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
