V: the Series

[LessAspin]

The series from 1984 has an interesting backstory via Inverse

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V was created as an anti-fascist tale for the modern age and early in its developmental process didn’t even include the infamous flesh-eating alien reptiles. Kenneth Johnson, the creator of V, revealed in 2019 that the show was originally an homage to the novel It Can’t Happen Here, a book about how fascism could rise in a democratic country. The concept of the alien Visitors as those fascists was suggested by then-NBC vice president, Jeff Sagansky, who said, according to Johnson in a SyFy Wire interview, “How about aliens?”

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While the various arcs throughout the season run the gamut from interesting to downright silly, this basic idea is what makes V: The Series such a worthy thought experiment. There is no status quo for humanity after beating back an alien invasion, but V: The Series suggests that how people would try to get things back to normal would contain even more drama and intrigue than the battle that preceded it. In 1984 V: The Series was making smart critiques about capitalism and faux-innovation, which served that capitalistic machine. Yes, aliens were the cause of it all, but V was smart enough to say that beating back the aliens wouldn't solve our problems. Not even a little bit.

V: The Series streams for free on Plex.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/v-the-series-sci-fi-1984-retrospective

[Shermann]

1. I was totally hooked in 1984

What a setup! I didn't really pick up on the symbology, it was just really dark sci fi. When the show got into the V-babies, it got a little weird and maybe jumped the shark for me.

I haven't seen the reboot, but it is on my list.

[LessAspin]

2. V (TV Series 2009-2011)

iirc the rebooted V series sort of flipped the script and came out as being very sympathetic to right wing policies and ideology.

There were some pretty good critiques written of it back then if I am remembering correctly

[Shermann]

3. Two seasons and canceled prematurely, I may have to pass on it.

Morena Baccarin is in it too, that's a shame.

[LessAspin]

4. Obamacare

It was even worse than I remembered after finding these reviews at Reddit

Not only was the new V promoting right wing propaganda but actively using their storylines to undermine some of President Obama's initiatives..

Like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Obamacare...

r/television

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What went wrong with 'V (2009)'?

jasonskjonsby

8y ago
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I didn't like its politics. It had aliens giving free health care for sinister purposes right when Obama was trying to get the ACA passed. It took several right wing approaches to Science Fiction. Most Sci Fi like Star Trek takes a more left wing style and people who watch science fiction are generally more liberal and some saw V as an attack on progressives and our new Presidents agenda. That is part of the reason I gave up on the show in the first season.

RedditConsciousness
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8y ago
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Don't forget the insidiousness of green, er, blue energy. It was anti-intellectual too. Which is pretty funny when the original series was about the dangers of fascism. The update was right wing propaganda.

https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/5cwlon/what_went_wrong_with_v_2009/

[LessAspin]

5. V: the reViVal

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