V:TFB and the followup tv series were not good but the original does have some merit.
I refer to the thought put into the characters and setup. Unlike 2005, the amount of money put into tv shows for mere melodramatic effect was far, far less. Therefore intellectual content had to be used.

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The difference is we aren't gathering up people from Afghanistan and/or Iran and eating them! The Resistance couldn't join the Army, because the aliens were in control of the government! V isn't supposed to be an analogy of the war on terrorism, but of Nazi Germany.
I think the political message is one of doing right vs going along with oppressive power. I think comparing the Resistance to Osama bin Laden is a false analogy, since bin Laden had/has power in his own country. A better analogy would be the Resistance = those of his people who aren't terrorists and bin Laden = Diana.
V was actually dedicated to freedom fightersnot religious fanatics.

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V and V: The Final Battle were both completely awesome! I loved them in '83, when I was eleven and I love them both now! Yes, the actual series wasn't quite as good, but who cared? It was more V! The story and characters were both wonderful! Without the Final Battle, we wouldn't have that wonderful battle with all of the balloons! I love watching that! And, the scene where Ham Tyler dumps an entire bag of bacteria down Stephen's throat is classic! Of course, just about every scene that had Tyler in it is classic, lol!! I thought the acting was great!

It scared the poop out of me when I was a kid. Although I did think that Diane chick was hot. Right up until the bit where you realise she's some dragon-esque person underneath.

Chill and breathe deeply. It was very good sci fi and drama, that's why we're all still talking about it twenty years later. Television flourishes because of people who don't know good from bad.

First of all, "V: The Series" may have been badthat I won't dispute you on. But the two miniseries that preceded it ("V: The Original Miniseries" and "V: The Final Battle") were great! GREAT! The writing was brilliant. It made us all think about how we, as modern-day Americans, would react under a fascist, Nazi-like occupation. It certainly had a lot more depth than such crap that comes out nowadays like "Independence Day," a film that stole every one of its ideas from previous films.
As for the effects, what do you want? It was a made-for-TV back in 1983 for chrissake! The effects were great for their time. The original "Star Trek" from the '60s had worse effects, but its intricate plotting and three dimensional characters carried its popularity forty years. Are special effects that important to you? I've got news for you: "Independence Day" and "Star Wars Episode III" may look great to us now, but twenty years from now, our kids (or grand kids) will be laughing at how cheesy they look.
As for your contention that the acting was bad, you failed to make specific points, so I can not even comment on it, except to say that I vehemently disagree.
The fact that it was made 20 years agoSo what?! "Casablanca" was made over sixty years ago. Does that make it "bad"? "On The Waterfront" was made over fifty years ago. Does that make it "bad"? These are classic films I'm mentioning here. Or are you the kind of person who only likes films that are made nowadays? Why not put down "The Godfather" while you're at it. It was made over thirty years ago.
There was never a scene with the Visitors driving around in golf carts. Are you sure you're thinking of the right movie?
Yes, it was made for TV. It was too long for Kenneth Johnson to have tried to squeeze it all into a two-hour movie, and cutting it down to two hours would have been wrong (Sergio Leone tried it with "Once Upon a Time In America," and the film bombed; when he re-released it in its four hour entirety, the film got raves).
Enough said. An unfair critique is an unfair critique.

ah, someone else who gets it, as does most of the public.
Only the holywood execs and tv execss don't get it, and then they wonder why their network ratings keep going down further and further year after year.

I think you already did watch them, because otherwisek, THEY USED THE SAME SCENES YOU MENTION FOR THE THIRD TIME !!!!! So yeah youve probably olready seen the whole thing: V (miniseries) V: The Final Battle, And the 18-19 episode tv series.
Search the red van lmao i remember that. And the best part about the distracted V pilot crashing into the cliff was that the first time it was fair enough, he was well into the hunt and what not so suddenly he looks up and BANG but when they use it in one of the l;ast episodes its supposed to be a fully computer controlled plan of attack so there should even be pilots in the fighters, let alone ones that would only notice theyre crashing into a cliff a millisecond before, as if hed been concenrttrating on something else hmmmm.
So yeah, if you remember the whole computer hacking thing with the whizz kid blowing fighters out of the sky that was the tv series so you watched that.
Whats the point of having a signature? Only absolute losers have them

No, this is great stuff. Great science-fiction, great allegory, great spectacle. A nice history lesson wrapped in modern trappings. Not a fan of science-fiction it seems. Sucks to be you.

I was born at the tail end of '83 and I only vaguely remember seeing maybe reruns when I was young, recently however my boyfriend bought V: the complete series on DVD (i'm guessing this is the TV show) and I watched the entire thing over 2 days.
Yes - it was cheesy by today's standards but I could see how it was more impressive in the 80's
Yes - some of the acting was bad - but I see worse acting in today's movies
I enjoyed laughing when I saw scenes they used in more than one episode, (like the distracted Vistor pilot looking up and exploding into the cliff, and the Lt James pulling up and ordering them to search the van for anyone with a good memory or who recently watched it again)
I thought that the writers had some good points in there, and I'm wanting to know what the heck Kyle is doing stashed on board with the Leader and Elizabeth so I figure I'm sucked into watching the mini series and the final battle.
Kat
"no more rhymes now I mean it! / Anybody want a peanut?!"

The effects are not cheesy. They are not perfect, but they are certainly good enough that they don't spoil the enjoyment. I have seen the series many times over the years, mostly in my teens, and I've just seen the first two episodes on the Sci Fi channel. They have dated incredibly well, unlike most things from that decade (I loathed the 80's).
What V shows for me is that once upon a time - even in the 80's - character, plot and dialogue were important. Independence day ripped off many of its ideas from V and the special effects may technically be better but that's not all that's important. The film is atrocious and people will not be watching it in 20 years.
Computer-generated special effects have more negatives than positives because film producers forget that there are more important elements to a story than just spectacle. Modern sci-fi films are all special effects and explosions and are, on the whole, pretty tedious. Star Wars is a great example - 25 years ago when there weren't the effects, you got 3 classic films full of warmth, character and story. Now you get 3 films that are like watching someone else play a video game, there's virtually nothing redeeming about them. It's not nostalgia. It's about not wanting to be insulted as a viewer.

I should add that I'd watch a sequel either way.
If they keep TFB and the series in sequence, I'd enjoy the sequel as (hopefully) a good sci-fi flick. If they base it on the first miniseries only, I'd enjoy it as a deeper, and (hopefully) thought-provoking fear-fest.
The first one was more realistic to meeven though I was only 11 back in 1983, it made me think more about human nature. Who can we trust? Can we trust ourselves? How easily would we sell out for baseless promises in shiny packages? How utterly naive can people be?
TFB and the series (all of which I highly enjoyed) make me just think "holy crap, we're all going to die!" for a few hours. Great stuff, and good entertainment they all are. I just like the deeper dabble in human nature in the first a bit more.
Either way, I'd be happy to just see more of that crazy fork-tongued Diana. I rarely put down $9.50 for a theater visit, but I'd even do that for a new
V
if they scrapped the network idea and went for a theater release! Not likely, but I can dream.
http://www.glennferrell.com/

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I recall watching this back in the 80's as the only remotely acceptable alternative to the Olympics (never having been much of a sports fan). I was living in Wales at the time and the only other thing on TV then was something in Welsh.
Well, I was hooked almost immediately - I loved every minute of it and could hardly wait for the following parts and sequel, and hell, even the not very good series was better than no V at all.
I bought the DVD's recently and watched it all all over again, and didn't mind in the least that the special effects weren't that special anymore - they weren't what made V so good anyway. That would be the storyline and likeable characters - even the ones I loved to hate. And yes, it was every bit as good as I remembered it.
Remake - pah! Bring on the sequel with the original characters - I'm with you sales-462.
Vertigo I can handle - it's horizonto that drives me nuts.

Wally B Bites, dont listen to him. V is a classic that can still be enjoyed today. I never saw it in 1983. I watched it for the first time in 1999. I am now a proud owner of both dvds and i have watched the entire 6 hour + series (V and V:The Final Battle) about 10 times. Each time it gets better. Don't hate on V. This movie does not need a remake, it needs a sequel with the original cast. Marc Singers character would punch you (Refering to the part of V: The Final Battle, when Mike Donovan pops out of the corner grabs a gaurd and does a super chest punch, that what you get)

And of course, now I remember that her name was Elizabeth (thanks). If I can take some comfort in that she was played by Jennifer Cooke in the tv series though I'd appreciate it!
thanks for explaing that, now I can picture the whole thing, I really appreciate the memory jog.
Kate
You say potato, I say vodka.

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I remember a priest, but how was he a sell out? Forgive the ignorance, but the last time I saw this was 16 years ago (shudder), and I can't quite remember that.
However when this originally aired I did freak out when Robin's more human looking baby was born (Jennifer, was it??)
Please enlighten me!
thanks,
Kate
You say potato, I say vodka.

The Final Battle was cool. It had classic scenes. The classic fist fight between mike donovan and ham tyler. The reptillian baby, the sellout priest, the story was solid. It was based on building characters and the resistance was hard. TFB indeed did not suck. Signs is an example of a sci fi alien movie that sucks. You don't see what it has to offer because you think it was all about special effects and you ignored the story.
There is much to warrant a follow up. There is mike donovans son and his remaining connection to Diana. What could happen as he got older, remember diana escaped. There is the alien human hybrid, to bring peace. Julie can still be manipulated, she may take care of the alien hybrid baby. Think about it.

I also think people base this "badness" on
The Final Battle
and the series. The first one was not even about the effects or the technology of the visitors. It was a warning about not being naive about those who promise to help us. There was a well-developed plot and characters, and the writing was pretty good. It was also meant to have universal appeal.
TFB and the series indeed did suck. They WERE about the special effects and tried to appeal more to sci-fi fansso much so that the plot was neglected and writing was mediocre at best.
If another
V
were ever made, I'd also agree that only the original miniseries be usedchuck the rest of that junk! They were entertaining, but offer very little that would warrant follow-up.
http://www.glennferrell.com/

If we judged everything as being bad simply because we've moved ahead in the graphics department, then most classic movies/shows would be "really, really BAD." Honestly, the acting is a matter of opinion, personally, besides the pregnant chick, I think the main crew are great. And the golf carts? Well I don't know where those were at, maybe your memories are a bit hazy. Last, nostalgia is awesome!
If we just dissed everything in the past and put dates on them, focusing on such dates, then we can never appreciate the roots behind most story lines still being repeated. I mean, as someone claims regarding V copying the Twilight Zone, TZ has given us so many great story lines still being used today. Yet, someone could easily see TZ as dated and cheesy. Overall, don't ditch V for being old. It was great back then, and still rules now. Easily, one of the best things to ever air on TV, and definitely my favorite thing made-for-TV.

The actress originally selected for Robin in V, was Dominique Dunne (From Poltergiest, older sister), however while rehearsing lines for V with David Packer, she was strangled until left braind dead by her jealous boyfriend. All of her scenes were deleted except for one reverse shot. You can refer to Dominique DUnne on IMDB for more info.
The Robin you see in the final V production was a replacement. She did alright