'V' Classic Or Dud?

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watching the original miniseries on netflix instant after reading about it in robert englund's autobiography. Was enjoying it a lot until the endless Nazi metaphors came fast and hard. having the old jewish guy basically going "DO U SEE?" to the camera isn't helping.

da croupier, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:30 (thirteen years ago) link

Is it worth sticking with it or is it nothing but WWII with lizards and FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SCIENTISTS stuff from here on out?

da croupier, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:32 (thirteen years ago) link

It's that crossed with human/lizard sex, yeah.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:36 (thirteen years ago) link

Actually what did Englund have to say about it in his book?

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:39 (thirteen years ago) link

yowsa! Nothing too profound, just that he had a wild wingding of a time, made a lot of fans and worked with some awesome people (which is basically the tone of the whole book)

da croupier, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:41 (thirteen years ago) link

Hahaha nice, very Bruce Campbell of him and why not. I have the DVD around somewhere, might see if the commentary from the guy behind it is any good. (I attempted and failed a rewatch a couple of years ago -- I remember when I first saw it thinking how it was 'so cool' that the opening scene was supposed to be El Salvador because it was 1983 and it was in the news and all, but the rewatch just made me go 'oh right, scrub ground north of LA next to where they filmed any number of Star Trek episodes past and present'.)

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 3 April 2011 02:49 (thirteen years ago) link

Found it and apparently the writer/director says the script was written in iambic meter. And don't you feel Shakespearean now.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 3 April 2011 04:05 (thirteen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

Very good Vanity Fair piece on the original miniseries today, lots of interviews with key creative folks.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/05/the-v-files-legacy

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 20:35 (ten months ago) link

I turned 11 in 1983, which means I loved this show. I thought Michael Ironside was the coolest, lol.

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Tuesday, 23 May 2023 20:55 (ten months ago) link

Haha yeah I was saying on FB how this was how I first learned about him! And Robert Englund as well.

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 21:55 (ten months ago) link

Ah I loved that show as a kid in the 80s. And Diana was an early crush !

AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 22:01 (ten months ago) link

I remember Melania Trump rocking some big shades definitely had a bit of a Diana look

The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 23:32 (ten months ago) link

I can see her eating rats, yes.

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 23:33 (ten months ago) link

I was stoked about this and watched avidly until i got freaked out by the girl having the baby alien and i never saw the end.

Kim Kimberly, Tuesday, 23 May 2023 23:41 (ten months ago) link

Jane Badler (Diana) ended up living in Australia (perhaps still does) - and made a few loungey albums with Melbourne indie types - at the time I thought it was a fun idea that didn't quite work, not sure how they've aged tho

meat and two vdgg (emsworth), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 00:14 (ten months ago) link

Per Wikipedia, still there (married an Australian dude). Sadly lost one of her kids a few years back to fentanyl.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 01:58 (ten months ago) link

I was stoked about this and watched avidly until i got freaked out by the girl having the baby alien and i never saw the end.

Actually I don’t really remember the end of the series. I remember vaguely that at some point it became a bit cheap/messy but not sure. And I’m not sure it would be a good idea to watch it again now…

AlXTC from Paris, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 07:42 (ten months ago) link

Pretty much as Johnson says in the interview, you want the original miniseries and that's about it.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:04 (ten months ago) link

We watched the miniseries again recently and it is definitely great to revisit as a cultural relic. I was 13 when this came out, and distinctly remember feeling a bit short-changed as a hetero teenage girl. Marc Singer, really? This is what you're giving me? My brothers got a much better deal than I did out of this show.

trishyb, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:07 (ten months ago) link

I can't describe how awful V: The Dynasty Ripoff was. I watched it because in the pre-VCR days I'd missed the original miniseries and the first half of The Final Battle.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:08 (ten months ago) link

My wife is commonly known as V and I find this thread a bit disconcerting when it pops up

the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:12 (ten months ago) link

Johnson's wrong about The Final Battle. It kicks ass.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:26 (ten months ago) link

This was one of those shows, like Star Blazers or, later, I dunno, Knight Rider or something, where I was absolutely convinced I saw every episode, and followed the broader narrative from start to finish, but I have a feeling I have more memories of the idea of watching "V" than I do of the show itself. (Fwiw, I was 8 in 1983.) I should definitely watch it again and see if it rings any bells!

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:34 (ten months ago) link

xpost Yeah it ends the initial story more quickly than I figure Johnson had vaguely planned (and left the final scene of the original as a go-nowhere hook, at least prior to the regular series), but it's not flat out terrible (and as I muttered elsewhere, Michael Ironside) -- still, it could have been a little something more.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:51 (ten months ago) link

By which you mean, "Hey, let's rethink Elizabeth's magic powers saving our asses"?

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:52 (ten months ago) link

To begin with!

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 15:27 (ten months ago) link

V and Final Battle were still fun to rewatch a cpl years back

even back in 85 (tho of course watched religiously) thought the TV show was crap, theywere both (esp Final Battle as the return/sequal) such events! or maybe events for my 8th grade classmates but remember anticipation

H in Addis, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 17:06 (ten months ago) link

This was a Big Deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfbMx9lNGZM

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 17:06 (ten months ago) link

So many Mac-10s.

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 17:31 (ten months ago) link


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