I wrote a mini review last week after watching the premiere of V in which I said I was pretty bored by the first showing, thought the dialogue sucked, and loved Morris Chestnut (it’s just one of those things…), but I’ve thumbed my way through V reviews on the internet superhighway and I have to say, the reviews were as mixed as my feelings when it comes to this episode.

I didn’t like the episode, don’t get me wrong, but I also didn’t hate it. Some places, like The Hollywood Reporter and Televisionary found the episode to be deftly written and well acted with something for everyone, whether sci-fi hardcore or just a casual lover of alien takeover storylines. My favourite lines of any review is Sepinwall’s contention that, though the beautiful leader of the Visitors, Anna, played with reptilian charm by Morena Baccarin, says they are “of peace – always”, “… a lifetime of alien invader movies and TV shows should make it clear that these guys will turn out to be “of peace” precisely never.”

The New York Times and I disagree about the worthiness of the 4400, another show under Scott Peter’s belt that also featured Joel Gretsch, (hint, I loved it), but we are in complete agreement about how little the premiere actually did for the new series.

A crowd gathers to gawk at a huge spaceship that has appeared in the sky over Manhattan. The bottom of the ship turns into a screen (à la “Blade Runner”) showing the leader of the alien visitors. She announces that they mean us no harm, that they just need some water and a mineral “common and abundant on Earth” before they shove off.

The assembled New Yorkers digest this, look at one another — and start to applaud. That’s an early scene in “V,” the new science-fiction series beginning on Tuesday on ABC, and the only logical reaction to it is: on what planet does that happen? Certainly not ours, where a more natural reaction would be “Who does she think she’s kidding?” or words to that effect.

Applause makes sense on Planet Television, where the producers of “V” — working with the premise that only an underground network of rebel humans suspects the visitors’ true intentions — need the aliens to win over the rest of humanity before the third commercial break.

It’s a small point, but it’s indicative of a larger problem. The ideas in “V,” about alien encounters and mass delusion and media manipulation, are enticing. It’s too bad that they’re floating around in a show that at this early stage, is so slapdash and formulaic in its storytelling. (New York Times Review)

There were a lot of cringe worthy moments, including the mother-son interaction between Elizabeth Mitchell and Logan Huffman, the introduction of who were and were not Vs, the people’s readiness to accept aliens (when have we ever had a good alien that wasn’t kid friendly?) and the introduction of terms like “sleeper cell” and “universal healthcare” when talking about the Visitors and what they were providing for humanity. I like it when television is topical to what’s going on in the real world, but not when it’s forced.

I’m hoping that the characters will be more fleshed out, that the dialogue will get better and that I can actually enjoy seeing Joel Gretsch on television again. His character’s part was the least compelling to me (outside of the son). And the part where he and Elizabeth Mitchell decide to fight the invaders comes much too early. Why would she choose him and not the guy who organized it. I mean, really, if I’m going to have someone fighting on my side, it’s going to be someone who knows what the hell is going on. But that’s just me.

All in all, there were too many things written that were just there to move the plot, things that were just not realistic, as mentioned above, shoddy dialogue and poor character development. Will I watch again this week? Yes. I will watch the four episodes the network has planned to air in a row and then I’ll decide if it’s worth waiting until March to start again.