The midseason this year will see one of the most anticipated shows out of the new crop of properties this year hit television screens – the remake of the cult Eighties production V. Starring Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Stargate SG-1) and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) among others, the story focuses around the arrival of alien visitors to Earth who ostensibly come in search of water and a common mineral, but in actuality, are here on a mission of invasion and domination. SciFiNow recently spoke to Laura Vandervoort, who plays the Visitor Lisa, and series executive producer Jace Hall about what we can expect from this new, updated version of the genre classic.
“She’s manipulating the young ones,” Vandervoort explains when talking about her character, who helps to run the Peace Ambassadors – a Hitler Youth-style organisation. “The naïve ones or the ones who are rebellious and hate their parents. She’s using any of them who have problems with being on Earth to really turn them against the human race. She’s going after those who are lonely, that ought to know better and just want to be liked or a part of something.”
Her job is made easier by the rapturous welcome that the Visitors (mostly) receive, in part due to their phenomenal technologies that have the potential to eradicate disease on the planet and offer other benefits. “It’s almost like Beatlemania,” she elaborates. “Everyone’s a little unsure initially when they arrive, but as soon as one person is on the bandwagon, everyone’s on the bandwagon and pro the Visitors. That’s what’s appealing about this: Everyone is celebrating these strange people that come to earth – at least in the beginning.”
For his part, executive producer Jace Hall feels as if they have a far-reaching product on their hands, one that does justice to the original and also asks difficult questions in the finest traditions of science fiction. “For me,” he enthuses, “it’s always about being involved in things that I find creatively interesting. When I was growing up, I saw ‘V’ in 1983, and now to be the executive producer of the new ‘V’ for ABC… well, it just feels like I was made to be involved with these sorts of things. I’m always asking myself, ‘Where are those stories that make us want to aspire to be more? The stories that question the human condition in some way and that makes you recognize your potential as a person?’ I’ve always been very interested in those kinds of stories and find myself involved with them.”
V will be aired midseason on ABC in the United States. For our exhaustive preview of the new television season, featuring unseen images and packed full with exclusive content, pick up a copy of SciFiNow issue 31, on sale from all good newsagents and the Imagine eShop on 5 August 2009.
