For those of you who think that you wouldn’t be into a science fiction show about aliens trying to conquer the world, you need to see V. I’ve never seen Alien or Close Encounters and I only have a moderate obsession with the Will Smith action flick Independence Day once a year around the 4th of July (I used to have Will Smith rap-offs in college at parties. I know, I was cool.). Despite my aversion to alien epics, I love V. Within the first two minutes I was hooked, just as Anna’s speech draws in the entire planet.
On the outside, V seems to be the age-old story of aliens coming to Earth in order to destroy the human race. On the inside, it’s something more complex. V is a character driven show meant to capture its audience by telling the stories of the people whose lives will never be the same. What would you do if aliens showed up one day? Would you trust what they say? Would you go to them to use their medical and technological advances if they offered? Would you fight?
At the heart of these questions are FBI anti-terrorist agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) and her son Tyler Evans (Logan Huffman). Erica is skeptical of the Vs and keeps her distance. Meanwhile, her son fosters an obsession with them and their message of peace. As a workaholic single mother, Erica doesn’t notice Tyler’s fixation until the school calls to fill her in. But by then, she’s probably too late to reverse the Vs effect.
At the center of it all is the leader of the Vs, Anna, played by the magnificent Morena Baccarin. Anna easily stuns anyone she meets with her breathtaking beauty and calm tone. She comforts Earth by repeating the Vs mantra: “We are of peace. Always.” Baccarin plays the character with ease, as she naturally possesses the ability to draw the attention of any room she enters. She plays Anna with the perfect amount of innocence and inklings of baleful intentions. She’s creepy, yet intoxicating.
As is the series. It’s a perfect mixture of thriller, drama, comedy and science fiction. V is exactly what the drab 1-hour drama television sphere needs. It’s original and inviting. Give it a shot and you’ll see what I mean.
Are you going to watch V tonight? What did you think?
Also, if you want to do V trivia tomorrow, follow BuddyTV on Twitter and they’ll start the festivities at 1pm PST.
-Kim Wetter, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image Courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
