Kenneth Johnson is one of the names in TV, particularly from the 70's and 80's, that I respect the most. As a kid I loved so much of what he did, and as an adult I continue to find depth and substance in his works. V might just be the best sci-fi TV experience I had in the 80's.

 

This second offering known as “The Final Battle” is interesting because it starts off as a solid continuation of the original. As it progresses it gets more and more into the “what in the world??” territory. This is likely due to Johnson being initially involved with the production and then removed later on. The Final Battle is enjoyable, but I can't help feeling like it goes downhill at an exponential rate.

 

First, let me say that if you haven't seen the first installment this one will make little sense. There are things about the aliens this installment assumes you know and doesn't really cover. We pick up during the human resistance. Most of the world is still enthralled with the Visitors and have no idea why the aliens are really here. The resistance is strong but not enough to really put a stop to the quiet terrors. They need a rallying point to get more humans on their side so they stage an event to reveal the truth on live TV, and the conflict quickly kicks into high gear. It's pretty much do or die for both sides.

 

It's during this event that Julie is captured and put at the mercy of Diana's brainwashing device. On Earth a new military leader steps in. He's hard nosed and doesn't mind killing any Visitor he sees including the 5th Columnist resistance helping the humans. He considers Julie a casualty even though the others refuse to give up hope. But while he may clash with the heroes he's effective at saving their butts.

 

Mike is still the rogue hero. He's dealing with his son being a Visitor prisoner and his mother being a traitor willing to shoot her own son in the back to impress her alien friends.

 

The alien / human hybrid baby is born which has tremendous implications for the future of the battle. Will the kid be more monster than human? Her own family has a hard time deciding that.

 

There's a lot going on here. One of the great things about V is the large number of different characters. Despite being so numerous they are distinct and usually memorable from the reformed junkie fighting alongside his dad to the retired actress infiltrating the enemy with her theatrical skills. There are those that fight with the aliens to further their own personal gain and those that feel they have no other choice. None of them feel off the shelf.

 

The acting is not always spectacular, but it's almost never really bad. It's a combination of performances and the writing that makes these heroes and villains worthy of sitting down to watch for a few hours out of your life. Unfortunately, the direction of the story is not always top notch. I can't go into all the details without some major spoilers so I'll be vague on most of them.

 

The alien baby puppet looks hokey. Even so, I wish they had done more to develop and incorporate the concept. As it is the way the children are handled feels too much like a convenient plot device to get to the end of the story. That's not to say it's an entirely bad device, it's just not as complex as much of the story has been up to this point.

 

The ending of the story incorporates a glowing "starchild" that feels too far out of left field for what the series has set up thus far. It doesn't even feel like it fits in the V universe. I can understand making the child special, but supernatural? If there were a precedent for supernatural elements in the story, maybe it could have worked. As it is, this could have easily been taken in a more natural yet equally effective direction.

 

The brainwashing scenes are borderline corny. The one thing that really helps is the acting, but the effects look too B-grade sci-fi movie. This could have been done more effectively.

 

If the original V was so good and the first part of The Final Battle superior to the latter part I can't help but wonder what the outcome of the story might have been with the continued involvement of Kenny Johnson. Maybe the resulting series would have lasted longer than a few episodes. I guess we'll never know, so you just need to be willing to take some hokey sci-fi with the story to enjoy The Final Battle.