Things begin in media res with a car park shootout involving V resistance members Georgie (David Richmond-Peck), Ryan (Morris Chestnut) and Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell); an affective narrative trick if used properly, but more often a rather lazy way to re-use an upcoming dramatic scene twice. They only really work if the scene is genuinely shocking, or takes on a different meaning when we see it again in context (see: Mission Impossible III), but it was used pretty badly here. The big dramatic moment in question arrived after a mere 15 minutes, and was inconsequential anyway.
The crux of the episode involved the newly-formed resistance cell getting together to land their first blow against the aliens. Anna (Morena Baccarin) has announced that her people will begin distributing a drug that can enhance the human immune system, effectively preventing the onset of many diseases and infections. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. Ryan realizes that the V's have started manufacturing a dangerous drug called "R6" and are going to spread it amongst the world's population.Having later discovered a warehouse where the V's are storing the R6, the resistance realize the V's actually have a bait-and-switch plan -- as the R6 is intended for the humble 'flu vaccination and their immune-boosting drug is safe. Even better, the entire supply of R6 is contained in this tiny warehouse, guarded by one man, so it's incredibly easy to blow up the warehouse and, I guess, claim a small victory. Of course, beyond the fact it feels ridiculous that the V's would put all their eggs in one basket, it's surely not beyond them to simply manufacture some more? Indeed, the resistance feel like a flea fighting an elephant so far, and while I'm prepared to support an underdog, it just doesn't feel plausible they could ever win. Maybe if we got a sense that the V's resources are finite because they can't just hop back to their homeworld and restock supplies, equipment and personnel it would work better?
There's an interesting enough moment when Georgie suggests they capture and "skin" a V to prove to everyone the aliens are... well, liars at the very least, if only because Ryan reacts angrily that Georgie raised the idea. I myself have been wondering why Ryan doesn't offer to reveal his true reptilian form to the word, actually, and while we don't get a definitive answer to that question... I'm going to assume the process of getting yourself "skinned" to look human is irreversible and would result in death. That's the only explanation I can come up with for why members of The Fifth Column don't just whip off their masks on live TV.
On the New York mothership, Anna is told that Dale was murdered by someone, so she tries to wheedle out the culprit by threatening to kill a random member of the medical team, but the guilty Joshua's (Mark Hildreth) cover is maintained when a brave colleague steps forward to take the blame and is skinned/killed for his treachery. It was nice to see the show is at least keeping the reptilian form of the aliens a secret for now. I expect we'll only get to see one properly in the season finale next summer, and hopefully they won't resemble the Sleestaks from Land Of The Lost.
The subplots were either tedious or predictable, really. Tyler (Logan Huffman) was taken by Lisa (Laura Vandervoort) to meet her mother, surprised to find her parent is spokeswoman Anna herself. Erica's himbo son is obviously being groomed to have a significant role in the V's plans, but it's not clear what that entails just yet. A part of me suspects the V's want to create human/V hybrids, so need Tyler to be the figurehead for interspecies relations -- and who better than a clean-cut boyfriend of Anna's daughter?
However, in another subplot, it's revealed that Ryan's girlfriend Valerie (Lourdes Benedicto) is pregnant with his child, so isn't a hybrid already on the way? But maybe hybrid babies are impossible to bring to term? After all, why aren't there more hybrid kids around if members of The Fifth Column (and the V's own undercover spies) have been living amongst humans for decades already? Are they all told not to procreate? Maybe there are hybrids around who we've yet to meet? In which case, I have no idea why Anna and Lisa need Tyler.
Reporter Chad (Scott Wolf) is also diagnosed with an aneurism by the V's medics, and Marcus (Christopher Shyer) insists they can operate in order to prevent the blood clot from ever developing. As the problem is something that can't be detected by human science until it's too late, Chad is basically being forced into a position where he either trusts the V's (and is likely given medical treatment in return for media favours he's uncomfortable with), or refuses to believe them and risks his own life.
And remember the mention of "Bliss" last week? I theorized that it's basically a drug that all V's cherish, perhaps manufactured from humans (hence why they don't just eradicate us.) Well, we're given a little insight into it here, as Anna strips naked and bathes alone in a column of light, apparently transferring orgasmic feelings to her fellow V's. Maybe she was merely the telepathic conductor of the "drug" she was bathing in, so my theory still stands a chance of coming true.
"It's Only The Beginning" ended on two notes designed to keep the audience loyal until next spring: having returned to his church after successfully helping blow up the stocks of R6, Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) was stabbed by a V who followed him home. While it seems likely he'll live, I guess it's interesting the V's now know the identity of one of the resistance. And, finally, there's an extensive zoom-out from Anna's ship across the galaxy, eventually settling on a gigantic armada of V ships. Are they waiting there as reinforcements? Are they an all-out attack force if Anna's diplomatic methods fail? Whatever they are, it now feels even more unlikely that Erica and three men can defeat a planet full of organized, highly-advanced aliens.
Overall, V is off to a rocky start, but there are signs of improvement and a lot of potential in the idea. Whether or not the writers can tap into that, in interesting and fresh ways, is up for debate. There's really been nothing here we haven't seen before, and not just because V's a remake. The concept is an old chestnut that you can vaguely predict every step of the way, so V will need to up its game if it's going to surprise an audience who have grown up with alien invasion TV shows and films. I'd also like to see them ditch the distracting use of greenscreen in the V mothership, which I'm sure helps cut costs, but it makes everyone look like they're acting in a late-'90s video-game cut-scene. It's all very false and the architecture is bland, blurred grey-whites. A few real sets, perhaps extended using greenscreen, would be preferable.When the show returns next year, Scott Rosenbaum (The Shield, Chuck) is in charge and he's promising a lot more action, pace(!), mythology-building, and at least one big surprise in every episode. Big talk, but can he walk the walk? Tune in next March to find out.
24 November 2009
ABC, 9/8c
written by: Cameron Litvack & Angela Russo-Otstot directed by: Yves Simoneau starring: Elizabeth Mitchell (Erica Evans), Morris Chestnut (Ryan Nichols), Joel Gretsch (Father Jack Landry), Lourdes Benedicto (Valerie Holt), Logan Huffman (Tyler Evans), Laura Vandervoort (Lisa), Morena Baccarin (Anna), Scott Wolf (Chad Decker), David Richmond-Peck (Georgie), Christopher Shyer (Marcus), Craig Fraser (Peter Combs), Mark Hildreth (Joshua), Ryan Kennedy (David), Giles Panton (V Med-Tech) & Jesse Wheeler (Brandon)
