V (TV series)

V was a 1983 U.S. science fiction television miniseries written and directed by Kenneth Johnson and first shown on NBC. It starred Jane Badler, Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Michael Ironside, Michael Durrell, Jenny Sullivan, Richard Herd, Peter Nelson, David Packer, Blair Tefkin, Diane Civita and Robert Englund. It was followed by a sequel in 1984, V: The Final Battle and a TV series, V (sometimes referred to as V: The Series) during the 1984-1985 TV season.

Influences

Series creator Kenneth Johnson has said that the story was inspired by the 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, but a quick check at the library will show that several scenes from the original TV pilot were lifted directly from the Bertolt Brecht play The Private Life of the Master Race. The series begins as an allegory about the rise of Nazism (right down to the emblem used by the Visitors, which hints at the swastika). There are very clear biblical allusions, as well as references to the Holocaust, the dangers of appeasement and the rise of organised resistance in occupied countries. During the course of the series, the Resistance Network's TV news bulletins report stories of erstwhile enemies uniting in common cause against the alien occupiers, such as black and white South Africans (the series was produced when South Africa was still under apartheid), or Israelis and Palestinians. In addition, direct figure analogies are used, such as the senior Visitor scientist, Diana, who is a direct analogue of Dr. Josef Mengele.

Related Topics:
1935 - It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis - Bertolt Brecht - The Private Life of the Master Race - Allegory - Nazism - Swastika - Holocaust - Appeasement - Organised resistance - South Africa - Apartheid - Israel - Palestinian - Josef Mengele

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The series ran for 200 minutes and was successful enough to spawn a sequel, V: The Final Battle, which was meant to conclude the story, and a television series in 1984–85 that revived it. Johnson left V during the sequel but went on to work on other science fiction shows such as Alien Nation. Perhaps as a result, the sequel and TV series had less of an emphasis on historical allegory, and were more action-oriented.

Related Topics:
1984 - 85 - Alien Nation

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The cancellation of the TV series in the spring of 1985 appeared to have caught its producers by surprise, as the season ends with a cliffhanger. The show's single season was released on DVD in 2004. That same year, Kenneth Johnson announced plans to produce a sequel to the first V miniseries, but one that would disregard both the second miniseries and the subsequent weekly series. In October 2004 Kenneth Johnson made it known that NBC has decided it wants a remake of the original V miniseries rather than a sequel. The possibility of a sequel of the original would remain open, but would be contingent on the success of the remake.

Related Topics:
Cliffhanger - October 2004 - NBC - Remake - Sequel

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For the story depicted by the V miniseries in an historical context, see reptiloid.

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