I've been on the fence about whether or not to include the two
V television miniseries and subsequent weekly series here at
Space: 1970. The original
V mini ran in late 1983, which is pretty much my cut-off point here at the site, with the follow-up miniseries and weekly show airing the following year. I know it's
my site, and realistically, I can write about
anything I want - but man, the e-mails/comments I get when I step outside my self-imposed boundaries! It's amazing how quick people will jump on any opportunity to try and knock others down.
The show certainly
feels like a 70s sci-fi show, with its ham-fisted social commentary, dystopian themes, Old School miniature effects, and broadly-drawn but appealing characters, and, frankly, I honestly enjoy most of the run in a way much like that of the shows I
do cover here - unlike most 80s-90s genre efforts. A lot of this is probably attributable to the early creative influence of
Kenneth Johnson, who originated the property and produced the first mini. Johnson was one of the most genre-savvy television producers of the era, with credits like
The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk - and, later,
Alien Nation - to his name. He was always pretty canny about making outlandish sci-fi ideas work for mainstream television audiences (and networks/sponsors).
Of course, it also has that humungous 80s hair.
Anyway, I will continue to ponder whether
V can be squeezed into my already-elongated timeframe... what do you folks think?
I'd say go for it as it form a nice bridging point that brings the 70s scifi to a close while also ushering in the style and themes of the 80s, and even reflects back on iconic scifi from the 50s/60s. It's a melting pot of generational statements and influences, so why not. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really really really love the V franchise and look forward to seeing what you have to say about it.
V was awesome. Rock out with Diana and Lydia!
ReplyDeleteI would include the MiniSeries, but not the Series. It just feels right. The Series does not feel like the 70's, where as the Mini Series does.
ReplyDeleteI'd say go ahead and include it. The cultural markers we use to define decades don't strictly confine themselves to ten-year increments anyhow... there were still hippies in the early '70s, and the early '80s were a lot more like the '70s than what people think of when you say "the '80s." And I think you can also make a pretty good case that V was yet another result of the post-Star Wars space/sci-fi craze... the tail end of that craze, perhaps, but definitely a part of it. (Hey, the high school band plays the Star Wars theme to welcome the Visitors in an early scene of the first mini, right?)
ReplyDeleteI think you can compromise and feature V:The Original (which I think checks most of the boxes for your site) while leaving out the other two. I think your current 69-83 timeline is about perfect.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for it! A few years either way, shouldn't matter. Revisiting old shows like these, is a lot like, meeting up with old friends from our childhood. The memories they stir-up, bring is all back to simpler times. When the world was a lot less scary, and the possibilities, limitless.
ReplyDeleteI think V lands outside the bounds of the '70s, personally. It's a pity you don't like more from the '80s, because there is plenty of material for a spin off blog, Space: 1980.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, it is your site so go with what you feel is correct rather than leave it to us rabble!
I say talk it up, for all the reasons you state. As the kids these days say "Haters gonna hate."
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like when I talk about "80's Action Movies." I often include movies from the 70's and 90's, because despite their dates of release, many of those films share commn themes and tropes that have become associated under the blanket term "80's."
So, in the case of V, it may be an 80's show, but the style and theme could be considered "70's" as a blanket term that defines that style.
Does that even make any sense?
Plus, Marc Singer. He's just pure awesome.
Singer is certainly one of the friendlier celebs I've met.
DeleteBah! Bah I say!
ReplyDeleteAnyone who complains should be stared at by Michael Ironside until they slink away. Or infected with red dust.
V was never a personal favourite but it's certainly worthy of inclusion here.
ReplyDeleteI think 1983 is about the time I started to lose interest in genre stuff. I discovered girls and football around that time - plus, 1983 featured the two big summertime disappointments, 'Return of the Jedi' and 'Superman 3'.
Agree about Kenneth Johnson though. His stuff stands up better than a lot of the other TV from the era. As much as I love Glen Larson, his stuff can be pretty damn formulaic
Yes, YES, YES. The best aspects of the show were Singer and Ironside, just AWESOME acting. I liked the series more than the original pilot, had some great touches with the Howard K. Smith intro news blurbs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it dipped into the 'Dynasty' realm with the alien catfights near the end, but it took itself seriously enough to still enjoy.
Please please please include it. One of my favorites when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I think you should include much more from that era -- to quote a famous movie pirate, the title Space:1970 should be "... more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules..." :)
I think for your own safety you'd better include V, because if you don't Michael Ironside might get angry...
ReplyDeleteSeriously, V is a cool show, I'd love to see it included here. The TV series may have continued beyond the '83 restriction, but it all started before then and continued without any real pause. That seems a reasonable enough justification to allow it.
By all means include it. I think it fits well. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the show.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those "shoulda/coulda" been from the 70's shows, along with Greatest American Hero..... no problemo AT ALL including shows like this!
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE you should include 'V.' Marc Singer had a butt-cut and hair that rolled halfway down over his ears. That's a Seventies thing.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me, the Eighties didn't take hold definitively 'til 1986, when 'Top Gun' put both butt-cuts and fantasy space adventures out to pasture.
Abso-frigging-lutely include the first two mini-series. The television series is iffy, not only because then you're truly into the 80's in a cultural sense (because culture doesn't always change according to the calendar; in the way that "The Sixties" that everyone remembers didn't really start until around 1963-4).
ReplyDeleteOf course, as everyone else has mentioned, it's your blog. Blog what you want to blog about, and a pox on people who complain about the free content you're giving them. :-)
I think you should expand the boundaries to include the 80's too, there were so many great shows we all remember from both decades! Unless you wanna start another site: Space1980..
ReplyDeleteIt fits thematically, so I'd say go ahead and cover it here. You do a great job covering these shows comprehensively, and it would be cool to see "V" get that kind of attention. As others have said, it is part of that post-Star Wars sci-fi boom, just like Buck Rogers, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhich raises an interesting question---is the criteria for inclusion in "Space:1970" JUST about chronology, or could it also be about an asthetic, a flavor... a VIBE? What about more recent movies that deliberately evoke the era... I'm thinking of films like Super 8, Beyond the Black Rainbow, CQ....
ReplyDeleteGood point.
DeleteIf the question were put to a vote, I'd say a definite yes for covering the first miniseries, and a qualified yes for covering 1984's "The Final Battle", but I'd lean towards no for the series itself except in context with the original miniseries.
ReplyDeleteBut again, it's your blog and you should be able to cover what you want to cover and deviate from your self-imposed rules and mission statement whenever and however you see fit to do so. We're here because we like reading about what you cover and your insights into these subjects and I'm sure that we recognize that those insights are not necessarily limited by strict chronological boundaries.
Still, do whatever you're most comfortable with. We'll undoubtedly be okay with it no matter what you decide.
Decades don't really break so cleanly in terms of culture.
ReplyDeleteLike the early 70s were skill close to the late 60s in feel, and so the 70s feel stayed until as someone mentioned, '86 or so.
I mean, at least to me, a lot of the early 80s new wave was just an extension of disco. Laura Branigan is a good example - her song Gloria essentially was disco (a cover of an Italian disco song from a few years earlier), then her next song was new wave, Self Control and not all that different.
Chris- I think you have your answer.
ReplyDeleteMost of us who enjoy your blog share a lot of the same feelings for this eras genre. Consequently we pretty well trust your judgement on what is and is not Space:1970 material.
I think this one is a bit of a transition. With the blatant social commentary and somewhat cheesy special effects it has that 70's feel but it also has elements that place it among the 80's genre. would be seen in 80's genre. I loved the scene where the visitors have set up ambushes and traps at all the Air Force bases only to be done in with hot air gallons. And has there ever been such an evil revenge minded good guy as Michael Ironside?
And -anyone who disagrees- Michael Ironside has a vial of red dust with their name on it.
I say right on with V. I think it's also a good ending point, because really once you get past V, you're into the mid-80's and that's when Sci-Fi really started to turn the corner towards respectability and less cheese. Also, I was a teenager when V was on, and I dug it big time. The new one, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI've got to vote "YES" too. I've always loved V (in all its incarnations) since the two mini-series hit the UK in the summer of 1984, stripped across one week as counter-programming against the summer Olympics. I've covered the show a few times in my blog already.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind, if you cover the original mini-series (which stands-up remarkably well today and the DVD is a must-buy for Ken Johnson's detailed and considered commentary), you also need to cover the sequels because - like it or not - they do form one narrative. Even if the series is the absolute definition of a campy, cash-strapped, guilty pleasure.
The spin-off novels and DC comics are - for the most part - pretty good too, frequently surpassing the weekly series.
The recent ABC revival was such a missed opportunity. After two (truncated) seasons, I still had no clue what the Visitors were up to (but it did - at one point - involve bundling people into the back of a white van. One-at-a-time).
I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Badler in London last year. She was every bit as lovely as you'd expect.
Yeah, go for it. Cover "V".
ReplyDeleteThe first V miniseries was awesome. When Johnson wasn't involved with the second mini, it kind of went downhill.
I really wanted them to tie up some of the elements introduced in the first mini, such as sending a message to space to the enemies of the Visitors.
Johnson's own "V" continuation book from a few years ago is worth reading.
I would rather vote NO. Singer and miniatures are pretty 70's, but Ironside, shoulder pads and hairstyle are waaaaay too much 80's. Moreover, the memorabilia was produced well into the 80's and the aspecto will crash with that of the 70's.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I adore the first miniserie, as it blowed my mind with its surprises and cliffhangers. So, if finally the decision is to include V in your blog (anyway it is yours, as we all say), I would suggest to restrict it to the first one, so keeping the backcomb activity to a minimum :)
Definitely include "V" and it's spin-offs. I don't think you should be limited to just the 1970s. I think of your blog content more from the perspective of "sci-fi fans who were children in the 1970s" as opposed to "sci-fi movies and shows released in the 1970s."
ReplyDeleteI was born in 1972 so when I think of my childhood sci-fi experience, it definitely extends into the early 80s with stuff like "V" and "Tron." It also includes the 1960s stuff that was shown in syndication on Saturdays like "Star Trek" and "Thunderbirds" which, at the time, we didn't think of as being "old shows."
I say anything that someone in their 40s now (+/-) enjoyed prior to puberty, qualfies as "Space:1970s" era regardless of it's actual release date. Just my opinion. :-)
I like the idea of a spin off "Space 1980" site. That would be great.
ReplyDeleteI say YES. And agree with the majority here that it's a suitable cut-off point. A sunset if you will. :)
ReplyDeleteYikes! I'm catching up on posts, so I'm a little late to the game. The marketing for this had me frothing at the mouth by the time it aired. The lead-up had a lot of us kids terribly excited, and I remember talking to friends about it at school on Monday and anticipating the conclusion that evening. Plus I got to stay up later than normal on a school night, twice in a row! Sorry, got sidetracked; in answer to your question: Yes, please!
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for "yes" here. The marketing alone for both the miniseries and the sequel miniseries was incredible. It definitely fits in perfectly with the tone of what this blog is all about. I didn't get into the series itself so much, and I'm not sure why exactly - it just felt different. But the original miniseries and The Final Battle were both the apex of 80's sci-fi to me. After that, I feel like things started to take a nose dive. I consider "V" to fit in perfectly with shows like "Buck Rogers", "Battlestar Galactica", and so many other 70's classics.
ReplyDeleteYes, of course you should cover it! Miniseries, TV series, whatever you like. I'm frankly stunned people care so much as to tell you what is and isn't appropriate for your blog. To them I'd say, start your own free blog, then!
ReplyDelete