The Fredösphere

Oooh, boy, it is such a relief to enter the post-Obamamania era and live in a time of sane expectations. That's not the only reason to watch V, the new SF series on ABC TV, but for some of us, it will be enough.

Not that the show indulges in fanaticism of the opposite kind. It's current event scorecard shows equal digs at both Bushism and Obamamania. What makes this show special is its unambiguous digs at topics previously held sacrosanct by Hollywood. Namely, the Visitors (that's "V" for short; the suave aliens who hide their lizard hides underneath beautiful human skin and who lust after our resource-rich planet) seduce us earthlings with promises of universal health care.

It's a shocking moment when you hear those words, universal health care. It's also a failure of taste—I would prefer a more creative, less partisan examination of the totalitarian temptation—but, wow. I didn't think they had it in them. It's actually okay now for a big-four network TV script to prick the Obama balloon. What a relief. What timing.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Is V worth watching?

I would say it is, although the pilot's story line was terribly rushed. Why did they want to propel us past the opening moments of First Contact (so rich in drama) and move us to conventional TV crime/spy drama plotting? This seems such a 80s way to approach a TV series. Modern audiences (many of whom will watch at their own pace via DVR or DVD) can tolerate long plot arcs that span many episodes. Some of us actually do more than tolerate long plot arcs; we prefer them.

V's plot pacing bodes ill for the series, and its status as a remake left little room for surprises for me or anyone who has paid even a little attention to the history of the SF genre. Nevertheless, the performances are uniformly strong and the lizards look great in their satiny gray power suits. In particular, I liked the icy calm and unapproachable perfection of Morena Baccarin, who is very convincing as the perfect alien headmistress. (That wasn't true in Serenity where she was supposed to be the most attractive woman in the room but was outshown by the Ivory girl appeal of Jewel Staite and the exotic spookiness of Summer Glau.) After recently watching, and being turned off by, Mad Men, I find V's lack of edgy cynicism as a relief. I'll be watch more V and I urge you to do likewise.

Labels: sci-fi, TeeVee