Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

An oldy but a goody: V and V: The Final Battle from the 1980s

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    An oldy but a goody: V and V: The Final Battle from the 1980s

    Way back in July, I posted here about an old NBC Miniseries called "V" and it's follow-up, "V: The Final Battle". I got almost no response in July, so I thought I'd try again and see what anyone thought and if anyone's seen it.

    It first aired in 1983 (before I was even born) and was a mini-series on NBC. It's on DVD now, but I remember it back in the 90s on the Sci-fi channel. In fact, they played the original mini-series on Sci-fi and then the second mini-series, which was folowed by a very short-lived and very lame TV series also on NBC. Sci-fi played them all around 1996 or 1997, I remember watching when I was like in elementary school or something...way back. I really liked the mini-series.

    It was basically like Independence Day with actual alien-human interaction.

    In 1983, out of the blue, 50 giant "motherships" appeared strategically above 50 major cities, like LA, NYC, Detroit, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Sydney, etc. The primary focus was the LA Mothership. After several days of hovering over Earth's cities, these ships, which were about 5 miles across, finally synchronized a message in all languages requesting a meeting atop the World's Trade Center (I think) with the UN Secretary General. The meeting took place a few days later. The aliens', called "The Visitors", looked just like us except they hated light and needed to wear dark glasses and they had reverberating, flanged voices similar to Anubis' voice, sorta like the Goa'uld voices, but more echoey like borg or Anubis' voice.

    They came to Earth "because they needed our help" to make chemicals to help their dying world, which had environmental problems. They were about 10,000 years more advanced than us and had encountered other "sentient" races, but never said much more about them. They were our friends and wanted to exchange their knowledge with us. They gave cures for cancer, helped solve poverty and hunger and famine on earth. After a year, they were firmly entrenched in our daily lives and even started "Visitor Youth Corps" etc.

    Think Nazi Germany with Hitler Youth. Their symbol was even like a Swastika. Finally some scientists, mostly medical doctors, biologists, anthropologists, and other biological scientists, started realizing that they were not like us at all. One alien (the dude who played Freddie Krueger) saved a human in a cryogenic tank and was able to withstand super cold nitrogen with no ill effects. They were 5 times stronger than humans, could see in almost pitch darkness, had enhanced senses, and NEVER were seen eating in front of humans.

    One of the camermen who first toured their LA ship snuck aboard one of the ships (the dude who played the beastmaster) and found out the aliens were really reptilian (almost like evolved velicoraptors) with fangs, slitty cat-like pupils, scaly skin, and forked tongues. At this time, they imposed martial law and started killing off scientists, fabricating a scientist conspiracy (saying they wanted to steal a mothership and take over earth with visitor technology).

    One thing led to another and the aliens took over earth. This was a Nazi-like political intrigue Independence Day without the action. It turns out that the Visitors came to Earth to take our water and to take US as food and canon fodder to fight their "Leader's" Enemy, a less advanced, but still formidable enemy in which they were engaged in a war for thousands of years.

    For the 80s, the effects were pretty good with cool "skyfighters" as they were called, small death glider like ships, some cool tech, although the motherships didn't look that impressive on the inside, but on the outside, they looked cool. It was cheesy 80s effects in other aspects and of course, like Stargate, the Visitor Shocktroopers became easy to kill like Jaffa. After awhile it became predictable, for awhile, it was a cool show.

    They might be making "V: The Second Generation" in 2005/2006. Dunno for sure.

    The guy who made it, Kenneth Johnson, was the same guy who made "Alien Nation" and if yo remember that show, the "Overseers" were the aliens who controlled the Newcomers, the aliens that showed up in a ship in our atmosphere. The newcomers were slaves to another race of aliens. Alien Nation was focused on how the Newcomers blended into our society and intergrated. They didn't focus much on the Overseers, a race of reptilian masters with incredible tech. The ALien Nation ship looked remarkablly like a V mothership and Kenneth Johnson said he really wanted to combine the two shows and make the visitors the Overseers but couldn't for legal reasons.

    In the final Alien Nation show, from the early 90s, a Newcomer working for the Overseers, called Klin-sat-zun, sent a message into deep space saying "Your cargo of slaves is safe and sound on a planet called Earth, coordinates attached. Also, billions more for your use. Awaiting your response". There was no follow-up to that one really except some okay TV movies.

    Anyway, has anyone ever seen "V" or "Alien Nation" the series and have any comments or wanna add anything? I'd like to keep this thread going if possible. It's a worthwhile rent or buy if you see it. If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them. If you'd like more info, I can post some URLS to good sites.

    Thanks,
    Jared
    Attached Files
    Last edited by LordAnubis; 08 January 2005, 10:33 PM.

    #2
    The Alien Scientist, Diana, unmasked...
    Attached Files

    Comment


      #3
      Yea, I remember them both. Actually watched them when they were first aired. Liked Alien nation better, though.

      Wasn't even born when it was made. You guys make me feel old

      Some of the other shows that I had seen when they first came out.
      The original Battlestar Galactica.
      Buck Rogers.
      The original BBC version of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
      Doctor Who (with Tom Baker. When I had started to watch it.)

      I even saw Star Wars - A New Hope at a Drive-in on opening weekend.
      If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Dotus5
        Yea, I remember them both. Actually watched them when they were first aired. Liked Alien nation better, though.

        Wasn't even born when it was made. You guys make me feel old

        Some of the other shows that I had seen when they first came out.
        The original Battlestar Galactica.
        Buck Rogers.
        The original BBC version of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
        Doctor Who (with Tom Baker. When I had started to watch it.)

        I even saw Star Wars - A New Hope at a Drive-in on opening weekend.
        Don't feel old. I wasn't born until almost 1985, so I missed out on a lot of cool stuff. You were actually alive when that stuff came out, which is very cool. Thanks for responding. Seems like no one likes my original posts. I guess they'd rather talk about chocolate, John Kerry, Tsunamis, or shipper threads.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by LordAnubis
          I guess they'd rather talk about chocolate, John Kerry, Tsunamis, or shipper threads.
          Which I have no interest in. Well, maybe chocolate, but thats it.
          If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you.

          Comment


            #6
            I grew up with some of the old cartoons, like Transformers, Voltron, Thundercats, and the like.

            My father actually got me interested in alot of the Sci Fi stuff. On a channel where I used to live, every Saturday they would show something sci fi, being an old movie (at the time, which now would be ancient) or some show like Space 1999. I remember us staying up and waiting for the next 'V' to show.
            If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you.

            Comment


              #7
              I sort of chatted with you about this show on some other thread a while back. Well I remember watching this when it originally came out, though I remember seeing it in 1984. Maybe it was a repeat. I say ’84 cause I was 5 and turned 6 that year and was living in Mississippi. Anyway, I distinctly remember watching it when I lived in MS which was only for about a year until I moved to LA in ‘85. Course I’ve seen it since then, but not anytime lately so I couldn’t get into any in depth discussion with you. The alien baby scarred me for life. That I will remember forever cause it scared the crap out of me when I first saw it, and I had fears it was going to get me at night after I saw that episode.

              And then you had the eating of the poor little mice. I always associate this series with the actor, Robert Englund, that plays Freddie Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. The series was pretty good for its day I’d say. I’d probably watch it now and laugh like I do with other old series that I used to watch as a kid. The dialogue and the SFX would be sooo ‘80’s.

              I’ve never watched Alien Nation, though I’ve flipped past it so I know what it is. Just never really interested me.

              Dotus, I used to watch Transformers ALL the time. I was like addicted to that cartoon as a kid. Even had a lunch box. Watched Voltron and Thundercats as well but not quite to the extent of Transformers. I can still name characters from it. And I hate to admit it but I used to watch He-Man and had all the action figures, the castle, the tiger, the vehicles, etc. as a kid. Barbie dolls were not my thing.
              IMO always implied.

              Comment


                #8
                I like V very much! When it originally aired in Germany I desperately wanted to watch it because I had seen trailers on TV, but my parents thought me too young to watch it or just didn't like the show, so that I wasn't allowed to watch it. Years later then I bought the DVDs and finally could enjoy it.

                Unfortunately I've never seen the following TV series, but it seems as if I didn't miss much...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks for posting you guys! Great comments

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I saw the original on TV (giving away my age again!) and liked it for interaction between alien "Diana" and another alien gal (whose name I have forgotten). The subplots of the aliens stabbing each other in the back to climb the "alien corporate ladder" was what I found entertaining.

                    Saw part of it recently and found it somewhat dated and hokey. Or maybe I'm just OLD.



                    When all else fails, change channels.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      V and V The Final Battle was great. Back then we didn't have a whole lot of really good scifi on TV, so when we did get it, it was a treat. I remember hubs and I sitting glued to the TV every night waiting to see what happened.

                      Never could get into Alien Nation. I tried, I really did, but it just didn't do anything for me.
                      sigpic

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by LoneStar1836
                        I sort of chatted with you about this show on some other thread a while back. Well I remember watching this when it originally came out, though I remember seeing it in 1984.
                        It seems like it was 1984 to me too. I thought I watched it with hubs in our first apartment, and we were married in 1984. Guess it could have been a re-run. *shrugs*

                        Originally posted by LoneStar1836
                        The alien baby scarred me for life. That I will remember forever cause it scared the crap out of me when I first saw it, and I had fears it was going to get me at night after I saw that episode.
                        Me too. I remember when she flicked out her tongue and it was green, I jumped about half a mile.
                        sigpic

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by KatG
                          It seems like it was 1984 to me too. I thought I watched it with hubs in our first apartment, and we were married in 1984. Guess it could have been a re-run. *shrugs*



                          Me too. I remember when she flicked out her tongue and it was green, I jumped about half a mile.
                          I dunno for sure, but on my DVD it says "V" came out in 1983 and "V: The Final Battle" in 1984. It says that when the sequel came out in 1984, the original was replayed first, then followed by the sequel. Heh.

                          My parents were married in January of 1984 and I was born in November of 1984. Heh. that's cool. It's cool to have people around who remember seeing it on TV and actually remember Star Wars from the 70s. Very cool. The first major movie I remember seeing was Star Trek V, and I was about 4 or 5, but my dad loves Trek, so I remember seeing it with him. I also remember watching Alien Nation the series on TV, since my dad liked that too. That was around 1990, so I was around 5 or so.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by KatG
                            Me too. I remember when she flicked out her tongue and it was green, I jumped about half a mile.
                            Yeah, that half human, half alien baby was freaky, but it was the green lizard baby that appeared second that really scared me. Mind you I was 5 going on 6 at the time. Thinking about it now just gives me a good laugh.

                            You're most likely right Jared about the year since you have the DVDs. It only makes sense they would repeat the first mini-series before showing the second. I used to have, I think, the original movie on tape that I taped one summer over 10 years ago at my grandma’s, but it’s long gone by now I’m guessing. Sci-fi really needs to dig these out and show them again to refresh my memory. They can’t be any more cheesy or lame than the stupid movies Sci-fi makes and shows now, and these were made back in the ‘80s. At least they have an excuse.

                            Jared, I was going to ask you a question about what the V stood for, but after rereading your original post I found the answer. Sorry, I thought I might actually have a question for you. But you’d already answered it.
                            IMO always implied.

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X