The Remake of V

[astonwest]

So, what did everyone else think of ABC's latest?

Myself, I enjoyed the first episode, but think it has a lot of room for improvement...

 

[LeRolls]

I enjoyed the original back in the day. Should probably check this new one out even though remakes usually end up sucking.

 

[7HEUSEDB3RTH]

I was not a fan of the original, but I really like the new one. The special effects were awesome (except the shots of the small transporter, that seemed very Terminator-esque. And not in a good way). The characters are pretty good, I like the way it was set up. It gives you an idea of some of the upcoming conflicts, but leaves enough room for surprises. And it doesn't hold your hand, like FlashForward. I think it is the best new sci fi of the fall.

 

[resaliens]

I've been enjoying the revival. I was a fan of the original and think this go round isn't bad. Time will tell, though. So many series just lose steam (like Heroes) and can't recover (like Heroes, lol).

 

[Kevin]

After watching the second episode, I feel a little bit let down. I had high hopes for the remake but there were many elements of the second episode that seems all too predictable.

(Possible spoilers below for those who haven't watched it yet.....)




Let's take some things into consideration...

- Really, was anybody surprised when Erica's partner in disguise, Dale, showed up at the end alive & well? Especially after her comment of thinking that "... he'll never show his face again" to her boss?

- In order to save the woman he loves, Ryan must let her go. Nope, didn't see that one coming.

- Tyler, Erica's son, is being misguided to follow the Visitors as a result of being attracted to a V. "Hey, look! I'm young and she's attractive so I'll disregard what my Mom, the FBI agent, tells me and I'll secretly support the visitors! Wheee!"

- Father Jack is starting to question his faith. Are there any leading characters in a genre work who were religious men and haven't questioned their faith? HHhmm....

- The Vs are secretly in control of our telecommunications network. So, wait... one guy on a ship is monitoring every public phone in the city and just happens to immediately answer the one from our erstwhile hero, Erica? OK, now I'll grant the writers this one.... maybe the Vs had the smarts to know that they were going to have a secret assassin group in the area and co-ordinated with the guy by himself on the ship to intercept any communications in the area. But I'll bet a virtual bottle of birch beer that was not the case.

- The Vs have been amongst us for years and are secretly in key positions around the world; they could be anybody, anywhere. I wonder if any of the writers ever watched a little movie with Rowdy Roddy Piper? I keep waiting for somebody to find a pair of sunglasses in an alley.



OK, maybe I'm being too cynical but I was expecting something fresh from this series.... don't know what exactly, but certainly not the list of standard cliches seen time & time again.

 

[astonwest]

I have a feeling the cliches won't stop until after these first four episodes, when (hopefully) they take all the feedback people are laying out there, and rework the rest.

I was a bit underimpressed with the second episode as well. I have to wait until Saturday to watch the third online...hopefully it's better.

 

[resaliens]

Third episode was better. The Fifth Column is the most interesting aspect of the show so far. I still like it overall, though. But looking forward to LOST!

 

[Kevin]

Third episode was better. The Fifth Column is the most interesting aspect of the show so far. I still like it overall, though. But looking forward to LOST!

Agreed, except for the part about Lost. The tidbits of information about John May & the 5th Column were the most rewarding from the episode, along with the little bits of dialogue mentioning, for example, that some of the sleeper cells have been in place for over 20 years and that the rank-&-file Vs are essentially hooked on drugs to maintain control over them.

With the development of there being dissent amongst the Vs, and the preview of next weeks episode alluding to experiments being done on humans (as opposed to the flat out humans as a food source like in the original series) I can't help but think back to the Roddenberry series Earth: Final Conflict (E:FC). E:FC was a bit more spread out in its story arcs but there are similarities to be found.

 

[resaliens]

FlashForward is basically a speculative soap opera. I'm enjoying it, but yeah, a bit too much about not enough.

 

[samesame]

Aren't people bored of the idea though? It's been done

 

[resaliens]

What hasn't been done? lol. But seriously, I actually do believe that all plot lines have been "discovered" and every story concept "explored" - it's simply a matter of angles, character development, voice of narrator, POV, strength of writing, etc. This is what makes story telling interesting, imo. After all, how many of us have read LoTR multiple times? If it's been "done once" then one time through should be enough, right? But something done once doesn't mean it's not worth doing again. Again, imo. Not meaning to turn this into an argument, lol. Just started writing and had some thoughts all of a sudden!

 

[astonwest]

Third episode was better. The Fifth Column is the most interesting aspect of the show so far.

Enjoyed that third episode...thought they went a lot of good places. Figured that the "assassin" was a plant, though I was surprised by the V who killed (I presume) the FBI plant.

Since this next episode will be the last for quite a while, hope it's a really good one.

 

[samesame]

What hasn't been done? lol. But seriously, I actually do believe that all plot lines have been "discovered" and every story concept "explored" - it's simply a matter of angles, character development, voice of narrator, POV, strength of writing, etc. This is what makes story telling interesting, imo. After all, how many of us have read LoTR multiple times? If it's been "done once" then one time through should be enough, right? But something done once doesn't mean it's not worth doing again. Again, imo. Not meaning to turn this into an argument, lol. Just started writing and had some thoughts all of a sudden!

No that's fair enough and I agree to an extent. To me it's one thing to take a similar idea and to make it your own, but this just looks like a carbon copy with better CG. And in my opinion, graphics don't make a tv show.

But to be fair you're right. A lot of it is how you tell the story.

 

[Electric Moon]

I have yet to watch both the original and the remake of V, though my parents watched it and liked it (the original, at least), so I'm planning on watching the original.

Not sure if I'll ever get around to watching the remake though; I generally dislike remakes.

Should I watch the remake as well, or not?