Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 13, 2019

36 years ago, there were three network television channels. When one of them wanted to command the viewing audience, it required something major to capture national attention. Many mini-series attempted epic storytelling, scoring with high drama over multiple nights. 1983’s “V: The Original Mini-Series” offered such an invitation, but added a cherry on top: the lure of sci-fi extravaganza on the small screen. This wasn’t simply appointment television, it as a country-wide event, with most televisions tuned into the NBC broadcast for two consecutive nights, devouring the tale of an alien visitation that slowly turns into an invasion. Writer/director Kenneth Johnson takes the entertainment challenge seriously, striving to transform “V” into a major show of force, with unusually sophisticated special effects for the medium and a screenplay that turned into history’s battles with hostile takeovers and fascism into an action-oriented ride of spaceships, lizard people, and warfare across Los Angeles. Johnson isn’t sculpting with precision here, but his vision for a T.V. blockbuster in the “Star Wars” age is incredibly entertaining and, at times, thought-provoking.

During one normal afternoon on Earth, motherships arrive in the sky, positioning themselves over major cities while communities below react with equal parts fear and curiosity. These are the Visitors, aliens who’ve traveled light years to locate a planet capable of providing them with special chemicals necessary back on their home planet, offering their wisdom and friendship in return. Mike (Marc Singer) is a television news cameraman who’s selected to visit the leader, Diana (Jane Badler), offering Earthlings their first glimpse into Visitor life, with his images and interactions permitting the aliens a chance to assimilate into local neighborhoods, projecting an image of kindness as underlings, such as dim-wit Willie (Robert Englund), make connections to their new hosts. However, Mike senses something strange about the Visitor agenda, which has claimed his girlfriend, a T.V. reporter turned spokesman, and soon his family, tracking clues concerning various disappearances around town. Julie (Faye Grant) is a biochemist trying to figure out just who the Visitors are, only to find herself targeted by their propaganda efforts, turning the kindly woman into a resistance leader, joined by other humans who’ve been marked by alien violence, ready to fight back to protect the future of Earth.

Instead of making a movie about the rise of Adolph Hitler and Nazism in Germany during the 1930s, Johnson elects to tell the same story, only changing the particulars to Diana and the Visitors. They wear Third Reich-esque uniforms with redesigned swastikas emblazoned on the fabric, they offer the lure of control in exchange for complete authority, they use propaganda to secure street appraisal of their kindly intentions, and they lure the young with positions in a Visitor youth program, giving impressionable kids power and weapons to enforce the new laws. There’s absolutely nothing subtle about Johnson’s screenwriting, but this is network television after all, and his broad strokes are acceptable, offering a potent message on the dangers of such unchecked authority, even introducing Jewish characters who were involved in the Holocaust, knowing all too well what the Visitors are truly about once their police state begins to spread across town, threating all except those who willingly submit to the aliens and their seductive ways.

Johnson’s allegorical push is clear (and prescient), and his horrors direct, with the Visitors emerging as cuddly folk with electronic voices and sunglasses, extending a glad hand to Earthlings, but they’re after something specific concerning planetary resources. “V” inspects their methods of domination, sneakily using misinformation to discredit science, turning the educated into the enemy to best clear a path toward ownership, and the show explores such mounting unease in multiple households, including Julie, who’s forced to turn to violence when her expertise is branded as treason. Johnson uses his two-night format to detail the personal lives of many, examining those who suspect evil and those who welcome it, while young Robin (Blair Tefkin) is open for Visitor seduction, with Diane using her schoolgirl crush on a handsome cadet to add to her list of medical experiments on humans. For a T.V. production, the sprawl of “V” is impressive, juggling a range of emotions and beats of action, with the surprisingly stunt-happy picture offering plenty of physical activity to hold attention, finding Mike often in the thick of Visitor scheming.

V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Originally issued on DVD back in 2001, "V: The Original Mini-Series" makes the transition to HD with an AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation. Detail is satisfactory, showcasing the production's achievements in costuming and practical effects, and also identifying a few shortcuts in the post-production process, making it fun to see the artistry of the show as it tries to conjure an alien invasion with budget and technical limitations. Facial surfaces are reasonably textured, capturing human and lizard particulars, and expanse is protected, preserving distances. Colors are alert, with bold crimson on the Visitor uniforms, and green skin is enjoyably emphasized. Earthly encounters retain California greenery, and Visitor mothership interiors maintain their industrial appearance. Skintones are natural. Delineation is communicative. Grain fluctuates in intensity but remains film-like, and framing is comfortable throughout. Source is in ideal condition, with no major stretches of damage.

V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers a powerful understanding of the "V" listening experience, offering a wide, deep track that communicates production essentials. Dialogue exchanges are easily discernable, with human interactions more emotionally detailed, while Visitor conversations retain their alien distortion. Scoring is defined with appealing instrumentation, from grand heroic themes to softer string plucking. Sound effects are aggressive, handling the laser whizzes of Visitor weaponry and swooping alien aircraft as chases take to the skies. Explosions have some depth as well. Community atmospherics are understood, along with mothership engine hum.

V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/director Kenneth Johnson.

• Behind the Scenes (24:42, SD) is a fascinating look at the 1982 shoot for "V," which offers plenty of fly-on-the-wall footage of the production in motion, watching Johnson figure out shots, clarify design needs, and deal with actors. A few interviews are provided, with production designer Charles R. Davis exploring the visual look of the mini-series, including the specifics of Visitor shuttle design. Actors Marc Singer and Faye Grant provide story specifics, character motivation, and discuss the themes of the material. A short observance of stunt work is included as well.

• Marketing materials have not been included.

V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"V" is very broad at times, but that's not problematic. Johnson is aiming for something specific with the production, mixing a history lesson with bold dramatics, and his assembly of design elements is impressive, with engaging special effects and displays of Visitor spacecraft. Make-up achievements are outstanding as well, capturing the reptilian reality that lies underneath alien synthetic skin. It's a well-produced mini-series with more on its mind than simple entertainment, but that's present as well, providing a closer that promises bigger and better things for the storyline, which was eventually worn down by the popcorn antics of 1984's "V: The Final Battle" (which weirdly ignores Johnson's enticing set-up for a sequel) and the short-lived "V: The Series." However, for two nights in the spring of 1983, "V: The Original Mini-Series" was able to bring spectacle to television, doing so with flavorful performances, striking moviemaking artistry, and the can't-lose appeal of laser battles and soaring spaceships, helping to digest the education Johnson is trying to impart.