Will "V" turn into "W" for WASTE of time?

I tuned in last night for the first episode of the remake of the 1980s television series V. I like to think of myself as an optimistic sci-fi geek, but I must say the first episode did not leave me wanting more.

Aside from being overly melodramatic and predictable, the show is not very suspenseful. It feels like it has been done before. Oh, wait, yes it has been, right? But I am not even speaking of the original V television series. The whole feel of the show has a strong sense of deja vu. In fact, at one point a character compares the arrival of the alien ships to the movie Independence Day. Bingo.

The problem with the first episode is that there is an attempt to wow the audience with everything that has been done before. The script is not offering anything new. Yes, one can argue that nothing is really brand new when you consider everything that has been done already in the genre of science fiction.

But even to take an idea or theme that has been rehashed many times before and approach it from a different angle offers the audience something refreshing. With shows like Lost and Fringe on the scene, the producers of V will have to try much harder to build a loyal audience. The show does display some sparks of promise. Casting Elizabeth Mitchell as the main character (Erica Evans) is one of them. However, even her strong presence cannot save a weak script.


Creating remakes is tricky business. If the original show is campy then the new one has to overcome that reputation - at least with the audience who remembers the old shows. And in this day and age of the Internet, cable, satellite, and DVDs, younger audiences are exposed to older television series as well. On the other hand, if the original show was of top quality, then the remake has to outdo the original without offending the old fan base.

Let's face it, the original V television series was campy. But it was an idea that, at the time, did not seem overdone. We still had a lot of tolerance for predictable plots of possible alien takeovers. But what will the new V offer? Can it take an older idea and breath new life into it? Can the show find parallels to our society today that will connect to a discriminating audience? Or will the show simply swirl into an abyss of cliche and predictability? Given the first episode, I think the swirling has just begun. I hope I am proven wrong. We need more good science fiction on during prime time. Fringe is great, but where are the damn aliens?