Rating: 
Summary: Beware of Possible Confusion
Review: I purchased "V - The Complete Series" after reading and re-reading the various descriptions and still got the false impression that this DVD set contained the episodes of the ORIGINAL V mini-series that aired first.
The original television-aired series, now on DVD, is called
"V - The Original TV Miniseries". Maybe it was late and I was
just tired, but I did end up mistaking one series for the other.
I hope this will help others to avoid making the same mistake.
Having said that, I have seen some parts of the newer series
and they don't seem to be as fascinating as the episodes from the original TV mini-series, which I feel had much more of a new and fresh quality to it. The newer, "Complete Series", continues onward from where the TV series left off, but not with the same newness and sense of discovery, a problem which I suppose happens with a lot of sequels. I am a hopeless sci-fi fan, and so I am glad I ended up getting both DVD sets; I just wish I had known the difference between the two, and that I had not started watching the first episode of the continuation series, thinking it was the original TV series. I'm embarrassed to say I was confused for a time.
Rating:
Summary: A missed opportunity
Review: 'V' was spectacular: the scope and vision of the first mini-series (and to some extent its sequal, The Final Battle) carved out a rightful place in science fiction history. It was a narrative about what happens when oppressive forces are in command and power becomes something resented, challenged, desired and owned. It did it with blinding special effects and excellent story writing. This, a 19 part follow up series, had promise: continuing the story on Earth with the Aliens at war with the humans in a time where politics and business are hand in hand. There are some good moments to be sure, but by and large, the series falls down. It tends to rely too heavily on dull, formulaic human relationships (the love triangle between Kyle, Robin and Elizabeth being the case in point) and stockpiled special effects footage from the original show giving the impression of a non-existent budget from word go. The cast falls apart (with few principles at the end), the stories become less and less engaging, culminating in an erroneous and deeply unsatisfactory finale that is almost breathtakingly bad. It merits 3 stars on nostalgic principle, a cool theme tune and the prescence of Diana (the great villain), but against its predecessors lacks the vision and quality that made the concept unique - its original creator now returning to make 'the new generation'. Let's hope for great things.
Rating: 
Summary: V the series comes to dvd
Review: After purchasing the boxed set of V the series, I must say that the show has not held up well over the years. The special effects are very cheesy compared to today's ,and the dialogue at times is horrific. The weekly verbal catfights between Lydia and Diana get tiresome after the first few episodes, also I was really disappointed that the Ham Tyler character left the show mid-season as he was my favorite character next to Donovan. However I give the series four stars because even with all those things against it, it's still a heckuva lot better than the sci-fi on tv nowadays.
Rating: 
Summary: nostalgia only
Review: At the time, I had no idea how bad the writing was. Every plot movement is choreographed by necessity. You find yourself saying "Why don't they just..." in every scene. The dialogue is simply atrocious too. So far below the quality of the original miniseries (and even the second one) that you have to wonder what they were thinking.
The DVD quality itself could not be worse. It's dark, muddy-looking. And, oh yes, lest I forget - the dreaded two-sided DVD's.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated 80's classic sci-fi
Review: For those of us who were there, the 1983 original "V" minseries (and its sequel the following year) were Event Television. The weekly series that followed wasn't well-received by comparison. I'm not sure why that is, as it was a reasonably well-made, action-packed continuation of the story.The first dozen or so episodes were the best, as Marc Singer's Mike Donovan looked for his son while trying to hold together the rag-tag band of resistance fighters. Along with Faye Grant as Juliet Parish and the ever-imposing Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler, Singer helped carry the episodes. But around episode 12 (it's been awhile, so forgive me if I'm off by one or so) about the half the cast was written out, including Ironside. The remaining episodes degenerated in quality, but the final cliffhanger (the NEVER RESOLVED cliffhanger) was very exciting. "V" originally conceived as a WWII allegory; the weekly show, while perhaps omitting some of the more intellectual and philosophical beats, still stands up as a well-made bit of action/sci-fi. Give it another chance, I think you'll find it wasn't nearly as bad as its detractors suggest.
Rating: 
Summary: A Technical Note
Review: I had to own this. It was awful, this series, but it was a part of my childhood, and a follow up to the excellent two-part miniseries and the mediocre The Final Battle. But, as always, these reviews will be read, mostly, by folks who already have seen the series and formed their own opinions. So I have a technical warning to add to the mix.
The original two-part miniseries and The Final Battle were transferred from the original 35mm film for the new DVD releases. This contributed to their excellent picture quality. Even 'Knight Rider,' which was two-and-a-half years older, was transferred, in all its 35mm glory, directly to the master digital medium prior to making its way to DVD.
Not so with V: The Series. The picture quality's really not great. Apparently the DVD authors were unable (or too lazy) to find the original 35mm film stock, and elected to transfer from the original analogue videotape to the DVD master. So you get a picture confined by the technical limitations of 1984 broadcast technology. For example, composite video. Which means that your juicy S-Video or Y, Cr, Cb hookup to your video monitor doesn't help you - you WILL be stuck with the artefacts inherent in composite video, in the same way you would have been with LaserDisc.
To drive the point home, the DVDs have the old FBI warning slide at the end of the episodes. Yes, the very same FBI warning you'll see on a 1990 LaserDisc - if you can actually see it through the analogue composite video haze.
So, beware - no improvements have been made to the quality of this series in order to bring it to DVD. You'll get it exactly as you did 20 years ago (has it been that long???).
Rating:
Summary: A truly facinating series
Review: I have only seen the first two episodes of this series and I must say, I am intrigued. I was amazed when I found out that this series was made in the 80's. The effects were so good; I thought it had to be 90's. The series reminded me of my favorite Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man." It had a similar storyline. Aliens come to Earth supposedly to aid the human race. In reality, they come to eat the human race. There were many similarities between the V series and the holocaust. The way the Visitors alienated everyone against the scientists was very much like the way the Nazis alienated everyone against the Jews. I can't wait for the whole miniseries to come out.
Rating: 
Summary: I just made my cousin happy!
Review: I just ordered my cousin a copy of V the series, ordered one for myself. It was fun series. Yeah, it had problems, but with Michael Ironside, Duncan Regehr, and Marc Singer...it was still great fun and it's good they are out on DVD finally! How can one forget Elizardbeth or Charles and Diana's Wedding!!!
hehehehe You get all 19 episodes so V fans enjoy! Campy howl!
Rating:
Summary: a fun series at good price but not remastered
Review: I've been showing these eps to my friends who were V fans back in the day and we've been having a wonderful time watching them and introducing the show to those who missed it. We agree that another V DVD set with remastered episodes,the two movies, and extras would be cool. This series is very entertaining but WB just stuck these V episodes on discs and stuck them in a box. The sound and picture could have been much much better. I'm not complaining though. I'm just happy they put this series out at all. I don't blame WB for the way they put these episodes out on DVD with no remastering or extras. V the series didn't do very well on NBC back in the 80's and that's probably why WB didn't spend much time or money on the DVDs. There were only 19 episodes of the series and it didn't get much play in syndication or anything other than the Sci Fi channel. Sci Fi stopped showing it and V The Series largely vanished into obscurity. I was surprised that video tapes of the show were put out by Columbia House a few years ago. Now the show is on DVD and it's far cheaper than the cost of the Columbia videos. Amazon has it for $29.99. Keep in mind that this is just the series and not the two v miniseries. I'd love to see a DVD set with better sounding and looking episodes and with every V that was shown on TV in one box.
Rating:
Summary: A nice continuation for hard core V fans
Review: If you can't get enough of "V", then this series is a great addition to your collection.
The story has holes (Does Elizabeth have a lizard tongue, or did I just see her lick her lips with a human one?), but the writers seemed to make an effort to have a sort of Sci-Fi purist logic to it - in, for instance - the way they deal with the red powder virus/bacteria and how it stops affecting the Lizards on some parts of the planet.
It's this kind of attention to detail that makes the story interesting to fans of Sci-Fi, and an undiscovered gem for people who've only seen the miniseries.
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