V (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Kenneth Johnson

Writer:

Kenneth Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

30 July 1984 (UK)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Humankind's last stand.

Plot:

When aliens come to Earth to ask for our help, a few suspicious humans discover their horrific true intentions and prepare to resist.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Resistance | Reptilian | Spacecraft | Freedom Fighter

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Jane Badler	...	Diana
Michael Durrell	...	Robert Maxwell
Faye Grant	...	Juliet Parrish
Peter Nelson	...	Brian
David Packer	...	Daniel Bernstein
Neva Patterson	...	Eleanor Dupres
Tommy Petersen	...	Josh Brooks (as Tommy Peterson)
Marc Singer	...	Mike Donovan
Blair Tefkin	...	Robin Maxwell
Michael Wright	...	Elias Taylor
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Lynn Bernstein
Leonardo Cimino	...	Abraham Bernstein
Richard Herd	...	John
Evan C. Kim	...	Tony Wah Chong Leonetti (as Evan Kim)
Richard Lawson	...	Dr. Ben Taylor
George Morfogen	...	Stanley Bernstein
Andrew Prine	...	Steven
Hansford Rowe	...	Arthur Dupres
Jenny Sullivan	...	Kristine Walsh
Penelope Windust	...	Kathleen Maxwell
Michael Alldredge	...	Bill Graham
Camila Ashland	...	Ruby Engels (as Camila Ashlend)
Frank Ashmore	...	Martin
Jason Bernard	...	Caleb Taylor
Michael Bond	...	Officer Talbot
Rafael Campos	...	Sancho Gomez
Diane Cary	...	Harmony Moore (as Diane Civita)
Viveka Davis	...	Polly Maxwell
Robert Englund	...	Willie
Ron Hajek	...	Denny (as Ron Hajak)
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Ruth Barnes (as Mary-Alan Hokanson)
David Hooks	...	Dr. Rudolf Metz
Joanna Kerns	...	Marjorie Donovan
Jenny Neumann	...	Barbara
William Russ	...	Brad
Michael Swan	...	Officer Bob Briggs
Stephanie Faulkner	...	LA TV Studio Assistant Director
Tom Fuccello	...	Senator Raymond Burke
Wiley Harker	...	UN Secretary General
Dick Harwood	...	LA TV Studio Director
Myron Healey	...	Arch Quinton
Bonnie Johns	...	Woman
Eric Johnston	...	Sean Donovan
Curt Lowens	...	Dr. Maurice Jankowski
Marin May	...	Katie Maxwell
Mike Monahan	...	LA TV Studio Console Man
Jennifer Perito	...	Resistance Member
Clete Roberts	...	Newscaster
Nathan Roberts	...	LA TV Anchor
Howard K. Smith	...	Himself / Newscaster
Robert Vandenberg	...	Rebel Camp Leader
Momo Yashima	...	High School Band Leader
Denny Miller	...	Visitor Trooper
Stack Pierce	...	Visitor Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve M. Davison	...	Resistance Fighter (uncredited)
Tom Southwell	...	Man Drawing on Wall (uncredited)
Charles A. Tamburro	...	Resistance Fighter (uncredited)

Directed by
Kenneth Johnson

Writing credits
Kenneth Johnson		(written by)

Produced by
Chuck Bowman	....	producer
Patrick Boyriven	....	associate producer
Kenneth Johnson	....	executive producer
Brandon Tartikoff	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Joseph Harnell		(as Joe Harnell)

Cinematography by
John McPherson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Paul Dixon
Alan C. Marks		(as Alan Marks)
Robert K. Richard		(as Robert Richard)
Jack W. Schoengarth		(as Jack Schoengarth)

Casting by
Phyllis Huffman

Production Design by
Charles R. Davis

Art Direction by
Gary A. Lee		(as Gary Lee)

Set Decoration by
John M. Dwyer		(as John Dwyer)

Costume Design by
Brienne Glyttov

Makeup Department
Werner Keppler	....	makeup technician
Leo Lotito Jr.	....	makeup supervisor (as Leo Le Tito)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hairdesser
Faith Vecchio	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Art Seidel	....	unit production manager (as Arthur Seidel)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Forrest	....	second assistant director
Alisa Matlovsky	....	second assistant director (as Alisa A. Matlovsky)
Paul Samuelson	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Gary Antista	....	property master
Peter Albes	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
Tom Duffield	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Joseph C. Nemec III	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tom Southwell	....	production illustrator (uncredited)
John Wilcox	....	set painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Claude Riggins	....	production sound mixer (as Claud Riggens)
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist (uncredited)
James Troutman	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Ryba	....	special effects
Peter Albiez	....	special effects (uncredited)
Joe Goss	....	special effects (uncredited)
Carl Incorvaia	....	special effects (uncredited)
Tom Tokunaga	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Robert D. Bailey	....	head of visual effects: Pacific Title (uncredited)
Gregory Jein	....	model constructor: DQI (uncredited)
Bill Kent	....	motion control operator (uncredited)
Michael Lawler	....	visual effects cameraman (uncredited)
Michele Moen	....	matte artist (uncredited)
Eugene P. Rizzardi	....	model spervisor (uncredited: Coast Special Effects)
Scott Squires	....	visual effects (uncredited)
David Stipes	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Hoyt Yeatman	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Matthew Yuricich	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
David R. Ellis	....	stunt coordinator (as David Ellis)
Steve M. Davison	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Pat Romano	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Adam Glick	....	set lighting technician (uncredited)
Rick F. Gunter	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Michael Douglas Middleton	....	still photographer: props (uncredited)
Tom Neuwirth	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Bill Record	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Ron Record	....	key grip (uncredited)
Jack S. Schlosser	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Bob Stewart	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert E. Stuard	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Paul E. Sutton	....	dolly grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fred Long	....	costumer: men
Diana Wilson	....	costumer: women (as Diana Jones-Wilson)
Jerry Herrin	....	costumer (uncredited)
Wingate Jones	....	costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Leigh Phillips	....	orchestrator: special orchestrations (uncredited)
Ted Roberts	....	music editor
Don Davis	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Fernandez	....	score recordist (uncredited)

Other crew
Jeanne Byrd	....	script supervisor (as Jeanne Marie Byrd)
John Gamble	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Murray Miller	....	location manager (uncredited)
Daniel Schneider	....	key location manager (uncredited)
Charles A. Tamburro	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)

Thanks
Dominique Dunne	....	in loving memory of

Production Companies

• Kenneth Johnson Productions
• Warner Bros. Television (in association with)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1983) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• V8 (200?) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (special optical effects)
• Dream Quest Images (special optical effects)
• Coast (special optical effects)

Other Companies

• Pros', The  sound editing (as The Pro's, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Storm Warnings (USA) (original script title)
V: The Original Mini Series (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

197 min | Finland:189 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:15 (video premiere) | Iceland:16 | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (VHS version) | USA:TV-14 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Kenneth Johnson Productions

Trivia:

The laser effects cost US$1,000 each. The high cost was due to the lengthy post-production work by manually adding optical effects to the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the shuttle right after Mike escapes with Robin from the mothership, Mike loops the shuttle, and there is shot of them upside-down. Robin raises her arms, apparently to keep from falling out of her seat, but the entire time her hair rests on her shoulders as if right-side up.

Quotes:

John: The Secretary General referred to me as the "Supreme Commander", actually I'm just sort of an Admiral, responsible for this small fleet around your planet.
Dr. Ben Taylor: This *small* fleet? Yeah right...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Independence Day (1996)

Soundtrack:

Theme

Awesome show!!

This is one of those rare epics that come only once in a blue moon. This is one of the best 'First Contact' genres ever made. No movie on the big screen so far - no, not Independence Day or even Close Encounters of the Third Kind (amongst my favorite films, I might add) have been able to give you the kind of goose pimples that watching 'V' gave me.

The ensemble cast with Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler and others have done a fantastic job and Kenneth Johnson has done a superb job making this show. Not only is the storyline and plot very capturing, the characters in this really come to life and you actually get involved with them unlike many other shows. And this is even more amazing because there are SO MANY characters and each one of them has their own story which is depicted very well. I love the way the characters all start off in different settings and events and don't know each other, but gradually they come together.

The Nazi-esquire theme also works out well. The special effects for 1983 are cool enough to be used today and the lasagnas on 'V' are the absolutely coolest ones ever. Better than Star Trek 'phasers' or Star Wars 'blasters'. Not to mention the Mother Ships and the various classes of shuttles.

This is a good one and this is certainly something I am hoping they give more. Either a movie or a remake. There is supposed to be a 'V-The next generation' in the making. I can hardly wait!