Back to TV’s Roots

Article first published as Back to TV's Roots on Blogcritics.

Lately, television networks have flocked to remakes and reboots as much as the cinema has. Sometimes, it works well; other times, it’s a disaster. What could or should be remade, and how do those projects that deserve to see the light of day proceed?

Crime procedurals are typically easy to redo. There are a million CSIs and NCISs on the air, so it’s clear the genre is still popular, as puzzling as that is to many critics, myself included, who quickly grow bored with formula.

Hawaii Five-0 is entertaining because it’s set in a beautiful locale and has humorous dialogue mixed with big action. Ironside is a flimsy concept whose only real departure from the norm is that the main character is in a wheelchair, not exactly a novel twist. One of these is popular and has run for years, the other is likely to get canceled in the very near future.

NBC wants to bring back Murder, She Wrote, this time starring Octavia Spencer in the role made famous by Angela Lansbury. One one hand, Spencer is a fantastic actress (though so is Blair Underwood on Ironside) and deserves her own TV series. On the other, Lansbury is iconic in the role, still stuck in our minds many years after her cancellation. As good as Spencer is, overcoming the shadow of the great lady that came before her seems a daunting task, and thus I am not optimistic about the show lasting.

Angsty dramas are a mixed bag. Melrose Place showed us how not to do it, and 90210 lasted a few years not because it tapped in to the nostalgia of the previous generation who watched the original, but because it found a new (somewhat limited) audience and didn’t rely too heavily on history. Yet, Dallas has been my favorite in this category, continuing a familiar story, mixing beloved characters with new blood in a way that gives the series new life. The only question is if it can survive without star Larry Hagman, which remains a lingering mystery.

Sci-fi also can work, but rather than continuing, like Dallas does for its drama, the series must reinvent itself. Star Trek: The Next Generation and the other spin-offs built upon the original Star Trek, but also added a lot of new elements, coming into their own. V was interesting, and had it had stronger writing, it could have lasted longer than two years. Battlestar Galactica was fantastic, re-imagining the old version completely, and surpassing its origins.

The real reason I sat down to write this column today, though, is because of the news that the History Channel is redoing Roots. In my opinion, this is a horrible idea.

Roots was an extremely popular miniseries, which won a ton of awards. History, which has only recently entered the scripted fare market, has gotten good attention with its efforts so far. From the standpoint of its brand, I could see why they would pick this property as a contender to continue to build its slate.

However, have you watched the original Roots lately? It still holds up extremely well. And being as widely viewed as it was, and continues to be in high schools across America, it is still relevant in the public conscious. Most of the people tuning in to watch the new version will remember the old, and comparisons will be inevitable. Considering the very high quality standard the original set, this seems like playing with fire.

It’s a big risk, and one I would not recommend making, as much as I think it’s great when television takes risks. It’s like if someone decided to remake the Back to the Future films, or even the Harry Potter movies, in the next few years. It just isn’t a smart idea. The payoff, should it be accomplished successfully, could be pretty good, though it’s unlikely to reach the heights of the earlier broadcast, which aired at a time of much fewer channels and competition. It seems doomed to always be pegged as the lesser edition. And that’s the best case scenario. If it sucks, it could set History back considerably.

So I have a question for you, gentle readers. Actually two. What could History do to make Roots a win in your book, and what shows would you like to see remade?

My answer for the first is to cast LeVar Burton as the older version of Kunta Kinte, which would only be a smart move for Burton is the new project is awesome, but him signing on would automatically give it gravitas and attention. For the second, besides another Star Trek series, I’d like to see a grittier, more realistic, dramatic version of Gilligan’s Island. How about you? Weigh in in the comments below.

V celebrates "Mother's Day"

     What an exciting finale ABC's V delivered! While the show is frequently uneven, and suffers from major plot holes, more so than almost any other show on television, when things work, they really work. The second season finale, entitled "Mother's Day", has few problems. In fact, it is probably one of the strongest episodes to date. Considering the steadily increasing quality, I am really holding out hope for season three, as the series may hit its stride given one more chance. Plus, with a cliffhanger like this, we just need to see more!

     The culmination for control of the V race came to a head. Lisa (Laura Vandervoort) lures Anna (Morena Baccarin) into a trap, intending to kill her. Anna sees what her daughter is about to do in a conveniently located reflective surface, and fakes emotion convincingly enough to stop Lisa. I can see why Lisa gives her mother the benefit of the doubt. Lisa has developed emotions, and so would want to think the best of her mother, no matter what past experience has taught her. Despite Erica's (Elizabeth Mitchell) anger at her, I think Lisa is justified in her actions.

     Sadly, that justification comes with steep consequences. Anna kills her mother, Diana (Jane Badler), whose friends have helped her escape, then installs Lisa in Diana's former dungeon. Anna's backup queen egg hatches, and Anna has her new daughter made to look exactly like Lisa and given her memories. Lisa 2.0 mates with, and kills, Tyler (Logan Huffman), whom Lisa is in love with, while Lisa watches helplessly on a video screen.

     This series has proved to me that Vandervoort's bad run on Smallville was either a fluke, or she has improved greatly in her acting ability. This episode gave her an even bigger chance to shine, as we got to see her as the Lisa we've grown to love AND a ruthless, cold blooded killer more chilling than even Anna. If for no other reason, V needs a third season pick up so we can watch Vandervoort work her magic in the duel role. From what we've seen so far, she is good, like Nina Dobrev in The Vampire Diaries level good.

     The really scary thing about this episode is that Anna finds the true nature of her evil. Up until now, Anna has fought against human emotions, even as they threaten to overwhelm her. The human skin the Vs cover themselves with somehow plays on them, making them more susceptible to feelings. When Anna fights against those emotions, it weakens her. Now that Anna discovers emotions can be used as a weapon, which she wields extremely effectively, she is more dangerous than easily imagined. This is the real consequence of Lisa's failure.

     Also scary? Anna now has a way to bliss mankind, effectively making us her slaves. Little Amy (multiple actresses, as she is rapidly growing), a human / V hybrid, is able to easily deliver bliss to humans, and she loves Anna. While I have viewed Amy mostly as a distraction, and have not at all liked the affect she has had on her father, Ryan (Morris Chestnut), clearly she is something more. Should the series be renewed, I would expect an adult actress to be cast to play a fully grown Amy, and stop the rotation of children. Anna and Amy together may just be unstoppable.

     Of course, humanity does have hope, however slim. Erica Evans began the series with a small cell of people she just met. Earlier this year, she found out how vast a net the Fifth Column casts, before taking over the group. Now, in the finale, she (and we) learn of Project Aries, (led by Marc Singer, like Jane Badler, a cast member in the original V) an international group determined to take out the V. It's interesting, because Erica thought she was fighting alone, and keeps finding larger and larger circles of people who already have the same goal. My question now is, given the scope of anti-V organizations, why didn't they do something before now? Why has Erica been the only one to really strike a blow against the Vs?

     As mentioned above, the body count last night was very high. We lost Tyler, who was mostly an annoying distraction to his mother. We lost Ryan, who has become annoying while being distracted by his daughter. It was only slightly surprising that Dianna died, because Anna had to overcome her somehow, and what transpired is far more exciting than Anna hiding and plotting quietly to take out Diana as she rules in peace, as next season could have been. As such, I don't see any really big losses to the cast, other than possibly Diana, but for the reasons above, I'm OK with it. If anything, the writers did a good job pruning. Time to bring in some fresh blood.

     Thankfully, Chad (Scott Wolf), who used to be annoying, but it just getting started in his usefulness, is merely captured by the Vs, not killed, though why not, I can't imagine. Unless Anna just plans on blissing him and doesn't want to bring in a new reporter to train all over again. I would also like to know where Hobbes (Charles Mesure) has gone, but I am hoping that his character will return to his roots, freed of the burden of Erica. I like the two of them together, but she did tame the beast, so to speak.

     Which just leaves Jack (Joel Gretsch). I really saw a love triangle developing between Erica, Hobbes, and Jack, now that Jack has lost his priesthood collar. It is incredibly ironic how Jack talks of looking to the sky, meaning god, for answers, and that's how Erica finds him at the end of the episode. Only instead of looking at god, he's being blissed by Amy.

     V is on the bubble, but I urge you to write and e-mail ABC asking for its renewal. There is also a facebook site set up for just such a purpose.

Article first published as TV Review: V - "Mother's Day" on Blogcritics.

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V Getting Past "Birth Pangs"

     While I have mostly enjoyed ABC's V, it has had wild swings in quality. At times, the episodes flow nicely and make a lot of sense. Other times, there are gaping plot holes a whole fleet of invading V ships could swarm through. This season has been a bit more even than the first, but the show has gotten to a point where it is exciting enough to overlook some of the flaws. Just some, mind you. If they start to swing too far back the other way, it won't take long to turn against the show once more.

     Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) is series heroine. The last couple of weeks, Erica has been taking a turn towards bada**, which is welcome. It's about time. For too long, Erica and her friends have been hiding in the dark, barely fighting back against the V invaders. They've done a few little missions, but nothing that meant all that much in the larger scheme, other than slaughtering the eggs at the end of last season. However, after the death of international Fifth Column leader Eli Cohn (Oded Fehr), Erica now finds herself in charge of a vast organization, and she decides to use it.

     At first, though I love seeing Erica in that position, I was resistant to the change. What a coincidence that the worldwide leader just happened to be in Erica's neighborhood! And after only a week or so of knowing each other, he hands the whole thing over to her, rather than the people he has been working with for years. Then I stepped back and tried to view it from his perspective. Erica is a very formidable woman, and has huge stakes in what is going on. Additionally, she has ins and connections that the other followers do not. As such, I began to accept that twist. Eli's top lieutenants doubting her until she could deliver to them progress and a plan also helped with the transition, though I'm not sure that what she accomplished this week would really have been enough to win over her skeptics, converting them into enthusiastic followers.

     That being said, Erica has already uncovered more about the V in the last few weeks than she has all season. She and Hobbes (Charles Mesure) have a rousing sequence in the apartment complex, and her video chat with her original cell is pretty inspiring. With Sid (Bret Harrison) on board, real progress is being made on understanding the V's DNA tampering. As Erica gathers more and more people working for her, I get more and more behind the belief that Erica can topple the technologically-superior aliens. And now that her son Tyler (Logan Huffman) is not around, she has a bit more focus.

     On the subject of Tyler, why the heck doesn't Erica tell him the truth? She should have done so a long time ago. I can't believe that she can't stop him from going to the Vs if she just explains what is going on. Tyler's true loyalty to the aliens is bonded mostly through one particular V, Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), who is on Erica's side! If Erica doesn't want to inform Tyler, can't Lisa? She cares about him, too, so she should stage some sort of break up to keep him safely away. Instead, both Lisa and Erica, who are supposed to care about the boy, let him be pulled into Anna's plans, in which, by the way, Tyler is expendable. Great job, you two!

     Erica has a chance to succeed because of the V uprising brewing against Anna (Morena Baccarin), the series' other leading lady, only on the opposite side of the fight. While thus far the show has shown a two woman battle of the wills between Anna and Erica, every week Anna's daughter, Lisa, is growing more formidable. Yes, Anna is beginning to suspect that Lisa's loyalty isn't with her mother, casting suspicion on her actions. But Lisa has the support of her imprisoned grandmother, Anna's mother, Diana (Jane Badler), which I am thinking may give Lisa the power that she needs to take over the fleet. But if she does that, the show will be over, so I'm not expecting it anytime soon.

     Diana, on the other hand, is simply mysterious. I know she stands against her daughter, but Badler's sly looks make me think that Diana is not just going to stand behind Lisa, either. She must have her own motivations, and while Diana does exhibit emotion, I'm not convinced she suddenly developed feelings for her just-reconnected with granddaughter. I worry that once Lisa gets Diana free of her prison, Erica and the others may suddenly be battling two formidable enemies.

     Luckily, all of these power struggles have been the most interesting part of the show. On both sides of the line, leadership is being questioned and changed, in sometimes action-packed ways, like buildings blowing up and fierce shoot-outs. Honestly, as much as I like the personal drama side of things, V can be a little weak with the writing, so a focus on big action and betrayals is probably the smartest way to go to keep an audience. Know your strengths and your weaknesses, and play to the former.

     I am pretty unnerved about Anna's new hold over Hobbes, supposedly having his wife prisoner. It feels like this has already been done before with Ryan (Morris Chestnut) and his daughter. I think it's lazy of the writers, having lost Ryan from Erica's central group, to just do the same thing to another one of her friends. Unless they play it quite differently going forward, this was a bad move.

     As to how Ryan may or may not be relevant to the story anymore, I don't really see his place. His daughter is more attached to Anna than him, and she's the subject of Anna's latest experiments. The only place story-wise I see to go with Ryan is to have him rescue his daughter. In which case, he will need to find a hiding spot and be a father. I don't see how Ryan could re-enter the fight, unless his daughter is aged to at least teenager before he rescues her (a possibility, I know). Then perhaps they could get into the Fifth Column together. As such, I wonder why Ryan even survived the explosion last week. I think it may have been more dignified than what is character is about to become to the show - a drag.

     Then there's Father Jack (Joel Gretsch). While he has pledged to be a soldier now that he's been kicked out of the church, I can't imagine that means he'll be fine with a killing spree. Will he be Erica's moral compass, letting her know when she's gone too far? I hope that is how he will be used, as if he's not willing to step up in a violently aggressive manner, and I don't see that as a realistic choice, that's his only real purpose.

     Lastly, we have Chad (Scott Wolf), who is just a courier right now. I'm glad that he was swayed from V-supporter to a member of the Fifth Column. But now what? Will he just be a message relayer from Lisa to Erica? I don't see him excelling in combat. His access is limited, at best. Anna uses him, but doesn't really trust him. His place in the series confuses me.

     We're definitely more in the middle of a story arc than at either end, so now is mostly just the time to wonder. To see what comes of things, watch V on ABC Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.


Article first published as TV Review: V Getting Past "Birth Pangs" on Blogcritics.

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V - "Red Rain"

     To be perfectly honest, not a lot happened in the second season premiere of ABC's V this week. After the huge developments and cliffhanger last spring, it was a remarkably tame episode. Not one person died or had their life really even threatened. No shots were fired; nothing blew up. The worst thing that happened was when Tyler (Logan Huffman) got a little bump on the head during a would-be riot, which quickly calmed down. That doesn't mean it was a bad episode, but I honestly expected more excitement.

     Anna (Morena Baccarin) continues to battle human emotion, sparked when Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) destroyed all of her solider eggs in the season finale. Some of the ships' captains, and especially Marcus (Christopher Shyer), seem to have noticed the slip, though Anna denied the feelings were real or had a significant impact on her. What I find curious is, if Anna is so easily affected, why doesn't she suspect more of her people are? The whole 5th Column came about because Visitors started to sympathize with humans. Now that Anna has seen just how easy it is to lose control, she shouldn't be asking how some of her people did the same, but why didn't more of them? In fact, she doesn't ever have even appeared to consider seriously that her daughter, Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), is more than just play acting her relationship with Tyler.

     That is merely one of the plot holes in the series. Plot holes are probably the number one mistake V makes. The acting is good, even Vandervoort, one of the best on V, whom I found lousy on Smallville. The special effects look fantastic. The drama builds just fine. Real action and danger play out wonderfully. But then there are these major aspects that just don't make sense. Let's look at more examples.

     Chad (Scott Wolf) has decided to join the human resistance against the Visitors. Sure, Jack (Joel Gretsch) is hesitant to let Chad know too much about the secret group, but he is given membership by the end of the episode. Besides that, Chad ignored plenty of evidence right in front of his face before, but seeing a human get pricked with some needles, and interviewing a few more who went through the same thing, but not even finding out why the Visitors were doing the pricking, swayed him? Based on his character as shown up til now, he should have asked Anna what the purpose of the pricks were, and if he couldn't get to her, assumed that they were something helpful. I didn't see a great reason for his sudden change of heart.

     Why were the humans so forgiving of the Visitors about Red Sky and Red Rain? I understand that Anna gave an explanation that Red Rain was a gift to mankind, healing the damage we had done to the planet. Yep, that sounds nice. But once she says that, no one seems to remember that she spent four days refusing to engage with the humans and arousing suspicions. She shut down healing centers, and stopped shuttles. No one asked her to explain why she did that, they just took her word that Red Rain was good, and everything was fine. Why? How?

     Lastly, I thought the twist of Anna letting Ryan (Morris Chestnut) go and keeping his baby so that she could control him, a major terrorist (from her perspective), down the road, was a good move. It was a nice story that made sense. But Hobbes (Charles Mesure) figured out Anna's real motivation immediately, and no one paid him much attention when he pointed it out. Maybe they believed him, but just couldn't see any way to get around Anna's game. That would have been fine, if they took a moment to say that. Instead, viewers are left confused at why nobody cares Anna has a potential mole in their group.

    The episode wasn't all bad. Dr. Sidney Miller was introduced to the cast, as the 5th Column's newest member. Though he wasn't given a choice about membership, and despite his obvious hesitation to join up, he also didn't argue much. Miller is played by Bret Harrison, who I thought hilarious on both The Loop and Reaper. I'm glad to see him get some more work, and hope he sticks around. The series would benefit from some of his brand of humor.

     I'm not sure why I like V, given the obvious flaws that run rampant within the series. There is still something about it, perhaps the underdog fight to save the world, that is appealing. As I mentioned, perhaps it's the actors themselves, who really commit to the material, even when it's not up to par, which is often. For whatever reason, I hope V sticks around long enough to fix those issues. And given that the show is beginning season two just as screwed up as season one was, let's hope the people making the show realize there are issues that need to be fixed.

     V airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on ABC.


Article first published as TV Review: V - "Red Rain" on Blogcritics.


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The Event Fall 2010

     NBC's The Event delivered an exciting pilot, though initially it seemed like the first half of what was intended to be a two hour episode. Having now viewed all 10 episodes from the fall run that no longer seems to be the case. Though the first episode was light on explanation, episode two, when combined with the first, doesn't make the story seem any more complete. Instead, it they are the beginning of several much larger arcs, some of which wrapped up in a few weeks, and some of which are still open. The biggest question still is: what is the Event that the title refers to? If network promos can be believed, it hasn't happened yet.

     Overall, this is a pretty cool show. It has elements of Lost, 24, and a little bit of V. Large parts of several episodes have been done in flashback, revealing different things in the main characters' pasts. It's a storytelling method that has not been implemented in every episode, and it has not been overused. Sometimes the backstories are there to inform us about present events, and sometimes they're just about revealing traits of the characters. Very few of those flashbacks are superfluous, the rest of the story has needed them to better illustrate some points. The one that does seem unnecessary, as far as the rest of the episode is concerned, is when Sean (Jason Ritter) met Leila (Sarah Roemer) for the first time. But it was incredibly sweet and completely welcome.

     The cast is excellent, and almost every character is layered nicely. This is best demonstrated by the three Washington D.C.-based main characters. First there is President Martinez (Blair Underwood), who seems so idealistic but has participated in covering up some of the recent events, opening himself up to being blackmailed by his slimy Vice President, Jarvis (Bill Smitrovich). Jarvis fancies himself a patriot despite his having been complicit in the attempted Presidential assassination.  Despite showing a political convention, the show dances around which party each character belongs to, but I think it's pretty clear that Jarvis is GOP and Martinez is Democrat. That does paint the series with a liberal lean, even though a lot of the action and anti-terrorism stuff traditionally appeals to a more conservative audience. An interesting choice.

     Director Sterling (the always perfect Zeljko Ivanek) at first seemed duplicitous, and he sometimes is. But he is the true patriot, willing to do anything reasonable for his country, and not willing to endanger its citizens. He may have disagreed with Martinez's decision in the pilot, but he would never have gone to evil lengths to stop it.

     However, finding out that Jarvis was the mole within the President's circle doesn't make sense. Jarvis all but accused Sterling of being the guilty party early in the season, in private. If he had wanted to remove suspicion from himself, surely that confrontation would have gone down in front of at least the President and some aides. In retrospect, it was only meant to fool the viewers, and doesn't make much sense for it to have happened. There have been a few other moments like that, but this is the most glaring example.

     Obviously, the main story is about the aliens who came to earth in 1944, lead by Sophia (Laura Innes).  Many of them have been in a prison in Alaska for the last 66 years. Their motivations, or even how they ended up here, is still unknown. What has been shown is that there are factions within the group, as there very likely would be in the real world, who don't agree with their leader. The biggest faction is lead by Sophia's son, Thomas (Clifton Collins Jr.), who ended the season deploying a communications satellite to send a message home. This is a twist I didn't see coming, and have no idea what he's really up to.

     Thomas has been the least consistently written character.  He spent a whole episode being berated by his mother for not being a capable enough leader, even though in the rest of the stories, he has shown independence and the ability to command others enough to be a serious threat. However, as he is also my least favorite actor of the group, and he is involved in some of the biggest, action-packed plots, I am focused enough on other things to not notice this issue most of the time. I think his character was certainly not really fleshed out when the series began, and we're seeing on screen the different writers' different approaches to figuring him out.

     One major problem with the show is that there are a lot more aliens in the meeting hall with Sophia than previously shown escaping their crash site in 1944, even taking into account limited camera angles. What's up with that? Do their children age quickly, and then stop? Is that how the population grew? I didn't see any kids among them. What about half-breeds? Surely, marrying and having kids would have raised suspicion, since they don't age, and would have had to leave their families at some point or risk exposure (that was dealt with to some extent, though not fully, when trying to explain the drastically different numbers of aliens).

     One of my favorite characters is Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale). One of Sophia's group who escaped imprisonment, Simon currently works for Sterling. A few episodes into the series, it seemed certain his cover was blown, but some pretty clever writing kept his job intact. Simon is loyal to Sophia, but also to the men with whom he serves. He seems to have the ideals of morality and the sacredness of human and alien life in hand more than any other character. While playing both sides, he wants the greatest good for both and is not motivated by selfishness. The episode where we saw him in love with a woman in the 1950s, and his later encounter with her in her old age, demonstrated as much. He is a truly good man (being?).

     While Simon is an example of great character development on the show, sadly, not every character is used to their full extent. However, given the changing amount of screen time Sean, Sophia, Martinez, and the others get, and depending on who is involved with the major plots moving the story forward, I would bet that won't stay true for long. I can't imagine right now how Christina (Lisa Vidal) could really be worked in more, but maybe with Vicky's (Taylor Cole) greatly reduced role in the last few episodes of the fall run it could be in the works. And why Martinez didn't do much important in the last few episodes, even though he was still a presence, is something I definitely wonder about.

     Most cheated at this point is Leila's father, Mike (Scott Patterson). As the pilot who almost flew a plane into Martinez and Sophia, as well as the father of another main character, Mike has spent most of this run locked up by the government and his screen time has been scarce. As a Gilmore Girls fan, I want more for Patterson, and the finale left me with hope that will be coming down the line. With a twist I saw coming from about hour three, I was nevertheless excited when Sean and Leila realized that Mike is an alien. I wonder if Sterling and Martinez know yet. They should with all the medical work done on Mike at the CDC and if not, there will be another huge plot hole for the writers to plug.

     The action during the run has been intense, and the story has kept me guessing--there are so many threads unraveling at once, it's impossible to be bored. But, the stories aren't so numerous as to be very confusing either. While it does not (yet) live up to Lost or 24's legendary status, there is enough here that, if handled right, it could be a great show with at least four or five seasons worth of interesting tales. The current stories will probably only take us though one or two as the series has chosen to keep the revelations coming fast, rather than dole them out slowly. I think that is the right decision in this case, and I, for one, am interested in finding out what happens next. So far though it's pretty good. We'll see what comes next, and whether that will push the series to greatness, or condemn it to mediocrity... if it doesn't get canceled first.

     The Event will return to NBC on Monday, February 28th. A little too long between episodes for my taste, and after Sweeps--which isn't a great sign--but here's hoping that it does well.



For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Article first published as TV Review: The Event - Fall 2010 on Blogcritics.

V is for Vicious

     What a ride the first season of ABC's V was!  With both a crappy pilot, and a crappy first episode back from the long, winter hiatus, it still managed to be good in succeeding episodes, leading to a wonderfully inventive and intense finale, "Red Sky"!  At least one significant character died, and though I expected it, it didn't take away from the pull of the moment.

     Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) is the most vulnerable member of the featured cell of the Fifth Column, of which the show partially focuses on.  Her son, Tyler (Logan Huffman) has gotten himself involved with a V, the aliens come to earth on a seemingly peaceful mission, but Erica knows better.  However, she feels she can best protect her son by keeping him in the dark, and now seems to be actively using him to help her terrorist actions.  I'm sympathetic to her plight and position in the F.B.I., charged with heading up the task force against the Fifth Column, but I certainly question her mother abilities.

     Also in Erica's cell is Ryan (Morris Chestnut), a former V spy who now works against them.  It was Ryan's girlfriend, Val (Lourdes Benedicto) who was the main character killed off, after giving birth to his half-human, half-V child.  Her death may be the biggest blow to the Fifth Column yet.  You see, V's don't have human emotions, initially, though they seems to be contagious.  And the cold, calculating Queen of the Vs, Anna (Morena Baccarin), is using Val's death to try to win back Ryan.  If she does, which was uncertain in this week's finale, he could be the most dangerous foe Erica and company have faced.

     Especially interesting is the character of Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), Anna's daughter.  Tasked with getting close to Tyler, and later, Erica, we viewers have gotten to see first hand how emotions can affect and change the V aliens, and Lisa seems to have swung the way of the Fifth Column.  In fact, before the exciting climatic events had finished unfolding, rebel V Joshua (Mark Hildreth) called her queen.

     The introduction of rival queens, fighting for the V species's allegiance, is just one of many things I am looking forward to finding out in the forthcoming second season of the show, a pickup I was pleasantly surprise to learn of.  Another is, what will become of Joshua, who was healed from his near fatal wounds?  And what will Ryan's hybrid child mean to both species?  Also, why did the sky turn red and what does it mean?

     Sci-fi shows don't traditionally do all that well on network television, with a few notable exceptions, and, provided this one can keep growing it's audience, it will be nice to see a new one work.

V: Welcome to the Cheese

    This week's installment of ABC's V, the first after a very long hiatus, was called "Welcome to the War".  Unfortunately, it felt a lot like the pilot, where there might have been a grain of something good in there somewhere, but it was well hidden.  The first episode of the series was very similar, however, the other three episodes aired last fall were quite good.  That means to me that the show may be good again in the next few weeks, but I wouldn't guarantee it.

     What really didn't work for me was the recruitment of the mercenary / terrorist, Hobbes (Charles Mesure,Crossing Jordan), over to the small resistance cell four of the characters have formed.  While he seems to be a very tough man, he allowed Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost) to call in his location to the FBI.  Then he went with Erica and Ryan (Morris Chestnut) back to the church, though they had offered him no payment for his services.  The resistance then tried to appeal to him on a personal level, which, of course, they should have been smart enough to see wouldn't work.  Lastly, Ryan showing Hobbes that he was a V alien won him over very suddenly.  The whole thing seemed a bad joke, and poorly written.

      Also, why hasn't Erica come clean about everything to her son Tyler (Logan Huffman) yet?  She knows that the V are bad news, that they are extremely dangerous.  Sure, she knew they were watching her in that final discussion scene, so she didn't want to let on, but if she were smart, and her character is supposed to be, it's time for her to grab Tyler, tell him the whole truth, and go underground.  Otherwise, her son could easily be lost to her.  So why is she dragging her feet and avoiding telling him?  It's less dangerous to let him hang out with the V then to bring him in the loop?  I don't think so.

     I'd also like to mention that Father Jack (Joel Gretsch, The 4400) was stabbed by a specialized V weapon, which did not look like a typical knife.  But the V doctors who healed him didn't notice this?  Really?  With all their sophistication, they couldn't spot damage from an unearthly weapon?  Because I also watch Bones, and they can do that right now, with current earth technology and expertise.

     What the show did do well, though, are the V themselves.  Anna (Morena Baccarin, Serenity) is chillingly cold as she sets events into motion.  At the end, where she mates and then kills the male, shows the true colors that have been boiling barely below her visage.  Equally wonderful and emotionless is her daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoot, Smallville).  Lisa handles Tyler perfectly, and between the two, it is clear that we are dealing with a very different race from humans.  If only the human characters showed the same realness and depth.

     V airs on ABC Tuesday nights at 10pm, and has eight episodes left in the series first season. 

Some series already renewed for next season, others will be left hanging

     It has already started.  Networks have begun announcing which of our favorite television shows will be returning to the air waves next year.  Shows like Cougar Town, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, American Dad, Bones, Glee, Friday Night Lights, Parks & Recreation, 90210, Gossip Girl, and The Vampire Diaries have already been given that green light.  Many more shows will be told to wait, possibly even until summer, for a decision.  Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly keeps this handy score card up to date.  Below are some shows waiting for a decision, what their chances are, and why they should or should not be picked up.

Better Off Ted - Hilarious new show last spring, but wasted many episodes during the summer.  It's considered unlikely to be picked up, but it definitely should be.  Fresh and original.

Scrubs - The show basically had a series finale last year, and is back as a watered down "Med School" version.  It will likely be let go, and probably should be.

V / Flash Forward - One show started strong and got weak, the other did the opposite.  Unfortunately, ABC gave both very long breaks so the audience could forget about them.  Their pick up chances will depend upon their spring showings.

Medium - Moved over to CBS this season, the show has gone on a nice, long time.  Though Ausiello says it could go either way, it's been less interesting this season than in the past.  It may be time to end it.

24 - Many factors will go into the decision to get another year of Jack Bauer or not.  Among them, a film is already in the works for when the series ends.  I could always use another dose of Jack, but he has already saved the world eight times.  Since the character will surely live on, perhaps he should leave the small screen now.

Fringe - In it's second season, the series has failed to get great ratings, but Fox seems committed to keeping it on, and it has stayed mind boggling.  It needs another year.

Chuck - For the first time this show is listed as a 'safe bet'.  After struggling for three years, Chuck has finally found its fan base, and that is a well earned triumph.  Let's hope NBC doesn't wait too long to confirm it.

Life Unexpected - It's good, but is it good enough?  Ausiello says it can go either way, and as far as myself watching it, I could as well.

Smallville - Ratings wise, it's safe.  Creatively, it's also in a good place, yet again.  Question is, can the CW pay Tom Welling enough to stay?

V Vindicated

     Back in November, I was raving about a brilliant pilot for FlashForward and a lame one for ABC's V.  Now the tables have turned.  While Flash Forward suffers along, V has delivered three excellent episodes before breaking for four months.  Stupid to go on such a long hiatus right after premiering a great new show?  Monumentally.  The interim may kill the show, and that would be a shame, because it has really shaped up.

     Why has it improved so much?  Because the aliens are awesome!  In four short hours, viewers have already covered plenty of nifty little twists about our complex Visitors.  For one, there is a movement called the Fifth Column made up of Vs that want to overthrow head honcho Anna (Morena Baccarin, Firefly).  It appears that they were mostly defeated awhile ago, but now they are back, including Ryan (Morris Chestnut), who may have fathered the first hybrid baby.  Equally creepy is the sophisticated way Anna plans to inject the human population with her concoction, and the jackets that spy on people.  Why she had her daughter, Lisa (Laura Vandervoot, Smallville, whom I sincerely apologize to for criticizing her casing) seduce Tyler (Logan Huffman) is anyone's guess, but surely there is more than meets the eye.  Plus, super large fleet of Vs on their way to Earth!

     Back in the human camp, the teamup of federal agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost) with Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) makes much more sense now that we now he is ex-military and can hold his own.  A priest that can stitch up a bullet wound and throw a punch?  Sign me up!  What I really want to know is when Chad (Scott Wolf, Everwood) is going to stop taking orders and start fighting back.  Clearly he is suspicious of Anna and the gang, but since they've given him a stardom, he seems reluctant to question them too difficult.  But that can't possibly go on too much longer.

     If you haven't given V a chance, or canceled the season pass after the mediocre, plot-hole ridden pilot, you still have plenty of time to catch up.  After all, only four episodes have aired.  V will return on March 30th.

V is for ?

     The pilot for ABC's new V was vexing.  I say that, because it was impossible to tell if the series is going to be any good or not.  Pilots can often be decieving, and this one puzzled me.  I am not a fan of the original version, so I can't compare, only write about impressions from the one hour that ABC aired Tuesday.
     On one hand, there was the great cast, led by Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) and including two Firefly / Serenity veterans (Morena Baccarin and the always fantastic Alan Tudyk), as well as other television stars such as Joel Gretsch (The 4400) and Scott Wolf (Party of Five, The Nine).  It also had wonderful special effects, hints of a mysterious backstory, and potential intrigue.

     On the other, it had cheesiness out the wazoo.  TWO priests assigned to a church that has "stood empty for years", save for a handful of bums?  With the nationwide shortage of clergy, I can't see one such priest staying there, or even the church staying open, let alone two, and it looks well kept up and clean.  Then Elizabeth Mitchell just happened to find her son in the busy city swarming with people?  And speaking of her character, why didn't she notice that Alan Tudyk was ready to give up three seconds after smashing into the shed, despite being a trained FBI agent?  It makes sense to the viewer, because of his twist later, but as far as she knows, he is her loyal partner.  Would the feds really give up that easily?  Even I knew that there had to be some secret trap door down to a basement.  Duh!  I also count casting Smallville's wooden Supergirl, Laura Vandervoot, as a misstep.

     Glaring cliches like those could hold this series back, and earn it a cancellation by February sweeps.  It is a positive sign that ABC is airing it through November.  This was one of the shows I was looking most forward to this year.  By episode two, the loopholes may be fixed, and they'd better be, or else the Viewers may not care to watch the Visitors.