V returns with a blistering pace

I think I’ve become too indoctrinated into the slow burn of Lost, but V seems like it is moving at light speed. It doesn’t help that V is now airing right after Lost, or that it stars Elizabeth Mitchell, or that she said those infamous words from John Locke: “don’t tell me what I can’t do,” but I can’t help but notice the huge difference in the paces of the two shows. Not that I’m complaining. As much as I dig the slow, deliberate pace of Lost, I really enjoyed this wham-bam episode of V.

I was a little skeptical of the show when it first aired all the way back in November. However, as the four episodes (yes, we only got four episodes from ABC before the incredibly long break) unfolded I began to enjoy the show more and more. Perhaps it was merely a case of my expectations coming in line with what I was watching, but even if it was, so what? V is a fun hour of television.

It seemed like there was a whole lot of story stuffed into this episode. I figured that Father Jack was going to be fine after being attacked and stabbed. What I didn’t predict is that it would be the Visitors who saved him. It should be interesting watching what the R6 does to poor Jack and the others who have received a dose. Hopefully it won’t turn him into a giant lizard. Elsewhere, we saw Erica and the resistance team take a great step toward actually “building an army,” even if it did mean siding with a dangerous fugitive. It was a nice touch to show how serious (and desperate?) the group is. For the first time I really felt myself buying into the “war” idea.

A lot of Erica’s motivations still revolve around her son. Tyler hasn’t changed much, by which I mean he is still incredibly annoying. It seems like in any show that is not mainly focused on teenagers, all teenaged characters act like impetuous, hormone-driven morons. I’m not a teenager myself anymore, but I would still appreciate a nice, three dimensional portrayal of one. However, I’m even starting to forgive that, because I don’t think this show is really trying to be that deep or meaningful or go too in depth in the psyches of these people. Sometimes you just need some fun, like creepy alien lizard sex, or disturbing dead mouse pregnancy cravings. It simply wouldn’t be V without some good old rodent eating.

It’s funny, but Ryan started out as my least favorite character and I think that he might be my favorite now. I’m curious to see how far they are going to go with the odd alien pregnancy. This is another callback to the original series, where one of the unwitting human characters gave birth to a lizard. It was quite an infamous moment, and even led my sister to say, many times during her own non-alien pregnancy: “I don’t care what we have, as long as it’s not a lizard baby.” In any case, I still have the feeling that Anna and Lisa are planning on using Tyler to try to create a human/V hybrid (sound familiar, BSG fans?). It will be fun to see how that works out and what impact it has on Ryan’s own hybrid baby.

I have to say, for aliens with crazy superior technology and seemingly limitless resources, their fleets sure take a long time to get somewhere. The big reveal at the end of the four episodes was a shot of the V fleet making its way toward Earth. There was no pay off on that this week, and I would guess that they are still a ways away. Anna did, after all, feel the need impregnate herself with an “army.” Just how fast can these Visitors breed? And how many babies is she going have? I almost don’t want to find out….

Are you excited at the return of V? Did you think it came back with a bang?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 30, 2010 @ 23:05 EST5EDT