So, was it just me or did they change the original meaning of the title "V"? Because in the original it didn't stand for "visitors" and they never called them "V's". Maybe they'll get around to the real meaning later.
I think they've changed it. They were called the visitors in the original series but never referred to as V's.
Having slept on it, I like it even less. The pacing was waaaaaay too fast. They shot their wad on the lizard-reveal, the introduction of the aliens lacked all tension, and the dialogue was so painfully on the nose. Again, love the premise, but if this is as good as the execution gets, no thanks. Cannonball - yeah, I think they did change that. I think they thought calling them "V's" would make the series more hip. Reminds me of when Kentucky Fried Chicken changed to KFC. Dennis Miller was still doing SNL's weekend update. He said, "Come on, guys. It's chicken. How 'hip' can you get?"
I agree with those points. I didn't like how they seemingly jumped from their arrival to three weeks later (or whatever it was). It seems like some missed opportunities to develop a more cohesive plot.
The first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica were OK. Every episode of Firefly was good. That pretty much covers 'good scifi' on TV for this decade. But if you want really good scifi, I'd suggest that you: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GlKL_EpnSp8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GlKL_EpnSp8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> The winner and runner up for this year's Hugo were: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Brother_(Cory_Doctorow_novel) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathem Anathem, particularly, was really, really, smart. I'd also recomend Illium from a couple of years ago by Dan Simmons or any book by Alastair Reynolds if you really just can't live without some space opera. The writers on all of the Stargate shows completely phone it in. Star Trek is a series of MacGuffins and contrivances (have a problem? invent a particle!), which is bad enough. But Stargate can't even bother to come up with their own contrivances. The entire show consists of ideas ripped off from other crappy scifi shows like Star Trek. They even spend a significant amount of time hinting that fact with silly little "in jokes". After a couple of seasons they couldn't even be bothered to come up with new actors for new roles. It was watching a convention for b-list actors scavanged from the scrap heap from other scifi shows. "V", at least, is working on a fairly clean canvas. And right off the bat, yesterday, they acknowledged the 300 lb gorilla that they will be working against with the little throwaway line about Independence Day.
If you like it .. . it is GOOD Sci Fi If you don't like it .. it is NOT GOOD SCI FI basic premise of the Sci Fi Snob Rocket River V - jury still out on it. Needs work.
Very true on all counts. I tend to give shows pilots more leeway than most, just because I've seen plenty of shows take a while to get their footing. Time will tell how this one works out.
So there is no such thing as an objective measure of quality? Shakespere is bad, Days of Our Lives is good because you love to watch soaps and can't understand when people speak that funny English? By that measure, Titanic and Shrek 2 were two of the greatest movie in the history of cinema? The Matrix Reloaded was better than The Matrix?
I didn't like the pacing of episode 1, but i'll give it chance. I like the old school V where the aliens wore red.
I don't know about you, but "Shakespeare in Space" is, objectively speaking, pretty freakin' awesome: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SVfYdYkdM5c&hl=en&fs=1&start=201"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SVfYdYkdM5c&hl=en&fs=1&start=201" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I think it was kind of necessary for people who were unfamiliar with the plot. Then had to in some way establish that the visitors weren't here for the reason they claimed. That way the audience knows that there's going to be conflict. Maybe the lizard reveal was too early. Maybe they should have started by putting doubt in the viewers mind about whether the aliens are good are not without explicitly stating they were bad.
IMO, rating SciFi media (ranked): 1. Believability of Special Effects -->if the CGI is bad, game over. Done. 2. Believability of the basic premise and the "future/alternate science" employed -->see the endless Trekkie geek debates over diLithium crystals and if the Enterprise at Warp speed was faster than the Millennium Falcon in Hyperdrive 3. The writing/acting -->Not many genres produce such a high percentage of garbage theater. So often the film/show employs bottom feeding writers/actors/directors to offset the SFX budget, the commercials outshine them. This is usually Pass-Fail. 4. The story itself. -->The bar you have to get over for plot is usually pretty low. Intricate, complex stories often backfire. The Gold Standards are Empire and Kahn (and possibly the first Matrix). Not many TV shows (Next Generation, DS9) do well with SciFi, since the genre is so demanding of a high budget to be decent quality. V has a shot, since like Invasion (shame it went down, it got worlds better in the spring after people quit watching) and the new BSG, aliens looking like humans saves you a crap ton of money in the budget. I'd rate the pilot: 1. 7/10 2. 6/10 3. 7/10 4. 8/10 With a 5 or 6 being neutral, and scores less than 5 or 6 indicating 'bad'
During the scene in the church when the bleeding man gave the priest the paper, all I heard was music and no dialogue. Was it like that for everyone?
Watched the old school one on sunday bit and pieces. I'd forgotten how good it was and surprised at how well it held up. Still giving this one a chance but 1st episode was lacking.
In their defense, why bother trying to keep a secret that got outed in the original series? I'd give them the benefit of the doubt: they knew that it was common knowledge that the aliens were hostile and reptilian in nature. They could either annoy everyone with a sham song and dance for a while until the "big reveal", OR they could just throw it out on the table right off the bat, and add new wrinkles/twists down the line. To bring it up again, Invasion dealt with a similar issue. Everyone knew it was Invasion (of the Body Snatchers), so they didn't waste anyone's time making that a phony mystery. Instead, they banked on interesting twists that went away from what people expected. Unfortunately, they held out on that too long. The fall half was incredibly ho hum and boring, establishing the expected "get on with it" groundwork. No one stayed with it and it got canceled. It's in V's best interest to "get on with it" as fast as possible and make their mark quick. The BSG likewise established it's unique twists on the original extremely early on.
Don't know if putting SFX into the mix is a good thing as some great Sci fi has dated effects by today's standards.
