Wonderful Movie

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

In 1983, the people of Earth were going about their normal business when a fleet of 50 ships came from another planet and scared everyone! Michael Donovan (Marc Singer) a cameraman and his companion Tony Leonetti (Evan Kim) were filming the war in El Salvador when one of the alien ships floated by. Julie Parrish (Faye Grant) a young med student and Ben Taylor (Richard Lawson) were doing research on an antibiotic in the lab when the TV came on to announce the arrival. The Bernsteins, a nice Jewish family and the Maxwells, a Christian family were also going about daily life when the ships came. Robin Maxwell (Blair Tefkin) and Daniel Bernstein (David Packer) talked about how life would change for them and the earth with the aliens. Robin feared she would never lose her virginity because she thought the aliens were enemies. Polly (Vivika Davis) Robin's younger sister brought them into the house and they watched as the alien leader John (Richard Herd) came out of a fighter ship and told all the Earthlings the aliens came in peace. The aliens would help out the Earth with environmental problems and other issues if the inhabitants would help them by gathering chemicals and food the aliens would need. Julie, Donovan, and Abraham Bernstein (Leo Cimino) are unsure about this while the other humans embrace these alien saviors. Soon things begin to go downhill. Scientists are targeted as the ones who want to get rid of the aliens and there is a made up conspiracy that involves Julie, Ben, and anthropologist Robert Maxwell (Michael Durrell) the father of Robin, Polly, and little Katie. Polly is beat up at school because she wins the science fair and her mom Kathleen (Penny Windust) and Abraham come to her aid. Ruby a neighbor widow (Camilla Ashland) tells Abraham not to worry and it will pass. Abraham said he believed that in 1938 in Berlin and the Nazi trouble didn't pass and this led to the death of Abraham's wife. It doesn't help the Visitors have uniforms, guns, a symbol that resembles a swastika and Daniel has joined the Visitor Friends and wears a brown uniform like the Nazi sympathizers did! Mike Donovan's mom also becomes a sympathizer for the aliens too and so does his ex-girlfriend Christine Walsh. One night, Mike and Tony sneak aboard the ship but while following Mike, Tony trips and Mike enters the ship all alone with his camera. He sees alien scientist Diana (Jane Badler) talking to alien Steven (Andrew Prine) about the conversion process she invented to turn some of the scientists to the Visitor cause and then Steven reaches into a cage and grabs a white mouse he swallows down in one gulp! Diana goes one-up on Steven and swallows a live guinea pig whole! This explains why at a party Steven attended with the Maxwells his aversion to cooked foods and the fact when he walked by a cage of lovebirds, the birds crashed and moved around in panic! Steven's hands also feel cold to Robert too! In another room, an alien man is doing something to his eyes and it looks to Mike like he is removing or inserting contacts. Soon the eyes are revealed to be red with black slits! Mike rips off the man's mask and the big reveal is the Visitors are alien reptiles! Later on Martin (Frank Ashmore) shows Mike the captured humans in cocoons. All of them are unconscious and for some reason one of the kids is hanging upside down in a cocoon. These people will be used as cannon fodder and food. Another bad thing the Visitors are doing is stealing the water, but taking people and knocking them out to be used as food seems worse! "V" is an excellent, creepy retelling of the rise of the Nazi Party. Instead of human Nazis persecuting human Jews, there are aliens persecuting doctors and other humans! The Visitors snacking on live animals like we do on cookies is startling to say the least! All of the actors are excellent and I like this version of "V" much better than the 2009 version by a long shot!

This is the finest ever made for TV mini series I have seen. I remember watching it when originally broadcast and recently bought the DVD and re watched. Not only does it hold up, it seems better to me now than when I first saw it 29 years ago. Leonard Cimino is brilliant as the aged holocaust survivor who lost his wife in a concentration camp. He makes the most of his part and teaches us all not only how to fight, but how to love. The beautiful Faye Grant is awesome as the leader of the resistance. While there are obvious allusions to the Nazis, it is amazing how much of the story mimics today- There are allegations of "Owning the press and the news media." Civil rights and homes are lost. The visitors, with their own version of Obama's "Hope and Change" really had their own agenda, which they dare not reveal. I really enjoyed this, there was surprisingly little gore, and scenes of torture were implied, but not shown. Well done and very enjoyable.

I remember when this TV Mini-Series came out I was 12 years old, and was totally blown away. I still think this is the best TV Mini-Series ever, yes Kenneth Johnson didn't have the budget George Lucas had; but considering I still thought the special effects ROCKED. I think disguising the aliens as lizard people was awesome, compared to all the other sci-fi movies done prior; we never had aliens as lizards.The concept of aliens coming to Earth wanting to be our friends and sharing their knowledge with us, probably was a ratings hit right there. I was so into the mini-series I was glued, along with my friends and parents to the TV for three nights. The plot really heated up when Mike Donovan found out their true identity; and the real reason why they where here in the first place. The action in the film was great Donovan sneaking on board the Mothership, seeing them for what they were. The Visitor's, reptiles, who eat rodents; and who have a secret agenda for us to use us as food, train some of us as soldiers for their military and to take our water. With the help of Mike Donovan, Julie Parish, and other's we had other plans, start a resistance group with the help of the Visitor's 5th column on our side; and fight back. This movie is a classic and V-The Final Battle is a terrific follow up. These miniseries are still at the top of my list and I recommend them to anyone who likes good movies. Thanks, Kris L. CocKayne

Long before Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) assumed command of the Starship Enterprise, long before 80s prettyboy Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) had a sex change turning him into Katee Sackhoff ...there was "V".Back in the late 70s and early 80s, it was unheard of to put a woman in power (the honourable Mrs. Margaret Thatcher notwithstanding), but here we see a series that pushed the envelope. Not only was the antagonist (beautiful Jane Badler) one of the most formidable characters in scifi history, but the leader of the good guys (Faye Grant) was one tough cookie herself. Throw into the mix a few beefcakey gents with great abs and whose shirts always seem to fall off, and you've got yourself a great show for the ladies.Me, I'm actually a dude. All the same, I love shows that offer a viewpoint contrary to the usual male-dominated adventures that Hollywood churned out for the first 100 years. This was one of the first shows that really gave women proper credit for being leaders and warriors (and genocidal villains). Faye Grant delivers a particularly powerful performance as an ordinary geek who's suddenly thrust into leading the human race to salvation--not your typical born leader yet one who accepts the responsibility nonetheless and does it with passion.Jane Badler... *phew, a moment of silence for bodacious Jane Badler, please* ... all I can say is she was the fantasy gal that got me through me pre-pubescent years. Homina homina.Sure, the show has many flaws befitting an 80s TV series. It can seem cartoony at times, predictable and cheezy. But this is what made 80s TV so GREAT! Today's kids may have a tough time understanding it, but they should give it a try just the same. The overall quality and production of this miniseries was stellar, with special effects that were so colossal they were used 10 years later in the motion picture "Independence Day". Created and directed by Kenneth Johnson ("The Incredible Hulk") and musically scored by Joseph Harnell (again, "The Incredible Hulk" ...best made-for-TV music ever), this miniseries was nothing short of huge. Any kid who was alive back in 83 HAD to see this or else risk getting pummelled in school gym class.Being, I dunno, 6 years old at the time, I hardly noticed some of the complex themes this show introduced. The miniseries has a very WWII-era slant to it with many allusions to fascism, political deception and the underground movement to liberate an oppressed race. At times you feel like you could be watching a historical recount of Nazi occupation. Other times the show makes a pretty strong argument for vegetarianism, especially after you see human beings being prodded and carted off to slaughterhouses. And on an individual level we see an intricate soap opera of human behaviour, how people are driven by different passions (for better or worse) in extreme situations. The overall theme, which keeps recurring throughout the whole series, seems to be that everyone can make a difference regardless of age, sex, size or stature. This show makes you want to go out and kick some butt, fight for what you believe in, vive la resistance, or maybe I should just hold up 2 fingers and say "V". Rock on!