Review of V: The Final Battle

In this sequel to the original made-for-television miniseries V, V: The Final Battle picks up four months later, after the human resistance calls for aid in their fight against the alien invasion of a carnivorous reptilian race bent on despoiling the Earth's natural resources and enslaving its residents. V:TFB aired in 1984 over the course of three episodes. It was a ratings success, and delivered some show-stopping shockers despite budget and script problems.

The original actors returned to reprise their performances as Michael Donovan (Marc Singer) and Julie Parrish (Faye Grant) as human rebels, with Diana (Jane Badler) as the sexy alien we love to hate. Resistance member Ham Tyler receives an excellent portrayal by Michael Ironside, a character actor who can do "tough guy" in his sleep. And Robert Englund also returns as Willie, the meek and sweet alien. Over the course of three nights, viewers witnessed the birth of an interspecies child, brainwashing, and germ warfare. Again, the script and dialogue is somewhat weak - but there are moments that more than made up for canned dialogue and bland acting. And the outlandish science fiction plot elements touched on some raw issues that viewers at the time in America were much concerned with - abortion, inter-racial relationships, discrimination, and nuclear warfare. Sure, there were plenty of classic sci-fi lapses in logic, but what mattered was a life-or-death struggle for the survival of the human race. America's enthusiasm for all things otherworldly was on the rise with films like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Starman, and even The Terminator feeding our interest in science fiction.

This fall, ABC will re-envision both V: The Original Miniseries and V: The Final Battle with a new series that starts in November 2009. Look for Morena Baccarin (from Firefly) as Anna, the leader of the Visitors. Alan Tudyk, also from Firefly, appears in the pilot but not as a main cast member of the show. Of the pilot, E! Online said "on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11." The remake will not be an exact copy, but rather will begin with the assumption that the alien invasion happened secretly decades ago, and is now in the last stages of a total government takeover.

E! Online: V Spoilers