WEBSITE: TVOvermind.com

WRITTEN BY: Sam McPherson

DIRECT LINK: http://www.tvovermind.com/v-tv-news/v-1-12-red-sky-review/23981

V has finally sold me.. It was a long, hard sell, but I have to say that after watching ” Red Sky,” the first season finale, I’m truly happy that V got picked up for a second season.. I was fairly content with it with ABC announced it at upfronts, but now, I’m definitely excited, FlashForward or no FlashForward.. The characterization for ” Red Sky “ was top notch, and I honestly can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about the episode.. Well, they refused to show us Valerie and Ryan’s baby, one of the biggest cop – outs in history.. But other than that, I found V to be a worthwhile watch, and was honestly better than the preceding episode of LOST, at least as far as pulse – pounding octane goes..

I’ll get straight to watch we’re all thinking: Why is the sky red? Anna, angered by the murder of her soldier eggs, decided to up the ante on humanity by having their off – planet ships ( Who seem a lot closer than they did last time ) turn the sky a bright red.. Is this just a fear tactic used to get the humans to surrender, or is it some sort of toxin that kills humans? I’m hoping it’s the former, because if it’s the latter, season two is going to be a lot shorter than thirteen episodes..

But for some characters, season two won’t happen.. Valerie is one of those who won’t be seeing the ( Red ) light of day, after Anna gave her a fatal injection after the delivery of her baby.. Of course, this will have some further play in the story, but it seems more and more like Valerie’s purpose on the series was to get pregnant and die.. Her death really threw Ryan off the deep end, though, and before long, Anna will have him eating out of her hand..

Chad Decker was also instrumental in the story, but not in a good way.. His meddling led to the death of Joshua, but he was also able to discover the true nature of the Visitors.. Anna seemed to realize this when she met him after her dinner with Tyler, Lisa, and Erica, and she put it in no uncertain terms that he needs the Visitors.. Especially if what Joshua said is true and the Vistors gave him an aneurysm..

Lisa’s character was fantastic in this episode, and they really played the conflict between her love for Tyler and her love for her Mother in the episode, but it seems her love for Tyler was stronger – though her actions will definitely leave her with deep regrets, especially after watching her mother’s pain at the end of the episode.. And with Joshua calling her his queen? I’m expecting some interesting development there..

I’m really cutting this review short and not giving it the justice it deserves, but this episode was definitely the best of the season and left me wanting a season two.. A+..

Posted on - 19-05-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: DenofGeek.com

WRITTEN BY: Ron Hogan

DIRECT LINK: http://www.denofgeek.com/television/483071/v_episode_11_review.html

The one thing you can say for V is that it is never consistent.. Usually, that’s been a bad thing, as episodes have varied wildly in tone, filming style, lead character, script quality, acting quality, and ( Especially ) direction of the show.. It is a soap opera with aliens? Is it sci – fi 24? Is it a scathing satire of modern media mixed with a police procedural? I don’t know..

Actually, I’m still not sure, but I can say there’s been, for the first time since the first two episodes, two really good episodes of V in a row..

One of the strange things about the show is that every week I was sure that Tyler and Lisa were the weakest members of the ensemble.. However, the more they get put into the background ( Or at least used properly ), the more I see they’re actually not bad from an acting standpoint, or from character standpoints..

They’re useful plot pendulums when used by good writers, and this week’s combination of writers ( Including show runner Scott Rosenbaum and Gregg Hurwitz, who penned last week’s excellent episode ) made really good use of the two.. Lisa, in particular, was handled very well as a tool for both Anna and Erica to manipulate..

This week’s show was all about dichotomy, both featuring it prominently and actually showing it on screen.. For instance, Lisa torn between her real mom and fear of said real mom, and Erica, who represents a loving mother, her loving boyfriend, and loving love.. Anna definitely playing both sides, as she has all along, using her daughter’s pretty slashed face and mangled limbs to her advantage.. Erica is both working for the V‘s and for the Fifth Column.. How much longer can she maintain the role?

The scene in which Erica, Anna, and Lisa are all in the interrogation room, while Lisa anxiously tries to decide if she’ll finger the man her mother wants her to frame, was some legitimately tense, really well – done television the likes of which this show has done too little of over its premier season..

Is Hobbes playing both sides, perhaps? What’s his true motivation? He’s edging dangerously close to double – crossing his fellow Fifth Column, despite the fact that the Visitors seem to have it out for him and want to frame him for everything from terrorism to jaywalking..

Speaking of true motivations, Chad Decker knows he’s being manipulated, and plays along in spite of this, but to what end? Is he all about ratings? Does he have some idea of what he’s trifling with? Will he cave in to Anna’s latest public relations campaign attempts?

Plus, there’s always Morris Chestnut.. Ryan started out as an emotionless lizard, but developed love for Valerie.. Now his love is his greatest weakness.. Will he take Hobbes’ advice and burn the love out before it ends the Fifth Column in New York? Will he succumb to Anna’s bliss once again thanks to the advice of an amoral sociopath? More importantly, will Morris Chestnut ever return to not sucking every time he’s forced to do something close to acting? ( Seriously, he’s starting to drag the show down when he’s given any emoting to do.. There’s underplaying it, and then there’s not having a pulse )..

One of the positive things you can say for the show is that, since the new staff have taken over, they’ve done their best to put things back on track, balance the various storylines, and do some serious juggling..

Erica is back as the show’s primary mover and shaker, while the other characters are falling nicely into the niches prepared for them.. Plus, we’re actually getting some teasers for stuff I want to see happen, and the all – important end – of – season – wrap – ups for stuff I’m ready to be rid of..

For one, Anna’s soldier eggs are threatening to hatch, and Lisa is threatening to get pro-choice on their unscrambled asses.. While the egg scenes this week looked dodgy, this would be a great opportunity for Laura Vandervoort to get soaked in green slime..

There’s also the V fleet on the cusp of entering our solar system, which Anna will have to hide from the world by using more of her contacts, thereby giving her and Chad more chance to spar mentally..

Plus, Hobbes is approaching the delightfully evil Marcus to save his own bacon and fatten his bottom line ( Or so they’ve teased.. Will they really let the show’s best character walk away? )..

Oh yeah, there’s also the issue of Val’s lizard baby, which is finally starting to hatch / crown / whatever, the reptile – killing deus ex machina Hobbes has the formula for in his possession, and the only question that really has to be answered by next week’s episode: Will the show be renewed for next season, and does it deserve to be renewed?

Two weeks ago, I would’ve said no.. Until last week’s episode, I was basically counting the days down until the show was over so I could find something else to do with my Tuesday 10:00pm hour, but now?

I think if ABC chooses to bring the show back for a second season, I’ll be around for the ride.. Unless they really drop the ball in the upcoming season finale, which is always a possibility, I think the show is moving into a good direction and I’d like to see how Rosenbaum and company play out these plot strings..

Posted on - 12-05-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: Mania.com

WRITTEN BY: Kurt Anthony Krug

DIRECT LINK: http://www.mania.com/v-fruition-review_article_122513.html

The ending alone deserves an A- for delivering an excellent capper on an excellent episode as we move into the season finale next week..

As part of her campaign to sway the human race to her side, Queen Anna ( Morena Baccarin ) has her own daughter Lisa ( Laura Vandervoort ) brutally beaten and frames Kyle Hobbes ( Charles Mesure ) and Prof. Lawrence Parker, who is working on a bio – weapon that is a threat to the V‘s.. Anna shows up Lisa before the media, eliciting sympathy and revealing that her people will leave Earth.. To make good on this, she orders one of her 29 ships to leave the planet..

FBI Agent Erica Evans ( Elizabeth Mitchell ) and Anna appear for the first time on – screen together throughout the course of this series.. It’s interesting to learn that Erica didn’t know Lisa was an alien, nor is she aware or unaware that her son Tyler ( Logan Huffman ) knows this.. Speaking of Erica, it’s pretty gutsy of her to be calling her cohorts in the Fifth Column from FBI HQ.. They can’t trace anything back to her? Just an observation..

What makes this show intriguing are how the characters’ loyalties are put to the test; you don’t know which way they’ll go, which makes for exciting television.. In Lisa’s case, she’s developing human emotions and is willing to screw over an innocent man, fearing what her mother can do to her.. This comes when you think she’ll do the right thing..

Chad Decker ( Scott Wolf ) realizes Anna purposely leaves him out of the loop, believing he’d make a desperate plea to the people about Anna and the Vs – and it works.. Anna also wants Chad to give up his informant, who happens to be Fr. Jack ( Joel Gretsch ), a member of the Fifth Column..

Perhaps the best character arc this episode is Hobbes.. He steals the hard drive from Parker’s computer, which contains his research on the bio – weapon, and informs Marcus ( Christopher Shyer ), Anna’s aide de camp, about it.. In exchange, he wants the Vs to leave him alone and a boatload of money.. Can’t blame the man..

There are a few more clever twists in this episode:

* Val’s ( Lourdes Benedicto ) water breaks.. Her unborn child is a half – human / half – alien hybrid, which is a threat to the Vs..
* Erica plans on fighting fire with fire, using Lisa to become closer to Anna..
* FBI Agent Sarita Malik ( Rekha Sharma ), herself an alien incognito, suspects there’s more going on to Erica than meets the eye..
* Anna’s army of super – soldiers is ready to hatch, which could crush the Fifth Column effortlessly..
* Anna’s ” bliss ” effect doesn’t affect members of her race with human emotions, which includes Lisa..

It would appear that a lot of the momentum V lost once it went on hiatus for a good five months is being made up for with a vengeance.. Unlike FlashForward, this show has been cranking out some strong episodes and hasn’t turned into a convoluted mess like FlashForward has, sadly.. If only one of the two can get renewed, it really should be V..

An open appeal to ABC: Please renew V for a second season.. If you can’t do that, please make sure that the season finale ties up all the loose ends of an otherwise excellent and exciting but underrated series.. You owe the fans that much..

Posted on - 12-05-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: TVFanatic.com

WRITTEN BY: Mrs. Northman

DIRECT LINK: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/04/v-review-we-cant-win/#more

With a title like last night’s episode, ” We Can’t Win,” one must wonder how any resistance member would have the slightest hope to defeat the Visitors..

Call us crazy, but we still think that the resistance can win! Why do you think the sniper was so certain that the humans will lose against the Visitors?

Each week we learn more and more about the Visitors and how the resistance is building – slowly but surely – against them – but we still don’t know why? Why did the Visitors come to earth and pretend to be good when they have the ability and means to kill us all in an instant? Why put forth so much effort – especially if you lack any emotion?

Off topic – how gross was the opening dream sequence Chad had about Anna? Does this mean he wants to get it on with her? We think she is by far the creepiest character ever – on any show!

It was interesting to find out that Lisa is gaining human emotion.. Now the question at hand would be if she has enough emotion to become one of the good guys and fight against her own mother.. This situation will probably be one of the most important circumstances that will decide the fate of the human race..

One part that had us confused would be why Lisa’s relationship with Tyler is so important to Anna and the Visitor’s race? We still have so much to learn about the Visitor’s and what it is they are after..

Valerie’s pregnancy really has us on the edge of our seats! We foresee a baby alien bursting through her stomach ( Yes, we know it is very Alien like – but hey! Isn’t that what is inside her!?).. Since the baby will be half human – do you think it will look human or like a little baby lizard? We have a feeling this baby is going to look really creepy!

This pregnancy brings up a great question – how on earth did Ryan get on board, kill the Visitor, and escape with Valerie – without a single Visitor even batting a warning eye? Does Ryan have super alien powers we are not aware of – or did the writers fall a bit short on the realism here?

We love this show and the suspense it keeps us in each week..

Posted on - 22-04-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: DenofGeek.com

WRITTEN BY: Ron Hogan

DIRECT LINK: http://www.denofgeek.com/television/468646/v_episode_8_review.html

The title of this week’s episode of V, We Can’t Win, works on a couple of levels.. On one hand, it provided one of this week’s only highlights, in the form of a human sympathizer with the Visitors who sided with our reptilian overlords because, as he says when being smacked around by Hobbes and badgered by Erica, ” We can’t win..” After all, they’re aliens with super technology, space ships, and scales.. How can humans beat that?

On the other hand, it also kind of sums up the feelings of all the people who, like me, are still sticking with the show.. We can’t win, either..

V started off strongly, but since then the show has gone way downhill.. The dialog is laughably bad ( Especially since the change in direction ), the show changed behind – the – scenes crew completely, the season was cut in twain by the Olympics, and it’s probably fairly expensive to put together.. Thus, it’s likely this will be V‘s only season unless the folks behind the show send Morena Baccarin and Laura Vandervoort to Disney CEO Robert Iger’s office with a kiddie pool full of jello to convince him to give the show a second season..

This show is just getting bad.. Like, spectacularly bad.. Even when they do something right ( Split up the Fab Four ), they end up doing something worse to make up for it ( Bring the Fab Four back together again almost immediately, give Lisa and Tyler most of the screen time for the episode, introduce a new plot device character who can’t die fast enough for me )..

This week, Anna and her pet journalist Chad are heading to some sort of fake United Nations conference in Geneva, where Anna wishes to make a presentation.. Of course, in a shocking display of realism, because she’s not invited, she’s not allowed to meet with the assembled.. At least, not until she exploits a world tragedy ( A tsunami crushing a small island ) for her own political gain.. Then she’s allowed to speak and reveal to the world the V‘s latest and greatest gift, blue energy.. It’s kind of like a giant pile of blue spaghetti, or a foam party in Smurf Village, except it’s electricity..

Meanwhile, a Fifth Column sect gets busted up by a V assassin and, given they’re considered terrorists, that means Erica is dispatched to deal with the crime scene.. Given pregnant girlfriend found out she’s carrying a komodo fetus and split at the end of last episode, Ryan’s off looking for her.. Father Jack, Action Priest, is hitting up the father of the lone survivor of the Visitors’ latest massacre to find out where the son is hiding.. Thankfully, everyone’s split up doing their own thing.. Huzzah!

Of course, it’s not five minutes later that they’re convening an emergency meeting to get together and talk.. There’s also a chance for Ryan to act all melodramatic about his missing girlfriend and his spacebaby.. Sigh..

Remember how I mentioned that this show seemed to be adding more Lisa and Tyler? They literally get half an hour this week of precious show time devoted to their love subplot.. Tyler’s reeling from the news that his father isn’t really Krychek.. ( Or maybe Krychek is Tyler’s daddy, but for some reason it doesn’t look that way on blood tests.. I doubt they’d make Agent Erica slutty enough to cheat on her husband, because that’d add too much roundness to her character and Elizabeth Mitchell might roll on back to Lost island before that show ends )..

His mom’s off hanging out in the warehouse district with a giant black dude, a priest, and an English terrorist, so she’s no help.. So, Tyler turns to Lisa for comfort, leaps to the front of the Live Aboard Program, and boldly goes where no man has gone before: into Lisa’s pants..

That’s right, after all that talking and plotting, all those moments with soft music and meaningful looks, and we finally get some interspecies nastification ( Aside from Ryan and Pregnant Girlfriend’s implied sex )..

Of course, the reason why we get some movement on that front ( Aside from giving the director an excuse to get Laura Vandervoort into her bra on camera ) is because Lisa’s spent too much time in her meatsuit and she’s starting to fall for Tyler.. She even fails Joshua / Anna’s Clockwork Orange humanity test and everything!

Of course, this means Lisa has something in common with Joshua and Ryan, which, in turn, gives them a weapon against Anna, or at least another weapon against her.. Of course, Anna’s got weapons of her own, and her alien caviar is about to become an omelet of destruction, as next week the teaser has promised us the appearance of the V soldiers and some anonymous room being trashed..

I imagine that’ll be about five minutes of the show, with the other 40 being dedicated to Father Jack, Action Priest, taking confessions and Tyler and Lisa making goo – goo saucer eyes at one another..

I’ve lost all hope for this show.. The show’s few moments of decency are buried beneath an avalanche of salamander scat.. There’s nothing they can do to save it ratings – wise, and obviously they’ve decided that they’re no longer going to try to make it entertaining, either..

The only thing I can really hope for is they’ll somehow wrap it all up in the remaining four episodes of the season, or do something spectacularly crazy to get my interest again.. I mean, someone’s got to eat a bag of rodents, there needs to be an egg – baby with a lizard tail, and Robert Englund needs at least one cameo as Willie before it’s all over.. If you must, recast Robert Englund with Jackie Earle Haley as Willie.. I can at least accept that, and it’d be a great Nightmare On Elm Street tie – in!

I’m sure that’s too much to ask..

Posted on - 21-04-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: Mania.com

WRITTEN BY: Kurt Anthony Krug

DIRECT LINK: http://www.mania.com/v-cant-win-review_article_122030.html

” We Can’t Win “ is – head and shoulders – the best episode of the re – imagined V, given that it had plenty of edge – of – your – seat, WTF moments.. It also had less than the usual approximately 42 minutes ( San commercials in an hour – long drama ) to make an impact since LOST ran two minutes over its timeslot, which it did, speaking for everyone involved’s commitment to a quality show..

The subplot between Erica Evans ( Elizabeth Mitchell ) and her son Tyler ( Logan Huffman ) is getting stale, let’s get that on the table first.. Fans of the show are sick of seeing her cry every time she tries to get through to her mule – headed son.. The issue of Tyler’s parentage has been brought into question, but now Erica swears Joe Evans ( Nicholas Lea of X – Files fame ) is his dad.. Hmmm, is this a quick and dirty way of tying off that loose end since V’s on the bubble?

Regardless, they didn’t spend much time on it, mercifully.. If anything, it moved in a positive direction as Tyler went to be with his alien girlfriend Lisa ( Laura Vandervoort ), which moved in a cool direction as Lisa failed the empathy test orchestrated by her mother Anna ( Morena Baccarin ).. The test is given to see who is developing human emotions among her people.. If they fail, they die..

That was an interesting twist.. To up the stakes, not only do Lisa and Tyler get it on in what is their first time, empathy test coordinator Joshua ( Guest star Mark Hildreth, Wolverine & The X – Men ) lies to Anna about the results of Lisa’s empathy test.. Joshua, a Fifth Columnist, tells Lisa that she owes him a favor, which he aims to collect..

Speaking of the Fifth Column, those poor slobs are getting picked off due to Anna’s plan of getting them out into the open after the ” John May Lives “ subliminal message in her global telecast from a few episodes back..

Kyle Hobbes ( Guest star Charles Mesure, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ) is by far the best part of this series and the most interesting character – and he’s only a recurring character ( Hey, ABC, make him a regular already – geez ).. He gets the award for best quote this week – ” Guy’s a lousy shot.. No wonder why the Vs are winning..” Michael Ironside, who played anti – hero Hamilton Tyler in the original V, has nothing on anti – hero Hobbes..

Erica’s band of freedom fighters manages to capture an assassin working for the Vs named Samuel ( Guest star Lucas Wolf, Stargate SG – 1 and the Homeworld video games ).. Hobbes is getting all giddy at the prospect of torturing this poor alien, which would make Jack Bauer green with envy.. But wait! The kicker is Samuel’s actually a human.. He’s working for the opposition because he believes the humans can’t win..

Two other subplots that are really heating up involve Chad Decker ( Scott Wolf ) and Val Stevens ( Lourdes Benedicto ).. Chad’s story opens up with him and Anna about to have sex, but it never gets past Anna’s rough foreplay ( She starts choking him ) because it’s a fevered dream.. He realizes the Vs are here to stay and confronts Anna, asking if she’s here for her people’s benefit or the humans’ benefit after she gives the people of Timbal her race’s blue energy technology ( It repairs that country’s infrastructure after it’s devastated by a hurricane ).. Anna doesn’t answer, but says she needs people she can trust..

Val, who’s carrying Ryan’s ( Morris Chestnut ) baby, a human / lizard hybrid, is on the run from Ryan as her complicated pregnancy worsens.. She checks herself into a V Healing Center, which is a scary moment because she is grave danger once Anna learns of the child in her womb.. Definitely the stakes are getting upped as the season speeds to its finale..

And may the upcoming finale be a season finale, not a series finale..

Posted on - 21-04-2010
Categories: Advertisment, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: TVOvermind.com

WRITTEN BY: Sam McPherson

DIRECT LINK: http://www.tvovermind.com/v-tv-news/v-1-07-john-may-review/21915

” John May “ was the episode that fixed all my complaints about ” Welcome to the War..” I found myself actually caring about the characters and their struggles.. First, though, I would like to take a moment to remember Georgie, who died a valiant death that was one of the saddest I’ve seen on television in a long time.. Perhaps the person who was most dedicated to taking down the Vs, I had figured Georgie would die simply because he wasn’t a member of the main cast.. However, that didn’t make his death any less emotionally taxing, and I was really sad to see him go.. However, it was the best death that the character possibly could have gotten: to go on his own terms before he could compromise his friends.. David Richmond – Peck really did a good job with the character, and I hope we’ll get to see him in some capacity in the future.. After all, Georgie did tell Father Jack he’d ” see him around..”

The episode, however, mostly focused on Ryan Nichols ( Morris Chestnut ) as he flashed back to his past – and eventual murder – of John May, the resistance fighter.. After all, we had to find out how Ryan defected sometime, and John May’s recruitment of Ryan wasn’t sugar-coated.. After all, Ryan didn’t fully change sides until he was at John’s funeral.. Of course, this entire storyline gives a tinge of irony to the phrase ” John May Lives,” but it also gives May a much larger – than – life effect than he had ( In our eyes ) before this episode..

Imagine having to explain that to John May’s stepson, which is exactly what Ryan had to do in this episode in the present time, after Erica fought off the stepson’s clawed, V – in – disguise girlfriend.. This was all in keeping with the plan to rescue Georgie, which, as you know by now, failed..

Ryan had bigger fish to fry than John May’s stepson, though.. His girlfriend, Valerie, found a safe full of his secrets in their closet ( By horrible, horrible coincidence ), including the real ultrasound of her tailed baby.. Ignoring Ryan’s call, she left, taking the files and going on the run.. I expect that she’ll play a pretty major part in the next episode, and I’m interested to see who she turns to.. My guess? The OBGYN who was secretly helping Ryan falsify the ultrasounds to Valerie..

Erica had a similar problem with Tyler, who found out that who he thought was his dad wasn’t really.. After finding this out ( Prodded by the conniving Lisa ), Tyler confronted his mother at home.. Despite her pleading with him to understand that she didn’t think the tests were right ( It really is awful to see Elizabeth Mitchell cry ), Tyler decided to run into his room and scream “I thought I could trust you!” at his mother.. That usually solves all your problems, Tyler.. ( Of course, as we saw from the promo, he’s going to get some other problems solved by Lisa )..

The episode was, overall, a huge improvement from the show’s return two episodes ago.. Will it be enough to keep the series afloat? I’m not sure, but it was definitely worthy of an A-..

Posted on - 14-04-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, Spoilers, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: IGN.com

WRITTEN BY: Eric Goldman

DIRECT LINK: http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/108/1082252p1.html

This was an okay episode with a couple of cool moments, but also a few groan – worthy plot points.. However, it was good to at least see a few of the storylines begin to meld together a bit more..

Until now, Chad had been very separate from the other characters, with the notable exception of Anna.. Here though, he came on Jack’s radar in a big way, leading to a couple of good scenes between the two.. Their first encounter especially amused me, as Chad said the reason he’d put off beginning his medical treatment was, ” We’re telling the story in five parts for sweeps..” Ah Chad, so ratings – obsessed! That being said, Jack’s observation that Chad obviously had some suspicions, or he wouldn’t have come to see Jack again, was a smart one – and it should be fun to see how Chad Decker, pseudo – spy, goes, as Chad has agreed to do his own, more discreet, look into what’s going on in the medical centers..

Ryan’s storyline began with a whopper of a coincidence – having Ryan specifically be the one most against trying to get on the mothership, only for him to just then have a medical crisis with Valerie that could only be solved by going on the mothership just felt silly and contrived.. That being said, there was some better material with Ryan that followed, including the bit of a heist – movie scenario it took to get him on the ship.. But my favorite scene with Ryan, and probably the best of the whole episode, was when Joshua revealed himself as a fellow Fifth Column member to Ryan – I’m sure I wasn’t the only one waiting for Joshua to turn around and kill the V, Samuel, accompanying him, so it was a nice little twist to discover Samuel in fact was Fifth Column himself..

Poor Joshua – that dude keeps being told to skin Visitors who are his allies; or would be, if he could just get them away from Anna.. It was also interesting to see how Anna’s method of finding out who is loyal to her – which includes getting her people to kill themselves – is so extreme, it even bugs her usually creepy right hand man, Marcus..

Meanwhile, as much as I like seeing Nicholas Lea ( Big X-Files fan here ), I’m very hesitant about his storyline, including Tyler’s whole, ” It’s my fault Mom and Dad split up “ subplot.. Hearing Joe ( Lea ) tell Erica, ” It’s time that we told him the truth about who he really is,” gives me a lot of pause, simply because if it at all involves the Visitors, it will be a huge retcon I can’t see meshing with what we know of Erica so far, and if it doesn’t ( Tyler’s… adopted! Or one of his parent’s is someone other than Erica or Joe! ) it’s difficult to imagine it having much impact.. But we shall see – hopefully this storyline can bring a real surprise with it..

When Georgie got caught at the end, it looked like it was the end for the character – who after all, isn’t a series regular.. But lo and behold, he actually is still alive at the end, setting up the rescue attempt our heroes will be trying for next week.. I’m crossing my fingers for Georgie, who does bring the show a solid everyman sensibility..

Last but not least, we got another attention-getting moment with Valerie here, as we saw her baby pulsating beneath her skin.. Very creepy and cool.. And Joshua noting, ” There’s no going back, ever,” with the changes Ryan was going to cause to save her and the baby raises more questions about just what’s in store for Valerie – who has gone from the most forgettable character to one who has a lot of intriguing elements around her..

Rating: 7.8 out of 10..

Posted on - 09-04-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

Posted on - 09-04-2010
Categories: Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series, Video - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -

WEBSITE: TheHDRoom.com

WRITTEN BY: Aidan Brack

DIRECT LINK: http://www.thehdroom.com/news/V_Season_1_Episode_5_Review_Welcome_to_the_War/6527

Back when V premiered last fall I wrote that ABC’s scheduling strategy of breaking the show up into small clusters of episodes broadcast months apart was ill – advised.. In its first four episodes V showed a lot of promise but it seemed to stop just as its momentum was beginning to build leading me to wonder if it had done enough to draw back its audience after such a long break..

The show returned after its lengthy hiatus and the good news is that the fifth episode is the tightest, most interesting installment to date.. Each character’s storyline is picked up and all were given something significant to do, moving them forward.. No small feat given the number of ongoing storylines.. More impressive still was that the episode even found time to introduce a brand new character, gun – for – hire Kyle Hobbes..

Although he is only in two scenes, Hobbes already seems more interesting than several of the show’s more established characters.. This is a man who is not motivated by any sense of personal responsibility but rather by the money he can make.. Even when it is made clear to him that he has a lot personally at stake in what happens he sticks to his demand for payment in exchange for his help.. This outlook sets him apart from the other main characters and will hopefully add to the tensions within the group..

Returning to the ongoing storylines, the most pressing at the start of the episode is that of Father Jack who had been stabbed by a rogue Visitor.. Those injuries are quickly healed in this episode as he is taken to a Visitor health clinic to be treated.. However in doing so, the physicians inject him with a dose of the R6 drug.. Later in the episode we learn what this actually is and it becomes clear that there will be problems ahead for Jack.. Unfortunately Joel Gretsch doesn’t get much to do beyond lying on a stretcher and looking terrified for most of the episode..

Perhaps the most exciting story element that the previous episode had set up was Valerie’s discovery that she is pregnant with Ryan’s baby.. Of course she remains oblivious to the fact that her fiancé is an alien and it quickly becomes clear that something is going very, very wrong with her pregnancy.. Not only does she develop an insatiable appetite but she starts to get some very strange cravings.. This culminates in a scene that is not only a delightful nod to the original mini – series but that builds anticipation for what is to come..

I also enjoyed Erica’s storyline in which she tried to persuade her son Tyler to leave the Visitor compound and return home, although I cannot seem to shake off the feeling that Tyler remains the most bland and uninteresting character in the series.. I think the root of the problem is that while other characters have conflicted emotions or are in challenging situations, Tyler seems utterly straightforward which makes him harder to sympathize with.. This episode does go some way towards giving us a clearer sense of the character’s background in the brief flashback scenes we see when he is aboard the Visitor mothership and hopefully future episodes will use some of these details to show us more sides of the character..

Of his scenes in this episode, the best comes towards the end when he returns home to talk to his mother about his involvement with the Visitors.. What works so beautifully in this scene is that it is played on two different levels in which Tyler is attempting to have a heart – to – heart conversation with his mother whilst she chooses her words carefully, aware that the Visitors will be able to hear and see everything she says to Tyler..

Elsewhere journalist Chad Decker is still trying to come to terms with a diagnosis he received from Visitor doctors that said he would develop an aneurysm that human medicine would be unable to cure.. This leads to him having to make a difficult decision whether to make another deal with Anna to secure treatment or to dismiss the Visitor reports and not take them seriously..

Chad’s decision ends up being fairly predictable given what we already know of the character but I still enjoyed the build up in which Anna attempts to manipulate him into trading a positive story about the Visitor health centers for his medical treatment..

Scenes between the two characters become battles of will in which each attempts to manipulate the other, each believing that they understand the other better than they actually do.. Whereas it was clear that the Visitors had the upper hand in the original mini – series in their dealings with the journalist they brought on board as their spokesperson, here Chad holds his own and is capable of getting his own way.. It makes for an interesting dynamic and the source of some significant tension..

I did feel somewhat disappointed in the episode’s closing scene however in which Anna mates with one of her male underlings.. The set – up for this seems really quite interesting as she picks out her favored partner from a line – up.. Like her conversation with Chad, we already know where this is headed the minute we see the expression on his face but whereas that scene contained some fun dialog and banter, the mating sequence that follows seems awkward and forced culminating in a pretty horrible effects shot that undercut any sense of horror that scene might otherwise have generated..

For the most part though the episode is certainly one of the strongest entries to date and sets things up nicely for this latest run of episodes.. I am intrigued to see what happens with the pregnancy and also how the introduction of Hobbes will affect the dynamics within the rebel group..

One thing I am certain of though is that the gap between episodes of V has been far too long and I, for one, am glad to see it return..

Posted on - 05-04-2010
Categories: Articles, Episode, Reviews, V: The New Series - Author: madbeeotch - Comments: Leave a Comment -