V The TV Series Pin-up # 1 FRAMED Marc Singer

Description

Marc Singer (born January 29, 1948) is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the Beastmaster film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series V, and his role in Dallas as Matt Cantrell. V (or V: The Original Miniseries) is a two-part science fiction television miniseries, written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. First shown in 1983, it initiated the science fiction franchise concerning aliens known as “The Visitors” trying to gain control of Earth, and of the ways the populace react to this. A race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world. They reveal themselves on the roof of the United Nations building in New York City, appearing human but requiring special glasses to protect their eyes and having a distinctive resonance to their voices. Referred to as the Visitors, they reach out in friendship, ostensibly seeking the help of humans to obtain chemicals and minerals needed to aid their ailing world, which is revealed to be a planet orbiting the star Sirius. In return, the Visitors promise to share their advanced technology with humanity. The governments of Earth accept the arrangement, and the Visitors, commanded by their leader John and his deputy Diana, begin to gain considerable influence with human authorities. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis’ anti-fascist novel It Can’t Happen Here (1935), director–producer Kenneth Johnson wrote an adaptation titled Storm Warnings, in 1982. The script was presented to NBC for production as a television mini-series, but the NBC executives rejected the initial version, claiming it was too “cerebral” for the average American viewer. To make the script more marketable, the American fascists were re-cast as man-eating extraterrestrials, taking the story into the realm of science fiction to capitalize on the popularity of science-fiction franchises such as Star Wars. V, which cost $13 million ($30,000,000 today) to make, premiered on May 1, 1983. The story became a Nazi allegory, right down to the Swastika-like emblem used by the Visitors and their SS-like uniforms. There is a youth auxiliary movement called the “Friends of the Visitors” with obvious similarities to the Hitler Youth, and Visitor broadcasts mimic Nazi-era propaganda. The show’s portrayal of human interaction with the Visitors bears a striking resemblance to stories from Occupied Europe during World War II with some citizens choosing collaboration and others choosing to join underground resistance movements. Where the Nazis persecuted primarily Jews, the Visitors were instead depicted to persecute scientists, their families, and anyone associating with them. They also distribute propaganda in an effort to hide their true identity. Some of the main characters in the initial series were from a Jewish family and the grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, frequently commented on the events of the past again unfolding. Once they are in a position to do so, the Visitors later declare martial law to control the scientists (and resistance fighters) as well. In November 2005, Entertainment Weekly named V one of the ten best miniseries on DVD. The article noted, “As a parable about it-can-happen-here fascism, V was far from subtle, but it carved a place for lavish and intelligent sci-fi on TV. Its impact can still be felt in projects like Taken and The 4400 ” (Ironically, The 4400’s executive producer Scott Peters would be at the helm of ABC’s 2009 reboot.) ” In December 2008, Entertainment Weekly put V on its list “The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre’s Best Since 1982”, and called Visitor leader Diana’s devouring a guinea pig “one of the best TV reveals ever.” For many years, Johnson has campaigned to revive V, and even wrote a sequel novel, V: The Second Generation which picked up the story 20 years after the original miniseries (but omitted the events of The Final Battle and V: The Series). Warner Bros. Television (who own the television rights to the V franchise) declined to make a continuation as Johnson had planned, and opted for a remake instead. A reimagining of V premiered on ABC on November 3, 2009 and ran for two seasons. Though Johnson was not involved in the remake, which featured all new characters, executive producer Scott Peters said that it would nod to the most iconic moments from the original franchise and may potentially include actors from the original in new roles. Both Jane Badler and Marc Singer appeared in the second season. As of 2009, Johnson has also said he is still moving ahead with his plans for a big screen remake of his original V mini-series though no progress has been made.

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