V: On The Fence About A Return Visit

Remember that scene during the first season of Lost when it was revealed that Locke actually was in a wheelchair before coming to the island? After that moment, there was absolutely no way anyone was ever missing another episode. We were riveted and inspired and reminded what great television was all about.

We bring this up because tonight was the premiere of V on ABC and we had really high hopes—especially coming from the network that’s brought us such jaw dropping shows like Lost. The premise of V is fairly simple (and it’s actually a remake of an NBC mini-series from the 80s). One day the world wakes up to spaceships hovering over all the major cities on Earth. The inhabitants, Visitors as they like to be called, claim they’re there to bring peace and new technology to Earth. All they want in return is minerals that will sustain them while they’re so far from home. Sounds suspicious, right? Sounds like there should be non-stop action to keep you glued to your seat, right? You should expect a “Locke is in a wheelchair” moment, right? Yeah, not so much . . .

Okay, it’s actually not that bad—there were some enjoyable moments and we do like the cast—it just fell a little flat and took itself just a tad too seriously. V actually stars Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell as an FBI agent that discovers the Visitors may actually be really dangerous just as her teenage son falls for the Visitor’s propaganda for peace and prosperity. Scott Wolfe (who hasn’t aged a day since Party of Five) plays Chad Decker, a TV news anchor that Anna, the leader of the Visitors, zeroes in on. He catches her attention by asking at a press conference if any of the Visitors are ugly since each one is better looking than the next. But, Chad realizes rather quickly that Anna—and the Visitors—aren’t trustworthy. And then there’s Ryan, a businessman with a big secret. A secret that’s almost as big as “Locke can’t walk.”  But that’s the problem with V—the reveal was a letdown—especially since (spoiler alert in case you DVRed it) the secret is that he’s a Visitor himself. If you watched the mini-series, however, then you already knew that the reason the Visitors are so beautiful is because they’re hiding their real (and ugly) lizard skin.

So, why are the Visitors here? Are they a cult? A new religion? Terrorists? Are only hope? We’ll give it one more chance to find out . . .