V
an appreciation

'V' remains one of the greatest sci-fi series ever made. Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, it was screened on ITV in the UK originally in 1984, competing against the L.A. Olympics on the BBC.

Striking special effects, superb spine-tingling music by Dennis McCarthy, and fine acting from an accomplished cast all contributed to make this a great television spectacle.

As with a lot of classic sci-fi there was the allegorical tale of 20th Century style good versus evil, and who would join the Resistance, and who would kowtow to the aliens (known as Visitors), thus resonating with how nations such as France reacted to the Nazis. The aliens are creepily convincing, at first - especially Richard Herd's alien leader John - as genuine good guys, but beneath the skin beats the heart of a reptile!

Marc Singer, as have-a-go hero Mike Donovan, leads the Resistance, with pretty sidekick Juliet Parrish, played by Faye Grant, and they get unexpected Visitor support from Frank Ashmore's Martin. Another Visitor who also supports the Resistance is Willie, played by Robert Englund. A gentle role for Englund, who later found fame as Freddy Krueger! Michael Ironside is very impressive as the Resistance fighter Ham Tyler - a man not interested in soft options...

Shocking as it is to see the aliens eating unfortunate rodents alive, it gets worse...A food processing plant is discovered, and humans are on the menu. Also shocking is the alien baby being born to a human. Probably a TV first, I think!

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

V Cast List (in alphabetical order)
Frank Ashmore - Martin/Phillip
Jane Badler - Diana
June Chadwick - Lydia
Jennifer Cooke - Elizabeth Maxwell
Michael Durrell - Robert Maxwell
Robert Englund - Willie
Faye Grant - Julie Parish
Richard Herd - John
Thomas Hill - Father Andrew
Michael Ironside - Ham Tyler
Peter Nelson - Brian
David Packer - Daniel Bernstein
Neva Patterson - Eleanor Dupres
Tommy Peterson - Josh Brooks
Andrew Prine - Steven
Duncan Regehr - Charles
Christopher Shobe - Louis
Sandy Simpson - Mark
Marc Singer - Mike Donovan
Lane Smith - Nathan Bates
Blair Tefkin - Robin Maxwell
Michael Wright - Elias Taylor
Jeff Yagher - Kyle Bates

V DVDs - available from Amazon.co.uk

V - The Final Battle
V - The Mini Series

V DVDs - available from Amazon.com

V - The Final Battle
V - The Original TV Miniseries

V ON VIDEO - available from Amazon.co.uk

V - The Final Battle - Part 1
V - The Final Battle - Part 2
V - The Final Battle - Part 3
V - The Original Series - Parts 1 and 2

V ON VIDEO - available from Amazon.com

V - The Original TV Miniseries

Amazon.co.uk Review
In its day, V was a monumental event that for one generation remains a pop culture touchstone. Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have reassured us that perhaps we have nothing to fear from alien visitors and E.T. introduced us to a benign extra-terrestrial who only wanted to go home, but Kenneth Johnson's 1983 television miniseries knew better. Visitors who claim to come in peace are revealed to be nothing but reptilians in human skin bent on human conversion and conquest. As in the dark days of Fascism, some collaborate with the enemy; others form the Resistance.

At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. The special effects are still awesome: those 50 mother ships that hover over the Earth's major cities anticipate Independence Day by more than a decade. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast (most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series) have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions for the rest of their lives. Marc "Beastmaster" Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom fighter Mike Donovan; Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-Resistance leader; Richard Herd is the Visitor's Supreme Commander ("Call me John"); Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing, but ruthlessly ambitious Visitor Science Officer; Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens. --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Synopsis
The alien visitors try to convince the public that the resistance group is preventing harmony between two planets, that is until Mike Donovan manages to convince the world that the aliens really are man-eating lizards...