US – Saturday, March 20
The week's releases
Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.
 
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THE WEEK THAT WAS
This week, the news community ate up the story of world’s fattest mom Donna Simpson — who, reports claim, actually hopes to increase her already ample girth to claim a new record.
 
James admits to ‘poor judgment’
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Published 18:06, November the 1st, 2009
 
FROM LEFT, JOEL GRETSCH, LOURDES BENEDICTO, LOGAN HUFFMAN, ELIZABETH MITCHELL, MORENA BACCARIN, SCOTT WOLF and MORRIS CHESTNUTFROM LEFT, JOEL GRETSCH, LOURDES BENEDICTO, LOGAN HUFFMAN, ELIZABETH MITCHELL, MORENA BACCARIN, SCOTT WOLF and MORRIS CHESTNUT
Photo: ABC/BOB D'AMICO
 

Strange Visitors who are kind of familiar

>The aliens who ‘come in peace’ in the new drama ‘V’ are very similar to those from the original 1983 miniseries >Updating the themes of fear and paranoia meant examining the post-9/11 definition of ‘enemy’

From the stars

“V” star Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays an FBI counter-terrorism agent intent on learning the Visitors’ true motives, was a fan of the original miniseries.

“I did watch the show when I was kid,” she says. “I think I was about 13. I was allowed to watch an hour of television with my parents. I really liked it. I liked the escape of it, and I liked the entertainment of it. It was a fun night for me.”

She hopes the modern “V” has the lure to bring families together, too.

“We kind of made a celebration of [watching the show together], and I hope that other teenagers will do that with their parents,” she says.

“It’s something that kids don’t do as much anymore. Oh, my God — I sound like I’m 80,” she adds, laughing.

Scott Wolf portrays a TV journalist, Chad Decker, who is chosen by the Visitors to sit down for an exclusive interview with their leader in the “V” pilot. Though Wolf views his character as a legitimate newsman, the prospect of career advancement quickly gets in the way of his journalism ethics.

“I think he’s a guy who’s had success doing what he’s doing, but he sees himself a lot further along than he’s been able to get thus far,” Wolf explains of his character. “Amongst all the different themes that our producers and writers are dealing with, one of them is integrity versus ambition, and this guy’s incredibly ambitious. But there’s also a sense of wanting to be a great journalist and be a voice for people so that when spaceships descend over the major cities of the world … he wants people to think, ‘What is Chad Decker saying about this?’"

 

Humans don’t seem to have any problem with space invaders. In fact, considering the success of “District 9,” we love the idea of a bunch of aliens hovering in giant spaceships over our major cities.
That’s exactly what the team behind “V” is banking on.

Adapted from the popular sci-fi miniseries that originally aired on NBC in 1983, the new “V” is a weekly series chronicling the arrival of aliens (aka Visitors) on Earth. It closely follows the plot of its predecessor: The Visitors first make contact by flying giant spacecraft over the world’s metropolitan areas. Their beautiful, poised leader, Anna (Morena Baccarin), relays their need to replenish their water supply, and in exchange they’ll offer humans their advanced technology. And, of course, they “are of peace.”

“We made sure that we honored and respected the characters and the themes that [the original] envisioned and introduced brand new characters and brand new themes that would make sense in a post-9/11 world,” says Scott Peters, creator of the update. 

The themes of fear and paranoia take on very different contexts in 2009, and tapping into that meant reflecting on the identity of the modern “enemy.”

“The original series, to me, felt very much like a military show — there was a clear and present enemy,” says executive producer Jeffrey Bell. “Post-9/11 … there is no other single threat. It’s terrorists ... or the woman next door. [In ‘V’] we have humans, and we have humans who are traitors, and we have Visitors who have a nefarious agenda, and we have Visitors who are heroes. Not knowing who or what someone is [plays into] the paranoia that we all experience.”

“V”premieres on Tuesday night at 8 on ABC

 
 
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MMMpod
The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.
 
 
 
Metro Life Panel