Thursday, October 11, 2007

1984-V the Series


V the series was a follow-up to two highly successful miniseries that came before it.
I still remember the first one, in 1983 it was a television event, scoring high in the tv ratings at the time. Remember, this was before the home video revolution really took off, cable was only starting to become popular, and the movie blockbuster phenomenon had only started about 7 years prior. Seeing big theatrical movies debut for free on broadcast television was still a big deal. Now TV producers were getting in on the act producing high quality original movies to premiere on broadcast television. Roots, Shogun, The Winds of War. V.
The overall story is an allegory for fascism/Nazism. I mean, down to the Visitor emblem worn on all their uniforms. Some elements of this remained in the series, but were overshadowed by the sci-fi action themes present in most episodes.
Each episode would open with retired newscaster Howard K. Smith reading reports of resistance against the Visitors around the globe. Nineteen episodes were made before cancellation.

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