Christopher Webster [Cathode Ray Mission 02.05.09] post apocalyptic news scifi



"The sky is full of ships -- enormous motherships from seemingly benign, very attractive humanoid aliens who just want to trade a lot of advanced technology for a little water -- but whatever you do, don't trust them..."

Just over a week ago it was announced that ABC had greenlit a pilot for their reboot of the awesome apocalyptic alien invasion mini-series from the 80s, V (notice I didn't say tv show. That's 'cause the series sucked). Of course I knew the new show would be updated but to what extent I had no idea and I must say I'm a little worried.

The original series pitted mostly everyday American folk (and a couple journalists) against alien invaders. Original series creator Kenneth Johnson was interested in telling a very Spielbergian story about how everyday people and families would react to a modern Nazi scenerio, how they would band together to retain human liberties. Now it seems that cliched characters will be running amok in ABC's reboot, turning the show into more of a 24 style thriller.

Through a tipster, AICN got their hands on the full character details of all the series regulars. An uncool teen, a single mother who fights terrorists, a priest, a wannabe news caster round out the list. Read about all the characters after the break.


STORY LINE: The sky is full of ships -- enormous motherships from seemingly benign, very attractive humanoid aliens who just want to trade a lot of advanced technology for a little water -- but whatever you do, don't trust them...

[ERICA EVANS] 38 years old, a single mother with one teenaged son, Erica is with the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division, and is based in Los Angeles. Currently on the trail of a sleeper cell that has forged suspiciously accurate documents with suspiciously WASPy names, Erica finds her life interrupted when alien motherships appear over 29 major cities of the world. Assuaged when the humanoid inhabitants appears to be completely friendly, Erica shifts her focus back to her job and her troubled son and in so doing uncovers a shocking and massive conspiracy...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[FATHER JACK LOWERY] 30 years old, a Catholic priest, Father Jack is the assistant pastor at All Saints Church in Los Angeles, a parish that has seen its ranks of followers dwindle to almost nothing. On the verge of being reassigned, Father Jack sees a renaissance of faith when the Visitors arrive, as fallen-away Catholics return to church in droves, initially fearful of this brave new world. Unimpressed by the surge of hope and devotion that follows the arrival of the Visitors, Father Jack fears that his parishioners are relating to the aliens as god-substitutes...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[CHAD DECKER] 28 years old, an Anderson Cooper wannabe, he's a newscaster with BBN, based in New York City. Amoral, ambitious, and a little slippery, Chad is intent on getting to the top of his profession in a big hurry. The kind of man who sleeps with the Vice President's press secretary in order to gain entree, Chad gets the Ultimate Source when he is tapped by Anna to become her steady outlet for information (propaganda) about the Visitors. Too ambitious to realize that he's going to become an unpaid sycophant, Chad doesn't question his good luck...SERIES REGULAR (3)

[TYLER EVANS] 16 years old, the son of Erica Evans, Tyler is an uncool kid who wants to be cool -- or maybe he just wants to fit in, somewhere, anywhere. Deep in a state of teen angst, Tyler gets into trouble again and again, trying to crash parties where he is unwanted, and winding up in an ER. But when the visitors arrive, and Tyler's buddy Bryce scores some tickets to visit the Los Angeles mothership, Tyler thinks that the aliens just might fill the empty hole in his life...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[RYAN NICHOLS] 36 years old, Ryan is the boyfriend of Valerie Holt, and he's right on the verge of proposing marriage. But Ryan has a deep secret that he's kept from Valerie and from her daughter Cassie...SERIES REGULAR (2)

[ANNA] 40 years old, Anna is the leader of the Visitors, and she's not only humanoid, she has flawless looks and a gorgeous figure. A woman who presents herself as a benevolent deity, with a soft-spoken tone of voice that is warm and soothing (but with a strangely harmonic tone), Anna is the front person for the aliens, and she's remarkably knowledgeable -- about human culture, human languages, and media manipulation. Expert at wrapping pundits around her little finger, she decides that newscaster Chad Decker is the perfect careerist to carry her message of peace and prosperity to a wider world…SERIES REGULAR (13)

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entizari (14 years ago) Reply

when will the madness end!

sonaboy (14 years ago) Reply

lemme guess - instead of water, the aliens want to trade advanced technology for carbon credits this time, right?
I enjoyed the original V as a small child during the first run, and appreciated the campiness that glossed over its serious theme when I reviewed it years later. But i'm just astounded that there's so much demand for a remake...much in the same way that it happens for Invasion of the Body Snatchers every 15 years or so.

djed718 (14 years ago) Reply

i just watched the original miniseries and was well impressed with how it holds up, despite some 80's soap acting. a remake of this could be so good. i don't mind them going with some different characters because the original feels so confined, only dealing with characters in los angeles, but what i read above sounds horrible. this is a universal story about resistance fighters, typically those who were school teachers, doctors, factory workers and convenience store clerks before they were forced to fight. i want the next battlestar galactica, not the next knight rider. c'mon.

Anonymous (14 years ago) Reply

I figure that this iteration of the miniseries V will suck BIGTIME!!! It seems like whenever some of the newer generation of Directors get their hands on a Sci-Fi classic (see "BattleStar Galatica, The Day The Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, etc) they SUCK BIGTIME!!!!! It's like the directors and writers have NEVER seen the originals, nor have they even given credit to those before them who really did the movies/miniseries/shows SO well that we're still watching them INSTEAD of the newer versions! And, what's worse, this version of V has some skirt who is the version of the Male lead??? Message to ABC: SAVE YOUR MONEY! WHOEVER IS THE DIRECTOR HAS ALREADY SCREWED THE POOCH ON THIS ONE!!!!

Jeez, when will they start holding these younger people who "reimagine" the classic shows to task for the atrocities they put out?????

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