V - The Final Battle

Drama, Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller, Action

Jane Badler	Diana
Michael Durrell
Robert Englund	Willie
Faye Grant	Dr. Julie Parrish
Richard Herd
Marc Singer	Mike Donovan
Lane Smith	Nathan Bates
Blair Tefkin	Robin Maxwell
Jennifer Cooke	Elizabeth
Michael Ironside	Ham Tyler
Michael Wright	Elias
Jeff Yagher	Kyle Bates

Director	Richard T. Heffron; Nicholas Meyer; Ray Austin
Writer	David Abramowitz; Donald R. Boyle

Though followers of current science fiction television series may dismiss V: The Final Battle as a quaint relic from the pre-computer animation days, the six-hour miniseries about an alien invasion of Earth was a ratings juggernaut for NBC in 1984 and should still provide some entertainment for hard-bitten devotees and fans of '50s-style sci-fi. The Final Battle picks up four months after the shock conclusion of the 1983 prequel miniseries, with a small group of humans known as the Resistance struggling to convince their fellow humans that a fleet of seemingly friendly visitors from space are in fact bent on world domination.

Executive producer Kenneth Johnson (who oversaw most aspects of the first series) only supervised the sequel's script (which underwent several changes before its airing), and the writing occasionally suffers due to the lack of his attention. But the series still delivers its share of action and intrigue, as well as one showstopping gruesome moment involving the birth of interspecies twins. Acting is again a stumbling block, with leads Marc Singer and Faye Grant as bland as any performers from the American International Pictures stable; character actor Michael Ironside makes the strongest impression as a tough Resistance member, and a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund is amusing as a kind-hearted alien. The miniseries was followed by an inevitable weekly series featuring most of the same cast, which was demolished in the ratings by Dallas, but a faithful Resistance-like following remains to this day. --Paul Gaita