V and the Lost Effect

Science fiction and Fantasy are hard. TV SF is even harder. In the 1990's, every science fiction and fantasy show that I can think of put forth by ABC, NBC, and CBS failed miserably. Earth 2, anyone? But on the off network side of things? Babylon 5, Farscape, The Outer Limits, Star Trek: The Next Generation. The WB then kicked in with Buffy and Angel. In the 2000's, this state of affairs looked to continue, with another failed remake of The Twilight Zone from the networks, while off the majors we had Farscape, Stargate: SG-1, and Battlestar Galactica. On the Fantasy side, Legend of the Seeker is a great successor to Hercules and Xena. And the (now CW) continues to produce a wonderful product in Supernatural.

So why can't the big three get SF right? My guess is the need for epic ratings. A show like Supernatural can pull in 2 or 3 million, and make it up in DVD sales later. This is peanuts compared to the 11 million viewers Grey's Anatomy pulls in.

Things did change this century, at least for ABC. The first successful SF series of the 2000's was Alias. Now, spy fiction is probably the most accessible form of SF, and the change in the world climate followed 9/11 probably didn't hurt. So it was no surprise that ABC turned to J.J. Abrams' production company again to create "Lost" in 2004.

And where Formula with a capital F sets in. ABC decided this season to launch not just one but two science fiction shows this season, FlashForward and V, and decided to push the Lost formula to the hilt. Both shows follow Lost in that they:
1) Begin with large explosions. FlashForward's are everywhere on the planet, V just over every major city. Apparently the Visitors still haven't developed the elusive giant-spaceship-muffler.
2) Keep the characters guessing as to what's going on. FlashForward has to result to gimmicks to keep the future hidden: one key character doesn't turn around, another is drunk during the info session. V has a bigger problem: it's a remake, so adding to the mystery is an extra challenge.
3) Stir in a touch of whimsy. Lost had its polar bear first season. FlashForward has a kangaroo occasionally run through. V has stayed away from the animals so far: will birds react to the Visitors the same way they did in the miniseries?

So far, FlashForward has been a disappointment, but I'm cautiously optimistic about V. The Visitors were upfront this time around about needing water, and the viewers learned of their reptillian nature in the pilot. So the question is: what do the V's want?

The writing seems to be much more careful in V than FlashForward. If they achieve the level of Lost, that would be great, because after all, it is the slowly woven mystery and makes Lost so entertaining. The V's have said several times now that humans are the first intelligence that they have encountered. What if that is a lie? What if the Visitors are themselves fleeing from a bigger alien threat? Or have they destroyed other civilizations (in which case there might be the odd survivor?)

The traitors to the V have only said cryptic things like "the plans for the humans." I find this fascinating, because it was phrased in such a way that the Visitors could really be working to help humanity (or at least see themselves as helping humanity.) There are a hundred different questions of morality that arise in these types of "needs of the many versus needs of the few" situations, and watching these play out could lead to some great stuff.

Here's hoping they can put out the ratings to survive, unlike the two SF shows from last year on Fox, Terminator and Dollhouse, both of which have now been canceled. At least Fox is planning to show all the episodes of Dollhouse they have, unlike what they did for Firefly.