any network.This mini series really shows us the true meaning of the human spirit.I watched "V" when it first aired back in 1983.Marc Singer,Jane Badler,and Faye Grant are some of the cast that make "V" a great mini series."V" stars out in El Salvador where news cameraman Mike Donovan,played superbly by Marc Singer(The Beastmaster,"V":The Final Battle,and Watchers II) and his partner Tony,played by Evan C.
Kim(The Kentucky Fried Movie and The Dead Pool) are shooting the war in El Salvador,then all the sudden,they see a big flying saucer in the sky,the first view of the Visitors's ship.Reports from around the world come in on the ships hovering over every major city in the world.A transmission comes in,they speak in all Earth languages and offer greetings,they explain why they are here cause they need our help.Their leader,John,played by Richard Herd(T.J. Hooker,Hunter,and Star Trek:Voyager)tells the people from Earth why they are here and give something in return for our help.They seem to come in peace but their hidden agenda is revealed later on when Mike Donavan gets aboard one of the Visitor's ship.Donovan sees them for what they really are,they really are lizards disguised as humans.The Visitors get into power declaring Martial Law.Their is a Vistor Youth Group,led by a Visitor named Brian,played by Peter Nelson(The Last Starfighter,Crime Zone,and Die Hard 2).Daniel Bernstein,played by David Packer(You Can't Hurry Love and Robocop)joins the Visitor Youth Group and becomes corrupted with power.Daniel's father,Stanley,played by George Morfogen and mother Lynn Bernstein,played by Bonnie Bartlett(Twins) have seen what has become of Daniel.Abraham Bernstein,played by Leonardo Cimino(Amityville II:The Possession and Waterworld)helps hide the Maxwell family cause of what he went through in Nazi Germany.Daniel turns his parents in cause of his dad saying something negative about the Visitors and hiding the Maxwell family in their pool house.Stanley and Lynn are released as a warning to those who might do what they did,but Abraham does not make it.A resistance movement is being formed,the leader,Dr. Juliet Parrish,played by Faye Grant(The Greatest American Hero and Omen IV)and the battle will begin.Mike Donovan and Tony get captured by the Visitors and Donovan gets interrogated by Diana,played by the beautiful Jane Badler,a Visitor named Martin,played by Frank Ashmore(Airplane and Airplane II:The Sequel)convince Diana to have Donovan converted,as some as he is taken away by Martin,who is a member of the Fifth Colomn,a Visitor group that is against their Leader.Martin helps Donovan escape with the help also from Barbara,played by Jenny Neumann.Donovan gets away from the ship in a Visitor uniform.Gets back to L.A. and is walking in the alley and gets captured by the newly formed resistance.Julie asks Donovan questions and is furious that they think he is with them.Donovan's son,Sean,and a lot of people were taking to the mother ship.Mike Donovan reveals to them about their motives and their true appearance.Elias Taylor,played by Michael Wright(The Principal,The Five Heartbeats and Surgar Hill),who is a small time crook,loses his brother to the Visitors.Ben Taylor,played by Richard Lawson(Poltergeist and Streets Of Fire)joins the resistance,steals some lab equipment with Julie,but gets shot by the Visitor's laser weapon.Caleb Taylor,Elias and Ben's father,played by the late Jason Bernard(Blue Thunder and Herman's Head),join the resistance.Donovan goes back to the mother ship to find out about more of why they are here.Mike Donovan runs into Martin and Martin reveals all their plans,they are here to take the water and harvest humans for food.Donovan helps Robin Maxwell,played by Blair Tefkin(Fast Times At Ridgmont High),and Sancho Gomez,played by Rafael Campos,who were captured by the Visitors.Robin fell for Brian,but he used her.Diana had Brian use Robin in an experiment by getting her pregnant.The resistance has a mountain camp up in the mountains,but is about to be attacked cause a Visitor needed information from Robert Maxwell,played by Michael Durrell(Beverly Hills 90210 and Matlock)a anthropologist who,with the help of Sancho,get him and his family up to the mountains.The camp is attacked and some people get killed,including Kathleen Maxwell,played by Penelope Windust.The resistance is losing,but out from nowhere,a Visitor fighter is attacking the other Visitor fighters,it is Mike Donovan,the fighters retreat,the battle is over.The war has begun.The cast for "V" is really awesome,a real great cast member is Robert Englund,who played Freddy Krueger in all the "A Nightmare On Elm Street"movies.Robert Englund plays a Visitor named Willie,a good Visitor,who meets Harmony,a food vendor,played by Diane Civita, at the plant the Visitors are making a so-called chemical that will help us.Neva Patterson plays Elanor Dupres,Mike Donovan's mother who is married to Arthur Dupres,owner of the chemical plant,played by Hansford Rowe.Jenny Sullivan as Kristine Walsh,the reporter who ends up being their spokes person.I give "V"2 thumbs up and 10/10 stars..
True enough, the plot and the special effects aren't that awesome any longer, but still this mini serie beats most Sci-Fi I've seen in my lifetime (including Star Wars: Episode 1 when it comes to acting & plot).And don't bother to watch the actual serie that was made after the original mini serie, since that was far poorer in quality..
"The Visitors" are like "Alien Nazis", only a few of them would help the humans resist their rule.
The weapons and spacecraft are also top draw sci-fi creations and Donavan (Marc singer) is so brilliantly dramatic in his physical stances - also love it...but the bad guys/aliens are still quite menacing in the way we know that want to actually eat all of us.I hope they re-make this as a ten part mini series!!.
I still think this is the best TV Mini-Series ever, yes Kenneth Johnson didn't have the budget George Lucas had; but considering I still thought the special effects ROCKED.
He was joined by the likes of the tough as nails Ham Tyler who enjoyed kicking the aliens butts.At the times of the series many people compared the story in this show to the real life battle between the Nazis and the Allies in the second world war.
There were many comparisons between this show and the battle with the Nazi's during the second world war.All in all, this was a great mini-series which deserves a look if you haven't seen it..