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The Official Welcoming of the Visitors Thread - V on ABC, every Tuesday
- Thread starter Marty Chinn
- Start date
- Status
jamesinclair
Banned
I liked the final episode but was expecting more of a self contained mini season. The ending was nothing special.
Things that bothered me:
The 16 hours earlier was crap.
The warehouse scene was dumb. Pushing an evacuation button so everyone leaves? And everything went so slowly, after FBI shot the guy strangling black dude, they stood for like 5 seconds staring at each other....I guess the guy a few posts ago who said the characters names are not memorable was right.
Every scene with the teenage son kills me. I hate plots like that. Also, he kisses an alien and a day later is zoomed away to meet her mom? Bail out dude, thats a red flag on any planet. But then he follows up by making out with her a few feet from the mom. Real classy.
That being said, it was an enjoyable episode, but it needs tighter writing and better control. What makes Lost good is how much attention to detail there is. Kid on spaceship would NOT get phone reception, why not just have that call go to voicemail and show him not receiving it?
Things that bothered me:
The 16 hours earlier was crap.
The warehouse scene was dumb. Pushing an evacuation button so everyone leaves? And everything went so slowly, after FBI shot the guy strangling black dude, they stood for like 5 seconds staring at each other....I guess the guy a few posts ago who said the characters names are not memorable was right.
Every scene with the teenage son kills me. I hate plots like that. Also, he kisses an alien and a day later is zoomed away to meet her mom? Bail out dude, thats a red flag on any planet. But then he follows up by making out with her a few feet from the mom. Real classy.
That being said, it was an enjoyable episode, but it needs tighter writing and better control. What makes Lost good is how much attention to detail there is. Kid on spaceship would NOT get phone reception, why not just have that call go to voicemail and show him not receiving it?
jamesinclair said:
It wasn't written as a self-contained mini-season in the first place, ABC has just been fucking with the schedule and now trying to spin it with this "we always intended to break the show up into small pods to make it more of an event" crap.
ToxicAdam said:
Yep. For years, NBC was home to some of the biggest TV shows in history. Now, their lineup is so bad, they have to fall back on Chuck (no offense Chuck fans :lol).
Just caught up watched the 3rd and 4th episodes. I think it's really well done. The pacing, in retrospect, is pretty good. I know people were saying it moved too quickly in the first episode, but as I suspected, that was simply to get to the point we are now - as much as would be 'more' developed to spread it out over an entire season, I think they want to have the story about V-integration, not V-arrival, which is fine.
Personally, while the son story is kind of naff, it's necessary to make the entire interwoven dynamic of mothers of the two 'sides' have kids that are interacting. In all likelihood, the girl is grooming the son for a special yet undisclosed purpose.
What I REALLY like is how anyone could be a V, but at the same time, V or human, anyone could be a good guy or bad guy. The idea of the bad guys having traitors and thus good guys is pretty cool. You get the feeling that any of the Vs could be actually a good guy, or that they can write it in later (i.e. go either way). What of the daughter turns out to be Column 5? Epic.
I still think the ending wasn't as climactic. They really needed to show the skinning of that one V just to show the Reptiles in their entirety. That would've also helped the ending have weight.
Personally, while the son story is kind of naff, it's necessary to make the entire interwoven dynamic of mothers of the two 'sides' have kids that are interacting. In all likelihood, the girl is grooming the son for a special yet undisclosed purpose.
What I REALLY like is how anyone could be a V, but at the same time, V or human, anyone could be a good guy or bad guy. The idea of the bad guys having traitors and thus good guys is pretty cool. You get the feeling that any of the Vs could be actually a good guy, or that they can write it in later (i.e. go either way). What of the daughter turns out to be Column 5? Epic.
I still think the ending wasn't as climactic. They really needed to show the skinning of that one V just to show the Reptiles in their entirety. That would've also helped the ending have weight.
jamesinclair
Banned
Blader5489 said:
Well, it SHOULD have been!
Also, yeah, epic fail at the whole "hi we're aliens and we're going to inject you with magic juice!" getting no reaction from the public or the government.
It takes 10 years to approve a new heart medicine, but alien vaccines are ok?
Napoleonthechimp
Member
I'm not feeling this show. I find it quite dull and predictable.
joshcryer said:
Yeah, the TV series was pretty bad and lost all the cleverness. Some parts were just plain embarassing, and it had no budget so the special effects were endlessly recycled.
I liked it as a kid because I loved the miniseries so much, but I wouldn't watch it now for anything other than nostalgia. Great theme tune though =)
Liking the remake a lot though, and the different direction it's going in. My only complaint being how much they've crammed into the 4 episodes. I liked the build up of the original, there was more wonder at their arrival, and that it took longer for their mask to slip.
Don't like the wait till March either, grrrrr!
Boombloxer
Member
Liked the idea of the original series, and I'm a mixed bag about this one--I still think that they were revealed a little too quick.
But I do like what another poster mentioned earlier, that Human or V can be a friend/foe.
Insertation of a new race would be interesting.
But I do like what another poster mentioned earlier, that Human or V can be a friend/foe.
Insertation of a new race would be interesting.
The Faceless Master
Member
in NYC, he wouldn't with his iPhone on AT&T, but if he had Sprint or Verizon, i bet he'd get a signal!jamesinclair said:
jonnybryce
Member
I wanted to watch this but missed it :/ Luckily Hulu still has all the episodes up. I was thinking of just watching the recap but it's only four episodes...I'll give them a go and if they suck I'll switch to the recap.
I could read this thread but the risk of spoilers to me is too high, what do you guys think of this show? Awesome? Just ok? Greatest show evar?
edit: almost done with the pilot. Wow I love it so far.
I could read this thread but the risk of spoilers to me is too high, what do you guys think of this show? Awesome? Just ok? Greatest show evar?
edit: almost done with the pilot. Wow I love it so far.
ABC seems to really be giving this a big promotional push for its return; hopefully it'll do well. There's been what, 5 ads per hour this week? At least judging from Lost and FlashForward.
I like the show, glad it's coming back next week. Should rewatch episode 4 before tuesday though...
I like the show, glad it's coming back next week. Should rewatch episode 4 before tuesday though...
Marty Chinn
Member
Bump reminder that there is a new episode tonight! 
jamesinclair
Banned
Ill be watching on Hulu, Im too busy after lost ends.
The Big Rig
Member
What the fuck at the ending. The V's have some weird, kinky bedroom antics.
Marty Chinn
Member
I liked the new episode, glad to see it's slowed down a lot. The first 4 episodes moved way too fast. The final few seconds was a very nice twist, and certainly makes the Visitors a lot more threatening.
Getting a bit of a Scientology-vibe about how they are presenting the Visitors as well
Only thing that let it down was some shoddy CGI with the green-screen sets. Looking forward to the next one though.
Getting a bit of a Scientology-vibe about how they are presenting the Visitors as well
Only thing that let it down was some shoddy CGI with the green-screen sets. Looking forward to the next one though.
Marty Chinn said:
Well.. fuck.
Although I shouldn't be surprised, considering that only myself and maybe 2 other people here on GAF seem to have watched it.
Such a cool premise for a show, fire-ass hot gorgeous women, and it had such a great lineage from the 80's mini-series, yet somehow ABC found a way to fuck this up.
R.I.P. V, we hardly knew ya. I don't see any way ABC will bring it back in the fall with those abysmal ratings. It can't be a cheap show to produce.
Burger
Member
This episode was a giant pile of dreck. Full on pacing, hammy acting, WHY IS SHE HAVING A BABY, and omg exposition everywhere.
It should be used as a lesson on how to not write television.
David Mamet's rant hit the right spot:
(I've cropped this)
Full version is here: http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/23/a-letter-from-david-mamet-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/
It should be used as a lesson on how to not write television.
David Mamet's rant hit the right spot:
(I've cropped this)
Full version is here: http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/23/a-letter-from-david-mamet-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/
Discotheque
Banned
Hahaha I fucking love Mamet. I read his entire rant and it was awesome.
Burger
Member
Discotheque said:
But so appropriate for this episode.
(Show spinning chair with kids memories floating above him, kid crying because memories about dad leaving are sad)
A minute later:
"We tapped into your cerebral cortex to access your memories. We call it the floaty memory room. Your dad leaving made you sad..." and so on.
It's Television made for dummies.
Escape Goat
Member
I'm on episode 3 and I really liked the twist in this episode with the doctor showing the resistance reaches up to the command ship. The characters are coming together and maybe now the show can start building some momentum.
Though I hate the teenage son and his stupid crush on V chippie. I hate pretty much any plotline involving teenagers/children in TV. Rarely are they done in a way thats not fucking annoying.
And why is Marty McFly a news caster!?
Though I hate the teenage son and his stupid crush on V chippie. I hate pretty much any plotline involving teenagers/children in TV. Rarely are they done in a way thats not fucking annoying.
And why is Marty McFly a news caster!?
jonnybryce
Member
DECK'ARD said:I liked the new episode, glad to see it's slowed down a lot. The first 4 episodes moved way too fast. The final few seconds was a very nice twist, and certainly makes the Visitors a lot more threatening.
Getting a bit of a Scientology-vibe about how they are presenting the Visitors as well
Only thing that let it down was some shoddy CGI with the green-screen sets. Looking forward to the next one though.
I just hopped on the V train a few days ago watching the first episodes back to back, so it was even more of a drastic slow down. Not much happened in this episode, which is fine, just a little disappointing.
The whole Ana process at the end was pretty cool.
Burger said:
Yeah, this can get a little annoying. I definitely noticed it before, how they feel the need to say what just happened. On one hand, I can understand it, since (1)it helps keep viewers in the know and (2)the visitors are a factual, almost robotic acting species (or atleast Ana and her top few in command are), but they need to tone. that. shit. down.
TheGreatDave
Banned
I'm 5 minutes in to the new episode and it's worse than I remember.
Just saw the new episode, man was it bad.
Rant:
This show has a complete inability to get us to care about anything. I have trouble identifying with any of the character's motives. In this episode they explicitly stated why each of them cared, as if the show was admitting that it sucked at character motivations. That was pretty unintentionally funny.
Okay, so Juliet (I forget her name) is doing this for her son? Oh, you mean that whiny-ass little shit? They couldn't have made a less likable character if they tried! He could fall off the ship to his death and all I would do is laugh.
This episode also portrayed this great conflict in Juliet's character in allying herself with the fugitive dude, a "deal with the devil" of sorts. We've never heard of this dude before, we have no idea what he's done, or what his personality is. All we have to go on is that the FBI has been trying to catch him for a long time. Hey how about you show us what he's done? Maybe some shots of his past crimes? Maybe they can relate somehow to the current plot? It'd be much more believable than just saying he's bad. You can try to make him look like Sawyer all you want, but the audience isn't going to buy it.
The other main problem I find with shows trying to be Lost with their large casts is their utter failure at letting the audience get to know their characters. They attempt to mimic the large ensemble cast, but what Lost did to succeed was slowly introduce us to them, focusing on one character per episode. What Flashforward and V do is try to cram all the exposition in the first episode, then proceed to run with the plot. The first episode moves at such a breakneck speed that we can't remember the characters at all.
I've watched all of FlashForward and I couldn't tell you any of their names.. There's main white dude (I think his name is Mark), Harold, Penny from Lost, beard alcoholic guy, the hobbit, British dude, boringass male nurse and his boring female friend, etc.. etc...
With V, it's firefly whore, Julliet, Preacher dude, black alien dude, whiny annoying teenager, guy that looks like Michael J Fox and now guy that's trying to look like Sawyer.
How am I supposed to care about any of their problems when I can't eve remember any of their names? FlashForward and V both have the same problem, great concept, horrible execution. Hopefully they can get things together before they get cancelled.
/End Rant
Rant:
This show has a complete inability to get us to care about anything. I have trouble identifying with any of the character's motives. In this episode they explicitly stated why each of them cared, as if the show was admitting that it sucked at character motivations. That was pretty unintentionally funny.
Okay, so Juliet (I forget her name) is doing this for her son? Oh, you mean that whiny-ass little shit? They couldn't have made a less likable character if they tried! He could fall off the ship to his death and all I would do is laugh.
This episode also portrayed this great conflict in Juliet's character in allying herself with the fugitive dude, a "deal with the devil" of sorts. We've never heard of this dude before, we have no idea what he's done, or what his personality is. All we have to go on is that the FBI has been trying to catch him for a long time. Hey how about you show us what he's done? Maybe some shots of his past crimes? Maybe they can relate somehow to the current plot? It'd be much more believable than just saying he's bad. You can try to make him look like Sawyer all you want, but the audience isn't going to buy it.
The other main problem I find with shows trying to be Lost with their large casts is their utter failure at letting the audience get to know their characters. They attempt to mimic the large ensemble cast, but what Lost did to succeed was slowly introduce us to them, focusing on one character per episode. What Flashforward and V do is try to cram all the exposition in the first episode, then proceed to run with the plot. The first episode moves at such a breakneck speed that we can't remember the characters at all.
I've watched all of FlashForward and I couldn't tell you any of their names.. There's main white dude (I think his name is Mark), Harold, Penny from Lost, beard alcoholic guy, the hobbit, British dude, boringass male nurse and his boring female friend, etc.. etc...
With V, it's firefly whore, Julliet, Preacher dude, black alien dude, whiny annoying teenager, guy that looks like Michael J Fox and now guy that's trying to look like Sawyer.
How am I supposed to care about any of their problems when I can't eve remember any of their names? FlashForward and V both have the same problem, great concept, horrible execution. Hopefully they can get things together before they get cancelled.
/End Rant
TheGreatDave
Banned
V doesn't deserve not to be cancelled. At least Flashforward has it's "mythology", nothing about V is interesting.
I agree with all your points, btw. Why would you ever write a character like Taylor and not expect the audience to hate him?
I agree with all your points, btw. Why would you ever write a character like Taylor and not expect the audience to hate him?
Divvy said:
Totally agree. I've watched all of V and FlashForward so far and I too struggle to remember anyones name. They had a great example of how to do it right with the first season of Lost staring them in the face and they failed in BOTH shows.
edit: and I agree with the above poster, if only one of these shows can stay, then it should be FlashForward. It's simply more interesting at this point.
From the ratings it looks like both could be going through.
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