V: The Final Battle (1984) User Reviews

Great up until severe Deus Ex Machina

[bgaiv · 7/10 · 11 September 2020]

Terrible when the month old (but appearing to be five or so) Elizabeth suddenly has magical powers and stops the core breach. Her powers weren't set up in the plot in the slightest until literally five minutes before the end.

What on earth were they thinking?

That abruptly changed the show from sci-fi to fantasy. And there was no need, as if defeating the ship in battle was not enough.

I'm not at all convinced Diana would destroy the Earth out of spite because Earth is still extremely valuable and destroying it would gain her nothing. The threat was good (and earlier there was a great scene of the resistance debating it) and likewise John refusing to cooperate was good.

Given that she does do it, a better ending would have been them capturing her and she willingly disarming it. She is a survivor and decidedly NOT suicidal. They could easily have had her escape after disarming it.

Could have been better! Could have been worse!!

[AbeStreet · 8/10 · 9 August 2002]

I remember this TV event well. It was big news in the spring of 1984. This mini-series aired over 3 separate nights. I found the characters to be well developed and the story held my attention. I saw this mini-series before the first mini-series and was able to pick up the story and follow it without feeling as though I were missing key parts to the story. My only complaint is similar to the other reviewers and that is that the final scene which involves the resistance and the human-alien offspring Elizabeth trying to avert a self destruction sequence on the mother ship. I, and my friends, found the ending to be a bit simplistic and somewhat anti climatic. However don't let this or other reviewers prevent you from watching this mini-series. It is an excellent story. It is almost as good as "V" and much better than V: THE SERIES. In my opinion the story should have ended here. V: THE SERIES never lived up to the two mini series and damaged the storyline.

Resistance Point of View!

[ShelbyTMItchell · 7/10 · 21 May 2013]

This is told from the Resistance point of view. As they try to capture the aliens that seem to be friendly people that want to help the world. Only to find out how devious that they really are and expose them.

As led by Mike Donovan played by the great and underrated Marc Singer who really got a raw deal in Hollywood. By not letting him showcase his acting talents.

Still it is really fascinating how the V show and the mini series put the science fiction since it was pretty dead on the map again briefly. With great writing and great acting.

Will admit while I liked the great and terribly, underrated Michael Ironside, his character Ham Tyler was a jerk and just one dimensional. As it took later episodes for his character to grow and not be unemotional as we learn about the character's past.

Ignore the newer short-lived ABC version as that sounds really not so good.

A cult classic

[Dar Star · 10/10 · 22 June 1999]

While other folks were knee-deep in Star Wars and Star Trek, this was the movie that mesmerized me. The world taken over by Alien Nazis, pretty inventive. Looking back, it is obvious that this is a very high quality production not the ordinary made for TV drivel. With a great concept and terrific acting by Marc Singer, Faye Grant, and Michael Ironside, interest is held throughout the full 10 hours. Except for the phony ending, the entire saga is great. Special effects were also state of the art then. When I compare the laser blasts in Star Wars with V FB, no contest. V rules. PLEASE PUT THIS ON DVD.

The second greatest mini-series of all time...

[baconbit · 10/10 · 19 December 2002]

The GREATEST mini-series of all time was, of course, the original V. I hadn't seen either in years, until they both started making the rounds on MPLEX. And if possible, both got BETTER with age. And I'll tell you what, Faye Grant is STILL quite the hottie. And with an unblemished record of heterosexuality, I can say without hesitation that Marc Singer might the coolest guy of the 80s! He is basically a mix of Luke Skywalker and Kevin Bacon. You certainly can't go wrong there. This is definitely something that every child of the '80s MUST have in his video library. Without question.

Fantastic Conclusion To V:The Mini Series

[Big Movie Fan · 24 August 2002]

V:The Final Battle is an exciting conclusion to the battle between the visitors and the resistance which started in the mini-series.

Things get really tense during this series as the war steps up a notch. The visitors are prepared to destroy the earth to further their aims whilst the resistance are preparing plans to rid the Earth of the aliens forever.

This series has everything-shocks, surprises, betrayals and plenty of action. As for the ending, wow!

If you liked the Mini-Series, you will love it's conclusion. Back in the late 80's I watched the entire Mini-Series and The Final Battle in one go with some friends-that's how great it was.

'Twas good, but it could have been better...

[mentalcritic · 6/10 · 31 July 2004]

In 1983, one of the best-rated miniseries broadcast on television in the English-speaking world was V, a quaint little story about aliens landing on Earth and using Hitleresque tactics to take it over. The scenario is only unbelievable because of where the invaders come from. Their motives, and the means that these motives drive them to, make the scenario so real that it's almost scary.

The Final Battle picks up at an unspecified time after the original V. The resistance has been struggling to put dents in the Vistors' ability to carry out their sinister plans, but things aren't going so well. A new and improved form of armour ensures that the kind of weapons normally available to the resistance are effectively useless. The fact that most of humanity is being kept in the dark about what is really going on doesn't help matters any.

In order to deal with the latter problem, the resistance conceives a plan to unmask the Vistors' leader on television. They figure that since television can be used for propaganda by the vistors, they can manipulate it to the same end. At first, they seem to succeed, even at tremendous cost. But the media's unrivalled ability to tell the people what to think or believe backfires on them. Enter the professional mercenaries who begrudgingly help them with a new armour-piercing ammunition and various other kinds of tools that allow them to put up a more effective fight.

It sounds like a great follow-up, but looking back on it twenty years later, it really isn't. For one thing, this sequel seems so determined to wrap up every loose end that there is precious little time for character development. The old characters escape this mainly because they were given a lot of it in the original series. However, they don't progress much further from that point. Donovan is still an adventurer who would take on the entire Visitor army by himself if he could. Julie is still a confused, grumpy young woman who wonders why she, of all people, would be chosen to lead this outfit. Robert Maxwell is still the affable scientist who is torn by his need to protect his daughters, no matter what the cost is. Daniel and Eleanor are still the weak, insubstantial forms who don't realise that when all opposition is eliminated, they'll be the first ones up against the wall. If it hadn't been for the original miniseries, you'd know very little about these characters at the beginning of The Final Battle, and even less at the end.

Not that it is all bad. Some of the loose ends are tied up so well that they become classic moments in television history. The fate of Brian is one of the most haunting moments in the story, reflecting a situation that has happened in many wars before now, and will happen in many wars to come. The use of germ warfare against the Visitors is an old story, harkening back to the classic War Of The Worlds scenario. Little was known about the nature of bacteria or virii in Wells' day, so it is even more satisfying that this time around they are able to give it some setup, making the payoff seem less like Deus Ex Machina. The little saga between Caleb and Elias Taylor is also given a payoff that will go down in television history as a classic moment. That Michael Wright and Jason Bernard didn't get more work than they did after this stellar performance is one of the many injustices of the Hollywood system.

A special mention, of course, must go to Michael Ironside and Mickey Jones. When we are first introduced to their characters, we're almost bracing ourselves for yet another Rambo type. While we know little more about Chris Faber in the end than we did when we first see him, there's just enough in this series to make Ham Tyler seem vaguely three-dimensional. This, in turn, is a lot more than what can be said for most of the other characters unique to The Final Battle.

Interestingly, a new miniseries has been announced with the original series creator Kenneth Johnson at the helm, and with key members of the original cast having already signed on. Whether Johnson intends to ignore or downplay this series remains unknown, but unfortunately, most of The Final Battle could simply be ignored without consequence. Most of the story seems more like a predefined statement of mission goals rather than any dramatic conflict as was shown in the original series, so in this instance, I'd just savour the classic moments and forget the rest. In all, a six out of ten seems about right.

v vs the resistance

[kairingler · 10/10 · 3 April 2010]

i think i loved this one just as much if not more than the first V movie, in this one you get to finally see Michael Ironside in action,, i love how he calls Mike,, "do gooder",, or gooder,, it's hilarious, he stole the show for me and he was only in last 2 episodes of the total 3 for the final battle.. yeah i like star wars and buck rogers,, but for a short series and a couple of movies,, V just rocked on all 8 cylinders for me,, Jane Badler , kicked butt as the alien commander,, Julie Parrish is gorgeous, especially in the conversion chamber in the spandex outfit,, Mike Donavan is so likable is our "hero" Willie, is a V,, but very cool and part of the 5th column, a group of V traitors helping the resistance,, scenes are set mostly all in Los Angeles. the battle scenes are fantastic, and this still rated in my opinion as one of the best TV movies ever made along with the first V.

lizard babies and balloons

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 10 September 2020]

Investigative reporter Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) and Juliet Parish (Faye Grant) lead a group of resisters in L.A. Guerilla tactics are failing. The authorities have declared them Fake News. The aliens have Mike's son taken captive along with many humans prepared as food. They plan to steal the planet's water. The Fifth Column within the alien ranks remain small and in fear of discovery. In the second part, the rebels are joined by Ham Tyler (Michael Ironside), an American intelligence operative who had many interactions with Mike over the years.

This is a 3 part mini-series which follows the original V (1983 miniseries) and is followed by a 19 episode season. It's been almost four decades since I first saw this on network TV. It all comes flooding to me after watching it again recently. I had forgotten about the lizard babies and the balloon barrage. I love the overall premise but there are many issues with the individual parts. First, the show could never achieve the worldwide grand epic that the premise promises at the outset. While there are some big sets for a TV show, it's not enough to reach full liftoff. This also goes for the story. It's hard to portray a worldwide alien takeover.

As for these 3 movie length shows, the writing is simplistic, problematic, and the difficulty is high. It's unrealistic that these humans keep escaping especially from the alien ship. There are a lot of unrealistic situations. One of the problems I had back in the day is the mass delusion which treated Mike as Fake News. With recent observations, that is less unrealistic. The world teaches how stupid some people can get. As for the lizard babies, it still looks more camp than real. It's funny that the little girl isn't allowed to open her mouth and it's outright stupid that she starts glowing to control the ship. Talking about stupid, I wonder who had the bright idea for the balloons. It's a silly premise written by little kids. All in all, there is something very compelling about the premise which reaches deep inside the psyche. The execution is ambitious and falters due to the ambition.

V The final ballle. Respectfully request some assistance with who produced the sound effects.

[uranight12 · 10/10 · 13 February 2014]

I LOVE the movie "V- The final battle". I am not sure who created the "Voice reverberations" for "The Visitors", was a 1970's digital processor used?? Who was in charge of the "sound effects" and "special effects" for this movie???????? ????? ??? ???! I Looked everywhere, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Branitanica etc...

Does anyone know if a digital processor (and/or) A (echo chamber) was used to make "The Visitors" voice sound like it was reverberating or Echoing , or something?????? Please contact me at: [phone] if you know how this was accomplished? Please leave a message or (Text) which is BEST). I also have a face book account under David Hahn (but rarely / once in a while look at it".

A Problematic Sequel

[Michael_Jonathan_Dowswell · 6/10 · 4 April 2010]

V: The Final Battle is in three parts.

Part one is about the mission to pull the face off the Visitor leader and the girl facing the fact that her babies father is a lizard. I really like this part one a lot...the build up on the mission to expose the Visitor leader on live television is really well paced and the structure is really very good...in fact, it is excellent. The girl having to go to the hospital is also really suspenseful. I think they did a very, very good job of this part one.

Now, when you get onto part two...I feel that it is unfortunately really baggy in places...the momentum at times is really lost...the torturing for example is quite lengthy and not all that gripping. It's like extra padding to make sure you increase the runtime...bulking it up. Don't get me wrong I love bits of it a lot...I love the giant water pipe sequence where they arrive to take a look at it.

The skydiving scene near the start of part three is a lot of fun...and the two babies story (to a point) I really like too...but I don't think I like what they eventually did with the girl sparkling / glittering at the end. I don't think that was necessary. The gun battles onboard the mothership are terrific and really well made / edited.

Ultimately, this is a extremely problematic mini series...but it's one that gets off to a great start (I highly recommend part one)...once you get into part two and three this is where I have some major problems but still feel it has great bits sprinkled into it throughout.

the best of 80's TV

[baumer · 10/10 · 26 June 2000]

As a 12 year old watching V, I was enthralled with it. Alien lizards vs. mankind. What a compelling story. Now that I am in my late 20's and have re-discovered V again, I have learned to appreciate it for the message. I can see the overtones of Naziism in the film. Everything, right down to the visitors symbol is pure Nazi. And the series should be revered for that. A message this strong should always have a place in the history of our television.

But you know what? It's not the message that I really care about after all of these years. It's not the fact that these Aliens are nothing more than Nazis with a leader that is reminiscent of Hitler and it sure isn't the fact that it teaches us as humans to accept each others differences and wants us to get along. No it's not all of that. What it is, is the sheer entertainment of it all. It's Donovan sneeking to the mothership one last time to try to get some information. It's Julie Brown in the conversion chamber. It's Martin and Willie and Barbara, the good aliens, lending a hand to the resistance fighters. It's my pure and utter hatred of Daniel and his caniving ways. And it's the addition of Ham Tyler and his trusty partner that like to blow things up. V may be allegorical by choice but it is entertainment first and foremost, and that is what I enjoy most about it.

The Final Battle begins immediately after the last episode of V ends. The resistance has grown but they are still no match for aliens. At the very end of the first new episode, Julie gets captured and she is put into the conversion chamber. Then we are introduced to Ham Tyler, played by Michael Ironside. This is very smart casting as Ironside brings a certain arrogance not only to his character but to the film itself. Knowing what I know now about Ironside, this character of his could have been a cousin of any number of characters that he played years after. Take Richter, from Total Recall and especially Major Paul Hackett, from Extreme Prejudice. These characters are just an extension of Ham Tyler. Ironside was probably best known for his work as the guy whose head explodes in Scanners before V. After his stellar work as the weapons expert in V, he was only known as this kind of character. And it works brilliantly in here. V was very good, V the Final Battle is great and a big part of that is the work of Ironside.

The Final Battle has many twists as well and some great moments of action, suspense and surprise. Having Donovan's mom turn on him with a gun was expected but still a little unsettling because, well, she is his mom and the conversion chamber was very well done. In the chamber, your mind is probed to discover all of your childhood fears and weaknesses. You are then worked over using images of your fears and such. The idea behind it is to be under someone elses command after you have gone through enough "torture". It is like brainwashing someone, but from a scientific standpoint. I always said that if I was in Diane's conversion chamber that I would be left to think I was on a raft and Jaws was right underneath me, or that I was being stalked in the woods by Leatherface and Jason. Toss in a few spiders and I would build a new wing of the mothership if Diane asked me to.

The ending of V is appropriate and it left the door open just enough for there to be another one. The series didn't work out quite that well but it would be interesting to see what would happen if they tried to make another one now, some 16 years later. I'm not sure if people would want to see it anymore, but is sure would be fun.

V the Final Battle was the highlight of my television schedule in the 80's. There were other shows that I liked and most of them are mentioned in this forum, but nothing was quite like V. This was the highest quality of film making and it is something that I will always enjoy and I will pass all five tapes down to my kids someday. I don't think the film will age either. Technology may advance, but the action and the message will always be there.

10 out of 10

Step down from the original miniseries

[markkupost · 6/10 · 27 September 2021]

Unfortunately Kenneth Johnson, the author of the original TV-movie/miniseries, left the production during the writing phase of "The Final Battle" because of creative differences. This lead to a the writing being quite a mishmash; various characters were added to the cast for - no specific reason, some unresolved storylines left hanging, and the writers introduced a literal deus-ex-machina ending.

That having been said, the Final Battle is still quite watchable. Just not on the same level as the original.

Once you walk out that door, there's no turning back.

[film-critic · 5/10 · 1 June 2009]

In "V: The Miniseries" we see a band of unlikely brothers forge together to stop an indestructible group of aliens determined to rid the world of water and subsequently transform the human race into a combo meal at McDonald's. The aliens eat fuzzy creatures, they like to copulate with humans, and their voices cannot be trusted, yet this group of rebels continues forward. Half homage to past science fiction films, and half an allegory of the events surrounding WWII, "V: The Miniseries" wasn't perfect, but it provided hours of nostalgic entertainment. Now, with "V: The Final Battle", the gloves are thrown off, the symbolic references are destroyed, and the game is transformed into merely a battle between human and alien. It is about resistance, standing up for beliefs, and plenty of fictitious science all rolled into three hours. Our band of outsiders is down, but not finished. They deliver several swift blows to the alien objective and finally one "final battle" that leaves doors unopened and plot holes uncovered. "V: The Final Battle" was a swift ending, but where it built onto action, it lacked that panache that the original episodes did. "The Final Battle" assumed that characters were already developed, and instead of taking a humanistic direction, director Richard Heffron placed his bets on the special effects. This was a completely different ending to a decently sharp beginning.

Heffron isn't Kenneth Johnson, and it is obvious that this is a second part to an idea, not a continuation. Not only have the overall themes changed, but the influx of special effects has lead us down the path of horrid dialogue, randomly placed action scenes (i.e. the fistfight over the powder), and the lack of developed story lines. Johnson may have taken longer to get to the point, but at least there was a point. Heffron went in a completely, some may say bold, direction – but it didn't work. Investing over five hours, one could easily demand a conclusion, but none could be found here. The introduction of Elizabeth (the child of an alien and human) was exciting, but nothing happened. The idea of quick growth was introduced, but then easily forgotten – same as Mike's son being changed as a spy. Again, another strong and vexing idea that was mentioned, and then forgotten. It was these smaller nuances that seemed to be clearer in "The Final Battle" than in the original.

In addition to the lackluster plot, the acting seemed to be progressively getting worse. Our original characters were not the same as in this final set – the excitement seemed to have dissipated and with too many small story arch's never being fully developed, it was no wonder our characters seemed to be lacking that pioneering gumption. Marc Singer's Mike was more a meathead than a leader, the annoying child who gave birth to the spawn seemed more annoying than helpful – and Ham seemed to be unreasonably angrier. This wasn't the same set we stopped with on the miniseries. The resistance was going to win; it was inevitable, so why did it have to be so mismatched to get there.

What was kept? What worked? It was somewhat like that feeling of seeing "Star Wars" for the first time. When the villains finally get it, one cannot help but feel that moment of excitement swell in the throat, but there needed to be more. The alien baby is worth the price of the DVD alone, a cross between originality and a "Ghoulie", it provided at least an hour of laughter. The fist fight between Ham and Mike seemed reminiscent of the film "They Live", so it received some points for that, but overall it just felt cheap. The sets were bigger, the acting was weaker, and the money was tighter. While you should watch this after "The Miniseries", don't expect the same quality.

Grade: ** ½ out of *****

A worthy follow-up

[Murrayjohn2 · 11 November 2002]

V:The Final Battle is a worthy follow-up.Singer and Grant lead the large cast once again with standout performancesand are joined by a well-cast Michael Ironside who plays Ham Tyler as the ultimate tough guy with a 'tude.I forgot to mention Jane Badler in my review of the first mini,something I deeply regret.In both minis as Diana,Badler is one of the all-time great sci-fi villainesses.She commands every scenes she's in and her presence is felt when she's not.Having Bad in her last name doesn't hurt either.In terms of pure meanness she blows away Dynasty's Alexis in the Super Bitch sweepstakes.It's a lot of fun,filled with suspense and shocks,and great at the climax where we get to enjoy watching Singer,Grant,Ironside,et al kick some Visitor ass. 9 out of 10!

Great 80's SCI-FI

[dbrozi · 10/10 · 3 May 2006]

I don't think people that didn't see this when it came out will get into this, because it really is an 80's flick, but that being said, I loved this as a kid. All the actors give great performances. The 3 best being Marc Singer, Jane badler, and Michael Ironside is so great I'm not sure he even acted the character! This film is a lot better than the first one for the simple reason, MORE ACTION! There are 4 action parts that they did a great job on, with the final battle being the best. The only real bitch I have with this is not enough starfighter action. The TV series got even weirder, the biggest complaint I have with the TV show was that they killed off Martin right away, the coolest visitor. I really thought that instead of doing the TV series, they should have made one more film and took us to the visitors planet for some revenge! That would have been an out of this world tale, but none the less A great 80's sci-fi DVD!

I Did Like Evil Alien Diana Better than Julie Parrish

[dhainline1 · 10/10 · 23 February 2016]

I know it's not very popular to like the villain of V better than the heroes, but Diana was a strong, attractive alien woman who never let anyone walk all over her and she knew herself and her own mind much better than Julie Parrish (Faye Grant). They tried to remake V with another attractive woman as Anna the leader of the aliens, but the actress never achieved what Jane Badler did! When Diana came on the scene, you knew someone would be in deep, deep trouble. I did think Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) was a good-looking, tall young guy who held his own against Diana quite well! John (Richard Herd) was a weak commander of the aliens and Diana was smart enough to see this. Steven (Andrew Prine) had zero respect for Diana because I guess he was a bit of a sexist who hated being bossed around by a woman. Pamela who was another alien tried to one-up Diana but she could never achieve the one oneupmanship which was why Diana killed her. I know the story ends with the aliens being defeated, but they would have succeeded if John, Steven, and Pamela would have listened to her.

Religion spoils a show again.

[Gore_Won · 6/10 · 2 November 2009]

Catholic influences are sprinkled throughout this science fiction adventure, taking shortcuts to material and moral dilemmas. Miracles replace human endeavors, while the species-centric nature of the writing glosses over genocidal decisions. The fifth column is reduced to helping in a lopsided partnership. Is that the best writers can do? I surely hope that the new series on ABC will do more justice to these not-insignificant problems, just as the early seasons of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (another show ruined by unnecessary religious plot devices) did. Is religious fanaticism not the cause of untold crusades? What would it say about humanity if we must rely on religion to fight the dark forces?

Some of the Greatest Writing in Television History

[jseph1234-262-617488 · 10/10 · 12 July 2019]

I have JUST had the pleasure of watching V:The Final Battle and this is one of the most coherent, suspenseful and believable writing in television series that I have ever seen.

This reminds me of the Classic and Wonderful RPG video games that I have played such as Dragon Age:Origins, Mass Effect and others because the writing resoundingly reverberated with me that... Tragedies will happen. You can't win all of your battles and that the enemy is smart and will use EVERY resource at its disposal to achieve ultimate victory.

Just brilliant, brilliant BRILLIANT and you will thoroughly enjoy and appreciate that about this amazing Classic 80's Sci-Fi Gem!

I also HIGHLY recommend the Two Part Mini-series V:The Visitors (1983) which is the prequel to this.

Fun to Watch, but Kind of Dumb

[konky2000 · 7/10 · 18 April 2004]

While I thought the original mini-series was great, this follow up only ranks as a fun trip down memory lane. I doubt I will ever watch it again after having just seen it on DVD.

In the original we watch a band of revolutionaries form a secret underground resistance to the alien visitors. It is a very thinly veiled allegory to Nazism, but that is what makes it so effective.

In this second part, we basically follow the 'incredible' adventures of the underground resistance as they perform various deeds. The plot just seems to be treading water and not going anywhere for the first 3 hours. As others have mentioned, the ending feels quite abrupt and unsatisfying.

The biggest problem is that the resistance fighters seem capable of pulling the most amazing feats, slipping past security with amazing ease, and hiding out in a 'secret' hideout that would take the aliens about 10 minutes to find. The bottom line problem is, how can an alien race that is capable of travelling 65 million miles through space not also have a proximity detector that tells them when resistance fighters are rustling around in the bushes outside of their 'security headquarters'? With the credibility strained, the action sequences just feel repetative.

As in the original, the human sub-plots are what remain the most interesting. The most interesting is the story of the girl who was impregneted by an alien in the first series. Watching her come to grips with being the mother of a possible alien is pretty good.

If you remember seeing this when you were young, get it for fun, but don't expect too much from it.

Fulfilling...

[paul_haakonsen · 9/10 · 31 December 2015]

A nice continuation of the original mini-series, which left the viewers with a big cliffhanger. And without giving away anything "V: The Final Battle" leaves us with an equally big cliffhanger which is nicely picked up in the following regular "V" series.

You should, nay, strike that, you must watch the original mini-series before watching "V: The Final Battle" to fully get everything out of it. And if you enjoyed the 1983 mini-series then you will equally enjoy this 1984 continuation.

As a direct continuation then it is the same characters and actors, as well as the same storyline that continues.

I will say that "V: The Final Battle" is most fulfilling and does wrap up everything you wanted to know from the 1983 mini-series and then some. And it does come full circle in a very satisfactory manner.

And with "V: The Final Battle" at an end, I am more than thrilled to sit down and watch the TV series that followed in its wake.

If you enjoy Sci-Fi then the "V" series is a definite must watch, as it has a good story, good acting and a very captivating atmosphere.

Worthy Sequel For The Most Part.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 18 August 2013]

Despite the limited involvement of creator Kenneth Johnson, I found this to be an entertaining sequel to the original. Marc Singer, Faye Grant, and Jane Badler all return, along with Michael Ironside as ruthless mercenary Ham Tyler, who helps the resistance group continue its fight against the aliens.

The stakes are higher here, since Diana is now facing challenges among her own ranks, as well as her superiors, but she will stop at nothing to achieve her ambitions of power. The Earth is still threatened by the 50 spaceships hovering above, but now the resistance has developed a biological weapon to use against the invaders, and decide to infiltrate the mother ship hovering over California.

This has even more action than before, and is less cerebral than its predecessor, with an ending involving the "star child" that may leave you shaking your head in disbelief! Still, this is well-done otherwise.

Classic Eighties Television

[maudejunior · 10/10 · 24 August 2004]

The sequel to Kenneth Johnson's 1983 sci-fi classic, 'V', aired over three consecutive nights on NBC, in May 1984. An unintentional comedy, Johnson had disassociated himself early on in production, but had laid the groundwork to continue the alien invasion story.

Based on the critical and ratings success of the original, NBC rushed this mini-series, and it clearly shows in every facet; the dialogue is laughable, the special effects terrible, and even the soundtrack is weak.

Relying heavily on action, melodrama and pure silliness, 'VFB' is a bloated disappointment if viewed seriously. Otherwise, it's eighties television at it's best,(or worst), highly entertaining and lots of fun.

unbelievably stupid

[Gorbo · 2/10 · 2 October 2007]

After seeing this crap I just could not hold myself from vomiting. My mind couldn't continue to accept and defy reason. A bunch of soccer moms, a crack head, a gardener, a tight jeans cameraman and a few nerdy scientists battle against the intergalactic equivalent of the US navy seals or the German waffen SS and win every time? Suddenly regular people know how to shoot rocket launchers and machine guns with hawk eye precision? And that blondie Sylvia Saint look alike ( she's very hot btw ) is the most unlikely leader I've ever seen. How the hell did Barbie got chosen to be the resistance leader? The resistance seems to pick their camps with gorgeous views behind, sometimes it gets so cheesy it seems you are watching an afternoon soap opera.

C'on Now, on to the invaders. How can they be so stupid? They are far too technologically advanced and superior to us and apparently they haven't discovered recycling nor farming nor animal domestication to feed their starving people on their home planet? Oh and here's the SUPER secret formula for water invaders: H 20! Plus they are the wimpiest fascists since the Italians in WW 2, they can't seem to plan or execute anything right. Everything they plan goes wrong all the time. And let's not talk about security, one pass apparently opens every door in the mother ship.... or perhaps they don't even bother to lock the doors or update their security codes up there.

V: the final battle gets more unbelievably stupid as it goes on. By the time this crap is about to end you'd expect the Ewoks or ALF to show up anytime soon. Diana continues to be super hot even with those terrible 80's hair styles and I guess there was no teeth whitening in the 80's. Many in that cast really needed one.

Very disappointing. You can see why creator Kenneth Johnson wants to scrap the whole thing. Great television turned into sappy sentiment. The Visitors come across as imbeciles rather than ruthless villains. The resistance as a gang of klutzes, I really hated the part where they resorted to germ warfare. Nobody raised a moral objection to it. Really sad. And the Visitors can't cure the red dust, stupid. Really lame. Maybe next time they'll get V right.

a must-see

[mattkratz · 21 December 2000]

This was the perfect sequel to the original miniseries about the aliens who arrive on earth and establish a fascist government there, only to be met with a successful resistance movement. The cast was first-rate, as Michael Ironside was a perfect addition to Marc Singer, Robert Englund, Faye Grant, and co. The suspense and overall storyline were first-rate as well.

I loved the series when I was a kid, but like it even better now that I know more about the undertones and historical allusions. (Nazi takeover of Europe, McCarthyism, etc.) This is a must for sci-fi fans.

*** 1/2 out of ****