Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

V: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Boldly going where every lackluster sci-fi series has gone before: cancellation...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 27, 2012

Think climate change, partisan rage and environmental crises are frightening? Try growing up in the '80s, when it was next to impossible to go to sleep without visions of hissing Sleestaks, knife-wielding Zuni dolls, and shifty reptilian Visitors slithering through your imagination. In retrospect, none deserved such intense late-night fear -- save the pint-sized Trilogy of Terror beastie, which still manages to skitter into my nightmares from time to time -- but there's something to be said for creatures that can continue to haunt a grown man some twenty-five years after it first invaded his mind. V, the well-received 1983 sci-fi miniseries that spawned a 1984 sequel and a short-lived series, is probably best remembered for its tattered man-suits, unsettling glimpses of scaly skin, and ungodly, inhuman babies. That was enough, though; enough to help the original tale weather the decades, enough to allow it to linger in the dark recesses of our cultural consciousness, enough to inspire a full reboot at ABC. Sadly, little about the new V series will be remembered thirty years from now. It's watchable, I suppose; a guilty pleasure at its best, an alien-invasion soap opera at its worst. But it's so derivative, heavy-handed, shallow and frustrating that its second-season cancellation shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone.

V's first season was flawed and uninvolving. Mildly entertaining, sure, but only when its vicious Visitors were chomping heads, secretly prepping the extermination of man, and working to destroy the rebel factions racing to stop them from taking over the planet. The series' second season isn't even mildly entertaining. It ups the melodrama, ups the predictability and... sort of just spins its wheels. It fails on almost every level (even though the performances, bolstered by the influx of some exciting new blood, are Season Two's saving grace), and it isn't worth its weight in clumsily staged action and roly poly visual effects. Even Season One fans will have a hard time investing this time around, especially with the knowledge that the series is officially dead. I'd advise avoiding it all costs. Even if you're desperate to know what happens to FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) and her Visitor-infatuated son Tyler (Logan Huffman), Father Landry (Joel Gretsch) and the rest of agent Evans' rebels, or V-queen Anna (Morena Baccarin) and her reluctant daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), its final episode closes with a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers; one that will never be resolved.

But never mind all that. What if you were to watch Season Two as if the show were ending exactly as the showrunners intended? What if you endured all of the second-season nonsense just to reach one last, wildly dark sequence that adds some punch to the proceedings? If you're a little curious and a little brave, there's a way to actually enjoy V's last ten episodes. How, you ask? If you're going to plow through the second season anyway, try to imagine the finale as being the true end to the story. Not as a story cut off in its prime by cancellation, not as a story without a proper resolution, but as a story that's come to a strong, shockingly bleak end. Few American TV series would ever pull such a stunt; daring to whisper "The End" with humanity at the mercy of a race of unstoppable alien beings, with almost every main character helpless, trapped, captured or killed, and with no hope of rescue or salvation in sight. Watch V with that in mind and I can almost guarantee you'll come away from the finale feeling something other than disappointment, if only because such an ending would signal the enslavement and demise of a world that didn't deserve saving anyway. If that doesn't sound like it would appeal to you, though, go with your gut, save some cash, and steer clear of V at all costs. The original series made a major impact on the television landscape thirty years ago. ABC's now-defunct reboot barely leaves a mark.

V: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you watched V's first season on Blu-ray, you know exactly what to expect from The Complete Second Season's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation, as the two complement each other well. Yes, the series' CG and green-screen sheen still show every seam, smearing is an issue when visual effects are in play, and uneven noise, minor banding and faint, intermittent artifacting are all factors. But most of the issues trace back to the show's photography and source, and only a handful should be held against Warner's encode. Otherwise, the series' second season looks pretty good. Color and contrast is intentionally washed out, but primaries still pack kick, black levels are satisfying, and skintones are well-saturated. Detail is excellent on the whole too, particularly during scenes that take place on the ground. Fine textures are nicely resolved, closeups are revealing, delineation is decidedly decent, and edge definition is crisp and clean (without any pesky ringing). Detail takes a bit of a dive on the Visitors' ships and when lighting isn't ideal, but none of it should be cause for concern. Ultimately, V's second BD presentation is every bit as presentable and technically sound as its first.

V: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The real improvement comes in the audio department as V now sports a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. (The first season's Blu-ray release was saddled with a standard Dolby Digital mix.) It isn't perfect, or rather it isn't perfectly absorbing, but it's much better than its predecessor. Dialogue is bright, well-grounded in each locale and environment, and carefully prioritized amidst the humming ships, the noisy city streets, and the gunfights that break out on occasion. Rear speaker activity is involving, albeit not entirely immersive, and directional effects, though a tad hit or miss, keep the series' action and intrigue streaming in from every angle. Its mainly Marco Beltrami's score that fills up the soundfield, though, and only the most intense shootouts and chases make the most of every channel. Thankfully, LFE output is fairly hefty and aggressive, with nice, deep thooms and booms that lend weight and menace to the aliens' presence on Earth. In the end, it all works hand in hand to create a real sense of intensity and uncertainty, both of which lend themselves to the story and second-season dust-ups.

V: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 27 minutes): Deleted and extended scenes are included for "Red Rain," "Serpent's Tooth," "Laid Bare," "Unholy Alliance," "Concordia," "Siege," "Birth Pangs," "Uneasy Lies the Head," "Devil in a Blue Dress" and "Mother's Day."
• The Arc of Story: Mining the Human Evolution (HD, 25 minutes): Scott Rosenbaum and key members of the cast and crew dissect the series, talk about the characters and story, and avoid discussing the almost inevitable end to the show.
• A Visual Masterpiece for the Small Screen (HD, 21 minutes): A look at V's stab at cinematic flair.
• Blooper Reel (HD, 7 minutes): Human and alien flubs, crack-ups and spontaneous dance parties.

V: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A solid AV presentation is really all V: The Complete Second Season has going for it. The reboot's final ten episodes are weaker than its first twelve, the story takes a number of unfortunate left turns (original V actress Jane Addler's turn as Anna's mother being one), and the series' generic writing, mediocre visual effects, dead-end performances, and contrived twists weren't strong enough to save the show from cancellation. I'd suggest skipping this one and spending your time invading better, bolder sci-fi series.