V: The Series was a great idea that couldn’t seem to hit its stride. It was plagued by budget restrictions and astronomical expectations. The result was the inevitable failure of the show. It just wasn’t possible to reproduce the f/x and epic tales of the two mini-series events with about a fifth of the budget. Judged on its own, the series wasn’t all that bad. A solid cast anchored by Marc Singer, Faye Grant, and Robert Englund picked up the slack left by the poor budget. The absence of Kenneth Johnson was also keen…y felt. Although there were still some excellent episodes, most notably the first, Liberation Day, too much time and effort went into the soap opera arcs, particularly the alien half-breed baby.
Audio
The audio here is a worn sounding Dolby Digital Mono track. Highs are susceptible to distortion and lows don’t seem to exist at all. Dialogue is usually OK. I would have like to have heard a little more come out of this audio track.
Video
Each episode of V features an unimpressive 1.33:1 full frame transfer. The format was to be expected. That was how it was originally presented. The problem is the often washed-out video that tells us that no great care was given in the digital transfers. With that said, there are instances of detail and color. There just isn’t enough consistency for my taste. It’s possible that the original prints were already flawed and a great amount of cash would have been needed to bring the series up to spec.
Special Features
Nothing to report here.
Final Thoughts
With all of its flaws, this isn’t a bad series to own on DVD. With Johnson preparing his upcoming NBC mini-series V: The Next Generation it might be nice to see the almost forgotten series. Johnson has already announced that he will proceed with the story as if the series had never happened. I expect this set will be out of print before very long so: “This could be our last chance.”
Special Features List
- None
