There's something funny about "V"
Posted on 05. Nov, 2009 by Jef in Politics, Pop Culture, Television
Still aliens, even with the passports.
It may not be a comedy, but V certainly gots jokes. I’m not criticizing – I actually kinda dug the first episode of ABC’s reboot of the old 80s sci-fi series — but when you have evil, deceptive aliens who walk among us imperceptibly and offer ominous “universal health care”, well, I can’t tell if you’re being funny or if you’re just, uhm, funny. And that alien black dude who assures us he’s “not like the rest”? I’m hoping this is all playful poking rather than an actual “V” for right-wing political vendettas. (Happy Guy Fawkes Day, daddyos.) Not that right-wingers can’t make subtextual sci-fi — I love this genre and everyone is welcome to play with me — but god, that would be boring, wouldn’t it?
Post-9/11 baiting aside, the Obama-isms come at a nice time what with the U .S. prez’s one year anniversary and all. I don’t hide my left-leaning (it’s not just a lame pimp walk), but even with my politics in tact, a sci-fi show about a world drinking some we-are-the-universe Kool-aid and paying for it seems nonetheless prescient, if not a little obvious.
Aside from the asides, the real post in this post-post beast of a show is its post-Abrams and Whedon steez. I’m not just talking about the mix of humour with high gravitas and genre-play with more traditional human drama, or even the weekly serial format, but holy shit the casting. This is where killed-off or cancelled characters from Lost and Firefly come to play and tickle our fan-pits. V (and Flash Forward, too) show that Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams are not just worthy of imitation, they may just have changed the metabolism of primetime television. So much that their current shows (the struggling Dollhouse and Fringe) don’t really matter. The movement is now bigger than the movers, and that’s some real shit.
Will V and Flash Forward catch on as well as the post-Firefly BSG did? Maybe, but you’d better hope V doesn’t rest on its allegorical laurels. Bring the drama, V. It’s not enough that Morena Baccarin is disturbingly attractive and disconcertingly serene. We knew that already! Make me fall in love with her or hate her, and you’ve got me. And who knows? Then I might even tolerate your lameish Obama digs.
Simon
Nov 6th, 2009
I have’t seen this yet but perhaps I’ll give it a shot. Anything related or similar in any way, shape or form to BSG is alright in my book. Besides, Scott Wolfe is my boy.