The bad news is that the 80s remake (or “re-imagining”) craze is no longer confined only to the big screen. The good news, however, is that the remake of the 1883 TV miniseries V is actually pretty darn cool!

Retaining the basic premise from the original cult series, the pilot episode gets straight down to business. Within minutes the story has been set up, giant alien mother-ships appear over the world’s major cities and mankind is greeted by Anna, possibly the most photogenic alien ever, played by Brazilian beauty queen Morena Baccarin. She offers the assuring statement “We are of peace…always”. (Warning: Don’t trust them!)

The alien hottie and her equally good looking race of visitor friends (nicknamed V’s) offer to share technology and cure most human disease in exchange for a small amount of Earth’s resources. Or so they say.

While the alien’s arriving on earth thing has been done to death, the interesting thing here is the post 9/11 setting. How would humans realistically react to the arrival of seemingly friendly beings from another planet in this day and age? In the series, there are some who take the V’s arrival as a gift from God, understandable considering their promise to cure most sicknesses and share advanced technologies is something of a miracle. There are others, however, that are stirred into hysteria, protesting the arrival of the Visitors and not trusting them. These vocal protesters succumb to the worst human tendency, which is to fear those different from us.

Sound kinda deep? Well, the show does have a bit more on it’s mind than most run-of-the-mill sci-fi shows, but the real success of the show  is its swift pace. There’s no meandering; V establishes and reveals major plot points in quick succession to keep the viewer interested (if only Lost was written by these guys right?). There is also a certain sense of dread hovering over the story; although we know the V’s are up to no good, we just don’t quite know what they’re planning. It gives the show a menacing, suspenseful edge.

Gone are the days of the standard 22 episode season. It’s been replaced with a much more efficient 12 episode format, which not only cuts down dramatically on the need for “filler” episodes it also makes the writers move the plot forward quicker, which is all very welcome.

The casting is solid; Morena Baccarin has an otherworldly quality to her that makes her a perfect fit for Anna, the high commander of the V’s. Her portrayal is like that of a polished and charismatic politician, one that always has the right thing to say at any given moment. That fact that she is a knock out too makes this show extremely easy on the eyes and lets you forgive a little bit of hokey CG.

Lost‘s Elizabeth Mitchell portrays the series’ heroine Erica, an FBI agent who discovers the true nature of the visitors and joins a rebellion against them. It’s worth noting how rare it is for a mainstream action series to essentially have two female leads. Perhaps this could entice  a stronger female viewership to an otherwise male orientated genre.

Another high point of the casting is the return of Scott Wolf (Party of Five). The 42-year-old (who still looks like he’s  pushing 14) shines as Chad, an ambitious reporter who is granted coverage of the V’s and exclusive interviews with Anna. So far his character is the most interesting and fleshed out. Anna wants to manipulate him and control the media coverage of her kind by making him a puppet and as much as he wants to further his lackluster career, he keeps butting up against his own journalistic and moral code. Here’s hoping he gets a bit more screen time in season two, which is due early next year.

Verdict:

A surprisingly enjoyable remake of the cult 80s series. For those looking for a show steeped in allegory that taps into our post 9/11 climate than V should tick all the boxes. For others simply looking for a creepy sci-fi show with plenty of action and hot alien mega-babes, also look no further.