One of the first rules of fiction is "write what you know." It's safe to say that few of us have any experience with a race of lizard-like bipeds from another planet, so the writers of V have made as much of the setting seem familiar as possible, to accentuate what is different. People may want to see more than that, envisioning some sort of criticism of President Obama, but I don't think it's there. We may yet see "Anna," the head Visitor, eat a rat (as her counterpart in the 1980s miniseries did), but that doesn't mean anybody thinks our President eats rats — even his critics.
Whether the new V will draw viewers over the long-term, I'll leave it to others to guess. The suggestion that the series may be criticizing Obama is likely to draw viewers who would otherwise tune out, so I can understand why the story seems to be everywhere, as if planted. I also understand why people buried in politics want to read more into the Obama parallels that are there, but sometimes a science fiction series set in a post-9/11 world is just a science fiction series set in a post-9/11 world.
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Article comments
1 - kg
"Don't be frightened. We mean no harm."
2 - Phillip Winn
Ha! Lovely image. So good I don't want it to be lost, so:
Larger original here.
3 - Nick
The universal healthcare reference was pretty funny.
My own review is up. Let me know what you think.
4 - Dan Hill
If Obama starts eating rats, I'm outta here!
5 - The Defenestrator
I'm surprised there isn't more commentary regarding this on the Net. The references in the first episode were fairly blatant. Just waiting for the White House to denounce it as "not real science fiction".
6 - Phillip Winn
@Defenestrator, personally, I'm pleased no more is being made of it. As I said, while the parallels were there, I don't think they were intended to reflect on Obama at all.
7 - Jet Gardner
All right Phillip, how did you insert an image in a comment?
8 - Phillip Winn
@Jet Magic.
9 - Christopher Rose
Sorry guys, images aren't allowed in the comments unless, like Mr Winn, you outrank me. And even then it's under protest!
10 - Jet Gardner
Spoilsport