Movie and Television Reviews

I watched an average amount of TV during my high school years, but I missed V somehow so I can't compare the new one to the original.

I can say that this V is the solid, middle-of-the-road (no faux cable "edginess") TV drama that I happen to enjoy very much. For comparison, I submit Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles and all of those great eighties mini series like World War III.

In V, aliens come down to earth bearing gifts and beautiful women baring legs to gain our trust (primitive, but hey, it'd work on me).

In case that doesn't work, however, the "Visitors" managed to infiltrate every institution on earth except the media, members of which they have to recruit when they get here.

One of those recruits is Chad Decker (Michael J. Fox look-alike Scott Wolf). Stargate and Firefly alumna Anna (Morena Baccarin) thinks that the press can be manipulated by a pretty face and flattery. In her studies of earth, Anna obviously missed the lesson about our press being impenetrably honest and scrupulously impartial reporters.

Also in the mix are Lost doctor Elizabeth Mitchell as an FBI agent who's skeptical of the V presentation. Her son is the kind of slacker who would have to move out of an Asymmetric household. There's a brother lizard on the inside and a priest.

I liked:

1. One of the first scenes is really quite inspired. Usually, in these invasion movies, you have the military discover a blip on the radar and contact the president who then authorizes an ineffective response. At the beginning of V, we just see the end result- an F-16 fighter crashing into a building and its pilot floating down onto the street.

2. Seeing out-of-work sci-fi stars get a gig.

I didn't like:

1. The teen dumminess and nerd humor (laughing at them).

Overall, worth a second night of watching.

Politics/Message:

During the TV interview with Decker, evil hot lizard-chick, Anna smiles and accuses the reporter of inhibiting "change" and "progress." What kind of progress? Free health care. Decker really perks up at the mere mention of this liberal catnip. For you guys into political allegory:

Obama is a candidate who covers his harmful agenda with his physical attractiveness, smooth words, and grandiose promises (health care); and who intimidates (Fox) or charms (Chris Matthews) the press into giving him positive press coverage. He employs operatives (ACORN) to infiltrate society and enforce a one-world government (like on the V planet). To counter the Vs, earthlings organize into small, underfunded cells (Teabaggers).

The religion aspect is interesting. The priests wonder what the Visitors mean to the faith. The Vatican has spoken on the religious implications of intelligent aliens (without getting too much into it, if aliens have the signs of a soul, being able to distinguish good from evil, they'd have to be evangelized like any other souled being). The movie must have been aware of this statement, as they mention that the aliens are part of God's creation. Anyways, I'm glad they included a positive religious role-model.

The fact that people are positively-inclined towards good-looking people is a good insight.

**update**

I'm no the only one that saw an Obama-V connection.