Take Two: V

V: Season 1, Episodes 2 & 3 “There Is No Normal Anymore” & “A Bright New Day” (C+/B)

I’m going to tackle the second and third episodes of this new show together since I didn’t get a chance to review the second one last week. I’m happy to report that, in between these two installments, the show has improved markedly, and there’s a very clear sense that it’s going somewhere. Next week marks the last episode that will air in 2009, since the show will go on hiatus until the spring. Fortunately, it’s going out on a good note. Like in the first episode, it’s the story of the Vs that is infinitely better and more exciting than whatever’s going on with the humans. The dialogue has improved considerably, and Erica has found a sense of purpose now that she is putting together a resistance and the Vs are clearly aware of her existence. It’s clear that Erica is important in the grand of scheme of things, and that’s great. Weaving all the characters together definitely enhances the show a lot. Tyler is certainly much better than he was in the beginning, and the fact that the seemingly sweet Lisa is actually trying to position herself in Tyler’s life as a way of getting to Erica. It really makes the Vs seem much sinister than they seemed before, especially since the obnoxious Chad just makes them seem one-dimensional every time he appears on screen. Anna’s ploy to get her number one critic to go on public television declaring her solidarity with the Vs was quite impressive, and it’s notable that Anna is so easily able to achieve what she wants. The revelation that Lisa is actually Anna’s daughter is awesome, though there’s a real-life discrepancy: actress Laura Vandervoort is actually only five years younger than Morena Baccarin. It still works fine, and they are aliens, so perhaps their appearance is easily manipulated and tweaked. The coolest part of the show is the Fifth Column. It’s a great way of incorporating Morris Chestnut’s character, whose identity as a traitorous V is intriguing. It’s also a fantastic way of bringing back Dale (and actor Alan Tudyk) and giving him plenty of scenery to chew, followed by the fantastic reveal of the doctor as a traitor who is excited by the idea that Erica could be a great ally. Basically, this show is actually a lot better than it initially seemed, and I imagine I’ll be quite excited for it when it returns in a few months, provided next week’s episode lives up to this, focusing on the Vs, the traitors, and much, much less Chad.