I remember an episode where Ironside was vaporized by a Visitor Raygun.
I really, really, really, really hope that this upcoming movie ignores the continuity of the weekly series. (And NOT because of Ironside’s death, either.)
It was just a miserable excuse for science fiction.
They would be much better suited just picking up where the second mini-series left off. In. Every. Possible. Way.
The first mini-series was a creditable attempt at serious SF, marred only by some obviously dodgy “sci-fi” ideas and a rather heavy-handed emerging allegory.
“The Final Battle” took the initial setup and Hollywood-ized it, removing any trace of the original grim and thoughtful tone, and installing all the requisite TV sci-fi cliches. Finally, in the above-mentioned “Starchild” sequence, the show’s brains were surgically removed, and it was left to shamble on, a mindless, soulless abomination, in the form of the weekly TV series.
Why anyone would bother with it now, I really don’t know. I guess it would have looked cool to a twelve-year-old, though.
I had a huge crush on Diana. My other memory is that Elizabeth said “pret-tae-nama” a lot 
I loved the original. The little guy coming out at the end of the 1st series and looking at the camera was class 
It always bugged me how they almost never showed an alien without the full human disguise on even after they were discovered to be reptillian.
(I have forcibly blocked the magic glitter child scene from my mind.
I could have forgiven the writers if they had her be a super-genius who could figure out how to override the computer but they went for the plot device and should be executed.)
Most people didn’t believe they were reptilian. There were a few scenes in one of the minis where characters talked about the “propaganda” of the Resistance in putting out the reptile story. As for why they maintained the disguises in the series proper, the meta-answer is budget, the plot answer is…I don’t know.
I have been told (and I have no cite for this whatsoever so take it with however large grain of salt you wish) that something happened to the original writer for the script just before he finished. (Kicked off the show, died, ran away in embarrasment… something anyway.) They brought one or more writers in to finish the 99% completed script and discovered that the original writer had not left an outline or any notes. He had written to the point where they had to neutralize the bomb but had left no indication as to how that was going to happen.
Under pressure to finish, one of the new writers suddenly decided that “Ah-ha! The girl is psychic!” and they tacked on the glowing starchild sequence.
It kind of makes sense. The ending does seem to have been pulled out of thin air since there is no indication that the girl had that kind of ability before then. It is also possible that the original writer had written some other ending and the producers or the network or whoever decided to rewrite it with the starchild ending for some reason.
Whether the above is correct or not, I do think that the ending as aired was not the originally intended ending. I also think that I have figured out how it was supposed to end.
This is all purely IMHO but, earlier in the mini-series, there is a scene where Diana and the girl (what was her name) are in a compartment somewhere on the ship. The girl points at a screen and says (some alien word). Diana hears her, says something like “No, that isn’t for us” and turns the screen off. (IIRC she also says something like “never say that word again”.)
A bit later, we learn that (some alien word) translates as “peace” but otherwise the scene seems to be meaningless.
I think that (some alien word) was the shutdown code for the bomb. The ending would have proceeded as it did except that when the girl went to the console instead of doing the glow-in-the-dark bit she would have simply typed in the code and shutdown the explosion. Since “peace” is not a word anyone would have expected Diana to use it would explain why they couldn’t come up with it when they were frantically trying to shut down the bomb earlier.
Of course, if the scene was that the girl types in the code, the bomb shuts down, then the girl simply looks at the others and repeats the word while they stare at her in stunned silence then the ending may have seemed a bit anti-climactic to someone which may explain how it got changed to what we saw.
Just my speculation.
I agree with most of what you have to say, Steve. I agree that the first mini-series was far better and a decent attempt at science fiction… especially for early eighties tv. (I still shudder at the thought of “Manimal”, “Knight Rider”, “A.L.F.” and other supposed sci fi of the period.)
As far as anyone would bother now with a sequel to “V”, I think perhaps there are (at least) two main reasons. One, I read somewhere – can’t remember for sure but it may have been a Yahoo News story – that the “V” DVDs have sold upwards of 250,000 copies. That’s a fair amount of dough for a twenty year old mini-series. Obviously, some suit may have decided that more money is there for the making/taking.
But another clue to the revival, or at least to Kenneth Johnons’s participation, can be found in his audio commentary on the first “V” mini-series DVD. In the commentary, he discusses at length his disappointment that the network (NBC, I think) went ahead and made the sequel to “V” without his participation.
Kenneth Johnson created the concept, wrote the first mini-series, and both directed and produced it. But for some reason the network did not like his idea for a sequel, which he pitched, and went ahead with their own story.
Perhaps, now, he finally gets to tell the story that he always wanted to tell? I’m hoping that his participation means that this new “V” movie will be higher in quality than “V - The Final Battle” and (it couldn’t be any other way) INFINITELY better than the “V” weekly television series.
Oh, i can think of dozens of ways it could be worse: Midget Visitors, Freddie Prinze Jr, CGI Visitors, Osama the Visitor, Visitors are descendants of the dinosaurs, Mr. T visitor, Visitors control the matrix, Executive Producer: Mike Scully, Ted McGinley…
Actually… what you described might actually be an IMPROVEMENT over what they did on “V” the (fortunately, short-lived) weekly television series. :eek:
Ah, but will Marc Singer be in a loin-cloth?
I was too young to see the show when it aired (in fact, I hadn’t been born yet), but I caught the numerous late 90s reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Anyway, the article says he “could possibly” be returning. What else does he have on his plate now?
Oh, and count me as another who had a crush on Jane Badler.
You’re not far off from the ending of the novelization of the two miniseries, by A.C. Crispin. Elizabeth programs the computer running the doomsday device to loop infinitely. It would make sense, since she had exposure to the Visitors’ computer technology, and with her extraordinary intelligence, could have figured out how to program it in a short time.
Michael Ironside (character Ham Tyler) was definitely not killed off by a raygun in the series. I would have cried buckets of tears if that had happened.
From a V Episode Guide, synposis for the episode entitled “The Betrayal”: "By the close of the Episode, Robin and Ham leave for the relative safety of Chicago. "
He just left, with his big burly biker friend (and I guess Robin). I remember waiting and watching each episode after that, hoping he’d return. But he never did. Man, that was depressing. He became the most interesting character on that show.
If they’re going to bring this thing back, just redo it from the very beginning and make it better. Get some Grade A actors. It was a great, great concept that was badly hurt by typically crummy TV-movie production.
They’d better make it better quality! I loved “V”, but its hokey TV-movie look (and hokey plots) made some episodes more amusing jokes rather than interesting sci-fi drama.
Remember the “Christmas” episode in the TV series, where they trot out every cliche, and cram in every stupid plot device known to man? “Evil twins” (Elizabeth gets an evil twin), a vague “Casablanca” rip-off with Visitors and rebels singing their own respective “national anthems” in a cafe, and worst of all, Ham Tyler being a “Grinch” who ends of playing Santa (complete with fake white beard and red suit)? My gosh, that was so beyond awful.