Rating: 
Summary: ...For Victory
Review: As a mini-seres V, made quite an impression, when it originally aired in 1983 on the NBC network. Using a cast of mostly unknown actors, creator Kenneth Johnson, told an action packed sci-fi story, enhanced with pretty cool (for a television project) special effects. When 50 alien spacecrafts suddenly hover in the skies around the world, humankind is left to wonder, what's next. When these strange Visitors emerge, they extend a hand in the name of friendship, and promise great things for us and our planet. In return, all they ask is, that we give them access to some minor planetary resources. Thanks to a small band of resistance fighters, the aliens, who look like us, but are vastly different, their true plan for Earth and its population, is discovered...and the fate of the world rests in the hands of the freedom fighters...Written and Directed by Johnson, V acts as a parallel to Hitler and his regime, disguised as a sci-fi epic. Everything works well and holds up surprisingly well. Its sequel, THE FINAL BATTLE, is a good conclusion to what started here, but nothing beats the original.The double sided DVD has the complete mini-series (now in Dolby Surround). As for the extras, the commentary track with Johnson is informative and very well done The track never lags or repeats anything already said. The vintage featurette is a blast to watch. It's a shame that their are no retrospective interviews with cast and crew on the disc. I would have liked to hear from others on the project (oh, well). V-THE ORIGINAL MINI-SERIES remains good sci-fi fare Recommended with **** stars
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: The quality of the DVD is a distinct improvement over the tapes I made as the miniseries aired long ago. There wasn't much in the way of extras. I found the "Making Of" segment interesting, but far more interesting was rewatching the miniseries while listening to the running commentary by director Kenneth Johnson. Turning on the subtitles allows you to follow the action while listening to the commentary. I do have a few complaints, however. I would've paid a bit more for a plastic case instead of the cheap cardboard one. And I'm not fond of double-sided DVDs, but I suppose that was a cost saving measure, too. I also don't understand why someone felt it necessary to chop off the top and bottom of the picture to cater to the minority of people who are able to take advantage of widescreen. Out of curiosity, I compared the DVD to my old tapes. The DVD image is no wider than before, but an inch or so (depending on your TV size) is blotted out on the top and bottom to provide the widescreen ratio. It turns out the information lost isn't crucial, so I didn't find the loss annoying. I just found it annoying in principle that someone felt a need to lop off part of my picture to provide a format I didn't need in the first place. The original format was more than fine.
Rating: 
Summary: Nostalgia Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!!
Review: I remember when I was 9 years old and started to see advertisements in the TV Guide for this miniseries. At first it was just a very vague picture of a "V". This was intriguing. Week by week there would be little added catch lines like "They're Coming". Then I saw the previews on television which were also rather mysterious. This series unfolds very much like those ads. For those of you who are confused, be aware this is the first mini-series. V: The Final Battle was the sequel mini-series which did not run until the following year. In the opening scenes we meet the various human characters from all walks of life that we'll be following throughout the story. Suddenly huge mother ships begin to appear over major cities all over the world. Naturally, everyone is very scared and apprehensive. What do they want? When we finally meet the Visitors they appear human. They assure the world that they have come in peace and that they need our help to save their dying planet. Naturally, humans offer to help in any way they can. As the story progresses, various characters begin to suspect the Visitors are not all they're cracked up to be. And they're right! Marc Singer plays the role of Mike Donovan, a rather arrogant journalist who catches on film just what the visitors truly look like. Naturally, he becomes a target. Mike also discovers that these beings are not here for the reasons they have told the world. And they certainly haven't come in peace! Juliet Parrish, played by Faye Grant, is a med student who becomes alarmed at the number of doctors and scientists who are inexplicably disappearing. It doesn't take long to pinpoint who is causing their vanishing acts. As a result she becomes a very capable, albeit reluctant, leader to a small group of people who plan to stop the Visitors. As the group grows larger, so do her insecurities. Mike becomes involved with the group and shares what he knows with Julie and the others, and they begin to plan how they will stop the aliens. Meanwhile, more ambitious humans are like peas in a pod with the Visitors. Refusing to believe that their intentions could be the least bit corrupt. This series ends with several cliff-hangers, the most memorable being the fact that a human girl is now impregnated with an alien's child, the result of an experiment the alien Diana instigated. The characters are very well written in this mini-series. The parallels between the Visitors and the Nazis are very obvious but also compelling. It shows how easily some people can be led, and how far some will go to gain power over others. I do prefer The Final Battle over this initial series for the simple fact that there is more Diana! Jane Badler plays, perhaps, the best TV villainess EVER and there is simply not enough of her in this first one. Still, you can't see the second one without the first one! But do yourself a favor and buy both this mini-series and the second one at the same time! You won't want to wait to watch the second part simply because this one leaves you in suspense. This series remains a "must have" in my personal collection. I bought the videos when they first came out and before that I had generic taped copies that were darn near worn out from viewing! A KEEPER!
Rating:
Summary: As good as I remember.
Review: V is a classic science fiction, but it is heavily edited. Hardly the V I remember. Perhaps there will be a more complete edition soon. I've almost forgotten how pretty Faye Grant was and how exciting her performance was, as the resistance leader. It is unfortunate that she did not become a big star. Marc Singer's performance in V was great.
I hope that soon Warner will come out with a more complete edition. And hopefully, I can order it. I will look forward to watching the Final Battle. I know there's a television series in between. And hope they will release it soon.
Rating:
Summary: Nazis from outer space
Review: When Kenneth Johnson first pitched V to NBC and Warner Bros, he was greeted by yawns from the various execs because his pitch had more to do with the Nazis of WW2 and the French Resistance fighters than anything else, but then he dropped a bombshell: "The difference is that these Nazis are from outer space." With these words, V: The Original Miniseries was born. An epic tale of an alien race who supposedly came in peace, but who then proceeded to enslave the planet, V is more of a story about the human condition, about our own weaknesses, than a flashy sci-fi tale. Even though most of the Visitors believe in their Great Leader's plans to steal the water from Earth and use humans for cannon fodder and food, there is a small contingent of Visitor officers such as Martin and Barbara who are firmly convinced that what their superiors are doing is wrong and proceed to help the Human Resistance movement in any way they can. There are also Visitors like Brian, who serves as sort of a recruiting officer for the Visitors Friends, an organization of young humans who are dedicated to helping the Visitors to maintain order after several alleged attacks on Visitor refineries and processing plants (Brian is also the officer approached by Diana to participate in a medical experiment that leads to the impregnation of Robin Maxwell, the daughter of one of the Resistance fighters, Robert Maxwell). I have to say that getting V: The Original Miniseries on DVD at last proved to be quite a plus for me, because I had worn out various VHS copies thanks to multiple viewings. The story is that good! I was also glad to get to see the Making Of documentary, which contains comments from various cast and crew including Kenneth Johnson, Marc Singer, and Faye Grant (wife of 7th Heaven's Stephen Collins). This miniseries is definitely a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Remeber it is a Series!
Review: I keep reading, "it is not like I remember!" Well of almost any series ever made this is perhaps the most fragmented and spread over the most time! Heck "V" spread itself thru most of the 80's! You can get the TV series which follows the TV miniseries and "V" The Final Battle thru 3rd parties. It may be released someday as well. The 3 parts to "V" need to be viewed in order and as a whole for this is a puzzle that like the memory of myself and others os fragmented at best! Please remember to see the whole series before judgement is passed! Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: End of confusion!
Review: Ok people I understand that some are lost! Heck it has been over 20 years for some of us! As I recall this is the order of the V series: 1. V: The origional miniseries. (DVD)
2. V: The Final Battle (DVD)
3. V: The TV Series (Special order DVD thru 3rd parties via PAL tapes) Let me know if this is wrong! thanks!
Rating:
Summary: I'm confused
Review: I have this dvd and the final battle dvd. But when I was a kid and saw this on TV I remember certain scenes that are not on either dvd. Could someone please explain this for me..:) What really sticks in my mind, is the little girl Elizabeth, as an older girl. And she is in bed like she is sick, because the skin is peeling off her arms and underneath is the lizards scales. Is there a third dvd that I don't know about to this series?? I would really appreciate any info about this. I love this series. My email is user212223 @aol.com
Rating:
Summary: V is for victory
Review: As a 13 year old kid in 1983, the original V miniseries was huge; it seems like all of my friends watched it and talked about it. Certain memories of this small screen epic have stayed with me for many years, and I was overjoyed when the miniseries was released on VHS. What kid could forget the images of the giant motherships hovering above our major cities, the first glimpse at the true, reptilian faces of the visitors underneath their human masks, and--above all else--the horrible yet incredibly cool sight of watching the visitors eating live rats and other small creatures? This really was a landmark event in television and science fiction; if my memory serves me, this was actually one of television's very first miniseries and did much to lay the groundwork for future successes in the genre. V no longer packs quite the punch it did in 1983, especially in terms of special effects, but its classic status does nothing to lessen its impact. The story is rather simple. A fleet of giant alien motherships appears out of nowhere to hover over the world's major cities. When communication is established, the aliens announce they come in peace and want to share their knowledge with Earth in exchange for assistance in producing chemicals needed on their home planet in the Sirius system. Reporter Christine Walsh soon becomes the spokesperson for the Visitors, but her colleague Mike Donovan becomes suspicious when charges of a vast conspiracy of scientists against the Visitors is announced. He manages to sneak on board a mothership and obtains visual evidence of the true natures of Earth's so-called friends. When he tries to present this evidence, the Visitors take control of all the networks and announce the fact they are going to work in conjunction with the government in order to maintain law and order. Having established martial law, the Visitors begin taking large numbers of people away, especially scientists. L.A.'s remaining scientists start a Resistance movement to protect themselves and to work to thwart the aliens' intentions, eventually incorporating Donovan in their ranks. The second half of the miniseries deals with the Resistance and the stepped-up efforts of the Visitors to destroy it. There are many characters and many subplots thrown into the mix. Comparisons to the Holocaust are both obvious and explicit, represented powerfully and eloquently by a Jewish survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. A crucial plot point in terms of setting the stage for the follow-up miniseries revolves an anthropologist's teenaged daughter who is smitten with one of the young Visitors; Diana, the second in command and most attractive Visitor, arranges for a biological "experiment" between the human girl and her alien friend. Marc Singer (better known as that guy you recognize in other stuff but cannot remember where you've seen him before) stars as Donovan. Faye Grant is the reluctant leader of the band of resisting scientists; her balancing act between victim and revolutionary gets a little sappy at times, but overall she plays her part well. Jane Badler is wonderful as the beautifully devious alien Diana. Robert, Englund (yes, Freddy Krueger himself) is quite funny as a clumsy, bumbling alien who has yet to learn the nuances of the English language (you see, he learned Arabic for his mission, but a screwup led to him being assigned to Los Angeles instead of the Persian Gulf area). Leonardo Cimino as Abraham serves as the moral voice of the Resistance effort and clarifies the point that V stands for victory. One thing to keep in mind is that this is only the original miniseries, and, as Faye Grant's character says, the war is just beginning. Resolution and a sense of completion are to be found only in the V: The Final Battle miniseries.
Rating: 
Summary: V the sci-fi miniseries
Review: I was very disappointed in the DVD V. It cut out a lot of the miniseries including the birth of the twin mixed breed and the exellent ending of the surviving twin that stood for peace. Am I missing something here? is there a second DVD with this ending and the missing scenes? Or did they just cut a hell of a lot out to fit it all on one DVD???
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