As part of the two-year, seven-figure deal, Bell will focus his attention immediately on “V,” but he will also work on development down the road.

“Like many people, I have fond memories of whatching the original miniseries,” Bell said. “And to see how they did it now, it’s epic. (Exec producer/scribe) Scott Peters did a fantastic job relaunching it. It seems like there are so many ways that you could go with this story.”

Bell was busy Wednesday meeting with the show’s new writing staff. The challenge now, he said, is to map out what direction “V” might take over the next several seasons.

Just as the original “V” used the story of an alien invasion as an allegory for Nazi Germany, the new “V” will tackle issues of government, devotion, race and faith.

“Especially when you look at our current times, with the economy, wars and social strife, it’s the perfect time for a force like this to come along,” Bell said. “In many ways this is a very American show, about the individual vs. society. It’s about how America can appreciate and question things that seem to be too good to be true.”

Alphabet has 13 episodes of “V” on tap for this year; show is set to launch sometime after January.

ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson told reporters last month that “V” will have a set beginning, middle and end – allowing the show’s producers to properly map out the entire series mythology, something that the net’s “Lost” pioneered when it set a finale date in stone several years ago.

In the case of “V,” the show will expand and contract by season – some seasons may consist of 13 episodes, some may last longer.

“I’ve been on a bunch of serialized shows now, and it helps the audience to know that this is what you’re in for, and this is how and when it’s going to end,” Bell said. “We’ve been talking about it in terms of installments, either by chapters or seasons. We’ll build this first season to a big conclusion that is hopefully awesome, with a cliffhanger that launches you into the second season.”

Bell is familiar with such a setup; he most recently served as exec producer on CBS’ “Harper’s Island,” another serialized drama that had a pre-determined ending episode.

Prior to his Warner Bros. TV deal, Bell was set up at ABC Studios/Touchstone. At the Alphabet, he exec produced “Daybreak” and “Alias.”

Bell’s other credits include “Angel,” where he worked his way up to exec producer, and “The X-Files.”

On “V,” he’ll serve as an exec producer alongside Scott Peters (who penned the pilot), Jason Hall and Steve Pearlman. Yves Simoneau directed and exec produced the pilot.

“Scott and Steve have treated me as a partner in this, helping to shape this series,” Bell said.

A reinterpretation of the 1980s miniseries, “V” centers on aliens who invade Earth with a message of peace — but whose motives aren’t as pure as they let on. Stars include Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut and Scott Wolf.

Source: www.variety.com

Other shows picked up by Nine include “Eastwick”, “Past Life”, “The Forgotten”, “Miami Trauma”, “Hank” and “Middle”.

ABC has officially placed the series based on the ’80s sci-fi drama on its fall line-up. Oh, and the trailer is now available. It looks quite promising.

Fans of the original will see a lot of changes. The lizard people still hide beneath human skin, but they no longer resemble Nazis as they’ve dropped the red jumpsuits and black logo.

The spaceships are also updated. They’re less flying saucer-like and more “Battlestar Galactica” -like.

The biggest change that true fans of the original are going to find hard to handle is that there’s no Jane Badler as the bad-ass leader Diana. Badler was a cross between Alexis Carrington and Adolf Hitler. Only much more attractive.

The important aspects of the story mirror the original, however. The “Visitors” come to Earth with helping hands extended. They heal people. They re-shape the economy. They trick the free-world into silently surrendering to them. Then they turn on us.

While the original was clearly inspired by Nazism, message boards today are comparing the re-make to Obama as President.

“It shows the danger of blind devotion without question, which is what 90 percent of what you Obama supporters are,” typed one YouTube user. (No one said they were intelligent message board comments). The comments go on and on, comparing the new show to politics.

At any rate, it’s a bit ridiculous to compare “V” to the current President because this show has been in the making for the past several years.

Hopefully the remake will be embraced by fans of the original, attract new fans and last longer than the original. Those ideas are likely as more people are attracted to sci-fi these days and the special effects will surely work better in modern television.

Fans, cross your fingers for a Jane Badler cameo or two.

Via examiner.com

Based on these two clips, it looks like the show has a lot of potential.

Via SunSentinal.com

Joel Gretsch, Lourdes Benedicto, Logan Huffman, Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf, and Morris Chestnut

“V” is a re-imagining of the 1980’s miniseries about the world’s first encounter with an alien race in which the aliens call themselves The Visitors, and have a seemingly friendly agenda that may or may not be a cover for something more malevolent.

“V” stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Erica Evans, Morris Chestnut as Ryan Nichols, Joel Gretsch as Father Jack Landry, Lourdes Benedicto as Valerie Stevens, Logan Huffman as Tyler Evans, Laura Vandervoort as Lisa, with Morena Baccarin as Anna and Scott Wolf as Chad Decker.

The series is produced by HDFilms in association with Warner Bros. Television. Scott Peters is executive producer /writer and Steve Pearlman and Jace Hall are executive producers.

The pilot was directed and executive produced by Yves Simoneau.

“M. Bison” says:

So I had the opportunity today to see the pilot episode of the reboot of V due to hit television this fall. I have to say it was pretty entertaining and I will definitely be giving it a look. The premise is still pretty much the same “Alien visitors show up claiming to be our friends, but have a hidden agenda that has grave consequences for mankind” and many of the characters will be familiar to you as well.

The pilot stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Scott Wolf, Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk, Morris Chestnut and Joel Gretsch.

Elizabeth Mitchell and Alan Tudyk play agents with the Department of Homeland Security who are investigating a terrorist sleeper cell operating out of New York . Morris Chestnut plays a businessman with a shady past that ties directly to the events leading up to the Visitors’ arrival. Joel Gertsch plays a priest struggling with his faith in the face of an alien appearance that shakes his core beliefs and is suddenly thrust into a conspiracy when a dying man in his church gives him info on the aliens. Morena Baccarin plays the enigmatic Anna, leader of the Visitors. Scott Wolf plays the journalist with high aspirations who sees the Visitor’s arrival as a way to further his career. He quickly befriends Anna and the two form a bond.

Overall the show has a good production value. The special effects were not the best, but at the same time they did not detract from the show. It certainly feels like the original V complete with their arrival as the large saucer ships show up over all the major cities of the world. It kind of had the feel of really wanting to be serious which I think was done well. The Sci-Fi is kept to a minimum other than the Visitors’ tech and it firmly kept itself grounded in reality as much as a show with this kind of premise could.

If the show can keep up the pace that the pilot set, it could be a very good show. It certainly has a JJ Abrams feel to it in the way it was shot. There is plenty of opportunity for sub-plots as well as all of the characters appear to have a certain depth written into them that is only very briefly touched upon in the pilot.

ABC announces its fall schedule Tuesday 19th May.

Source: www.aintitcool.com

On the comedy side, “Cougar Town” and the Cedric the Entertainer starrer “The Law,” which is staffing unofficially, look solid, with “The Middle” and “Romantically Challenged” in the mix.

At Fox — which also already picked up a new drama and comedy series, “Human Target” and “Sons of Tucson,” respectively — the comedy “Brothers” is hot, with support for drama “Past Life” said to be split among the network’s top echelon.

Meanwhile, comedy “Ab Fab” has been passed on, joining “Two Dollar Beer” and “Eva Adams.”

At the CW, “Melrose Place” and “Vampire Diaries” are considered a lock, with modeling drama “Beautiful Life,” “Life Unexpected” (formerly “Light Years”) and bubble freshman “Privileged” battling it out for the third slot. The “Gossip Girl” spinoff in consideration for midseason.

At CBS, always the hardest to read because of its imposed cone of silence, comedies “Accidentally on Purpose” and “Waiting to Die” supposedly are still going strong, with the status of another comedy, “Happiness Isn’t Everything,” constantly changing but now looking at a possible midseason berth. The “NCIS” spinoff is as a sure thing as they come, with “The Good Wife” looking good and “Three Rivers” in the running with star Alex O’Loughlin.

>> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

The convention’s website says about Baccarin’s cancellation:

There’s a very good likelihood that a) the play she’s starring in, in New York, will have its season extended and b) it also looks likely the pilot she filmed, “V”, is going to be picked up meaning Morena will need to move and settle into Vancouver ASAP to prepare for her role in the series.

“If you are a fan, which I was, of the first one, this is kind of everything that you remember, without going back and watching,” Tudyk said in a conference call on Monday to promote Fox’s Dollhouse. “If you go back and watch the original V, you’re like, ‘Oh, I thought this was great. It kind of looks really cheesy.’ It fills in your memory as it should be.”

One of the major factors in this update, Tudyk added, is the top-notch visual effects. “It’s really awesome effects,” he said. “The effects are done by Zoic, who did Firefly [in which Tudyk starred]. Zoic does all the spacecrafts. Anything requiring digital enhancement is Zoic, and they do a great job. Then, of course, Morena Baccarin is in it, and she’s the leader of the aliens, so you can’t get any better than that.” Baccarin co-starred with Tudyk in Firefly and its movie spinoff, Serenity.

Unfortunately, there is no Firefly reunion. At least in the pilot, Tudyk has no scenes with Baccarin. “No, but we got to hang out, and that was cool,” he said.

Tudyk did not wish to discuss the plot of the new V. “I can say this,” he said. “It’s really good. I hope that they pick it up.”

>> scifiwire.com

Baccarin played the Ori leader Adria in the tenth season of Stargate SG-1, and in the DVD movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth — which will make its U.S. television premiere in just a few weeks.

She’s also well-known to genre fans as Inara Serra in Firefly.

Baccarin, 29, will play Anna, described by the site as “the leader of the Visitors who is remarkably knowledgeable about human culture and media manipulation.” The character appears to be the remake’s answer to Diana, the mouse-eating villain who was etched into the memories of children everywhere by actress Jane Badler.

Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, the original V began as a miniseries on NBC in 1983. The story centered on a group of technologically-advanced alien “Visitors” who arrived on Earth seeking an alliance, only to be revealed as reptilian beings who wanted to use the population as a new food source. It continued in the 1984 miniseries V: The Final Battle, which apparently wasn’t final enough to stave off V: The Series in 1984-1985.

Last year Johnson published the novel “V: The Second Generation” and announced his intent to continue the franchise on television. But in October, Warner Brothers announced that The 4400 creator Scott Peters would instead helm a complete remake of the original.

Instead of focusing the resistance on cameraman Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) and Dr. Juliet Parrish (Faye Grant), the new V will focus on Erica Evans, “a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son [who] has some serious problems,” according to TV Guide.

Via GateWorld.net