ABC
Watch out for aliens? Short haircuts are in now? Or maybe just that V (10 p.m. ET) is back after a four-month hiatus. Next week, after Lost. Don’t miss it.
How can a show expect to check out of our collective consciousness for a third of a year, and then show up again, without losing our attention? Well, when V premieres again next week, I will be on the couch already, watching Lost. So I guess that's what they're counting on.
Both shows have sci-fi elements and raise philosophical questions. But of course, V is much less complex. "V is a popcorn show," said Elizabeth Mitchell (formerly Juliet on Lost, and currently Erica on V) in a USA Today interview. "It's good fun." In other words, you can jump right in to V without much explanation: Lizard-like aliens (disguised as beautiful people) are acting friendly (but aiming to annihilate). FBI Agent Erica and a handful of allies must figure out how to stave off the V's, whose propaganda has made converts of thousands of gullible humans, including Erica's own son, Tyler (Logan Huffman).
I could never sum up Lost that succinctly. Understanding Lost requires lots of prior viewing—and, possibly, hours trolling fansites, digesting other peoples' theories about what's going on. Which, frankly, I think is good fun.
So will V really benefit from Lost's lead-in? Or will it just draw comparisons with that show, which at its heart is also an epic battle between good and evil? Lost's good/evil theme is so rich, so layered, that you truly find yourself questioning what those two words mean. Which characters are good, which are evil, or are they all both? V's "popcorn" version of good/evil struggle might not go down as well.
Plus:
- Does a Short Haircut Make for a Better TV Villain?
- PHOTOS: They're Back! The Men We Love on Lost
Does a long hiatus make you less likely to stay with a show? Chime in below!
