Movie- V - The Original TV Miniseries

#1 Jewish SciFi
Came out in 1983
Running time of under 4 hours
Not Rated
Originally aired as 2 night TV Mini-Series on NBC
Available on VHS and DVD
Written and Directed by Kenneth Johnson
Main Stars: Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler

What's it all about:
V: the Original Miniseries is a story about an alien race who come to Earth under the false pretense of peace. The Visitors, who appear to be human-like, claim they need certain chemicals in order to survive on their own planet. Skeptical of the Visitors, many scientists start to uncover the truth. The Visitors are really lizard-like beings with plans of taking water and food back to their planet. Immediately, the Visitors with the help of worldwide governments start to isolate and separate the scientific and medical communities. Many scientists and doctors avoid capture and begin to form various rebel groups in an effort to stay alive and eventually reveal the truth about the Visitors to the rest of the world. The bulk of the film takes place in the Los Angeles community and follows a particular group of individuals from different
backgrounds as they form the LA Resistance.

Why I Recommend It:
1 - The story. Kenneth Johnson crafts a strong and well-written story that combines science fiction elements with serious dramatic themes. Johnson takes the notion of an alien race coming to Earth in peace and shows the horror of what might happen if their peaceful intent was really a mask for their true nature. At the same time, Johnson is able to expose the various human responses to the situation - from extremes of fighting against the aliens to even joining the Visitors as well as the degrees in between.
2 - The acting. All of the actors and actresses capture the essence of their characters and expose the viewer to various types of people and aliens and what these type of people or aliens are capable or not capable of doing in a stressful and life-threatening situation.


Distinguishing Jewish Appeal:
1 - The parallel story of the Visitors separating the scientific and medical communities from the rest of man with what happened in the Holocaust, when the Germans separated the Jews from the rest of man. Similar to the situation in Europe, in V, a small group of scientists and doctors manage to
group together and form a rebellion group to fight back and try to save humanity.
2 - Johnson re-emphasizes the parallel story with the Holocaust by having one of the characters be a Holocaust survivor. Despite his grandson's actions of joining the Visitor youth core, he is smart enough to realize what is going on. He convinces his son and daughter-in-law to help out their neighbors, a family who is in danger because the father is a scientist. He believes if they do not help out their neighbors, then they and man have not learned a thing from the past.

Of Note:
1- The story from V: the Original Miniseries continued in V: the Final Battle and V: the Series. Both spin-offs turned away from the "Holocaust theme" and instead focused in on the science fiction action elements presented in the story. Kenneth Johnson was a consultant with the spin-offs, but backed away from further involvement.
2 - Faye Grant, who stars as Dr. Julie Parrish, can be seen as Tattie on the ABC Family show, State of Grace. The show is about the Rayburns, a Jewish family, who move to a southern town and their adaptation to the town and their relationship with a non-Jewish family.

Added: December 22nd 2003
Reviewer: Sandy Chertok
Score:
Related Link: V - The Original TV Miniseries
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