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Storyline
Aliens pretending to be friendly come to Earth and are received openly. The aliens have disguised themselves to look just like humans. When it is discovered that the aliens' planet is dying and that they have come to rape the Earth of its natural resources, the war for Earth begins. An important key to the humans' success is distinguishing their own from who the aliens are.
Written by
Michael Silva <silvamd@cleo.bc.edu> with help
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
Humankind's last stand.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The music during the closing credits was a combination of most, if not all, motifs of the 4th movement of
Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony closing with the final couple of measures of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. According to
Kenneth Johnson's DVD commentary, the lyrics to Beethoven's music were added with some self-admitted outrageous chutzpah and were the following translated into Latin: glory to the cause, glory to the fallen, glory to the fighters for freedom, victoria...victoria, for victory!
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Goofs
When Mike boards the mothership a second time to get more information about the Visitors, he is seen with a laser weapon in its holster. However when he enters the mothership's water storage area, it disappears.
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Quotes
John:
We have come in peace, to all mankind. Our planet is the 4th in distance from the star you call Sirius, some 8.7 light years from Earth. This is the first time we have left our system, and you the first intelligent life we've encountered. We're pleased to meet you.
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Crazy Credits
To the heroism of the Resistance Fighters --past, present, and future-- this work is respectfully dedicated
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Soundtracks
Theme
(credited)
from
Star Wars (1977)
Composed by
John Williams
© 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd.
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"V" is one of those rare TV miniseries that manages to contain action, decent special effects (especially for 1983), and a storyline that actually makes you think. It's not without flaws, but if you overlook its faults, this miniseries can be both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Yes, yes, Kenneth Johnson went over the top with the Visitors' similarities to the Nazis, right down to their "symbol". Yes, there were a few continuity errors and plot points that didn't quite make sense. Yes, you had to suspend your sense of believability in various aspects of the film. However...
The miniseries did a good job portraying a lot of interesting character stories and traits that you don't otherwise find in most action films. Consider the following:
1) Mike Donovan's relationship with his mother was complex and interesting in itself. Donovan's mother, who had apparently been through a tough life, desired power and the ability to live "the good life" so much that she literally closed her eyes to everything that was happening around her. Even the Visitors' kidnapping of her only grandchild didn't faze her. Eventually she completely turned on Mike, and finally turned on her Visitor friend at the end when it appeared the Visitors were losing the war. This sort of character is very real, and I'm sure all of us know people who will switch allegiances at the drop of a hat.
2) The depiction of both earth people who assist the Visitors and the Visitor "5th Column", who are secretly sabotaging their people's own mission, provides us with good examples of people turning on their own kind for reasons of greed or morality.
3) The Daniel Berstein character, obviously looking for direction in life, never quite fitting in with the 1980s earth world, was fascinating. It was totally believable how he fell in with the Visitors and became an officer in their army, just to feel like he belonged. Even the torture of his parents and murder of his grandfather only lightly affected him.
4) The internal squabbling between the Visitor high command was also interesting, especially given that they all generally had the same goal. Diana wanted the mission to proceed as more of a giant scientific experiment, while other Visitor higher-ups wanted it to be strictly a military mission.
Sadly, Kenneth Johnson was not involved with V:The Final Battle, and it showed. The Final Battle was more of a pure action film, while the original V was a lot deeper. Remember the "message" that the humans sent to the Visitor's "enemy", asking for help? Notice that was never referenced again in the Final Battle. Twenty years later, Johnson is picking up where he left off! "V" is going to have a sequel, but it will essentially ignore The Final Battle and pretend it didn't exist. Instead, the humans will be assisted by the Visitors' enemy, who I presume got the message. I hope this miniseries actually gets off the ground and appears on TV. I'd love to see what Johnson can do with it. Supposedly Jane Badler, Marc Singer, and Faye Grant will reprise their roles. I don't understand how they can do such a thing, all being 20 years older. We'll see...