V: The Complete Series [1985] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

Full of galaxy size plotholes.......2006-02-15

I wasn't allowed to watch V when I was younger so I am lacking the nostalgia which probably biases my opinion. V - The mini series and the Final Battle were quite good. However this series progressively gets worse from start to cancellation. It looks very cheap with continous recycling of shots from the previous shows and within the same show.
In one episode the resistance discover they've had a visitor spy amongst their group. They need to abandon their base but spend all day sitting around waiting to be discovered. The building is surrounded by Visitor James and his Troops. (Parts of this shot and dialogue is re-used four episodes later). Luckily the resistance fighters can walk briskly past the useless troops, get in the van and drive off.
Towards the end of the series the two most wanted and recognisable resistance leaders go abourd the Visitor's mothership. Luckily they've thought of a cunning disguise. We discover they've been wearing masks of their OWN faces on top of reptile masks on top of their faces. This enables them to get caught, let go, get caught again, escape and eventually win!

14 hours of truly fantastic trashy sci-fi.

Nostalgia.......2005-09-21

Ah, what a great trip down memory lane. I can still remember the days when i used to stay up late just to watch this show. Of course the FX are poor by todays standards as is the action but for anyone that has fond memories of V I recommend a dark room and these DVD's

Sci-fi meets the A-Team.......2005-03-03

This package of the second TV series of 'V' leaves off where 'The Final Battle' ended, but soon falls quite flat. The first episode is full of promise, as alien Diana is put on trial. A fake assassination in a profit attempt allows her to escape and contact her other lizard-buddies. With the Earth's heat killing the red-dust that originally drove the frog-faced mob from our shores, a new invasion arrives, with little mercy.

Sound good? Well it is for a bit, but then a continuous story disappears into 50 minute episodes of the resistance beating the lizards in separate threats. If only the aliens tried ALL their ploys at once, the poor LA resistance would surely fall! Robert Englund's 'Willie' seems only present for a few stupid, cheap laughs, and main characters start dropping off towards the end, probably due to actor boredom more than any need in the series.

Entertaining and good for a long winter night, but don't expect anything like the original mini-series.

Customer Reviews:

Classic Jess Franco.......2005-03-09

One of Jess Franco's more famous concoctions and a classic example of some of his recurring themes - women in prison, women getting wet, bondage, chastisement and masochism, and the presence of a dominant female.

The plot? Well, in some South American country there is a clinic which treats women for mental illness: it specialises in some unique forms of illness - "nymphomania, lesbianism, and prostitution" are the three mentioned! Not only do the inmates fail to recover from their treatment, no patient has ever emerged alive from this clinic! Well, that's what you get when you privatise the NHS!

The clinic is run by the dominant and pneumatic Ilsa, who has a penchant for soapy baths, crisply ironed shirts, and the use of a whip. When one girl makes an escape bid, she is pursued by armed guards and manages to trigger an investigation into the clinic. For some reason Amnesty International gets a mention here! An undercover agent volunteers to infiltrate, trying to discover news of her own missing sister. Thereafter, the clinic is exposed for what it really does ... and a lot of flesh is exposed into the bargain.

There are a lot of naked bodies, but as pornography goes, it is quite tame. Classic Jess Franco ware - tacky, dreadful acting, worse dubbing, a fragile plot, limited characterisation, but numerous opportunities for shower scenes, women on women, chastisement and chains, etc., and the pneumatic Ilsa bouncing along, trying to keep order. But well shot, well lit, quite titillating in places ... and, if you're a vegetarian, watch out for the cannibalism!

UK DVD:

UK DVD List

UK DVD