As a kid I was a huge fan of the 80’s sci-fi series “V”. The mini-series was about seemingly benevolent ‘visitors’ bringing technology and resources for a simple exchange of a little water. Unknown to humanity was that the visitors wanted a little more than water but dinner as well- and guess who was on the menu?

Another shock was that the uber-sexy extraterrestrials were not human at all but actually green-skinned, red-eyed reptiles under a lot of makeup- can’t we Earthlings ever catch a break? I can’t remember most of the details of the series but who can forget the first time the a visitors face is ripped off to reveal their true form? The most iconic image from the series was the tiny lizard baby that climbs out of his human mother during childbirth. SyFy channel has been replaying the series and watching it has only served to diminish my fond memories of the great series. It’s pretty cheesy, poorly acted, and filled with 80’s cliches. It was one of the most memorable childhood TV series, but better served in my memory than anywhere else. Now on to the new series…

The ABC pilot of the new series of the same name aired last Tuesday. With a relatively unknown cast, the episode starts right away with the arrival of the behemoth spaceships. The imagery would have been impressive if not for Independence Day had not done it a decade earlier or even recently District 9. The visitors pitch the same ‘we come in peace’ message and us gullible humans fall for it again. The world community starts polarizing quickly with sympathizers and skeptics lining up on both sides. The pilot ends with a couple of twists that are reminiscent of the old series. Not bad.

Overall, it was a fairly solid start for this familiar series. There are multiple storylines with interesting characters. In this initial outing, there was nothing super innovative from its predecessor but it was still enjoyable. It’s always a delicate balance maintaining the original premise while adding unexpected originality. I enjoyed this episode enough to add it to my DVR lineup for the week- not many series have that privilege. However, I’ll give it a few more episodes before I become a full sympathizer to the visitors.

You can watch the pilot on the ABC website here.

I gave this pilot a 3 Babbles out of 5.