Just a quick reminder: ” V “ returns tonight at 10:02 PM ET on ABC, straight after LOST..

When last we left V, the camera zoomed out into deep space to reveal a vast fleet of Visitors’ spaceships waiting to, presumably, swarm down on an unsuspecting Earth..

A short four – episode run ended in cliffhangers galore – FBI agent Erica Evans ( Elizabeth Mitchell ) found out her son Tyler was on the mothership with head Visitor Anna ( Morena Baccarin ) and her daughter Lisa ( Laura Vandervoort ); Father Jack Landry ( Joel Gretsch ) was stabbed by a V; reporter Chad Decker ( Scott Wolf ) discovered he had a potentially fatal brain aneurysm; and Ryan ( Morris Chestnut ), a V posing as human, learned his girlfriend ( Lourdes Benedicto ) was pregnant with his half – breed baby..

ABC has offered a “ V ” recap of the first four episodes, which aired way back in November.. If you’re a ” LOST “ fan, you’ll probably recognize the voice – over: It’s the same detached, sardonic female voice who’s done the ” LOST ” recaps in past seasons.. You can watch the recap here..

Fans will notice a difference in the new episodes, as Episode 1.05 ” Welcome to the War!” is the first episode completed under new showrunner Scott Rosenbaum ( ” Chuck,” ” The Shield ” ), who took over after the first four episodes from Scott Peters..

Though V got off to strong start during its premier episode, by the end of its four – episode run it had lost a third of its audience and rumors started spreading about V being cancelled before viewers would ever get a chance to see Anna’s ( Morena Baccarin ) real skin..  Those rumors have since proved false, but it’s a sign of the times that television shows can often barely outlive these ratings ” audition “ periods..  Its also a sign of the times for series to shake – up their staff behind the scenes..

With all of this drama behind the scenes, what new developments can we expect on screen?  In a recent interview with the LA Times, Rosenbaum indicated which storyline he saw as most central to the show’s mythology:

” I never was quite sure from the first four episodes what [ the show ] was really about, outside of just ” Visitors have come..” What I told [ the studio ] about how I see it is that, at its spine, it’s really about two mothers and how far that they’re willing to go to protect their children..”

In addition to this matriarchal showdown, Rosenbaum hinted at what his version of V would bring to the table, including Erica’s ( Elizabeth Mitchell ) slip into morally ambiguous territory, more V / human trans – species pregnancies, and – in an homage to the original series’ rat – eating Vs – a nod to ” rodent desire “ that should please fans..

Not to be outdone by rat – eating and alien babies, Morena Baccarin ( ” Firefly” ” Serenity ” ” Stargate SG1 ” ) is talking up V, and the potential of seeing the Vs engage in typical human activities like ” eating, sleeping, sex..” Baccarin, who played another genocidal omnipotent leader as Adria in Stargate SG – 1 and has proved she’s a natural at making evil look good, says audiences will get a stronger sense of what motivates her character and theVs:

“  … you get into a little bit more of the why and the how.. You get a little bit more of just anatomically who they are, their physical being, and why they do the things that they do.. There are some really fun little reveals..”

While V isn’t without its flaws ( In particular the belabored CW – style teen romance between Laura Vandervoort and Logan Huffman ), we’re hoping V can survive the remainder of this season and make good on its promises.. We’ll be seeing more of the V resistance, including Michael Trucco ( ” Battlestar Galactica ” ) as Fifth Column leader John May, and Rosenbaum says ” there will be three or four huge, oh – my – God, wow … I – didn’t – see – that – coming [ moments ]..”

Because every episode of V is so heavy on special effects, ABC couldn’t make a completed version of tonight’s return episode – the first in months, and the first under new showrunner Scott Rosenbaum – available for review until late last night..

There are definite improvements in tonight’s episode: more of a sense of forward momentum from the human resistance ( And a more plausible sense that they actually have a chance against the Visitors ), some more emotional resonance for several characters who had previously been paper – thin, and a few very creepy reminders of how un – human the V‘s are..

The problem, though, is that Rosenbaum has to mostly play the hand he was dealt by the previous creative team, and there’s only so much he can fix at once, especially since ” Welcome to the War “ also has to serve as a kind of refresher course for the series after the long time away.. So we’re still stuck with Elizabeth Mitchell’s annoying teenage son getting played by the V‘s, still stuck with a cast that isn’t terribly charismatic outside of Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin, still going through the motions we expect from this story..

Are you excited for the show’s return?

Sweden is finally going to be invaded by the Visitors.. Starting Thursday 1st April 2010 @ 20:00 on the CANAL + Channel, Swedes will be getting their first glimpse of the V‘s motherships.. You can click the above image for a bigger sized image of a mothership over the capital Stockholm..