ORIGINAL 'V' MINISERIES WITH 'V: THE FINAL BATTLE' & TV SHOW

Reviews of V: THE ORIGINAL MINISERIES with THE FINAL BATTLE and the TV SERIES 1983-1985

V: THE ORIGINAL MINISERIES (1983): About every five years it's time to rediscover the brilliance of a miniseries that, for a number of reasons, has gotten a bad rap as being pure, unapologetic camp: But it's wise not to mistake camp for cult, and to realize that every original vehicle with cheesy followups did begin with something worthy of being followed-up in the first place...

In that, director and writer Kenneth Johnson combined WAR OF THE WORLDS with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL into this cult miniseries centering on a relatively small band of Americans in a suburban town and slightly beyond, all effected by the slowly progressive takeover of aliens who seem friendly at first, promising that, if we allow chemical plants to share our resources to aid their dying planet, they will, in turn, share a few things: like the cure for cancer, for starters...

Part of the UFO montage of V: THE ORIGINAL SERIES

Turns out they're not so friendly, and despite, on the surface, resembling a stalwart, square-jawed Richard Herd; a beautiful, curvaceous Jane Badler; and a serious Andrew Prine: deep down they're really lizards who devour rats like we do hour de vours at a cocktail party... 

Only it's a secret. And Badler's buried lead leader is the sinister and sexy Diane, hypnotically seducing network newswoman turned alien propagandist Kristine Walsh, the ex of the main hero, Marc Singer, whose intrepid cameraman character, Mike Donovan, and his Asian sidekick Tony Wah (Evan Kim) begins the show as they're being chased by military helicopters in South America while covering the story of a revolutionary uprising... 

Cult Film Freak Interviewee Greta Blackburn with Frank Ashmore and last but not least Jane Badler

This South American revolution was the biggest kind of war going on in the 1980s, and in a creative twist, director Johnson first shows the impending UFO scaring off the impending helicopter — thus the news cycle has changed, forever. And as director, "Kenny" (as he calls himself on the excellent commentary track) Johnson uses various ways of telling the story in an interesting manner... For example, when the media first covers the alien press conference, half is shown through flashbacks (and a video tape) explained by a couple who were there...

And the best scenes occur during this first half when the UFOs, covering every landmark, worldwide, send down the aliens in human form and become antagonists in a long, progressive manner in which Singer takes the active role as investigative hero. There is a somewhat heavy-handed, or at least, much too obvious symbolism of the aliens to the Nazi takeover during the late 1930's, highlighted by an old Jewish man who acts as the mellow lecturing Roman Chorus throughout. 

As noted up top... This is a local plant that resides on Studebaker Blvd right before Westminister Blvd

Two families headline the suburban setting: In one, the patriarch is an archeologist and the other is related to the concentration camp survivor. Since all scientists are considered a threat, for fear of the alien's true identity being revealed, the family with teenage daughter Blair Tefkin is key... 

The actress/singer replaced the murdered Dominique Dunne as Robin Maxwell, smitten with a blond, handsome member of the alien guard... 

In anything science-fiction over symbolism isn't such a terribly awful thing really in V

Meanwhile, the other family has their own teen, David Packer (who Dunne had been rehearsing with... from the front door, he witnessed her boyfriend strangling her), who never had a purpose until being a "narc" soldier working for the aliens, a gig he takes seriously — drastically sharpened by his unrequited lust for Robin.

Sure, there are plenty of soap operatic elements including relationships that build as slowly as the alien transition, also including Singer with the leading lady, Faye Grant's scientific idealist, Juliet Parrish... 

Former escaped Jew Michael Cimino reliving a nightmare in V by Kenneth Johnson

The Ewok-cute GREATEST AMERICAN HERO actress, and the wife who called out STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE Stephen Collins on child molesting, leads an underground resistance that includes a black thief using street savvy tactics for the cause, and a collective that makes the original V more character-driven than anything else...

Although there's plenty of intrigue and suspense, even more than action which, by the end, seems a bit contrived — as if needing that element for mainstream viewer expectation. More proof that STAR WARS changed the sci-fi genre forever. You simply can't have a space flick without a lot of lasers blasting, frantic running around, and then some.

Greta Blackburn with Frank Ashmore and Jane Badler in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

V: THE FINAL BATTLE (1984): In that, the real action is saved for a continuation that Kenneth Johnson had nothing to do with. Taking over for those we lost in the original are two characters played by a taut "b-actor" and a former Bob Dylan drummer...

Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler and Mickey Jones as Chris, his biker-looking sidekick, are both former gritty mercenaries joined to the cause where the stakes are raised, and, while the suspenseful momentum-building aura has lessened, there's enough happening to keep fans of the original, and anyone jumping on board, pretty entertained.

The Romeo lizard who impregnates a human girl terminates TERMINATOR actor Dick Miller from FINAL BATTLE

"Though I supervised the writing of the 6-hour sequel, I left Warners over creative differences before it was produced," the original miniseries writer/director (and the man who brought The Incredible Hulk to television) Kenneth Johnson shared via email. "To this day I have never seen it, except for one minute by accident, in which I saw them make every wrong choice possible, so I knew I'd never survive watching the entire thing... And I never saw any of the Series at all."

 He finishes with... "But my friends who were in it said it was pretty awful and certainly missed the essence of what I had been attempting to create."

Mickey Jones and Michael Ironson in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

The first half begins with a bang, literally, and perhaps Johnson would have saved that for later. But what we get within minutes is a set-up for what's to come — a plot involving a telecast where the aliens will be revealed in true form (later used at the peak of John Carpenter's THEY LIVE)... 

In that, the intrigue and sporadic pockets of action override the characters. Wherein the original miniseries was character-driven, this is more a top-heavy espionage leading to something big through dialogue, mostly dealing with the survivors we already know, and who don't do very much, really...

Denise Galik as Maggie in V: THE FINAL BATTLE with Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler

Even leaders Faye Grant and Marc Singer get lost in their own leadership roles. While Singer does hold on a bit to his maverick persona (which Ironside mostly replaces), his bravado goes through the motions. All leading to a Part One finale so noticeably low budget, it's as if they had spent money on other things and couldn't afford the initial splurge... 

And in the soapy melodrama department, Blair Tefkin deals with having a lizard growing inside her that will soon pop out, screaming... An infamous image that tarnished the entire V series. And yet, like some bad songs are still catchy, this reptilian birth will remain forever in your memory banks (which you too will see further down)...

Denise Galik, Mickey Jones and Sandy Simpson in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Before that, V: THE FINAL BATTLE is safely played and entertaining enough as Michael Ironside's Ham Tyler shows up to bring the action home. "In about five seconds, you're all gonna be cloud dancin'," Ham's partner, Chris (Mickey Jones), says...

Pulpy dialogue that about sums both characters up: Dime Novel Antiheroes, and they really help the story evolve; basically, these guys are what's developed from the action itself as opposed to following along with it. The B-Movie combination of Singer and Ironside alone is worth the free price of admission from here on in...

Faye Grant and Jane Badler in the Conversion Chamber from V: THE FINAL BATTLE

What kind of works is the simplicity of the science-fiction aspect, morphing into a more STAR TREK stye vehicle in nature... including a contraption called The Conversion Machine that sucks human brains dry of knowledge (intriguing at first but eventually wearing thin) and in that, the voluptuous Diana, as opposed to Andrew Prine and Richard Herd used sparingly, really shines as the lead heavy (especially as she deals with bitchy usurper Sarah Douglas)...

Basically, when skirmishes aren't being fought, they're being discussed, again taking away from the people speaking (including Denise Galik as a cute undercover agent, Maggie; her jealous cop boyfriend; Thomas Hill as a very resilient priest, and a host of others not in the original): their plans mean more than they do. But that's the name of the game, literally, THE FINAL BATTLE. But FINAL isn't the case, as there was a one-season-wonder television series that quickly followed...

More Televisionish than ever is the V: TELEVISION SERIES here with Faye Grant looking at Lane Smith

V: THE WEEKLY TELEVISION SERIES: TAKE ONE (1984-1985): There are basically three different tiers to the V series, and all were trying very hard to keep the show thriving, and interesting, to an audience that didn't catch on since the wonderment of the original miniseries had long worn off by the last (cliffhanging) episode. And it was all about saving money...

Which began an epic extension/continuation of the two miniseries, with our leading actors Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Michael Ironside, Mickey Jones, Michael Wright, Robert Englund, Blair Tefkin and her baby alien in human teenage form along with a young handsome guy with the usual feathered haircut, played surprisingly well by Jeff Yagher... who winds up the romantic lead with pretty "Star Child" Jennifer Cooke... all originally fighting the aliens in citywide landscape...

Rhonda Aldrich takes on the Visitors during the last leg of the TV Series when it went action-rural...

But the series veered from a collected team effort including scene stealers Ironside and Jones (both axed mid-season, which is explained further below the next screen capture), to a rural small town with much fewer leading characters: And along with this is a downsizing of action and overall events so it's not as thrilling; much cheaper to film; and no longer epitomizes, or even represents properly, the science-fiction category... 

So V wound up looking and feeling like mundane television fare: reminiscent of the original PLANET OF THE APES theatrical saga as well as television's 1970's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, the longer the show went on, the less money was spent, and it showed — ultimately, the price was paid. Although, Jane Badler's villainous Diana remains tried, true and dependably, entertainingly nefarious (especially while sparring with second-in-command SPINAL TAP actress June Chadwick as Lydia) no matter how cheap things get on the ground.

Michael Ironside and Marc Singer continued as the starring action-led team from The Final Battle

WEEKLY SERIES TAKE TWO: WHEN 'V' SERIES JUMPED THE SHARK: Ham Tyler, on his own, was in fact the best character on the weekly network series while also backing up and providing lead actor Marc Singer's character more purpose and, before that, made V: THE FINAL BATTLE worthwhile despite the infamous lizard baby...

But Ham and his wookie-sized partner Chris (Mickey Jones, who is basically rewritten-in to take Tyler away) were mercenaries, and mercenaries are built for big action sequences: which costs money. The way this show veered from sabotaging aliens with literally explosive heists and citywide capers, it turned from an epic science-fiction action show into a rural small town limited-adventure along the lines of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD (liken to low budget sci-fi movies going the post-nuclear wasteland route instead of a pricey utopian future)…

In the Lucas-style enemy uniform trick, Jeff Yagher's Kyle Bates tricks a lizard in V The Series

While twenty-something soap opera-looking Jeff Yagher was an otherwise good character (an attempt at a dirt-bike-heroic GREAT ESCAPE Steve McQueen), he was also the network's romantic lead. Meanwhile, along with Ironside, Marc Singer and Faye Grant, the main stars of both movies leading up, took a backseat to Yagher and young ingenue Jennifer Cooke...

Even the never-resolved series' cliffhanger has Yager as the would-be savior, not Singer, as he's attempting to rescue Cooke from the mothership (that Diana rigged with explosives). If the series followed more along the lines of the movies, it'd be Singer trying to save Grant.

Diana makes a deal with "expensive" corporate villain Lane Smith on the show's second episode

The series went through other major changes before Ham left (along with Blair Tefkin, the Star Child's mother): For example, the sudden death of another original cast member, Michael Wright, as the black former-thief turned resilient trickster, Elias, who wound up running the city-centered restaurant that wouldn't be needed later on; and especially Lane Smith as the chief corporate villain (Yager's dad), who resided in a fancy futuristic building that probably cost the network even more money, which might've been another reason for the rural move...

But who knows… Ironside may have wanted to ditch the series. He was always working in those days. And while this is one fan's opinion, it's very often the case that, when a show dramatically changes gears during the last four or five episodes, it's because there was little to no future ahead...

Always the show's villainous proverbial bride and never a bridesmaid in Jane Badham's awesomely-armed Diana

A shame since the series initially had value: from the opening credit geek-porn image of formidable alien ships poised behind the moon to the continuance of creative, multi-tier plot-lines...

But no matter how cheap/limited things got, our gorgeous evil queen, Diana, remained a strong and significant presence. In other words, while the big city heroes became small town road racers, Diana (and her nemesis, Lydia) still resided in a big fancy space ship above: The last aspect about V: THE SERIES that still resembled its core genre of Science-Fiction.

SCORE FOR V: ORIGINAL MINISERIES: ****  THE FINAL BATTLE: ***1/2   TELEVISION SHOW: ***

Young Lovers for a TV audience is Starchild hottie Jennifer Cooke with Jeff Yagher as the James Dean wannabe

Looking as if Joan Cusack joined the band KISS, Jude Chadwick as Lydia fights a very known enemy....

The Series has moments of Planet of the Apes irony like this Lizard wearing a Man not Alligator Shirt

Before Robert Englund became a horror villain he was comic relief on V: THE SERIES

For the TV series, Jane Badler's Diana has June Chadwick on an endless tightrope

Michael Ironside's mercenary Ham Tyler battles old war-mate Marc Singer at the locale of Camp Pendleton

Before the infamous Lizard Baby was the human baby with forked tongue in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

And here's The Lizard Baby itself born screeching  in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Mysterious-UFO-Gathering-In-The-Skies Shot from The Original Miniseries of Kenneth Johnson's V

Mysterious-UFO-Gathering-In-The-Skies Shot from The Original Miniseries of Kenneth Johnson's V

Mysterious-UFO-Gathering-In-The-Skies Shot from The Original Miniseries of Kenneth Johnson's V (about 7 minutes away in LB, California)

Mysterious-UFO-Gathering-In-The-Skies Shot from The Original Miniseries of Kenneth Johnson's V

Penelope Windust paints a spacey portrait in V The Original Miniseries as Kathleen Maxwell viewed by underdog hero Rafael Campos

The first shot of the UFO as Marc Singer chased an enemy copter and ran into this

Blair Tefkin gets bored and escapes and after she's captured... sex and a lizard baby... pop culture fate of V...

The first V on DVD signed by veteran actor Richard Herd and the TV DVD set signed by Jeff Yagher

 Blair Tefkin and Viveka Davis in V

Viveka Davis, Marin May and Penelope Windust as The Maxwell family in V

Faye Grant in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Jenny Neumann as good alien Barbara in V: THE ORIGINAL MINISERIES w/ Marc Singer

Sexy V alien blonde Jenny Neumann in MISTRESS OF THE APES

And again Jenny Neumann as Barbara with Marc Singer in V

Viveka Davis, Penelope Windust and Marin May in V

Neva Patterson as Marc Singer's bitch mom on V and here from V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Another UFO hovering shot this one from V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Since we're so in love with Denise Galik as Maggie here's one of several from V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Denise Galik as Maggie in V: THE FINAL BATTLE with David Packer

Jane Badham & Jenny Sullivan w/ their lesbian undertone sustained into V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Spinal Tap's Yoko Ono in British actress June Chadwick in V: THE SERIES

Denise Galik as Maggie in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Faye Grant doing her Princess Leia with gun in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Jane Badham as Diana fires Jenny Sullivan as Kristine Walsh in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Frank Ashmore and the gorgeous Greta Blackburn in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Denise Galik with Sandy Simpson and Mickey Jones in the back

Denise Galik and Mickey Jones all three of these photos from V: THE FINAL BATTLE

"Congratulations on selling out your people to a bunch of nightcrawlers!" Faye Grant, V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Sarah Douglas, Richard Herd (signer of the DVD) and Andrew Prine in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Denise Galik as Maggie in V: THE FINAL BATTLE

One of the final battles From V: THE FINAL BATTLE

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle: "They're just... big... ugly... creepy LIZARDS!"

In anything science-fiction over symbolism isn't such a terribly awful thing really

"I left my spaceship... in San Fransisco... Where the lizards roam... With flowers in their..."

Another cool visual from the original movies

Michael Ironside joins in FINAL BATTLE w/ Marc Singer as both hang in a hideaway that would also serve the TV Series

Purple Spaceship Majesty hovering over the usually friendly suburbia

An original character buys the farm on the series

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle:

Viveka Davis with Tom Hanks in CAST AWAY

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle:

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle:

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle:

Viveka Davis Goads Reptilian in V: The Final Battle:

Jenny Neumann as Barbara on V with Marc Singer

Jenny Neumann in My Favorite Year with Peter O'Toole