I agree. At the time it was good, but NOW, it stinks. A remake would be cool.
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ann_74 — 18 years ago(April 07, 2007 04:02 AM)
I loved it when it first came out. Fortunately for us the whole lot V and V the Final Battle were shown in hourly installments on a weekly basis or maybe twice a week. Since I was in grade 3 at the time, all I remember is that it caught all my classmates imaginations and the whole school yard (or so it seemed) took parts and played it out the next day.
It came out on video many yeats ago and I scrimped and saved up to buy it and watched the tapes until they died. A few weeks ago I found it on DVD and bought it immediately.
Looking back on it now, there are some corny lines and some of the acting is annoying (mainly Robin cos all I can now think of is why was she such a drip? Even the most boy-crazed girl I know was never as bad as she was). I much prefer Polly.
But for all the few corny lines there were great ones. Abraham's note is perhaps the best scene in all of the movies I can remember. Heartfelt and sincere.
As for the special effects, well many, many years have passed now since it was made. Technology has improved so much and you just can't expect the effects to be as good as they are now. That being said, they were as good as, if not better than some of the effects in more 'popular' movies and series of the times. -
SeanOBackHair — 17 years ago(November 06, 2008 05:37 PM)
This film is horrendous! Just watch the opening scene as two of the main actors are getting shot at in the jungle. They show no sense of fear, and make stupid jokes the whole time. How about the scene where all of America is sitting around the TV watching aliens and humans make contact for the first time. This would be the biggest moments in the history of man kind, yet we're subject to dialogue like "Awwww mom, that's not E.T, that's not even Dr. Spock!" then, a few moments later every actor in their most corny tone says "good luck", "good luck", "good luck".
Wow, unbelievable bad. If Englund would have turned into Krueger and killed everyone then it may have been worthwhile. Avoid at all costs! -
kipale78 — 19 years ago(March 08, 2007 07:28 AM)
Hello Wallo B!
I really do not understand why are you saying that this is a bad series. I didn't whatch it in the 80s (I was way to young) and I happen to be watching it now. I really like both the story and the acting. The rhytm is a bit slow for our standards, but it is not a big deal. On the other hand, there are several very good scenes for the directing standpoint. Such as a skull in the same frame announcing death when one of the ships appears and so on. It is a remarkable miniseries and it well deserved the succes it had at the time. To be rediscovered.
Alberto -
thommystrmdahl — 19 years ago(March 08, 2007 05:24 PM)
I would watch this anyday over Star Trek, Stargate, Farscape, Babylon 5 etc and all that crap! This was the thing in the 80's! Every magazine was talking about this show! This great show is exactly like how Prison Break is going to be remembered in 20 years time. Only by the fans
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bilgeboybob — 19 years ago(March 18, 2007 04:26 PM)
Well Mr WillyB,
fair enough everyone's entitled to an opinion, that's what the boards are about.
I think you'll find that you are very much in a minority though. This series is still critically acclaimed, it still has enough appeal to get regular showings on TV and, I do believe that the DVD is selling very well. The special effects were about the best that money could buy at the time and stand toe to toe with a great deal of movie effects at the time. OK so quite a few of the performances have dated in the 24 years since this was first broadcast but I think you'll find that most people regard this to be a masterpiece of it's time
-B-
Svetlana sucks lemons across from me -
bilgeboybob — 19 years ago(March 19, 2007 01:50 PM)
I assume, Mr Rowe, that you are referring to the initial poster and not to me?
I challenge anyone to go back and watch Abraham's "They have to stay" speech to Stanley and then still say this is bad!
-B-
Svetlana sucks lemons across from me -
dont_b_so_BBC — 18 years ago(May 15, 2007 03:54 AM)
As far as the "fear factor" is concerned. I was never scared by it, even when I first saw it as a kid anyone who reads enough hard sci-fi will "V" quite soft (try Arthur Clarke's "Childhood's End", now that's scary)
But was it a good show, YES! Just re-watched it a couple of days ago and found that the "cheese factor" is surprisingly low for 1980's TV (just think 1980's sitcoms). The whole "first contact" sequence was slowly played out over half an hour with next-to-no-hysteria. which will never happen again in this MTV generation (no screaming/ shouting = no TV/ movie). -
shireknight — 18 years ago(May 19, 2007 02:54 PM)
"V" is one of the best Sci-fi productions of all time. I still remember the first time I saw it, It was during the 1984 Olympics and ITV (English TV Channel) put it directly up against the BBC's coverage of the games and It won hands down -If I remember correctly up until this time the Beebs Olympic games coverage had always been the rating's winner during The Olympics and ITV had never been able to beat it but this year was different.
In 1984 V was definitely the TV highlight of the year and it had a major effect on the British public from the Schoolyard right up to office gossip lol.
Here it was shown as one 5 part mini-series although in the US I believe they actually had it as it is known now a 2 part mini-movie (V) and a 3 part mini-movie (V -The final Battle)
Personally I still class V the mini-series as one of the finest productions of all time, It still evokes an emotional response in me whenever I watch it. The part where Abraham is reading his letter is just heart wrenching and the assault on the rebel base where Diana takes a staffing run at Julie from her shuttle, misses, turns and goes in for another run and Julie in a completely desperate act of defiance and knowing full well that she is committing suicide stands up, raises her gun and starts firing at her is about as powerful as movies get.
If you have never seen this 10 hour mini series then I really, really recommend you watch it at least once, as far as I'm concerned it's hardly dated at all after all this time.
The DVD is a proud part of my collection and It's a dream of mine that one day we will finally get a proper remastered version in full 5.1 surround sound.
All in all V is definitely worthy of a score of 10/10 -
drew_atreides — 18 years ago(August 09, 2007 04:13 PM)
The original 2-part miniseries was fantastic. Yes, the FX are dated now, but the writing of the original series by Kenneth Johnson is top-notch.
The way he ties together the opening scene of the first episode with the final battle in the second episode was really quite powerful.
Yes "The Final Battle" got to be cheesy, but it still had it's moments (and Ironside rules!)
The later-tv series was pretty cheesy, though. -
roger.iversen — 18 years ago(December 26, 2007 09:00 AM)
If we're talking about the TV-series that followed the 5 TV-movies I would agree to it being really bad.
I saw it all when I was a 10 year old kid. What I noticed early in the TV-series was an EXTENSIVE reuse of footage from the films. It wasn't that annoying fact that made it bad (But it made it worse). It was the stories them self that sucked piece of human anatomy that consist of two cheeks, crack and a hole.
The movies on the other hand was outstanding. WOOT!!! :wub:
(The flight scenes does look really dated unfortunately)
V - Visitors was better than TFB, but TFB was still very good.
"Visitors" was told exemplary. Great pace and never a dull/unimportant moment.
When Kenneth Johnson was editing the first two movies to fit the 2 hour airtime slot he couldn't. It was to long and he couldn't cut it down any shorter. So a good friend of his at the tv-station (i believe it was) offered to do it for him.
When he coldn't do it either it was aired as it was. 15 minutes over the designated airing slot.
Abraham is a very important character in this. He sees what's going on and the scary similarities to Nazi rule during World War 2 (Just take a look at the Memorable quotes)
The Original Mini Series is not just good. It's important. -
stormlord-2 — 18 years ago(December 16, 2007 04:21 PM)
Not true. I reciently rewatched V and V The Final Battle. Sure the visitor costumes look a bit corney and it has a very 80's feel about it but the characters and story is still very watchable even today. Given the rise of reality tv trash in the last decade I will happily rewatch shows like V over them anyday. Besides it shown has a civilisation can go from a peacefull one to a fasist state very easily. Something America should be aware of.
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criddic2 — 17 years ago(December 05, 2008 05:29 AM)
"V" is a well-written dramatic sci-fi miniseries, and was even nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Best Long-form Television Writing. The makeup and score were, according to IMDB, nominated for Emmys.
At the time, as some have stated, the effects were top of the line for a TV production. Reviews were generally positive and viewers loved it. Marc Singer even appeared in the NYC Thanksgiving Parade one year with a V-float, if I remember correctly. That's how popular "V" was, for years. I can recall seeing the re-airings in the late-1980s. And a couple of times in more recent years, the sci-fi channel aired it as well.
The original minseries is also a precursor of sorts to "Independence Day," so much so that the 1996 film prompted comparisons from some critics at the time. This particularly due to the opening of the film, with the giant ships overhead.
Today, almost any special effects from the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s will seem paled in comparison to CGI effects used in modern films. Remarkable exceptions include "Superman: The Movie" (1978) and "Aliens" (1986). Since "V" was made for TV, the comparison would lead to an even greater gap in quality, but it holds up fairly well considering that.
The better way to view the technical aspects, and to appreciate how good they were, would be to watch some of the other special effects shows of the era. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Battlestar Gallactica" both were aired around that time, from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Before "X-Files" and "Buffy."
However old the show seems now, it still has merit as an entertaining epic adventure story. I think some of the acting is actually pretty good, and made stars out of Marc Singer, Jane Badler and Faye Grant. And it provides us with a pre-Freddy Robert Englund. -
mark_lucas — 17 years ago(December 09, 2008 04:27 PM)
Op Like several people on here, I watched this as a youngster too. Felt like dangerous viewing at the time, FX seemed amazing. Hook was, it kept viewers hanging on to the next episode, they never actually saw much.
watched the mini-series recently. One of the things I realised is the fact the entire thing only features around 25 minutes of actual alien footage. Same with action sequences and other stuff which captured my imagination. For a series revolving around "alien invasion", it manages to cram in more off-topic cornball & totally avoid the subject. 60's Series like U.f.o had more content. It's a waste of time, might as well be dynasty. As a kid, I must have been clinging on for the next glimpse of an alien.. probably why I never finished the series
bad and disappointing imo
