The mini-series was awesome. When I was a kid I developed my lifelong love affair with tv. And nothing could be better than a mini-series because it was 2 hours a night of tv and it usually started on Sunday night and ran the whole week and it felt like it was an important cultural event that the whole country was watching together so my parents almost always let me watch them (not Thorn Birds though...I had to sneak to Grandma Georgia's to watch that one).
These are my favorites (don't freak out, I was too young for "Roots" and saw it in college, not in mini-series form):
North and South (Patrick Swayze as Orry and Kirstie Alley as Virgilia = super hot)
The Day After (scared the hell out of me and everyone else)
V (whatever happened to Marc Singer? He's having quite a week...Chevy Chase's character on "Community" came as BeastMaster on the Halloween episode)
So I was totally excited for the remake of V and I shouldn't have been. First, it's filled with C-list actors (sorry Bailey from Party of Five). Second, it isn't a mini-series, it's just an hour long weekly series like anything else. Third, it all feels like it's been seen before (one character actually said, "This is Independence Day").
Nikki FInke, take a memo: Bring back the epic mini-series with big stars and five nights in a row... it brings families and even nations together... maybe it would even solve the health care debate... I don't know, but it could be awesome.
Tried watching the original miniseries on SYFY cable this week....way too 80's for me; still trying to figure out what made it so dingdang compelling back then; was I that bored, I wonder?!
Whatever happened to Marc Singer may be best left unknown, maybe not; just vanished after 25 years or so...
"Singer is currently teaching kids inter-disciplinary tactics at the Heifetz International Music Institute, which is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire." i don't know what that means, but it sounds very important...
I remember V the same way as you, Jen. Yes, it looks quite dated, though.
I think one of the things that we'll never get back is the "Television Event." There were certain shows/specials that were set up, marketed, and highly anticipated. I, for one, read TV Guide voraciously as a kid (oh how I longed for the Fall Preview issue) and that rag spent weeks prepping me for the alien-rawr that was about to grace the fingerprint-stained 6' Advent projection television screen. And, like me, everybody else I knew was compelled to watch it--and then discuss it at school the next day, buy the merchandise, and pine for a sequel/series.
I'm not aware of any single contemporary TV Guide-style rally flag. Others much more eloquent than me have already commented on how our interests are highly-focused and scattered. Even if the epic miniseries is produced, I'm not certain that anyone would actually notice. A show that captures the attention of the nation is plenty rare these days, and one that's a touchstone in a young person's life is almost impossible, I think.
Movies, though, are different. :)
Frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed by V. There was no "hook" that made me all that interested in episode two. It was all pretty pedestrian as far as I was concerned. I find Fringe to be 100 times more thought-provoking when I need a decent sci-fi fix.
I am the first to admit that I was hardcore for V when in my salad days. We used to meet for Violence Night(V and Vice) every Friday. We all have our fond memories. But this first episode of a series that has a strong recollection quotient and to say it wasn't worth watching is like throwing out a book just because the first chapter didn't grab you. I recall the plather regarding Battlestar Galactica when it was redone. Critics took a big dump on the first episode, " A female Starbuck!? " but look how that turned out. It became one of the most critically acclaimed shows in SciFi ever. It even had Time magazine doing a fairly solid compare and contrast article on it.
These days there can be no traditional Mini-series. Now a mini-series is 8 episodes that if they are good suck you in to the show and then leave you hanging for a year until they can make new ones. Closer, Madmen, Saving Grace, etc. Remember when a show was on year round? When the only down time for reruns was during the summer?
All I am saying is that TV these days is not the same as when we were young and we need to give this "New" program a chance. Did the first episode grab me, not really, but it sure made me want more. I look forward to seeing what they do. Maybe it won't be as cheesy as what I saw this last week on the SyFy Channel, and maybe it will be a little grittier. Maybe it will even be good. Maybe
I, too, remember watching the original mini-series. (Of course when I re-watched it a couple of years ago it didn't have the same excitement level.) But I have to admit, I was totally bummed while watching the show when they pretty much came out right away with the big reveal. I remember in the mini-series when she ate the guinea pig! It was a total shocker! This was just kind of okay. However, I consider the blonde a major actress, because she really rocks it as Julia on "Lost." And at least this is a series right out of the gate--not like the original which was a mini-series that was supposed to be a series, but it was too expensive, so they made a second mini-series which was the conclusion. But then that was popular so then they made it a horrible series. It never really worked after that.
"Shogun" and "Lonesome Dove" were great. Got sucked into "24" and "Lost" and am starting to feel weary. That reminds me, "Flash Forward" is on tonight....
...but I hope they at least eat tarantulas at some point.
I'm much more interested in AMC's remake of the classic series "The Prisoner." Ian McKellen as Number 2: this is full of win. You can even stream the entire original series from AMC's website.
