User reviews

This series had a lot going against it - plot holes the size of meteor craters (why don't the visitors just condition Rev. Turney into giving up the location of the rebel camp?, for instance), some of the cheesiest dialogue heard outside of a Kung Fu movie, special effects that where horrible even in 1984. So how come it captivated me so? It was charming. I felt, when I saw it, that cast & crew alike really had a good time doing this show, and those things rub off. But more important, the series had SCOPE and ORIGINALITY. The creators weren't afraid to take on really heavy topics, and they did it in a way that hasn't been seen before, nor after.

It's Liberation Day, a year after driving the aliens from Earth. The mother ship has been captured and being examined by scientists. Elizabeth has superpowers. Diana is on trial. While the situation seems to be going well, dangers persist. The aliens are bound to return.

It is 19 episodes and the last gasp of the original V. It follows two years of mini-series. The first season has a great premise but the second season falters a bit. Recently, I watch this again after three and a half decades. It's better than I remember. This 19 episode season is an improvement over the second mini-series Final Battle. It still has some issues with the scale of the TV production. The story logic is better although they still do the thing where the human rebels are always able to sneak in and win despite overwhelming odds. It's the 80's and realism is rarely on TV. It's canceled after one year. It's 25 years before they try rebooting the franchise. At the end of the day, it's fun 80's sci-fi and is still watchable today.

This series of V was very different to the Mini-Series and The Final Battle episodes. The original series was action packed but it was an allegory of the problems in Germany in the 40's when the Nazi's were stepping on people. The original series explored a lot of issues such as the fight between good and evil and the destructive nature of man.

This series did away with most of the above and instead concentrated on producing action, chases, explosions etc.

Old favourites such as Willie, Ham Tyler and Mike Donovan were back. And of course, the wicked Diana was back (looking beautiful than ever). Joining the show were the likes of Lydia who was a rival to Diana and the mysterious Charles.

The shows were very good producing loads of action. It was a good show if a little short-lived. Let's hope a follow up is done one day because the final episode did leave a lot of loose ends to be tied.

I first saw "V-The Series" when I was only 8 years old. As violent and gruesome as the critics thought it was, my mother let me watch it because it really wasn't all that bad. The series captivated me, as did my favorite movie at the time: "Return Of The Jedi".

24 years later, I watched "V", "V-The Final Battle", and "V-The Series" on DVD. If the first two mini-series were nothing short of excellent, I cannot say the same about "V-The Series".

From the blatantly obvious use of stock-footage from previous episodes, to the awful "acting" by such "stars" as Marc Singer and Michael Wright, it's no wonder the series was canceled after 19 episodes. The special effects were terrible and some plot elements made no sense. Many gun fights looked so fake, it's hard to believe one would have the nerve to put them on film.

But, guess what? None of this mattered to me, for when I put away the DVD box set after viewing the complete series, I realized one thing: "V-The Series" had great potential. I think the series could have gone a long way, had it not been for plot flaws, budget restraints, poor acting, and such competing shows as "Dallas". It's actually quite sad that NBC chose not to put the big bucks required to create a multi-season series of shows. Also, the fact that some very important characters were pulled out of the show around mid-season certainly didn't help.

Still, watching the series on DVD brought back so many good memories, I really enjoyed it. I actually caught myself having a bizarre rush of adrenaline at some point. Also had a good laugh here and there. Amongst the sometimes corny dialog, lie a couple of timeless quotes. A great gift idea for the strong nostalgic type.

I own this series "V" and when I first watched it back in 1984 I realized this was something different than the usual crop of Science Fiction. There was and is a level of dept to the characters and scenarios that resonate even today in 2020 where many of us choose to seek out the truth for ourselves and fight what is wrong and the lies told to us.

"V" stands for Vigilance, Voice and Victory!

I remember watching the original mini-series in the mid eighties and how it caught my imagination and sense of wonder about the real possibilities of humanity's first contact with an advanced civilization.This mini-series was just amazing as was the second mini-series.Then this came out and it was definitely a diminishing of quality across the boards.I don't think I even made it through all 19 episodes back then in 1985.

It's now 2005 and I only invested in the DVD collection because I've been reading books by David Icke who is this conspiracy theorist who believes our planet has been ruled for the last ten thousand years by a race of shape-shifting reptilian beings from another galaxy who are posing to this day as humans and that they are mostly the ruling elite in all fields of human society.It was in his books that he suggested I watch "V".So I purchased the series and have just viewed the entire 19 episodes.

Irregardless of David Icke's theories I have found V:The Complete Series the most fun I've had in years.Yeah, the series is badly acted and the characters are pretty one dimensional and in the case of Diana and Lydia absolutely campy, but so what? The original Flash Gordon serial is campy and the effects are laughable but I can still enjoy that as much as the first three episodes of Star Wars. V:The Complete Series is 1980's television at it's most fun.I suggest just putting your brain aside while watching this series and you'll be just fine.

OK this show isn't going to win any Emmy awards for the acting or writing that is involved but to tell the truth I was like 13 when it came out and was into the A-Team, Dukes of Hazard and other shows of the 80's shows of the like. When this show came back on the SyFy Network I had to watch it again and it was just as I remembered the same cheesiness as every 80's classic television show where numerous bullets are shot and people don't die, plot holes that you drive a truck through and everything that everyone else has said. The truth is I'm not sure that sci-fi shows had a chance in the 80's since it is such a special medium that not everyone sees themselves "into".

While people may have liked the show for action they didn't like the alien part or they liked the drama and I think that looking at it in the context of the times, remember there were only 3 networks out then the show needed to cater to a marketable audience thus changing the concept midway through as for plot holes with the red dust changing weather patterns and a natural immunity explains a lot. I think growing up the Starchild is just something that was done in the 80's shows, putting teens into shows to bring in a larger audience, they had the two teens for just those targets. Remember the popular shows were Dallas and Falcon Crest The true test is how ABC is going to handle the new show since they haven't thrown out the alien word or anything and sci-fi shows don't fare well on that network or any of the big 3.

Premiering in the Fall of 1984 (NBC, Oct.26, Fri 8-9p), just a few months after the mini-series sequel, 'V - The Final Battle', 'V' was now in the form of a weekly hour long sci-fi/action/adventure series.

In mid-season, (Feb. 1985), NBC re-vamped the sci-fi/soap opera, and moved it to a later time slot, yet it did little to save this embarrassment; any resemblance to Kenneth Johnson's original 1983 classic had been vaporized.

The most expensive and violent show on television at the time, 'V - The Series' was a critical and ratings disaster that will leave the viewer bewildered and in disbelief, yet strangely mesmerized.

Unintentionally hilarious and incredibly 80's, all nineteen episodes have a unique inane charm and many memorable moments. Every episode will entrance the viewer, largely based on sloppiness and the over-abundance of flaws.

True camp that's super-melodramatic and very funny, be on the lookout for 'Oswald', the (alien, or 'gaylien') gay-stock character, debuting in episode fifteen.

Quite possibly the worst sci-fi series, if not series, ever produced, one cannot help but to enjoy this train wreck.

It started out with a lot of promise: the aliens from the two mini-series had returned, but a shrewd businessman had negotiated a "free city" -- an area where humans could go about their business with the illusion of being their own masters, very much like Casablanca in the movie of the same name.

While the first few episodes were a little flat as they set up this premise, the middle episodes were terrific. We had the pretense of this safe haven, while the aliens did their best to manipulate things behind the scenes, and the resistance continued to work at stopping the Visitors and their plans.

Unfortunately, the ratings were not good, so the show began to focus more and more on what was going on inside the Visitor ships, which turned out to be a lot like what was happening on Dallas and Dynasty, two popular shows of the time. Instead of taking over the earth, Diana seemed more concerned with fighting with her rival for their Leader's affections. By the time the show was cancelled, it was almost a relief.

This wasn't too bad as a sequel to the landmark original TV miniseries "V" and "V:The Final Battle." The special effects could have been better, but overall the series was good and the story lines could have gotten better (they were good in the first place) had the show not been cancelled after just one season. They made a good effort to further develop the characters, especially Elizabeth (the star child) and Willie. Willie had some of the best lines in the show with his bungling of the English language. Each episode was good and unique. It introduced new characters and kept the familiar ones. If you liked the original two miniseries, you might like this weekly show.

** 1/2 out of ****

I'm probably going to echo other thoughts here. I loved (and still love) the V and V the Final Battle. I saw them as a kid in the 80s and still watch them now. However, I did see the regular series then... at least portions of it, but couldn't remember much. I finally watched the entire season recently and well, it had a good premise, but falls short.

I think the producers did OK given the budget constraints at first, but like other regular series, the open ended-ness can cause issues. As with Lost and other shows, not having a defined time line can cause a show to meander with pointless filler episodes. There was some of that here.

The addition of characters on the Visitor side of the plot may have been needed for Diana to have an internal conflicts, but it was melodramatic and cheesy.

That said, I enjoyed the first half of the season, as a nice extension of the mini series. Not great, but had its moments.

You can see a clear(and significant) change in direction and budget in the last third of the season, which falls on the last disc, if you're watching the DVD. Without getting into the plot, it really all falls apart at this point.

The flawed first half is worth watching for fans, but even as a fan, the last episodes are very poor.

The original mini-series was intelligent, engaging and a television event of the 1980s that cleverly melded refreshing science fiction with a dark chapter of human history. The second mini-series was almost just as good and demanded much patience from the viewer. Then came this ongoing series. While most of the characters returned, the budget and intelligence in the writing didn't.

The one and only season of "V" followed the story of the human resistance trying to survive while the lizards continually struggled with their own in-fighting. Most of the characters from the first two productions returned, the ladies with their big eighties hairstyles and the men pulling weak but amusing fight scenes.

Occasionally we were treated to a new alien weapon or a new character who promises to bring change to the ongoing story but some episodes drag on with long and slow moments that seem out of place. Unfortunately, the series ended on a cliffhanger when it was axed, so many things were left open and the viewer may feel short-changed by the closing credits of the last episode.

Still, if you want to see more adventures of Donovan and co. then you can watch this, but don't expect too much. "V" was something too good to be left alone, but sadly it was a poor effort.

Note: Very different to the new 2000s series.

I just got my copy of V The Complete Series. I had forgotten about all the 80's make-up and Diana's crazy variations on the standard Visitor uniform. Now don't misunderstand me, I still love anything to do with the Visitors, even down to the ridiculous deus ex machina that is the StarChild. But there is one thing about The Complete Series that aggravates the crap out of me. Suddenly, NONE of the visitors have the strange voice, and I mean none - not even a trace. I have always felt that you can detect the early rumblings of decline of this series about 10 minutes into Final Battle. The Complete Series takes the decay up to quick rot. Martin in plaid flannel and a hunter's vest!? Because NBC(?) wouldn't allow Kenny Johnson to take the time he needed to produce another mini-series that probably would have been fantastic, they took the idea and fobbed it off on less talented, cheaper people.

So....back to my original point- is it just me, or is there simply NO voice? Sorry to be so long winded!

After an adrenaline packed TV mini-series and "V: The Final Battle", the "V" series continues right from the cliffhanger that "V: The Final Battle" left us with. And the series is one long continuous exciting thrill ride. And if you enjoyed the mini-series and final battle, then you will most definitely also like the series as well.

A great continuation of the franchise that offers heaps of action, drama, intrigue and storytelling, all rolled together in an amazing Sci-Fi series.

Of course, as the series is from 1984, then the special effects are not super great in comparison with todays effects. But "V" is not a show that relies solely on effects to be entertaining. No, this is a story- and character-driven show.

The 1984 series bring about most of the cast from the mini-series and final battle, along with a bunch of new characters. And even has some replacement characters too.

On a personal note, then I think the ending was very fulfilling, as it left on an even bigger cliffhanger than "The Final Battle" did.

I enjoyed this franchise tremendously back in the 1980s, and still do so today. And I have seen it all at least three times by now. There is enough contents to support repeated viewings. "V" is definitely one of my all time favorite Sci-Fi shows.

My memory is a bit fuzzy about the origin of "V" (was it a movie first or not), but I certainly remember watching it when I could. The V stood for Visitors. The lizard aliens that dressed in human skin and ate rats were fascinating to me.

I watched this when it premiered. Always liked Marc Singer. Excellent actor. Jane Badler is great as Diana. I don't watch a lot of sci fi but I definitely watched this, faithfully. Great story and action. The bright spot for me? Robert Englund plays a good guy!

I'll never understand why the aliens had to be lizards or iguanas underneath their human form skin. Regardless, they return after they were liberated by smart humans on earth who finally got together to defeat them. This series was much like the two mini-series which preceded it. The aliens should realize that earth and it's billions of inhabitants don't want to become food for them. In the series, Elizabeth (hybrid of human and iguana) has a metamorphosis. She becomes an adult which I don't understand. Many of the original cast members from the mini-series return for the series like bad Diana played brilliantly by Jane Badler with both evil and sensuality to seduce Marc Singer's character and others before eating them. There is Fay Grant, the female character, who is involved in defeating the aliens. Unfortunately in the series, the aliens are here to stay on earth and they must find a way to cope.

V and V the final battle is 8 of the best sci-fi hours on video anywhere. Yes it's long but any shorter and it would lose something. All the characters, all the inter-weaving stories and the entire plot are just perfectly executed. The underlying anti Nazi message and WW 2 under tones give the story a depth that make it even better. The special effects are very good for an 80's mini-series. The acting is good. But watching it you're glad they don't cut anything out. The best scene is the birth of the twins. Great sci-fi. If you think Independence Day was good you ain't seen nothin' yet.

This was a great epic science fiction story that had an all star cast. Wonderful special effects.