10/20/04 - This true story is called… “How My ‘V’ Obsession Nearly Ruined My Life”

The first time I saw “V” was back in 1983.  I was 9 and would watch it with my little sister.  I was instantly hooked and developed an instant crush on Mike Donovan and an instant desire to be Julie Parrish.  Julie was my hero.  I would make my sister play “V” with me so I could be Julie.  I would make her play Diana, or Robin, or Elizabeth , or Ham Tyler or basically any character who wasn’t Julie, because no one else was allowed to be Julie Parrish.

I was completely obsessed with “V” for years.  When I was 11 I even wrote a 200-page novel which took place after V:TFB.  (I am really upset with myself that when I was 14 I re-read the novel I’d written and then threw the whole thing out because I didn’t think it was any good.  I would love to read it again today.)

My obsession with “V” eventually influenced my young adult life.  And I’m a little embarrassed to tell the rest… After I saw “V” in the 80s I was determined that I wanted to be a biochemist/physician (just like Julie) when I grew up.  All of my decisions in junior high and high school were based on the need to be a biochemist/doctor…. I took all the science classes I could get my hands on.  I was accepted to university in 1992 as a pre-med biology major.  I spent 4 years studying biochemistry and preparing for med school.  Finally, I was accepted to medical school in the spring of 1996 and was supposed to attend in the fall.

And then it hit me… I don’t actually like biochemistry.  Sure, I did well in my classes, and it can be really interesting, but I hate working in the lab and couldn’t actually imagine myself doing it for the rest of my life.  I didn’t particularly want to go to medical school, either.  I realized I was about to make an enormous life decision… and be responsible for a frighteningly large amount of educational loans… based on a TV series, and a character, that I had been obsessed with since I was 9. (Not to diminish the importance of the series, or the character.  But maybe it’s not something that I should base my long-term life goals on.  Opinions, anyone?)  If I had become a doctor/biochemist I probably would have ended up hating my life.

So in April 1996, one month before graduation, I dropped out of university and spent the next 4 years working at a variety of different jobs to determine just what I actually did want to do with my life since “being Julie Parrish” wasn’t really a viable option.  Turns out I love literature more than biochemistry, and pre-1800s English drama more than medicine.  I finally went back to university and finished up my degree as an English Lit major.  I have been working in the literary world ever since and am very, very happy with my life.  (I also recently married a wonderful man who looks nothing like Mike Donovan.  Turns out I actually don’t like tall men with no chest hair, either.)

I still watch V:TO and V:TFB on video at least once a year, and every so often I idly wonder if it’s too late to re-apply to medical school.  But then I remind myself of the difference between real-life and television, and how much I enjoy being myself, rather than trying to be Julie Parrish. -  HLE (NY)

10/20/04 - One of the advantages of lack of free time and savings is that one can indulge herself on her own hobbies, sometimes. Well, last few years scifi is my hobby, my "dark secret", if simply fuels my imagination....I watched V first time when I was 8 year old. It was a huge success in Spain. Of course, I adored Julie. She was all what I wanted to be when I grew up, and not just physically but intellectually because she was so intelligent, and brave, an beautiful and a scientist. I never could explain why I decided to become a doctor myself, because TV can´t be a reason good enough to decide your life (or at least a very important element in your life) and there should be more valuable reasons...but I did it. I worked really hard for long years. I finished my residency 3 months ago an my travel as a doctor has just begun. I still enjoy a lot good TV (ER fan since the beginning) but Julie Parrish has a very special place between my memories. I bought the miniseries and the Final Battle and I probably won´t try to get the rest of it because it wasn´t so good, lacked of darkness. Something wasn´t right. Sure, there are tons of mistakes (being scientist doesn´t give you authority in all the fields of science, and immune system would avoid Robin´s pregnancy..) but the heart is still there. Julie did what she had to do and so did all of them. Genocide was there (flying fridges instead of cyclon B gas)...even Matrix was there (the cocoon Sean was into was pretty similar to the fields humans are stores to provy energy to the machines. 

Fortunately, rewatching V didn´t destroy my memories.

If someone sees Faye Grant...simply THANK YOU.

DOIKECARTER - Spain

10/9/04 - Re: Jane Badler's wigs in "V" - I did wonder how she managed to have really nice volumized straight hair then quickly, have wild, big, bushy, fabulous 80s, permed hair! I  just guessed that there were big gaps between filming and that the hair just progressed as fashions changed. Her performances in the show are soooo captivating, i love that bitchy stare she does and the delivery and body language are so camp. I can see why she's a gay icon! Its funny growing up I always though that there were only two women in the world; wonder woman and Diana from v. Its a wonder I'm not gay!

In the 80s I wasn't allowed to watch V. I was only a kid (I'm 30 now) and my parents were assholes. Because I couldn't watch it I asked a girl I knew to tell me what all the fuss was about. She told me all about it: lizard aliens, the resistance Diana and of course the mousy. I was fascinated. 

Years later I was doing a really funny job in my early twenties. I used to work for David Icke's book company. My job was mailing out books and sticking censored stickers on them (he was naked on the cover of one, so I had to stick labels to hide his shame!). It was quite fun and just a summer job whist a student. Because of the job I got to know David Icke and became familiar with his whole lizard conspiracy stuff. It got me thinking about V again and I decided to go and get it on video. Well its was fantastic (a lot better that David's books!). It was quite funny after that because every time id see David id be sarcastic and call him Mike Donovan and ask how the visitor resistance was going. LOL I recon most of his ideas are stolen from the series. David believes that Ken Johnson knows (about the conspiracy) and that's why he put the introduction dedication to all the freedom fighters past present and future. That would be an amusing question to ask Ken! I think I can guess what Kens answer would be though. LOL

I didn't realize that there are things going on like the conferences. I wish they had that sort of thing over here. I would certainly get a visitor uniform on and go and have some fun. Its strange because I've always thought people who were into sci fi were a bit nerdy. I've never been into sci fi. I think V is in a class of its own and i don't actually feel like its sci fi. Things like star trek really bore me silly.

I'm really looking forward to more new V from Ken. it really sucks that NBC don't think its not different enough. My fear is that if it gets made it will be too Hollywood and they will cast someone really stupid like will smith. The low budget feel of the show gives it so much charm. It would be awful to see some big budget Hollywood thing with too many special effects and stuff. perhaps I should write in?

Anyway id better go id better do some work today! Thanks for building such a great site and giving us all something fun to see on the net. Best wishes.  Sinclair.  Ps. Has anyone ever thought of putting together a V museum with loads of props and other nice things?

9/5/04 - All I remember the most about the "V" mini-series were the visitors eating mousies in there mouths.  That and, of course, the Visitors being lizards and all.   I don't quite remember the TV show but I do remember the mini-series more then the final battle.  I believe that the reason why I don't remember some of the "V" shows was my parents didn't want me to see it.  Cause they must've thought that it was too graphic for me when I was 5 and 6 years old at that time.   When I 1st heard that the mini-series was finally coming to DVD, I was soo excited.  And something for the final battle but still don't remember the TV series.  I got the TV series on DVD recently and was fascinated with how shows today like the special effects, the acting, and the stunts were soo different then they were back then.  Each episode was obviously new to me but was still interested on what was to happen next.  Thank god for DVD's, so we don't have to fast forward to the commercials.  The thing that boggles my mind was a scene in the mini-series where Diana eats a mouse with her freakishly opened mouth and in the TV series; she just eats the mice with no make-up effects.  Back then some directors or whoever really didn't pay that much attention to following the older details of movies and shows.  But I don't really care I'm just happy to know that with all the "V" DVD's out now there will be another new mini-series of "V" back to our TV screens next year. - Jon McLaughlin

8/15/04 - I've just found your site after buying the 1st V series and the Final Battle. I've just spend half a the afternoon and most of this evening watching it.  I have to say its one of my most favorite  TV productions, is was 13 when it 1st came out in the UK, and I remember it being promoted on the TV before hand. I was going to stay with my grandfather while it was showing, it was on very late at night. One of the strongest memories of my grandfather i have is of the two of us staying up way passed my bedtime to watch it. I have to admit my favorite character was Diana, and looking at your pictures, she almost looks better than she did 20 years ago.  I hear that there are plans to make another, i really do hope so. I don't know if you have a mailing list to keep people updated, but if you do, please add my name to it.  All the best. Paul

V aired in 1983. If it weren't for my mom I would never have been a V fan, since I was mostly into playing with friends all the time at that age. But for some reason that one evening I sat in the living room and watched with my mom instead of playing in my room. After the first show that first night I was hooked. I continued to watch the next night's and followed it the following year for the Final Battle. To my surprise I never knew that there were the weekly series after the Final Battle. I didn't know about the series until we moved to England in 1987. So when they were airing it in England I recorded them as well as the Original mini-series and the Final Battle. When I moved back to the US I was very disappointed because I could never watched the tapes I recorded back in England because our International VCR had broke. Then to my surprise again...years later, V the mini-series finally came on DVD and I quickly snatched it up. Then not too far later The Final Battle came out on DVD. It was like a dream come true for me. After I purchased the Final Battle I was saying to myself "Now I wished they would just come out with the rest of the series on DVD" and behold in 2004 my wishes came through. Thank God for DVD's!!!!!!!!! Roger - Oklahoma 

The First time I saw V was when it aired on NBC - when it debuted in 83 - The Original Mini Series. At first I did not know what this show was. Then I found out my parents where watching it. So I've watched it late where the mother ship Visitors land for their water and supplies. .Where the Star Wars theme hit. I might have seen it in re-runs. I even could not stay up late because of  my schooling.  I was in Elementary School. Maybe when I was around 5 or 9 -- I forget how old I was. But I do remember it  It was an awesome experience.  Then I was hooked and glad that it aired.  I couldn't wait for the television series. My mother today still doesn't like the Lizard makeup. She thinks
it is gross. But I really like it.  I did not know they were Lizards in  the first place. But we got a glimpse of what they were up against at the end. I finally own the original the mini series on
DVD!  Not bad price.  I still gotta get the final battle. And I am going to get that when I get the complete Television series this summer.  Thanks guys at Warner Brothers for making it a release!  This will be my birthday gift.  19 Episodes. 39 freaking dollars! Not bad price! - Bob, Fontana California.

I'm from County Donegal in Ireland & first saw 'V' in '84 when I was 5 Myself, brother and 2 sisters were hooked.  It was shown on monday nights near midnight so Mum would tell us to go to bed for a few hours and then we could get up to watch it, but we were all too excited to sleep.  Years late friends said that they were never allowed to watch it but it never frightened me, I just loved it & still do.  It was weird seeing it again in '98 and shouting at the TV 'I remember those scenes so clearly'.  The first series was as good as ever but I never really took to the second.  Anyway just thought that u'd like to know that over here in the north west of Ireland there is some v big 'V' fans also. - Cresent

What is the best sci-fi series at all times? V! I've never saw a better series like V!!! : V came to German TV for first time when I was 12 or 13 years old and from the first episode on I was very impressed!!!!  Every week came V for only one day in the whole week. I was so exited to watch the next episode. And the days between the episodes can be a very long time. My mum hates this series and forbid me to watch V. She said that V is too brutal! But I opposed her. So I watched V secretly. But I think at that time nobody can't oppose me to watch V!!! And now I'm 27 years old and all through the years I love this series at all times!!! This magic of V is still living in me! And believe me; I've watched V so often so I can't count it. I think that V never be outmoded. When I look about the happenings all around the world, so I must say  that war, fascism, terrorism and resistance is still present. If people say that the visitors in V are being like a little bit the Nazis in Germany at the 2nd world war. So I can agree. But I even say this here is only a great sci-fi series. In this series a lot of hard work and very much love have gone into this!!!! When people asking me, what the remarkable thing about V is, then I must laugh. I even say: "This is the magic of this fantastic series! I know you don't understand me." My absolutely favorite characters in V are Diana, Pamela & Lydia! The vicious of V. Especially Jane Badler as Diana!!! Jane Badler is my absolute favorite actress!!! I saw some movies and series of her! But the character of Diana is the best role that she ever portrait!!!  And even I watch V I'm impressed about the magic that Jane in her role as Diana radiate!!! I think that nobody can play Diana's character better than Jane Badler!!! V without Jane Badler as Diana is not the same!!! Before I'm stopping her, I would like to give many greetings from Germany to all V fans around the world!!!! - Verena, Germany

I first saw V during the 1980's (i think it was on ITV on a Friday night). I remember, even at such a tender age, of being gripped by the storyline, effects and acting. An impressionable teenage mind like mine imagined how exciting it would be if it had really happened...My friend and I used to talk for hours after each episode, placing ourselves in the scenarios Mike found himself in (and fantasizing about Diana) - That's teenagers for you. I later collected the entire 2 series on Video and have watched them several times since. Its amazing how gripping the storyline remains. Thanks for the fond memories. - StuartDC, Liverpool, UK.

(The 80s) I was only 8 years old and V, the movie came on TV during my February, winter vacation. It was on every night for 2 hours, that week, 8:00pm - 10:00pm. I instantly became obsessed! I had a few dreams about 'V' that week too. I was IN LOVE with Martin and I really wanted to know Willie and become friends. Anyway, I always wanted to see it again after that, and of course it never came on TV! -- Until I was 10 and it came on once again during my February school vacation. I loved it! I wanted a copy on video tape so badly that every February after that (for about 3 - 4 years) I thoroughly would check the TV book, hoping it would come on TV!  (The 90s) Finally, it wasn't until I was about 16 and it turned out an older cousin had a crappy TV recorded copy from the 80s. I was sooo happy though and made myself a copy. I still LOVED Martin and even took photos of the TV screen! I was so mad that the credits at the end didn't say who was played by who, because I desperately wanted to know what Martin's real name was to find other movies he played in. In high school, I actually made a visitors outfit, complete with airbrushed logo, big black thick sunglasses, etc, etc, and wore it to the high school Halloween dance. It's funny, because 'V' was on the science fiction channel recently (2003)! I was happy to watch it! That movie really did move me!! - Christine

The very first time I saw "V" was when it first aired in 1983. It was on a 7:30pm timeslot here in Australia and if my memory serves me correctly it was on a Wednesday night. I cannot really remember that far back on how it got me so intrigued to watch it on the night but it has been 20 years and I was only 8 years old :o)

Anyway the big day arrived and it was time to sit down and watch the Mini Series unfold on our TV screens. I watched the very first episode and was hooked. "V" was the start of my sci-fi addiction and it paved the way to showing, even back in the 80s it was an achievement in it's own. 

I immediately was right into the mini series from Day One and it was me and my brother glued to the TV for an hour each Wednesday night anticipating the next installment and you would be getting so intrigued and in depth then the next thing "To Be Continued" was placed after the ending and we couldn't wait for next Wednesday night to arrive so we could sit down and enjoy another riveting plot to unfold. 

Here in Australia we didn't get much of the merchandise so it was improvise. I remember grabbing a pair of HUGE mirrored sunglasses and pretending to be a visitor. I think back now and laugh but it is still in my memory as the best ever and as stated the most expensive sci-fi ever made in it's time and paved the way for the sci-fi genre. 

My favourite character was, as mostly is everyone's, was Diana. She knew how to manipulate, strategies and worm her way into everything with subtle smoothness that drew me to her. She would have the look that if looks could kill you wouldn't last long under her wicked gaze. As the years went on I always thought back to the mini series but seemed to forget the series. Why I forgot the series and remembered the mini series for all those years because maybe of how it reacted to everyone who watched it. You were glued and always anticipated the next move and it stuck in your mind. It soon drifted away from my mind as the years went on but never forgotten then 1993 I was in my local department store, walked past the VHS section and staring me in the face was a box set of 3 videos in a bright red box as it stood out from all the rest of them. I stopped in my tracks and looked closely. There were these lizard characters on the spine and immediately turning the box set to the rear to read what it was I seen a still picture of Julie and Mike. I nearly SCREAMED. I called out to my brother and was so excited to see it return in a video box set. It was the only set put out and I grabbed it immediately, paid for it, raced home and watched it and to see it once again on my TV screen was a blessing. I still have the box set and even the series which came in 3 video box sets as well because as I watched the mini series unfold again on my TV screen I knew the series followed but the mini series always is the best in my mind. I then got to pursuing the search for the soundtracks. I tracked them down in the US so I have the Original Mini Series, The Final Battle and The Series all on soundtrack and last year ( 2002 ) I started to collect some merchandise and I am now a proud owner of a Visitor 12" Doll, V Spanish Playing Cards and the full set of V trading cards and stickers and now it's time for me to purchase the V Sunglasses and not improvise with my fathers 70s style mirrored sunglasses anymore oh and forgetting I'm hoping to get a visitor costume.

After hearing about the next installment V:The Second Generation I was excited. I hope that CBS and NBC look into this next mini series and make it a reality. I can imagine old "V" fans will surely love to see the next installment, as I would, and also it might even create a new generation of fans and make it even a bigger fan base and again become another ground breaking sci-fi to hit our screens once again because 1983 will never be forgotten as the new beginning of "V". Thank you so much to Kenneth for making such a ground breaking mini series of it's time and best of luck to him on his next installment which we all hope becomes a reality. Thanks again. - Scott from Australia

I first saw V back in the 80s.  I must have been about 11 or so.  I remember seeing it on TV on Sundays.  I think the scariest part was the opening music.  It was so ominous. Fast forward to 2002 and I've managed to find the theme song on Kazaa.  Just loved Julie, Diana (what a b*tch) and Donovan.  Now that I watch it, what is up with the tight pants?  I really think that's why Diana wanted him so bad :)  Anyway, thought I was weird cuz I was the only girl into this movie.  I remember around that time going to a slumber party and to my surprise, we ended up staying up all night watching the mini-series.  Imagine that, a bunch of 11 year old girls watching "V".  --SC from CT

The first time I saw "V" was during its initial broadcast run in the late spring of 1983. I had just graduated from High School and was in the midst of finding out who I was before heading on to college to figure out what to do with my life.

Nobody taught me about the true horrors of the Holocaust until I was a junior in High School, and up until then, I just knew that Hitler was a really bad guy who invaded a lot of foreign countries and incited World War II. A little thing like the murder of 6 million innocent people merited nary a mention, and there was only a casual reference to "concentration camps".  When my history and religion teachers finally laid out the bare facts for me, I was sickened - not only because it was such a tragedy, but because I had been sheltered from it for so long.

So when "V" first aired on NBC, the truth of the Holocaust was still very fresh in my mind. And because of that, I was very quick to notice little things - the number of uniforms that show up, the cunning and benevolence of these invaders, the horror that lies just below the surface; even that symbol that is emblazoned across their vehicles and uniforms... 

As a viewing experience, the true horror of "V" comes not from the moment that Michael Donovan rips the face off of one of them, exposing the evil for the audience... Rather, the true horror comes a moment later, when the realization comes home that there are 50 more ships, each with hundreds of thousands of them  inside... and how will we ever get rid of them all?

It's strange, but in these days of post-9/11, with fanatical middle-eastern extremists hell-bent on destroying all that we have built on this planet, a show like "V" brings a ray of hope amidst the misery and suffering, and reminds us all that we - from the strongest man to the smallest child - must be prepared to take up the fight for liberty against injustice and oppression, lest our way of life perish forever.

That oppression may manifest itself through unjust laws, suppression of the truth, fanatical 3rd world religions, powerful corporations, or even just general peer pressure. (Smokers, SUV drivers, Catholic priests, cell-phone users and pit-bull owners have already been ostracized by society - who's next? Genetically-enhanced food growers? Fast food restaurants? The obese? The mentally challenged? Homosexuals? What about Atheists? Christians? Homosexuals? Heterosexuals? Asexuals?)

By lying down and avoiding the oppression of even the smallest minority, we are paving the way to our own extinction. - Kevin P. O'Connor

I remember watching V. It was a Friday night thing to watch V-the Series. I  saw every episode EXCEPT the final one because I had to take my girlfriend to  a stupid dance (if I had only known then)...but I read about it in the final V  comic book. I remember putting Elmer's glue on my hand in 5th grade, letting  it dry and slowly peeling it off my hand...like the lizards! ha ha! Fun times. - Sam

It was '83 and I was about 7 or 8. I just remember sitting around with my family and watching the whole miniseries unfold. It wasn't very often that my family would enjoy a show together like that but i guess it offered something for everyone. I remember finding out the visitors were reptilian and as a kid being stoked cause I was disappointed that the aliens weren't "alien" looking. I just saw the first mini series recently o  DVD and all of the memories flooded back, the cool uniforms, the very well done special effects (except the part when Diana stretches her mouth open and eats the Guinea Pig...SHADY!) for the time. I was pretty young so I didn't catch any of the nazi qualities of the story at all. I guess being in the prime time 80's as a kid I didn't realize how "dynasty" like the dialogue was, as it was the style at the time. Can't wait to ge  my hands on the rest of the franchise and find out what happens. (I ended up going on a family vacation to Indonesia/all over the world when the rest of the shows came out) - Steve, Canada

Geez, I 'm thinking now was it actually 20 years already (my novels have turned yellow) The first time I saw V was the original run on NBC, the local paper's TV guide had the cast on the front cover and a story on this miniseries based on a sci fi adaptation of the book "It Couldn't Happen Here" so I thought I'd give it a looksee as TV scifi was in a bad way since ABC had completely trashed Galactica (and Next Gen was but a glint in Roddenberry's eye) and from the first shot of the Motherships coming in I was hooked. So hooked in fact that about the time Final Battle aired I went to a local night spot's Halloween party in full Visitor officers uniform complete with a throat mike and battery powered speaker/harmonizer hooked to the gun belt for the proper lizard reverb when I spoke. I didn't win any prizes at the party but let me tell you V was a very popular series as I could scarcely move five to ten feet without being stopped by yet another patron of the bar wanting their picture taken with the Visitor, if I'd only charged per pic I'd have been covered for the night (BTW I did have a friend do the obvious picture of me standing next to a visitor parking sign, alas now lost to the ages) Then NBC made me a happy V fan by making a weekly series, while the series did have it's problems (I'd have rather they maybe focused on other Resistance groups rather than the open city concept) I did like the fact that being a main character did not mean they would always escape the Visitors' latest plot unscathed and may actually die but NBC not considering the winner they had, started moving the air time later in order to kill it, still hadn't learned from Star Trek apparently. But as it seems old classics never really die, if Sci Fi Channel can bring back Galactica is there yet hope that the struggle against the Visitors may yet return? Finally, and I'm sure my sentiments are reflected here, Robert Englund maybe Freddy to everyone else but he'll always be Willie to me. Gary S., USA

The first time I saw "V" was in 1983 when the original miniseries first aired.  I was about four or five, and I was GLUED to the TV, and have been a hardcore fan ever since.  I distinctly remember first seeing the scene where Mike Donovan rips off the Visitor's face.  It scared the crap out of me!  I hid in my sleeping bag that was rolled out on the floor in front of the TV, since we were staying up late.  I also recall being rather annoyed by the fact that I'd have to watch the second part of the miniseries the next night.  And I was thrilled when the TV series began.  I was in second grade, I think when it was aired, and we just had class pictures taken, and were given combs to comb our hair with for our pictures.  These combs then became Visitor laser pistols on the playground.  My favorite character has always been Diana.  I just love her evil ways!  And lastly, I'd just like to say to all the people who were involved with the show:  Thank you so much for all you have given the fans of "V".  "V" LIVES! - Sarah Bollinger

It was September 1996, just before Independence Day was released in Australia. I was 10 years old. As a promotional thing for ID4 they played the original miniseries on TV. I wasn't planning on watching it. It was a school night and I had to go to bed. But as I went to say good night to my Dad I realized he was watching something really interesting. A guy with a video camera was filming a UFO that seemed to be coming in over the mountains. Mesmerized, I sat down and glued my eyes to the TV. By about 10pm I was very tired, and it was only the end of part one! I forced my eyes open to watch until the end of this entrancing mini-series. The next day I searched every video store around for V. Only one had the complete set of miniseries & series. That Halloween my sister (a brunette) and myself (a blond) dressed up as Lydia and Diana. I will always be a V fan. Juliet Parrish is my mentor. So V fans, never give up hope of a return! Thank you, Brittany

The first time I saw V was actually this year, 2002. I've been a science fiction buff all my life, so you might even say I know all the cliche's. When I saw V the original miniseries in my school's video library I was a little skeptical. I mean from what I could tell it was no different than Independence Day, or Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster. (For all you non "G" fans out there, there is an alien race in Cosmic Monster that sheds it's skin to resemble monkeys). But I decided to give it a shot anyway, figuring I could at least MST it if I was bored. Popped in the tape and by the end of the first part of the miniseries I was hooked! The first scene of open action was the bait on the hook, but when I saw the spaceships and the subsequent interactions between the Visitors and the humans I was captured by the plot. These alien  weren't just rip offs from a bad Star Trek episode, they too had their own individualities and agendas, and I like how neither side was fully portrayed in one specific light. There were "good guys" among the Visitors as well.  I think most of all I am especially fond of the relationship Willy and Harmony developed, and I found myself crying in the end when he held her in his arms after she took a blast for him.  And yes, in response to a former comment on this site, I would so be Ham Tyler. - Nate

The very first time I ever saw V I was 19 years old and was seeing a highlight of the miniseries in which a pregnant 16-year old girl (Robin Maxwell) was screaming that she wanted an abortion after members of the resistance removed the fake human skin from one of the visitors (Willie) on an operating table and proved to their colleagues that these visitors were reptiles, not human.  Seeing that one scene made me think about when I was in the seventh grade and I and a couple of other boys all agreed that movie producers were always putting out movies about women having half-devil or half-alien babies to scare young adolescent girls from getting pregnant before graduating from high school and getting married.  (E.G. The Stranger Within (1974), Rosemary's Baby (1968), and Beyond the Door (1976).  V certainly hit the objective right on the bull's eye when it included a soap opera drama in which Robin Maxwell fell in love with Brian, thinking that he was a homosapien, had unprotected relations with him, and ended up not only pregnant but pregnant with twins, and to make matters worse, pregnant with twins she doesn't even know are going to be human or monsters.

V made its mark of fame in the world of science-fiction entertainment and mainstream entertainment, because like E.T. and Cocoon, it broke away from the trite and lame conventional Gene Roddenberry style that dominated the science-fiction entertainment scene for decades.  Unlike Star Trek and Lost in Space, V presented itself as a real story about real people.  Even though we all know that it's not based on a real story, we can identify with the characters and their life stories.  Not only does V appeal to a lot of different age groups, but it reaches out to a lot of different ethnic groups.  A good example is the scene in which this African-American laborer is complaining about the difficulties he and others like him have had to contend with in battling job discrimination and the irony that aliens are moving in on the job market and "they're not even from this planet." Another noteworthy such scene in which Donovan is helping this one Mexican-American character try to escape from the visitor's ship and this one character talks about how his grandfather had fought alongside Zapata. These are the type of things that represent the diversity that makes up this country and what people like to see in science-fiction and types of entertainment.  V is a type of science-fiction yarn that even an elderly man who has never been married and never had kids can enjoy, because it reflects the political corruption that our world fears may mark our doom one of these days.

Marin May was awesome as the youngest Maxwell daughter.  It is funny that in the autograph section of this website there is a picture of her riding a bicycle in mid-air with what looks like E.T. hiding in the basket of the bicycle, because when I first saw her on V, she reminded me a lot of Drew Barrymore as she looked when she played in E.T. in 1982.  Marin May also has a sprinkle of Shirley Temple in her looks.  However, what is most memorable about her role in V as Katie Maxwell is  the scene in which she spots the Starchild, who is supposed to be her niece but by then is biologically about the same age as her, and like an innocent little girl, she wants to play with the Starchild and the Starchild spits venom in her face.  That one scene was a dramatic climax. You could see why the father of the little girl was outraged at the alien child even though it was his granddaughter.  Aside from that, he didn't feel very good to begin with because he was not too happy about his oldest daughter giving birth to a baby at the tender age of 17.  This is what I mean by how everyone could identify with this mini-series.

The weekly series of V really did an injustice to Marin May and Viveka Davis who played the two youngest daughters in the Maxwell family, because it whitewashed their roles from the storyline without even explaining what happened to them.  I believe that this really hurt the show, because both of these girls had roles that were still important to the story regardless of how little they may have seemed to some of V's fans.  It didn't really so much bother me as much that the weekly series whitewashed the vehicle in the story in which the aliens reverberated when they talked. I know that a weekly series is not going to have the same high-tech decor as the actual mini-series did.  However, I feel that the weekly series could have, at least, had a show in which the star child asked her mother Robin Maxwell or her grandfather Dr. Maxwel  "Where's my aunts?"  The Starchild's grandfather, who by then had become quite fond of his half-human half-alien granddaughter, could have provided some story about how the two young girls were sent to live with his big-hearted aunt in Baltimore, Maryland to go to school for safety purposes since the red dust issue with the subtropical climate of Los Angeles didn't offer them the same protection that it did  in the temperate climate of Baltimore, Maryland.  People notice those things, you know, and knowing how to fill in all the holes is what makes a movie producer talented. - Jeffrey Joerger

The first time I heard of "V" was by a friend named Cynthia in 1999. She told me about this movie that came on TV in the 1980's.   When she described it, I knew I wanted to see it.  Being the friend she was, the next week, she went to a video store and bought the entire mini-series.  All  5 parts. I remember watching the first Mini Series and I said "Can't get any better then this", I was  wrong.  It got better.  WAY better. I remember watching V:TFB and I was like a kid at his first baseball game. My favorite character was Ham Tyler.  Michael Ironside played him perfectly. I have been a fan of V ever since. I liked V so much, my screen name is The__Resistance.  I'm planning on building a V Fan Page, and a V Role Playing Game sometime in the future. - David Hammond 

The first time I saw V was in 1984, V the Final Battle.  My first experience of Sci-Fi and I will remember it for a long time.  I never did get to see the short -- very short TV series till 1996 on the sci-fi channel.  I did get to see V the original miniseries in 1991 on a local channel here in IL.  To me V the Final Battle had more sci-fi aspects than V the original miniseries.  The TV series, (which I now own all the episodes except the one called "Breakout") to me was cut short because of, to me my favorite characters, Ham Tyler and Elias Taylor, were written out of the series and a changing of the "mood" of the series, ended the run of the show just as it was beginning.  Why would you cut out Tyler, just as him and "Gooder" were getting used to working together on the same side.  All in all, each episode, we as V fans, learned a little more about the Visitors and learned more about Donovan, Tyler and others in the resistance, not by their fight for freedom, but what made them the people that they are.  Example, "The Conversion" is a must have and a must see of the TV series if you're a fan of the show. I am personally glad to see V the miniseries be converted to DVD, with the great sound and Ken Johnson's input on his ideas and why he did this or why the camera was here and all that director aspect, helps introduce V again to fans or to new fans. I am glad to hear and read that the former actors and actresses embrace that V still has a fan base and that the people that played these memorable characters, embrace us as fans and do attend the conventions. And I like to thank them for being who they are and hopefully V the Final Battle will be on DVD soon and that somehow, someway, V will or can return to TV in some sort of a format.  And a question to the male fans of V: Who didn't want to be like Mike Donovan or who didn't like Tyler? - SpaceAce

The first time I saw V was back in 83 when it first aired on TV. I was about 9 years old at the time and I was hooked. Mike Donovan was my favorite character, he was just the coolest guy on the planet in my opinion. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up, he was just the strongest character. And I had the hugest crush on Jane Badler. Everything about that 4 hour movie was amazing. The story was great, the actors all played their character perfect, the FX was cool, and it made such a huge impact on me. V is without a doubt one of my favorite movies of all time. The Final Battle was OK, and the TV show was also OK, but the 4 hour series was just amazing. I put it up with the Star Wars saga. V will live forever!  Sean Foster, Gulf Breeze, Florida USA

The first time I saw "V" was in 84 or 85 I think?  Anyway it was the first showing over here in the United Kingdom. I would have been about 14 then and remember that both myself and my friend talking about it at school on the day it was first on. The night it was on, at least in the area where I lived there was a storm and knowing that my parents normally would turn the tv off if it was stormy outside, I was very lucky that night that they didn't. It turned out that I'd seen more than my friend as there was a break in it for the evening news, or his telly was turned off because of the storm. Anyway, each night that whole week we had the original mini-series and The Final Battle 1-3 all together. I know we were gobsmacked by the special effects at the time, and that "V" was a part of our lives for along time to come. Indeed of all the videos I've had to sell the last couple of years that I've struggled to make ends meet. I still own all the V" tapes, and do still watch them. I still have school work from all those years ago when 'V" made an appearance in some of my English essays. Roll on the DVD version, and lets hope for a complete V" re-release of the whole films and series that followed. Jason Spurgeon, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom.

I first saw "V" in 1984 when I was living in Peru. I was only 8 years of age but loved the technology involved in the movie.  I remember watching the movie inside my aunt's bedroom and the movie was played in English with a Spanish subtitle.  I further remember building a paper "V" gun and I use to love wearing my "V" red Michael Jackson jacket.  I though that the story line was great and just wanted to know what would happen next.  A great story line, great air crafts, great weapons, great uniforms, great characters, great actors, great actresses, a great beginning and a great ending where all the ingredients to a successful movie that will stay with many for a long time.  I am now 25, and still love the movie; I can't wait for the DVD to come out.  Thank you.  Anthony E.  aescribens@excite.com

I saw "V" for the first time when I was 7.  It used to come on at 9:00 at night which, according to my mother, was way past my bed time.  So she used to tape it for me and I would watch it the next day when I got back from school.  I was hooked the moment Mike Donovan turned around and saw the Visitor ship coming towards him, it sent shivers down my spine.  My favorite character will always be Diana.  She was just so mysterious and was the embodiment of evil.  She fascinated me. I was obsessed with the program.  I even made my own "V" laser gun and would take it to school and would show it to all my jealous friends.  I used to have the entire "V" series on tape.  Until one day my mother was in one of her spring cleaning moods and decided to throw them all out.  I was devastated and am still recovering ;-). Anyway "V" will always remain one of my fondest memories from my youth, and memories can never be thrown out. - Matthew Johannesburg, South Africa

I became a fan of the series when I was 3 years old. I used to sit there and watch it with my grandfather and my mother, religiously every week.  I swear as a child I was obsessed with the show. I desperately wanted to be Diana, running around in my red uniform, lol.  Now, I am approaching 20.  Another of my favourite episodes is 'Secret Underground.'  I always did love seeing the lizard flesh! - Becci, England

Well it is so far behind us but still lives in my memories. I was 9 or 10, I don't exactly know but the first time V came on my TV screen, it was a Tuesday at 8:00 PM. Indeed I used to watch my favourite show every week at this time: CHiPs!!! (with Jon and Ponch) and I was very angry when I heard it was replaced by a new TV-show that didn't attract me at all! My parents and I watched the beginning, I remember it was in San Salvador with a civil war and Mike Donovan was a reporter over there... he had an Asian colleague I remember. I found it boring and just decided to go to bed when the enormous mothership appeared for the first time!! ... and Mike filmed it (all of this comes back piece by piece while I'm writing!) I immediately sat back in the sofa ;-)  I remember the big suspense when the troop-transport landed for the 1st time... when the doors opened and no one knew what was going to come out. I was a little bit disappointed to discover that they looked like you and me! My father and I were amazed the first time the Visitors spoke, because of their voice (I don't know for the original version but in French, the special effects in the Visitors voice disappeared in the series, thus after the first ten episodes). And I was a little bit astonished when John said "Nous venons en paix" (We come in peace). The first impression of the Visitors was a good one... until the second episode when Mike Donovan entered the mothership and saw their real (green) face! It was the beginning of my nightmares!!  What I want to say is that I agree with the majority of fans, who say that the series should not have been made like it was... there is absolutely no comparison with the first episodes. Like a lot of V fans, I found the V technology (spaceships, uniforms, accessories) so cool, especially the trooper uniform. I think all these accessories haven't got old... it was modern for the 80's and I think it it is still so and that it could be used if there was a new V.  Olivier - Belgium

All started for curiosity...but since that day I've never abandoned the mythic "V".  The strange thing is that I didn't like other "Star Trek," because they're too...unreal?  I was struc by "V"'s setting: the uniforms, weapons, mothership, skyfighter, voice, the way they eat (I remember when I ate ham I joked that I ate mice like them) and overall my real passion: DIANA!!!! All these things drove crazy. The scene I remember with most pleasure is when Mike Donovan goes on mothership and sees Diana and Steven and then fights for the first time against a reptile taking his face off.  Today I'm 20 and I still joke and do that scene with my brother (he's 17).  I hope that one day I'll meet all "V"'s cast.  In conclusion, I feel a lot lizard in me. - Gigi 

I was too young at the time to notice the transition from V to V: The Final Battle but it was the original V that gave me the most nightmares (and I had a huge crush on Jane Badler). Back then I couldn't appreciate the Nazi theme, the human story and such and so it wasn't until the next time V came around where I finally got a chance to watch it properly. That wasn't for a few years though, when I saw it this time I instantly recognized parts one and two were vastly different to three four and five. I can honestly say even looking at it now that I love the story of V and the way it slowly developed (of course knowing what's going to happen now ruins it a bit), the Nazi theme running very strongly for the first two episodes seemed to disappear in The Final Battle, the tension was always there but it seemed action was favored in The Final Battle instead of developing the story. I personally think that V should not have been completed in the way it was, that it should have remained a cliff hanger like the original series was.

There were many memorable characters in the Final Battle though, Michael Ironside, Mickey Jones to name a few. I'm sorry but as soon as the Elizabeth "Star Child" thing came into play I was turned off the series. I did watch it all and the 1 hour weekly series too, but it never got back what it had gained in the first two shows.

As far as the original goes, Jane Badler still sticks in my mind as an actress who excels in playing the evil bad girl character, part of me wishes she had won at the end. I did have a crush on Faye Grant too and thought she had the perfect look, Marc Singer well say no more, that was his part and I couldn't picture anyone else in it. The list goes on and on.

Special effects should get a mention here, I read somewhere the original V cost 10 million dollars (for the two episodes) and although some of the effects look dated now this was the best thing around for a long time. Everything came together so well, the premise, the costumes (I love the shock trooper outfits), the skyfighter, shuttle, tanker models. I remember wanting my own skyfighter in the back garden. I was really jealous that the actors and actresses got to play in them all day. - Mike

The first time I saw V was back in 1984. I remember hearing the advertisement for the Final Battle like it was yesterday! ("what if you found out your boyfriend was really an alien?") I was six years old when I heard that in 84. As soon as I heard that man's voice say that I had to see what the show was all about, because I loved scifi even back then. As soon as I saw the final battle I was hooked like crazy glue to the TV!! (I missed the original mini series back then). As a child I had a very very vivid imagination. Words cant explain the terror I felt the first time I saw what the Visitors really looked like. Their faces really freaked me out, especially those red eyes with that one black slit in the middle. After seeing their face for the first time I found it very hard to watch V for fear that their face might be exposed again. I was so drawn to the story that I watched the show even though it terrified me. Every single time V was on TV I asked my mother if she would watch it with me -- that's how scared I was.  When I went to sleep at night I was afraid that one of the visitors would climb through  my window with those red eyes and eat me!  Almost every night I had nightmares about me being chased by the visitors on the mothership! Can you believe this movie frightened me more than Freddy and Jason combined? What can I say, V had a realism to it that was unparalleled? V frightened me because I actually could picture it happening to us in real life. I would always laugh at people that were scared of Freddy and Jason because I knew they were just fictional characters, and that they didn't exist, yet when I looked up at the sky at night I would say to myself with such a vast galaxy why couldn't the visitors exist? At six years old I could distinguish fantasy from reality, and V, although it was fiction, there was something very real and disturbing about it. Over the years V has sparked my fascination with life on other planets!  For many star wars or star trek, but as for me it's got to be V because it's fantasy based on reality and that's what makes Ken Johnson such a genius! As I was growing up I sort of forgot about V for a little while and kept my memories of this show in the back of my head. Then one day I was watching predator with Arnold Schwartineger and then something about it reminded me of V. I said to myself I have to find V on video tape, it's been years since I last saw this movie. It was 1994 at the time. I looked everywhere for V but I couldn't find it, and I was really disappointed. Finally Warner Bros released the original series a year later, but I didn't know about it until my friend called me up on the phone and told me he had rented it!  As soon as he told me the good news I rushed to his house and we watched it together. Then after watching the second tape I was pissed off at WB for not releasing the final battle with the original series. Then i had to wait another 8 months for them to release the final battle and when they did both the original series and the final battle were for rent only. I finally bought my very own copy of the original series and the final battle together in a green boxed set in 98. Actually owning my very own copy of V felt like I owned a million dollars because I've waited so long. Now that I own my very own copy of V, and watching it over and over again as a mature 21 year old, I love this movie more then ever before because I finally understand every nook and cranny about it. What makes V pure genius is not only the fact that it's fantasy based on reality. (nazi Germany) There were also biblical aspects to V as well, like when Diana got convicted by the bible. It has shown her that the she had weaknesses, and the reason why she shot the priest and the bible was because her pride would not allow her to accept her vulnerabilities. I'm no holy role, but I've read the bible. the moral behind V has shown me that one's pride and ambition can wipe out an entire civilization just like Hitler almost did. How did Elizabeth get that power to save the world from being destroyed by the mothership? It wasn't magic that saved the world. It had to be god. This is why I think V is pure genius. It's more than scifi -- it's very deep, and it has meaning to it. V is the most well- thought out movie ever written in my opinion! - David Manzione. NY

The first time I saw V, I don't remember it. Maybe in the beginning of 90's, when I was 12 or so. It was probably a rerun, separated into several pieces, with some missing footage for commercial editing reasons. I didn't realize it at first, of course. And anyway I wouldn't have been able because I watched the episodes in scrambled order. They didn't care much about the original format of the miniseries :(

I live in France and here we don't have the star trek culture, neither at this time even a TV culture. I was what one could say a "retarded" kid about TV: I didn't know where the flicks came from, didn't make the difference between a movie and a tv-movie, and even barely knew what a director was. I loved cinema though, but my parents brought me there only couple of times a year. I just watched Star Wars one or two years before, Alien, and I was discovering that movies were a whole, colored, marvelous world.

So I didn't realize immediately the amazing quality of V was rare. I enjoyed the episodes I caught, but thought tons of other great movies in the same genre existed. Thus the years passed, I got more involved into cinema, moving to Paris I went to the theatre more often with friends, then alone, buying a VCR, watching tapes, beginning to understand what cinema was and how many good films it has. I'm still now very far to have discovered all the great movies, but I knew quickly enough about sc-fi movies to understand that V was exceptional. And how its greatness was rudely fuckin' thrown into the TV stream, at least here in France. It became quickly my favorite TV show, and I watched from that moment all the reruns again and again, raging against the telecasting conditions, dubbing and french habits to remove footage.

Now, except my mother, a die hard fan such as me, I haven't found anybody who seems to have any consideration for this series. I was for the last few months so deeply frustrated of a such WASTE that outing this feeling now here I'm almost crying. So I sought in the net, another time. Maybe cleverly. Because this time, instead of poor results of technical specs on movie portals, I found Ilana's site. Thanks to Google - I just don't believe it! So real fans exist! No, that's a whole community! Amazing. I'm nothing compared to you. How is it possible!! And how strongly emotional it is to read all that interviews here and realizing that for the actors themselves, V is a great part of their lives. I'm reading about books, novels, an opening to theatres due to the 1.85 format! And an update almost each day on this site with tons of info. Oh thanks, so much thanks, to let me be there my friends. Now I know I'm not alone anymore in space. My eyes are wet, glowing. Deep considerations and love to all of you, V fans all over the world. - Charles Lahlou

THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW "V" WAS IN 1983 WHEN IT FIRST AIRED! I CAN STILL SEE VIVIDLY IN MY HEAD WATCHING JUST THE PREVIEW FOR IT, AND SEEING RICHARD HERD SAY  "WE COME IN PEACE", THEN THEY SAID "IN TWO WEEKS"! I WAS LIKE WOW!! THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED IT, WAS THE YEAR LATER, I THINK I MISSED THE MINI-SERIES, BUT I DID NOT MISS "THE FINAL BATTLE". MY BROTHER AND I USED TO ACT OUT THE FIGHT SCENE WITH MIKE DONOVAN AND HAM TYLER! WE HAD IT DOWN!! EVERY PUNCH, KICK, FACIAL EXPRESSION, EVERYTHING, WE MUST HAVE WATCHED IT 50 TIMES +. AND LAUGH EVERY TIME, THEN MY BROTHER WOULD TELL ME TO REWIND IT, AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!! AND I USED TO BE IN LOVE WITH FAYE GRANT AND JENNIFER COOKE! ANYHOW I MISSED THE CONVENTION IN L.A. WHICH I'LL NEVER FORGET, BUT HOPEFULLY IF THEY'RE EVER IS ANOTHER, I'LL GO!  I HAD A LOT OF NICKNAMES WHEN I WAS A
KID -- ONE OF THEM WAS "GOODER" - Chris

The first Time i saw V was in the late 80s. It was the time when the video library opened across Germany. One title in all German Stores was the five V Movies (first and second Miniseries). So even now, the most People knew V. Wall to wall stand the videos. Later they tried
to bring the weekly show on video, but the show was too bad and in the meantime hundreds of movie titles came along.  So I saw the movie alone with my brother, who was at this time 18, and was allowed to buy the videos. It was amazing day for day, we would watch the movies.  After the fourth part, (the Birth of the green-mini-monster-baby) we stopped. I was just 11 and my brother was nervous about the way the show was progressing. (He hoped that it was not going to a bad crunchy splitter movie.) So one week later with much suspense we saw the last part. Two months later we saw the Series all in one weekend. (Hey for a child is this a lot...;-) )
Years later I saw it on television again and understood the Message behind the show. I bought the complete Collection (five Movies). Even when I look the film now I remember the old rooms, where my brother and I watched the series. (Without the knowledge of our parents, it made the Show double exciting!)  With the historical past of a  German you look at the series from a completely different point of view. It was the same "Political Invasion" that Hitler did during in the 30s. By the way: The flag of the Visitors says all... ;-) In the last year of my School visiting, we saw the first two Movies (the entire first Miniseries) in the classroom.  It was like an educational film. A SF Movie that brings you the kind of situation and political invasion that Hitler and his NSDAP features in the 30s.  You see, V is very popular in Germany. At some schools its used in a special hour at "History teaching."  Then, when Roland Emmerichs' INDEPENDENCE DAY came to the theater, the first posters let us see the Mothership approaching Earth, and I am not alone when I say, "Look, V comes to Cinema."  Best wishes and greetings from Germany, Ulrich Krause

I remember for months after watching the original V mini series, I would sit in my high school English class drawing pictures of the ships and really not paying attention to what was being taught. Like you the anticipation nearly killed me. When I finally saw the show, I was hooked! - Matt Lawson

It was April of 1983 I began seeing commercials that "THEY ARE COMING" and a Big Red V.  Every week I would see it and it would drive me crazy with curiosity. It was my 13th Birthday when it was scheduled to show on TV.  I begged my parents to let me see it for my birthday (since I had a very early bed time).  My whole family watched the first episode and I could hardly breathe I was so excited. Everyone was eating and I had so much anxiety I couldn't eat a thing.   As soon as The Final Battle came out and all the V books I would go to the bookstore every month in anticipation of the next book in the series.  I am 30 today and I still read the V books I have.  I watch V every year on my birthday and my friends disappear because they know I will spend hours watching it :)  This movie has always given me inspiration to fight forward and I even credit to a lot of successes I have had in my career.  I will never forget Julie's and Diana's Battle of Wills in the conversion chamber.  Frank DiMaggio  

Hi, people refer to me as K.  I'm a 15 year old girl and I think V is great.  I started watching V when I was about 3 years old. My mom and my uncle were great fans, so I started watching it.  I remember thinking the Final Battles' music freaked me out when the credits would run.  I then stopped watching it until it came on TV when I was 6.  I got so into again, and remember playing games with my sister where she would be Diana and I would be (child) Elizabeth.  It was so great.  My mom bought all the videos for me, until they stopped at episode 19.  I was really disappointed and I had hoped they would re-start it, until I realized they were made before I was born.  Someday I hope to become an actor, director and writer.  Maybe if I do succeed in life, I will see about re-making the old ones (although I doubt anything can beat them) and make news one to go with.- Vanessa Ball

The First Time I Saw "V" I was 32 at the time.( My love for SCI-FI started on the very first episode of "STAR TREK") It started with the commercial broadcast with black background and a large dripping letter of "V" and then black again and then the words "IT'S COMING" left me hanging in the air wondering what the commercial was all about. (This is the very beginning in "83" around September). Then a few weeks later, came home from work that one day, got my home life taken care of and sat down the rest of the evening for watching T.V. I was channel surfing when I came upon an action scene (My Dad Loves Western/Combat shows, boy, I miss him!) Stopped there for a little while to watch, when the ship came upon the scene, my jaws dropped and said "OH WOW".  My Dad guffawed, got up and went outside. But I was permanently glued to that show,  and when that same "V" letter with black background came on I knew this must be it (commercial). This is when they came out the very first timed (aired), I continued to watched it for the next 3 nights. I was hooked, lined, and sunk, I was in love with that show and everyone in it was superb, it  was so real to me.  Even when Donavon came upon Diana swallowing a hamster, and then the fight with the lizard when Donavon ripped the skin off sent cold chills up and down my spine.  I now have all the mini series and episodes and I continue to watch it every now and again through the years. And my love for that "V" has turned up several collections  I've started back then, and still finding lots more "V" collectibles. I am now or almost 50, a Grandma (2 Grandkids), and looking forward for the DVD release in June.  Also attended my very first "V" THE CONVENTION last year in September, it was GREAT! - Paulette Langan

The first time I saw V was sometime around the mid '90's. I must have been around 11 or 12 years old. A friend of mine was a big fan and I was curious about it. After going on a summer camp with a youth group I was previously involved in, I noticed she kept going on about it. When we got back home, I asked if I could borrow the videos of it to see for myself what it was all about. She offered to give me the series episodes, but then she said I should watch the mini series first so I could understand what it was all about. She had taped it off a sattelite channel, so the picture wasn't great, but I got the jist of what it was about. The first mini series is split up into 2 parts, but the TV station must have split it into 4 parts, because the first installment I saw ened with Ruth getting shot by the Visitor intruder. But I persevered, and what I'm about to write is so embarrassing for me! I got to the part where Donovan has the fight with the Visitor in the Mothership and rips his skin away. I was so scared, I began crying my eyes out and I wouldn't sleep for weeks afterwards. I was a very sensitive child! I gave the tapes back and said I didn't like it and that was that. Then, a few years later, in 1998, Channel 5 (a fairly boring channel over here in the UK) broadcasted a Sci Fi weekend and showed V and The Final Battle in 5 separate parts. I plucked up the courage and watched part 1, and was hooked. I stayed on for the other 4 parts and I fell in love with the show. Everything about it I loved, especially the cast, who were ten thousand times more talented and deserving than most of the big stars of today. Then I began buying the series on tape and I'm now a V addict. It's just the best show ever. Love Devyalento, the forgotten resistance member, London, England.

The first time I saw "V" I was 8 years old.  I lived on a Military base in Panama.  Needless to say, I watched all 19 episodes plus the original series in Spanish.  About three years later i watched the entire series again, this time in english.  I was fascinated by the Visitors laser pistols and their squad fighters.  To an 8 year old boy that sort of stuff is really fascinating. I used to have my brother replicate the V troopers side arm with his Lego and construx set. It was the best!  I'm just happy I'll be able to enjoy this wonderful show once again! - Vladimir, Oklahoma City

I was 8 years old and my mom read in the newspaper that a Science fiction series was supposed to begin that day, and she knew that I love Science fiction because I had almost the whole collection of Star Wars toys and the movies. I bought 5 empty VHS tapes and popcorn.  I was so exited!  When it started, I was a little bit disappointed of the beginning and the war with Donovan and Tony just running around filming but when Donovan turns around and see the ship, I dropped my popcorn bag on the floor and I sat quiet for 1 and 1/2 hours and I was "Down".  Oh my god it was like the best thing that ever happened to me; I was hooked. When the second mini-series was aired, I mistakenly put in a 1 hour tape and lost the rest of the episode.  For almost 6 months I was hunting down people that had recorded the episode so I could make a copy of it and finally, one day when I was home sick from school, my cousin came by and I told her about my wanting of the episode of V and she gave me the happy news that her friend had the episode and two videos so she could make a copy of it. That night when the tape stopped in the middle of the episode, I started to cry -- wow imagine that. Then a year after, I was sitting and watching TV  and they showed the commercial for V the series. I was jumping on the sofa like crazy and then I was like glued to the TV every week!  I finally had my 18 episodes of the show!  By the same time after the last show there was a release of a comic series of 9 magazines and I bought them all. In one of them it mentioned all of the TV episodes and told about 19 episodes and I freaked out. I was like between 9 and 10 years old and how could I get a hold of that missing episode? I had to wait until I was 17 and made a trip to Denmark and went into a video store and found the episode -- it's the one of Donovan and Tyler getting captured and put in the camp where they meet Robin.  When I went home with it, I had that same exiting feeling I had when I was 8 and saw V for the first time.  I've lost the count after a while how many times I've seen the whole series. My favorites is The Final Battle -- it is really a super class of entertainment. When my friends and I had seen the first 5 episodes, we played V for month. We built our own weapons from tree and I was always my favorite Visitor, Martin.  Damn I miss those years! I had my own skyfighter.  Lots of love, Tony! (The last Resistance fighter from Sweden)

I found V by accident. In 1988, on a Monday night I went to watch ALF on NBC, but it was preempted by a presidential address, so I channel surfed and found V being rerun on a  local station at 8pm. I missed the first twenty minutes but caught the rest. So, the first time I saw "V" was in 1988. I was 5 when the mini series first aired on NBC and missed it (I didn't know about V then), but in 1988, I was 10, living in Pittsburgh, and caught a rerun of V and V:The Final Battle on a local TV Station. I loved it, especially the cliffhanger endings to the different parts of the miniseries before V: The Final Battle Part 3. In 1990, the station reran it again, and I tried to record it, but my tape ran out. Also in 1990, I learned about the 19 episode  V TV Series after buying an old Starlog in a comic book store. In 1992, the station ran it again, and I taped the whole thing.1992 is when actually got see the whole mini-series. In 1996, after seeing the trailer for ID4, I came across my V tapes and watched them, and then wanted to watch them again. The mini-series was then released on video and  I bought it. Then in summer of 1996, the sci-fi channel reran the episodes of the V series. This was the first time I had ever gotten to see them. Two years later, I got the Columbia House home video of the series. In my opinion V was better than ID4,because there was more of story, and my favorite characters were and still are Donovan and Tyler. And of course Diana.  Pretanama! Signed, The orderve' that was eaten by the Visitors before they ate Daniel Bernstein, Chuck

I remember the first time I saw V, I was 7 years old.  I was instantly hooked on the show, back then I really didn't understand the meaning of the show, but when I saw Diana swallow the guinea pig and all of the neat special effects I knew I had found a show like no other.  I would cut out the picture ads from TV Guide and save them, I wish I had them today.  I had a V Bop Bag.  I had no idea V would be such a big deal 17 years later.  I've kept up with Jane Badler thru the years, and now the internet certainly helps.  When V was on we didn't have cable, just an antenna.  I would rig the antenna anyway I could to tune in our NBC channel, or I would track down someone who could get the channel.  I'm so glad I have bought every episode, I remember The Final Battle and only the first episode of The Series. After watching them I remember some parts I saw on their regular broadcasts.  I wouldn't trade those Friday nights for anything, I enjoyed watching every minute of it. Ross Watson,  24 years old.
Dougherty, Oklahoma

The first time I saw V was during the spring of 1984 when The Final Battle aired. I was in awe of Juliet Parrish and still am. I found her character to be very brave and selfless. In 1985 when I was in the fifth grade, I would act out V scenes with my friends during recess. I mostly played Julie and my favorite part was "confronting the traitor Andy" in the Wildcats. I often moonlighted as Lydia. My friend Patrick played Diana. We had a blast acting out scenes from "The Champion" in which Diana and Lydia fight.  We also did the scene from The Final Battle when Robin gave birth and taped a fake lizard tongue to a baby dolls mouth!  I was disappointed (weren't we all) with how the series ended and wrote an ending for it called V: The Conclusion. It's on V:The Series Interactive Website. And through this inspiring saga, I have found my passion in life...writing! -Tamie Kwist, "V: The Conclusion"

The first time I saw "V" was actually just a commercial back in the spring of 1983. I watched the NBC television network regularly back then, so the weekly shows I watched gave me the opportunity to see the promotional spots for the network's upcoming programs. Well, one night, there I sat, and this ominous music came on. Then, I was watching dark corridors in some kind of spaceship as the eerie music played on. The voiceover said something to the effect of, 'why are they REALLY here? Find out in 15 days.' Then, a skyfighter would fly overhead, pass over a lake, then arch skyward, as a screeching sound was heard over the television from the scrawling of a bloody, red "V" that was then splashing across the tube. That was it !!! For weeks, NBC just kept showing these short, cryptic little tidbits, and kept counting down that, "they're coming, in 15, 14, 13, ...... 3, 2, 1 days!!! Well, I  just HAD to watch to see what these aliens were all about. And, from that first day in May of 1983, I was HOOKED. Viva "V" and may she someday be reborn !!!  Patrick Gillease, NY

I saw "V" when I was about 15.  I am 32 now and I was in a girls' lock-up. We got to stay up and watch it and it was so exciting; even better than my life was at the moment - that I would fantasize I was on the show and pretend that Diana was my mother.  If anybody would like to read about that please e-mail me p1968@webtv.net any ways I still do fantasize every time I watch it even though it sounds sick, I know, but it's better then what I'm going through right now.  I RECENTLY went to the "V" con this summer and it was fun if you have never been to one you're in for a real treat. If they ever have another one please go to it. It was fun for me. Thanks for reading this!
Sheri Bell (PONY), Mancelona, MI

Several interesting thing happened the first time I experienced "V". Following are three of those things.  The first time I saw V I was so into it that I decided to be a "V Guy" for Halloween so my mom got me a red jumpsuit and I made the "V" symbol and put it on the front of the shirt and onto a red baseball cap I had.  While the "V" television show was on I never missed a week of it.  I was so fascinated by it that my mom and sister thought it would be funny to play a trick on me while I watched it.  During an episode they snuck away and applied some sort of clear skin rejuvination lotion to their faces and let it dry.  After it dried and the episode ended they came back out to the living room and peeled the "skin" off of their faces.  That may seem mean of them looking back on it but we joke about it all the time. The final story has to do with the "newscast that used to play at the beginning of each "V" series episode.  We had a rule in my house that when the news was on we all had to be quiet so my dad could watch it.  One night my dad happened to catch the beginning of "V" during the fake newscast and any time we tried to explain to him that it wasn't the real news we would get a stern, "SHHHH!!!"  My sister and I finally gave up trying to explain it to
him and when the "news" was over we asked him if he understood a word of it.  Of course he didn't and we finally got a chance to explain it all to him.  My family still laughs about that. 
David Avis, Traverse City, Michigan, Czarveillance@aol.com

Preta-na-ma for now my US compatriots….Dave May, UK