V

[RottingCorpse]

Script Review for the new V project. Spoliers ahead!

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-a-look-the-script-for-v-the-movie-5165

[nacho]

Spoilers?  It's a remake of the original series, just including the parts Johnson had to edit out.

[RottingCorpse]

No Kenneth Johnson involved in the reboot.

Alien lizards set to invade ABC in 'V'
'4400's' Scott Peters to write sci-fi adaptation

"V," the 1980s miniseries about alien lizards visiting Earth, will invade primetime once again.
ABC is developing a new adaptation of the franchise — which spawned a second mini and TV spinoff — written by "The 4400" co-creator/exec producer Scott Peters.

Warner Bros. TV, which was behind the original longform, is once again producing the project, which was sold as a spec script to the Alphabet net.

Peters is set to exec produce, along with HDFilms principal Jace Hall.

Hall, the former head of Warner Bros.’ videogame division who has worked on titles including "F.E.A.R.," will help expand "V" into other platforms, including gaming.

Peters, who earned two Emmy noms for "The 4400," said he wasn’t looking to do another sci-fi piece. But when Warner Bros. TV approached him about reinventing "V," the producer said he couldn’t resist.

"Whenever I mention ‘V’ to anybody, they still have a lot of good memories about the original movie and series," Peters said. "Everybody has that imagery of their uniforms, or the visitor eating a hamster. It’s a science fiction icon and too good to pass up."

The original "V" served as an allegory for the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. Peters said he won’t duplicate that concept, except that the new "V" will still focus on what happens when the masses have blind faith in their leaders.

In this case, the new "V" will center on Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son who’s got problems. When the aliens arrive, her son gloms on to them — causing tension within the family. As in the original "V," several storylines will unfold simultaneously.

But even without the same storyline, the original "V’s" bones will remain: As in the ’80s version, the show will open with an enormous army of spaceships hovering over the world’s major cities. The visitors say they’ve come to help Earth, but their motives are nefarious (in the original, they wanted to steal the world’s water supply).

Peters first pitched "V" to networks but failed to spark interest; Warner Bros. TV sent the scribe back to write "V" on spec — and ABC bought it.

The original "V" scored a tremendous 40 share for its closing episode in 1983. That success spawned a sequel and a weekly series, which aired in the 1984-85 season.

Original "V" writer-producer-director Kenneth Johnson recently attempted to revive "V" as "V: The Second Generation" but is not involved in the Peters version.

As for Peters, scribe has been spending more time behind the lens, helming multiple episodes of "The 4400," as well as "Jericho," "Burn Notice" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." He’s also directing the new CBS pilot "Harper’s Island."

Peters also developed the pilot "Found" for ABC last year. He began his career as a writer-producer on "The Outer Limits."

[nacho]

Poor Ken Johnson.

[Matt]

They're not alien lizards, they're reptilians. Get it right.

[nacho]

Will, if you want to get technical, they're Sirians.  Haha!  V Geek Alarm!

[RottingCorpse]

The new guy's directed episodes of Sarah Connor. My level of confidence depends on which ones he did.

[nacho]

Let's see... List of Sarah Connor episodes that do not suck:

....

....


Uh...

[nacho]

Losing the Nazi/holocaust slant and going with the George Bush/Homeland Security theme is a stupid mistake.

[RottingCorpse]

Character breakdown . . .

Yes, ABC has greenlit a pilot for a remake of the Extraterrestrial Nazi classic “V.” Yves Simoneau (“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”) directs from a screenplay by Scott Peters (the 1999-2000 version of “The Outer Limits”). Both men are veterans of the “4400” pilot.

This apparently just went out to casting personnel:

STORY LINE: The sky is full of ships -- enormous motherships from seemingly benign, very attractive humanoid aliens who just want to trade a lot of advanced technology for a little water -- but whatever you do, don't trust them...

[ERICA EVANS] 38 years old, a single mother with one teenaged son, Erica is with the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division, and is based in Los Angeles. Currently on the trail of a sleeper cell that has forged suspiciously accurate documents with suspiciously WASPy names, Erica finds her life interrupted when alien motherships appear over 29 major cities of the world. Assuaged when the humanoid inhabitants appears to be completely friendly, Erica shifts her focus back to her job and her troubled son and in so doing uncovers a shocking and massive conspiracy...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[FATHER JACK LOWERY] 30 years old, a Catholic priest, Father Jack is the assistant pastor at All Saints Church in Los Angeles, a parish that has seen its ranks of followers dwindle to almost nothing. On the verge of being reassigned, Father Jack sees a renaissance of faith when the Visitors arrive, as fallen-away Catholics return to church in droves, initially fearful of this brave new world. Unimpressed by the surge of hope and devotion that follows the arrival of the Visitors, Father Jack fears that his parishioners are relating to the aliens as god-substitutes...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[CHAD DECKER] 28 years old, an Anderson Cooper wannabe, he's a newscaster with BBN, based in New York City. Amoral, ambitious, and a little slippery, Chad is intent on getting to the top of his profession in a big hurry. The kind of man who sleeps with the Vice President's press secretary in order to gain entree, Chad gets the Ultimate Source when he is tapped by Anna to become her steady outlet for information (propaganda) about the Visitors. Too ambitious to realize that he's going to become an unpaid sycophant, Chad doesn't question his good luck...SERIES REGULAR (3)

[TYLER EVANS] 16 years old, the son of Erica Evans, Tyler is an uncool kid who wants to be cool -- or maybe he just wants to fit in, somewhere, anywhere. Deep in a state of teen angst, Tyler gets into trouble again and again, trying to crash parties where he is unwanted, and winding up in an ER. But when the visitors arrive, and Tyler's buddy Bryce scores some tickets to visit the Los Angeles mothership, Tyler thinks that the aliens just might fill the empty hole in his life...SERIES REGULAR (1)

[RYAN NICHOLS] 36 years old, Ryan is the boyfriend of Valerie Holt, and he's right on the verge of proposing marriage. But Ryan has a deep secret that he's kept from Valerie and from her daughter Cassie...SERIES REGULAR (2)

[ANNA] 40 years old, Anna is the leader of the Visitors, and she's not only humanoid, she has flawless looks and a gorgeous figure. A woman who presents herself as a benevolent deity, with a soft-spoken tone of voice that is warm and soothing (but with a strangely harmonic tone), Anna is the front person for the aliens, and she's remarkably knowledgeable -- about human culture, human languages, and media manipulation. Expert at wrapping pundits around her little finger, she decides that newscaster Chad Decker is the perfect careerist to carry her message of peace and prosperity to a wider world…SERIES REGULAR (13)

[nacho]

Ah!  You spoiled it, RC!  Now we know it's a straight up remake instead of the "Next Generation" stuff.  Or did we know that long ago and I've not been paying attention?

So Diana -- lesbian catty good looks -- is replaced by Anna, sho sounds like she'll be a cross between Servalan and Cylon Number Six.  Don't know if I like that... Diana's inherent evil and tomboyish qualities made her a great enemy, with John in the sort of "soft spoken deity" role. 

Tyler Evans is the new Daniel.  Nice to make that character younger, because Daniel was actually an uncomfortable bad guy.  Forcing people to lick his boots, slaughtering his elderly neighbor, borderline rapist freak...  On one hand, it made his exit satisfying in Final Battle.  But, really, up till them it was just like...ick.

Chad is now in the role of Donovan's girlfriend, eh? Might be interesting, since she was woefully underused in the original.  I would have liked to see her role expanded on -- the ultimate sympathizer, realizing the truth far too late.

And Father Jack is Father Andrew with teeth, it sounds like.  Having Father Andrew ultimately become a naive sympathizer hurt the Final Battle, I think.  All part of the retarded Starchild subplot...

And Erica Evans is both Juliet and Mike Donovan in one.  Greatly simplifies the series, really.  No worry about love, puts a strong woman in the lead without watering her down by a strong male role... I approve!

[RottingCorpse]

The "Next Generation" stuff was only briefly in the cards, at least that was my understanding of it. As far as I've been concerned it's always been a remake, even when Kenneth Johnson was involved.

Casting will really be everything though.

[nacho]

Well, I'm not turned off by that character list.  V was overcrowded, anyway.  They've paired it down to all the essential characters... Which means they can have a whole bunch of secondary folks who can still have a story...and be killable.

But they better have a Fifth Column!  I played Martin on the playground almost every day.

[RottingCorpse]

And Willie too!

Also, it's inevitable that if the show is a success they'll eventually resurrect the Starchild nonsense which I agree ruined the show. Unfortunately, it's really what most people remember from V and I imagine it'll be almost impossible to keep it out. Unless of course the producers can pull a total BSG and create a totally new (yet familiar) world.

[nacho]

I would hope that the point of the reboot is to bring in the Leader's enemies, which is where we were going originally. Which makes the Starchild stuff redundant.  (Ken Johnson's vision for the enemies was that they weren't too friendly to humans, either.  So our heroes sort of invited a bear to fight the wolf.)