When I was but a small, nervous, big-eyed child (in the late 70s/early 80s) two parental fears dominated all others. One concerned the possibility of me (at some time in my life) buying a motorbike. The imagined (and tragically inevitable) result of this eventuality was my mangled body wrapped around a lamppost.
The other related to the allegedly insidious V: The Original Miniseries (and its sequel The Final Battle). Being exposed to too much of this, so the theory went, could reduce an impressionable child to a terminally disturbed wreck destined for either the jail house or the booby hatch.
The effect of both these concerns, of course, was a) To make motorbikes seem impossibly cool, and b) To ensure that V was the must-watch TV event of my generation of chiddlers. So much for fussy parenting. Secret gatherings in the "TV Room" of the Kerry caravan park we used to (and still do) frequent were the order of whatever summer it was (1983?). My memories suggest a guard posted on the door to warn of irate parents approaching, but this may be a later embellishment.
The reason all of this is on my mind is simple. As I scanned the heaving DVD shelves the other night, in search of something not already watched to death, my gaze alighted on our curious, double-sided V discs. Into the player I slapped them. Within minutes I was hooked and happy. If you can (and you should) disregard some cloying sentimentality, ham-fisted Nazi parallels, hokey daytime TV acting (and the vomitous "Star child" denouement) - then there are pleasures by the bucket-load to be had.
The following is but a sample.
A key component of the "We come in peace", visitor propaganda machine was the production of a collectible range of ships and action figures. Get the next generation on board, the logic probably went, and you're half-way to a passive slave race who won't mind being turned into burgers. But while the shuttles were undoubtedly groovy…
…the figures tended toward the half-assed and manky.
An unimpressed Mike "Gooder" Donovan looks on at his (soon to be 'converted') son's collection:
Speaking of Mike Donovan (or as he's know in this dreary thing we call "real life" - Marc Singer), one is reminded that here's a man who could hold his own with Roger Moore in the area of "eyebrow emoting". His supercilia are in almost constant motion - regardless of whether he's giving lip to a visitor, pulling on his gloves (he does a lot of this), playing baseball with his son or being injected with alien truth serum. Whatever the situation, the eyebrows are up to the job.
He's also, like a lot of maverick & self-realised individuals, fond of grabbing people by the upper arms when making a particularly dramatic point. He's not (in this regard) quite up to the standard set by James T. Kirk, but he's certainly no slouch.
2) Diana - Queen of a poisoned realm
Though ostensibly a humble science officer, Diana (through her 'intimate' relationship with the Supreme Leader) soon vamped and smouldered her way to the top. While camp and arch villainy in Sci-Fi was nothing new, Jane Badler's portrayal of Diana took an existing template and cranked it up (outrageously) to 11. A lover of the delicious intersections between pain and pleasure, she positively oozes scene-stealing bitchy evil whenever she pops on screen (even when talking about something as mundane as troop deployments). I mean, just look at her…
She's the Joan Collins of interplanetary conflict. The filthy girl we all wanted to kiss behind the bike (or spaceship) shed. Faye Grant's rebel leader 'Julie', on the other hand, was the light to Diana's dark. Permanently moist-eyed and lovely, she was (I freely admit) the subject of my first deep infatuation. The pair's Yin/Yang opposition was never better captured than in the memorably vicious torture/conversion scene:
I should add that disturbing as this section was, it was also the source of much titillation to me and my pals. While we felt (deeply) for Julie's plight, the sight of her (even in these circumstances) sporting a figure-hugging, flesh-coloured bodysuit was enough to set pre-pubescent pulses racing.
Their light/dark, blonde/brunette, good/evil relationship calls to mind the seething enmity (and eventual comradeship) of the Buffster and Faith. Behold a similar juxtaposition:
3) Funky Posters
More visitor propaganda, beautifully crafted.
4) Hilarious Evil Twin
While Robin Maxwell's human-looking baba was only cursed with a forked tongue (which it flashed in one wonderful, parent-infuriating scene), the other one got the full brunt of the nasty stick. We were obviously supposed to be horrified but (due, perhaps, to budgetary constraints) we ended up laughing heartily.
Oh dear…
iesb.net
I believe it was ‘85 and not ‘83 when RTE showed this, although back then Westward Cables hadn’t reached the part of the city i was living in, come to think of it, I think that same part of the city is still without cable.
Watched the DVDs more recently as a relative of mine had them. the nazi references were very overt.
A brain washing machine was a bit much, but it kind jumped the shark with the whole star child thing.
They made it into a weekly series which was aired on Sky (I even think ITV showed it in the late eighties when they went to 24 hour broadcasting) That was a bit of a crock though.
Interesting interview here with V’s creator, we could be seeing the second generation on the big screen. Now that would be damn cool
February 9th, 2008 at 7:23 pmFor Jews see “Scientists”. Kids getting beaten up in school because their parents were scientists. Scientists homes being burnt out etc.
Richard Dawkins would have a fit.
I actually thought the brain-washing machine was quite an effective idea/image. Solved the problem of how to show torture without censorious forces having to intervene too much.
It still freaked my parents out though.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:20 pmHeh, i remember it being shown quite well, it caused a hell of a shitstorm on Mailbag, hah remember that show. I think it was the visitors eating mice that upset people the most. I was about 8 or 9 when it was shown first, but never really picked up on the nazi connotations until it was repeated on sky around 1989 1990. the concentration camps were replaced by the food processing facilities, the hitler youth was replaced with the brown uniformed visitor friends, like you said, the scientists were to symbolise the jews. Even the red and black insignia of the visitors was similar to the swastika.
Back then though whether it be through lack of know how, RTE were less likely to cut a movie/mini series to bits as quick as say the BBC were.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:45 amI see you’re short-listed for Best Blog. Well done.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:33 pmDidn’t Arthur Murphy dress up as “John” (visitor leader) and swallow a hamster before ripping off his face? Might have been a dream…
Tanks very mush. Same to yourself.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:29 pmJesus I used to get in so much shit for sneaking downstairs to watch the second series of V when everyone was in bed. Now of course I can stay up all night.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:17 amV was great, I watched it again recently too for teh lulz. the big SFX sequence in the last episode, with the dam being blown up etc., was cogged wholesale from “Earthquake”….
February 12th, 2008 at 10:17 amIt’s a bit like a “free house”. Never the same when it’s your own.
The forked tongue baby scene was a defining moment in “our” generation’s attitude to pre-marital sex, conception etc. I’m not sure what it taught us exaclty, but it certainly created a deep-seated trauma.
While there was little that was particularly original about V, the first mini-series, in particular, is still one of the most well-sustained on-screen imaginings of how a “benevolent” invasion scenario might pan out.
A lot of the show’s Science Fiction is pretty wafer thin (and certainly wouldn’t satisfy picky fans of the genre) but it holds together as a drama in spite of such failings.
A few other things I forgot to mention.
1) Mike Donovan’s pants are ludicrously tight. It’s a miracle he manages to rouse himself sufficiently to come on to Julie.
2) When Mike and Julie finally have a tender moment, born out of mutual respect, the scene is brutally shafted by some outrageous porn-sax music! This even happens when they embrace, cold and afraid, on a beach the night before the big attack. Hardcore sax.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:37 pmAhhh - so fabulous!!! I was and am still obsessed by V. My crush on Donovan even with his scarey spray on pants still holds fast - he is my guilty pleasure! Julie is still my hero partly because she was cool and gorgeous and rock hard - but mainly because she manged to bag herself a Donovan! Loving the new book - hoping beyond hope for a screen version.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 pmJulie was ever so slightly cross-eyed as well, which managed (though it seems scarcely possible) to make her even more adorable. Be still my…er.. heart.
Is the book actually good? The cynic in me expected a rather half-baked cash-in.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 pm