V: The Original Mini-Series
01/05/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Region 2 DVD: Warner Bros Z1 11489. 1 double-sided DVD 139 minutes 2 * 90 minutes episodes plus extras. Price: £ 7.98 (UK) if you know where to look). Stars: Jane Badler, Michael Durrell, Faye Grant, Peter Nelson, David Packer, Neva Patterson, Tommy Peterson, Marc Singer, Blair Tefkin, Michael Wright, Frank Ashmore and Robert Englund. Buy V: The Original Mini-Series in the USA - or Buy V: The Original Mini-Series in the UK  check out website: www.warnerbros.co.uk
In 1983, the TV mini-series 'V' was released. It made a big impact in the UK in 1984, largely because of reduced Olympics coverage, ITV needed something to fill in for a week. Consequently, we had this mini-series followed up with 'The Final Battle' (see below for a review of it) and people were riveted to the TV screen even if they weren't die-hard SF fans.
One of the things SF can often excel at is to do stories with hidden messages mostly because it can be hidden by trappings and metaphor and allowed to be seen at different levels for different audiences. With 'V', it shows what happens when an apparently friendly power suddenly becomes nasty as it quietly invades a country or in this case, the world.
Fifty gigantic starships arrive over key capital cities of the Earth declaring peaceful intentions. These Visitors look apparently human except for problems with bright light and come from Sirius. They offer an exchange of technology for chemicals and seem nice. Discretely though, they begin to systematically brainwash, remove or kill key scientists and politicians before starting on the population itself. They're plan is to collect humans for meat and water as a precious commodity for their planet. At the same time, they portray themselves as the friends of mankind to keep the majority of the population in a calm state.
The story follows the lives of various humans and Visitors as this conquest and resistance builds up, questioning loyalties and which side you want to belong to. As creator/director Kenneth Johnson points out in the audio commentary, this is a metaphor for what happens in a war with some parallels to World War Two and who holds the reins of power.
Although produced a quarter of a century ago, this series still holds up. Special effects-wise even more so considering it was done in the days before CGI although it was still expensive. Johnson laments that every blaster zap cost $1000 and there was a lot of them.
Looking back, does it make humans any less gullible today? Now that would be an interesting question. An invasion metaphor will work whatever the era. Old war films frequently get aired on television as a reminder of our own values and against oppression. With recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is always a fine line reminder of how far help goes before it risks looking like oppression as well. Although to be fair, no TV series has exactly explored the metaphor of keeping warring factions within a country apart yet.
Younger SF fans who probably missed this series the first time around should give this DVD a look and realise what a hidden classic it was and you might not choose to use 'Star Wars' as background music when the Visitors come down to have a look around chemical plants.
The extras are great by the way. Apart from the audio commentary throughout by Kenny Johnson there is also a twenty-five minute behind-the-scenes documentary made at the time.
GF Willmetts
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