Entertainment
The Sci-Fi Series That Twice Failed To Finish Its Story Deserves A Third Chance
By Matthew Flynn
| Published
In an era where everything’s being rebooted, there’s one cult sci-fi series that stands out as deserving another shot. V: The Series, a short-lived eighties show, has a strong enough concept that it could be a hit if it ever gets the chance to tell its full story. Or, rather, another chance.
V was rebooted once in the early 2000s, but that show never got to finish telling its full tale. Isn’t it about time audiences got to see how V is supposed to end?
The Original V
V: The Series centers around an alien invasion of Earth by a flesh-eating reptilian species, the Visitors. Debuting on NBC on October 26, 1984, and airing until March 22, 1985, the series continued the story from its two preceding mini-series, V and V: The Final Battle.
At the heart of V: The Series is a struggle between the human Resistance and the Visitors’ full-scale invasion of Earth. These characters are brought to life by popular actors like Marc Singer and Faye Grant, who portray Resistance leaders Mike Donovan and Juliet Parrish.
On the alien side, Jane Badler stands out as the evil leader of the visitors, Diana. V: The Series also features Robert Englund, famously known for his role as Freddy Krueger, as Willie, a sympathetic Visitor
However, despite a promising concept and a talented cast, V: The Series faced a turbulent journey. The challenges were manifold, primarily due to limited resources, a sharp contrast to the mini-series it was continuing. The audience reception, in particular, proved to be a significant stumbling block.
Unfortunately, V: The Series failed to find an audience, falling short of the viewership needed to justify its continuation. The consequence was a premature cancellation before filming the final episode could even commence. This left the series unresolved, with no closure or conclusion to tie up the threads of an otherwise intriguing narrative.
V Gets Rebooted
V: The Series was brought back by ABC on November 3, 2009, and ran for 22 episodes across two seasons until March 15, 2011. The storyline again revolves around an advanced alien species known as the Visitors, who present themselves as peaceful beings but have a more menacing purpose.
The human characters changed during the second iteration of V: The Series. In it, the central character is FBI agent Erica Evans, portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell. Other prominent members of the cast included Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, and Laura Vandervoort.
Despite an intriguing premise, V: The Series couldn’t hold the interest of a larger audience and was canceled after two seasons. Adding to the disappointment, it was once again concluded without a proper finale.
The first episode of V: The Series scored high ratings, setting a season high for debut. Sadly, the interest waned as the series progressed, leading to its ultimate cancellation. Despite its failure to secure a large viewer base, the show was nominated for a range of awards, including the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Saturn Awards. Unfortunately, despite the series’s fanbase campaigning to save it, it was neither revived nor concluded by another network.
In retrospect, V: The Series stands out as an ambitious project that faced an unfortunate end twice. The interest shown in the overarching plot of V: The Series is evident in the success of the two miniseries that spawned the original show and the ratings of the premiere of the reboot. Given another shot with the right creative forces behind it, maybe a new remake of V could finally get the ending it deserves.