By Nina Zipkin

On the heels of the cancellation of “Eastwick,” ABC’s hour long drama based on the John Updike’s 1984 novel “The Witches of Eastwick” and the subsequent 1987 film of the same name, the network is taking another page from the 1980s playbook and taking a chance on “V.” A reboot of Kenneth Johnson’s iconic 1983 miniseries, "V" depicts a group of aliens called “The Visitors” who come to Earth and appear benign but have more sinister intentions towards the human race.

Having never seen the original miniseries, save for some of the more enduring clips, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The remake, set in New York, follows Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell, “Lost”), a FBI counterterrorism agent and single mother with a teenage son, Tyler (Logan Huffman); Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch), a priest at a struggling parish; Chad Decker (Scott Wolf, “Everwood”), a news anchor looking to be taken more seriously; and Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut), a man who seems to have it all: a great job and a girlfriend to whom he’s about to propose.

When alien motherships touch down over the major cities of the world, their lives are thrown into chaos. The Visitors’ leader, Anna (Morena Baccarin, “Firefly”), tells the humans that the aliens are peaceful and wish to share their technology and medical advances in exchange for humans’ friendship.

Throughout the pilot everyone tries to adjust to the new world order. Erica and her partner, Dale (Alan Tudyk, also of “Firefly” and more recently “Dollhouse”), return to work tracking a terrorist cell, and Father Jack tries to reconcile the existence of aliens to his belief in God, while trying to preach caution to his congregation. At the same time Ryan keeps receiving phone calls from a person from his past, and Chad finds himself as the first reporter to interview the enigmatic Anna one on one.

All the drama comes to a head as Father Jack follows the directions of a dying man to a secret meeting at warehouse by a pier, and, thinking she will get a lead on her case, Erica also gains access to the meeting. Meanwhile, Chad is  set to make his career when Anna says that the interview must be conducted on her terms; none of the questions can paint the Visitors in a negative light. Despite hating himself for this breach of journalistic ethics, Chad continues with the interview.

At the meeting Father Jack and Erica learn that the Visitors have been to earth before and that they have infiltrated all aspects of human life—business, government, religion, you name it. Long story short, they walk among us, and no one is safe. However, before the meeting can go any further, they are attacked by some of the Visitors, including Dale, who turns out to be a cold-blooded killer, literally. (When Erica fights and kills him, she exposes him as the big, mean lizard he truly is). The biggest surprise of the pilot comes at the end when Ryan, coming to the aid of the humans, reveals himself as a rebel Visitor, dedicated to the first resistance.

In episode two the Visitors are waiting for United States to extend diplomatic relations to them, and Chad tries to regain the upper hand–and some of his self-respect–by providing a point/counterpoint to the debate on his show. Erica deals with the fallout and investigation of Dale’s “disappearance,” as she and Jack reel from the revelation that the only people they can trust are each other and that they need to recruit members for a resistance. Ryan reaches out to another rogue Visitor, but instead of the help for which he hopes, he gets only suspicion and doubt. The Visitors end up receiving support from the United States but continue to try to stamp out any resistance. At the end of the episode, we also discover they have revived Dale.

The show has many great aspects but also some things that could use work. The acting across the board is solid, and the show certainly receives good will from me by including “Everwood” and Joss Whedon alumni in the cast. Gretsch is a bit of a blank slate, and while Mitchell has very good line delivery, I wish there were more urgency in their scenes together. Chestnut has the most interesting character and back story so far, and I hope that they spend more time on him in the upcoming episodes and less on Erica’s Visitor-fascinated son, whose sub-plot (becoming involved in the Visitor’s human ambassador program) has left me a little cold. I would also enjoy seeing more of Wolf’s Chad as he realizes that, although he has an agenda, he’s still a cog in the Visitor publicity wheel.

The special effects are decent, although more toned down from the pilot to the second episode, which focused more on the happenings on the ground. Going forward the show would benefit from having more action and less of the characters equivocating about what to do next. I think showing Father Jack and Erica recruiting and finally crossing paths with Ryan could amp up the drama considerably; it doesn’t quite feel like a cohesive unit yet. The writing isn’t particularly memorable or sharp, but the atmosphere of the show is ominous and intriguing enough that I do want to continue watching.

The only problem on that front is ABC’s plans for airing it. The network will air two more episodes this year before the show goes on an extended hiatus until after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in March. If the show manages to pull together its creative aspects by the fourth episode, my guess is that "V" will have an audience in the spring. However, ABC runs the risk of losing the show’s audience if they don’t promote its return well. Ultimately, there are two parties–"V" itself and the network that airs it– responsible for the show’s success.

“V” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Related articles

• Idiot Box: FlashForward
• Idiot Box - Men Of A Certain Age
• The Idiot Box
• Idiot Box: “Glee”
• A Teen Anti-Soap Goes Back to Basics
• The Idiot Box
• The Idiot Box: 30 Rock
• The Idiot Box: “Castle” too good to be just midseason
• The Idiot Box: ‘Lost’
• Stephen Emerson Pronounced Haverford College President, Father of Anna Nicole Smith’s Daughter