It’s probably not fair to judge a series based on the first nine minutes of its pilot episode, but since that’s all I’ve seen of “V,” which premieres tonight, I’m going to do it anyway. Want to play along? Watch the clip below.
Now, the first and biggest problem I have is this: enough with the “reimaginings”! I think the only recent TV remake that was successful was “Battlestar Galactica,” and really, it was only successful for a few seasons. “Bionic Woman”? “Knight Rider”? Fail. I know it’s probably cheaper to buy an old idea than to cultivate something new, but shouldn’t these failures indicate that remakes don’t have an instant built-in audience?
That said, it’s not like the whole alien invasion plotline in the original “V” was anything groundbreaking. The only thing that could be done to shake up such an age-old set-up is if the aliens turn out to be completely peaceful. But that would make for a rather boring show, I imagine. (Or are we supposed to go into this show having no idea the aliens are evil? Also, if giant spaceships were to arrive on earth and start to hover over downtown San Francisco, I think downtown San Francisco would be the last place I’d want to be: there are way too many people gathering under that ship in this clip.)
I’m also a little annoyed at seeing the same actors over and over in new shows. Fine, I like Elizabeth Mitchell, but the rest of the cast looks like a who’s who of cast members from recent TV failures. I want to see new people. When “Lost” started, much of the cast were virtual unknowns, and that just added to the show’s mysterious appeal.
Finally, the FBI? Again? Really? I think there are currently more network shows featuring FBI agents as main characters than there are not.
All that said, I’m going to watch the thing. Are you kidding? If they stay true to the original, hot alien chicks will begin to eat live rats! Who DOESN’T want to see that?
“V” premieres tonight at 8 P.M. on ABC. But don’t get too attached. The network will only air four episodes before pulling the series in favor of Winter Olympics coverage. Which doesn’t start until next year. The show is then scheduled to come back in March, 2010. No, it doesn’t make any sense to me, either.
