Lower Decks

“It’s Only The Beginning” is an odd title because this episode is actually the end of the 2009 run of the V reboot.  And, in it, we get to see the human resistance’s first strike against the Visitors.  But, by the end of the episode, things really don’t look quite as bright.  It’s a solid episode, but this hiatus might not be ABC’s brightest idea.  Hopefully, when the show returns in March 2010, the audience will be there waiting.

Hasn’t ABC learned anything from the old “those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it” adage?  Didn’t they already try the old “mini-series taste…three month break…actual show run” idea with LOST season three?

And, correct me if I’m wrong…but I believe that idea almost killed that show.  People tuned in for six episodes of season three, but a huge hiatus knocked off a lot of the fanbase that never returned when the show did.  It’s the whole reason why LOST takes 8-month breaks and shows all their episodes in a row.  Because, in a show like that, your audience can’t be allowed to wander.

And I’m not comparing V to LOST, but I think it’s a similar kind of show.  And it seems like prime-time science fiction shows need momentum, and these kind of breaks don’t help momentum very much.  Because the people who are watching V right now are going to forget that it was on by the time March comes around.  And I’m afraid that, by May, we’ll be looking at this hiatus as the reason why the show wasn’t renewed for a second season.

But ABC’s schedule is really strange as it is.  I mean, speaking of LOST, the final season of that show is going to be one of the biggest events of the 2010 television year.  And they haven’t even announced what day that it will air.

Maybe they know what they’re doing.  I’m just afraid for the show because it’s pretty interesting.

The episode picks up where the last one left off, with the four members of the resistance trying to figure out a way to strike back against the Visitors.  I think it’s pretty interesting that it’s taken this long to get anything going, and at the moment, the resistance is so small.  I realize, unlike the original miniseries, they have a lot more time to work with.  But, at some point, they’re going to have to start recruiting people, right?

The episode revolves, mainly, around the Visitors’ healing centers.  Anna announces that they’re going to distribute a vitamin shot that will boost the human immune system, curing several diseases and preventing others.  Erica and the group are suspicious, and they use some leads from Ryan to track down a V scientist that was known to be experimenting on humans.

And while Erica is suspicious of Ryan, it’s George who complicates the plan the most with an obsessive urge to “unveil” the Visitor’s true nature to the world.  It ends up getting him shot, and Ryan is forced to admit that he’s truly a Visitor traitor.

I’m glad that Ryan’s secret is out so early, and I’m also glad that they didn’t really play up the “Erica doesn’t trust Ryan, anyway” idea.  They might do it later, but I’d like to think that Erica would accept that not all Visitors are evil.  Hopefully, when the two of them discuss Ryan’s motivations and the Fifth Column itself, a strong bond can be formed between the two.

Meanwhile, Ryan’s fiancee (who is also, apparently, Tyler’s therapist) goes to visit one of the healing centers to cure a heart ailment.  Tyler is able to get her inside (through Lisa, I assume), and the Visitor doctors tell her that they can cure her condition.  However, they also give her another surprise – she’s pregnant.

Now a human/Visitor hybrid baby was done in the original series, and I knew that it would come into play here.  But I figured that it would be Lisa and Tyler, not Ryan and Valerie, who would conceive a hybrid child.  In fact, that’s what I figured Lisa meant in referring to Tyler as “the one.”  I guess I was wrong about that.

But it’s definitely an interesting plot twist, forcing Ryan to reveal his true nature to Valerie a bit sooner than he wanted to.  I also wonder if the Visitor scientists were able to tell that the child was half Visitor.  If so, does that mean that they know about Ryan?  Should be interesting to find out.

Meanwhile, in exchange for another interview with Anna, Chad does a story on the healing centers.  He’s amazed at the medical technology in the facility but also bothered by the limited access he’s granted to doctors and patients.  And he seems very annoyed at the idea that the Visitors have found a deadly brain ailment that only they can diagnose and cure.

Now Chad is a character we haven’t really seen much of.  I’m guessing that he’ll play a bigger role later in the series, but we still don’t know a whole lot about them.  The Visitors are obviously trying to win more favors from him, perhaps even faking or causing the brain condition, and he seems conflicted by the idea.  But, since we don’t really know if his vanity outweighs his integrity, we don’t really know what to think about him.  And, at the moment, I don’t really care about his character.

There’s also a small story about Joshua, the Fifth Column agent serving as the chief medical officer on Anna’s ship.  Anna is eager to find the person who killed Dale in last week’s episode, and Joshua is forced to execute a comrade in order to protect himself.

The Fifth Column storyline is pretty interesting to me, and I’m hoping that Joshua’s story continues to play a part.  There’s not a whole lot to go off right now, but I was definitely intrigued by how the story played out.

The rest of the episode deals with Tyler, who is brought on board the Visitor mothership to meet with Anna (who, it was revealed last week, is Lisa’s mother).  Anna impresses Tyler with Visitor technology, continuing to conquer the young man’s heart with bright lights and smiles.

And, in the end, Anna and Lisa seem to agree that Tyler is important for some reason.  And I’ll admit that I’m pretty intrigued on what they want from him.  Just because I’m really not sure what the leader of the Visitors would want with some kid, particularly since it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the fact that he’s Erica’s son.

The episode ends in spectacular fashion, as Erica and company are able to blow up a warehouse holding the Visitors’ deadly compound (hidden in flu shots, not the vitamin shot).  But while they seem proud of their minor victory, the happiness doesn’t last very long.

First of all, when Erica returns home, she sees an instant message on Tyler’s computer that informs her that he’s been on the Visitor mothership.  I’m guessing that she’ll learn everything at some point, and it will probably drive a deeper wedge between mother and son.  I wouldn’t be surprised, in fact, if Tyler were to move onto the mothership at some point in the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, we’re shown what appears to be a huge Visitor armada somewhere on the other side of the galaxy.  It’s the last image of the episode, but I’m really not sure it’s as ominous as it appears.  Because I imagine that, even at this point, there’s not much that a human resistance could do against the 29 ships that are already on Earth.  A couple hundred extra warships is scary, but it also seems like overkill.

The most interesting cliffhanger deals with Father Jack.  It is revealed that he has a military background, serving two tours in Iraq as a chaplain.  That training will certainly make him more helpful to the team, but the episode ends with Jack on the ground, the victim of an attack by a Visitor guard.

I don’t think that Jack will die because Joel Gretsch seems like a big part of the show, but it’s interesting to wonder how the Visitor knew how to find him.  I assume that the high priest at Jack’s church is a Visitor, but I’m not sure he’d know about the plan to blow up the warehouse.

And that’s really it.  As far as the entire four-episode run went, I was pleasantly surprised.  I still think the show is progressing kind of slowly, and I think that’s where the long break is going to hurt the show.  Because, if you think about it, not a lot has happened so far.  And not enough interesting things have happened to keep a lot of people who aren’t really into the show.

It might leave a lot of fans of the original series and generic sci-fi fans, but I’m not sure that’s enough to keep a prime-time show going.  I hope it is, however, because I think the show has some potential.

Either way, I’ll be back in March to continue my reviews.  We’ll see you then.