In 1983, one ambitious sci-fi miniseries dared to take a high-stakes interstellar conflict and set all the action on Earth. The result was the hit phenomenon, V, which was followed in May 1984 with V: The Final Battle. But then, something strange and ambitious happened, a move which many pundits of the time said was a mistake. The epic yet grounded story of V morphed from a miniseries into a full-blown weekly TV show. Beginning on October 26, 1984 V: The Series bravely carried on the story of what happens on Earth after the alien invasion has (supposedly) been thwarted.
While not a perfect show by any stretch of the imagination the themes in V: The Series feel wildly prescient today. Whether or not this version of V was entirely coherent isn’t the point because at least one of the themes embedded into this show is stronger and deeper than any Star Wars tale of freedom and rebellion.
