New "V"...how do the Visitors look?

[darkwing_duck1]

What have we been shown in the way of sets, props, miniatures/CG, costumes, etc pertaining to the Visitors? How do they compare to the old series?

I've already seen the promo poster showing the underside of the Mothership.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can't remember the old show.

My post contains a few spoilery elements as part of my explanation, not sure if you want that, if not, then avert your eyes...

The new one has shown very impressive spaceships, and given us a glimpse of a V "under the skin" - basic lizard-looking critter. The human skins of the V's are all very pretty, except for the infiltrators, like Dale, who are average looking, but that's probably deliberate. Don't want a bunch of infiltrators who look like Hollywood actors.

Which makes me wonder about Ryan. Was he an infiltrator that rebelled? He certainly would um stand out in a crowd. Then again, that other Fifth Columnist who attempted to signal the mothership was very average looking. So maybe Ryan is an exception to the rule.

I like the (mothership) V's choice of clothing - just a bit off kilter and alien looking.

I have a theory that the lizard-V's aren't evil at all, but being manipulated and enslaved by some third race of critters - Anna's species and maybe also the ship captains - who invaded the lizards' homeworld many years ago...

 

[darkwing_duck1]

^So they don't wear military-esque uniforms or anything then? How about the interior sets? Have they shown the "shutttle" type alien craft at all?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Look for yourself V

 

[Gryffindorian]

Look for yourself V

I was gonna say. Anyone who can read this BBS certainly has access to Google, YouTube, the ABC network site. It would be easier to go that route than second-guessing oneself and starting a thread.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Look for yourself V

I was gonna say. Anyone who can read this BBS certainly has access to Google, YouTube, the ABC network site. It would be easier to go that route than second-guessing oneself and starting a thread.

I scoured that site and came up with ONE partial pic of a mothership over a cast lineup. Nothing showing the sets, nothing showing the "shuttles" or skyfighters. I'm assuming it's too soon for the weapons.

Are the blue out fitswith white trim the new Visitor uniforms?

As for Google, et al...everyone has the same stupid caps of people's faces and such...I'm a "gear head"...yet ANOTHER Morena pic isn't what I'm looking for.

 

[Amaris]

Look for yourself V

I was gonna say. Anyone who can read this BBS certainly has access to Google, YouTube, the ABC network site. It would be easier to go that route than second-guessing oneself and starting a thread.

I scoured that site and came up with ONE partial pic of a mothership over a cast lineup. Nothing showing the sets, nothing showing the "shuttles" or skyfighters. I'm assuming it's too soon for the weapons.

Are the blue out fitswith white trim the new Visitor uniforms?

As for Google, et al...everyone has the same stupid caps of people's faces and such...I'm a "gear head"...yet ANOTHER Morena pic isn't what I'm looking for.

Are you kidding? There's always time for another Morena Baccarin pic.

J.

 

[Velocity]

they look pretty good "blink blink".

 

[Gryffindorian]

they look pretty good "blink blink".

In addition to what Temis said, the Visitors look human on the outside (as they did in the old series)--generally good-looking, well-kempt, pasty, and civil in mannerisms. They don't wear red uniforms, but futuristic suits, trousers, and coats.

The leader Anna (Baccarin) looks more like a supermodel than the old counterpart Diana, who looked more hostile and authoritarian.

Their shuttlecraft don't look like the old V shuttlecraft (which were similar to TNG). In fact, very little has been shown of them. The motherships (or at least the one in NY) are not shaped like perfect saucers and don't appear as gargantuan and imposing. We have not seen a lot of their weapons apart from the floating ball probes that eject deadly projectiles.

 

[Morpheus 02]

SInce we have CGI...i imagine they can and will show us reptillians much thinner than a real human.

Also, i picture Anna as being a snake-like creature, based on her physical look.

i am curious how the flesh covering affects the V's...is there a point where they can't wear it anymore?

 

[Trek4Ever]

I miss the weird reverberating voices that the original Vs had (before the gutted budget in the series did away with them)!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Look for yourself V

I was gonna say. Anyone who can read this BBS certainly has access to Google, YouTube, the ABC network site. It would be easier to go that route than second-guessing oneself and starting a thread.

I scoured that site and came up with ONE partial pic of a mothership over a cast lineup. Nothing showing the sets, nothing showing the "shuttles" or skyfighters. I'm assuming it's too soon for the weapons.

Are the blue out fitswith white trim the new Visitor uniforms?

As for Google, et al...everyone has the same stupid caps of people's faces and such...I'm a "gear head"...yet ANOTHER Morena pic isn't what I'm looking for.

You can actually watch an episode there.

 

[Candlelight]

I hate the fact they get called 'V's. They even refer to themselves as 'V's. Which is even dumber.

'V' had a different (and much much better) meaning in the original series. The Jewish parallel was the best part of the original storyline. That old man played his part well.

The new series has the flashy budgets and virtual sets but the characters are pretty lame and run-of-the-mill. It seems all shows out of the US in the last few years have the same stereotypes being recycled through. Scott Wolf really has a dead end character. Unless he breaks out of the reporter role he's gonna get boring pretty quickly.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It seems all shows out of the US in the last few years have the same stereotypes being recycled through.

You need to watch cable shows: Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Big Love. That's where all the good stuff is now. Oh, and Caprica (soon).

The network shows are just one cliche after another. FastForward is another example. They have to appeal to a mass audience and originality suffers.

If only V were on AMC, the approach might be so much better.

Scott Wolf really has a dead end character.

That's why I think he'll be revealed as John May (with amnesia I guess). There's no place for his character to go, otherwise.

I don't mind that they've changed the meaning of "V." There's no rule that they have to keep every element from the old series, which is hardly sacred text.

 

[Candlelight]

I don't mind that they've changed the meaning of "V." There's no rule that they have to keep every element from the old series, which is hardly sacred text.

True but 'V' in the original series was short for Victory, which could have been taken as what the show's title *could* be.

Having the show called 'V' as a simple throwaway line to a nickname of the alien visitors does take it down a notch.

 

[Christopher]

^And "V for victory" has meaning far beyond the original miniseries. It was a pervasive symbol of the Allies and resistance in WWII, a popular meme expressed in many forms, both open and covert -- the V graffiti, the hand symbol (later co-opted by Nixon), the Morse code dot-dot-dot-dash representing the letter V, even the use of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, whose famous opening notes emulate the Morse-code V (plus of course 5 = V in Roman numerals). Part of the music from the original miniseries (underscoring the additional cast credits and the dedication to past resistance fighters) was built around the dot-dot-dot-dash pattern.

So the titular "V" in the original had a deeply rooted historical meaning; it was a tribute to those who fought and died battling tyranny. So for the new series to use it as the name for the alien villains is not only profoundly missing the point, but could be seen as disrespectful.

 

[blockaderunner]

I don't mind that they've changed the meaning of "V." There's no rule that they have to keep every element from the old series, which is hardly sacred text.

True but 'V' in the original series was short for Victory, which could have been taken as what the show's title *could* be.

If I remember reading the TV Guide ad for the original mini, the tagline said: "V: The Visitors, The Victors, The Victims".

So I think the title encompassed the whole show.

 

[Christopher]

^The ways advertisers choose to promote a show don't necessarily represent the intentions of the creators, because they're different people with different goals. Kenneth Johnson was making an allegory about the rise of Nazism and he used the same "V for Victory" symbol that had real-life meaning in WWII. Obviously the people hired to come up with the ad campaign didn't want to make it a history lesson, so they settled for mere alliteration.

Some more on the historical significance of the V sign:

Winston Churchill used a V sign... to symbolize "V for Victory" during World War II. ... He developed the idea from a BBC campaign.

During World War II, Victor de Lavelaye suggested that Belgians, who were chalking up the letters RAF, should add a V for victoire or vrijheid (respectively French for "victory" and Dutch for "freedom"). Since V stands for "victory" in French, Charles de Gaulle used it in every speech (from 1942–1969).[22] This idea was developed by the BBC and on 20 July 1941 a campaign was launched with a message from Churchill for occupied Europe.[23] The Channel islanders also joined in the Churchill's V sign campaign by daubing the letter 'V' (for Victory) over German signs. The United States issued the "Win the war" postal stamp with an eagle in "V" shape in 1942.

Douglas Ritchie, of the BBC European Service, suggested an audible V using the Morse code rhythm—three dots and a dash. This is also the rhythm of the opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and it was used as the call-sign by the BBC in its foreign language programmes to occupied Europe for the rest of the war. The irony that they were composed by a German was not lost on many of the audience or for the more musically educated that it was "Fate knocking on the door" of the Third Reich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign#Winston_Churchill_and_the_victory_sign

Note the line about the Channel islanders painting V signs over German propaganda posters. This was directly homaged in the miniseries, with the Holocaust survivor teaching the protestors to spray-paint "V" over the Visitor propaganda posters. This is the origin of the "graffiti" design of the V logo.

The pilot of the new series made a feeble attempt to justify the "graffiti" logo by showing footage of it as a form of "tagging" by pro-Visitor teens, but it just isn't the same.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

So for the new series to use it as the name for the alien villains is not only profoundly missing the point, but could be seen as disrespectful.

Considering how mediocre this series is so far, I'm not sure they should be puffing themselves up so much as to harken to real-life people who combatted tyranny. Maybe they're just being realistic about what they're doing - providing some fairly brainless and pleasant entertainment.

 

[gastrof]

I miss the weird reverberating voices that the original Vs had (before the gutted budget in the series did away with them)!

Shhh!!!

The series took place a year after "The Final Battle".

In all that time, their voices adjusted to Earth's atmosphere.