V - UK: Visitation reimagines the classic 1980s alien invasion series as a compelling audio drama by Big Finish.
Kenneth Johnson, V's original creator, explores the powerful storytelling potential of audio formats.
V's narrative draws parallels to a fascist takeover, maintaining its relevance today.
Jonathan Morris skillfully adapts the essence of V, highlighting strong character dynamics.
The 1934 cult alien invasion TV series V is getting an audio drama adaptation from Big Finish Productions with the full approval and collaboration of original series creator Kenneth Johnson, who also created The Bionic Woman in the 1970s. The original V miniseries aired on NBC and continues to have a fan following amongst people who were alive to watch it then. It made a minor star out of Jane Badler for playing the alien leader Diana, especially for the scene where she ate a guinea pig. It spawned a sequel miniseries in 1984 and an ongoing series which ran until March 1985. The series is now remembered for its lizard aliens disguised under human skin suits and wearing kitschy red jumpsuits with broad shoulders. Many people suspect the V television series is the original inspiration for the conspiracy theory that lizard overlords are secretly ruling over us disguised as our leaders, which misses the whole point of metaphor, but metaphors aren't for the literal-minded.
"V: UK" key graphic: Big Finish
V – UK: Visitation is a Big Finish audio drama that's an alternate retelling of the original story. The story sees Earth occupied by alien Visitors, spurring some humans to collaborate with the invaders while a band of freedom fighters who know the truth fight to free the world from their oppression. In an interview with Radio Times, V creator Johnson talked about the continuing relevance of the story and his surprise at how effectively the series translates to audio drama.
V: A Clear Metaphor for Alien Invasion as Fascist Takeover
Having had his fingers burnt by a number of bad experiences, Johnson was always wary when approached about the possibility of reviving V. "A few years ago, I realised that I still owned the motion picture rights to V, and when the word got around a lot of studios. Suddenly I had a lot of new best friends – this happens in Hollywood… They'd say, 'We're thinking maybe somebody like Michael Bay to direct it,' and I'd say, 'No, I don't think so!' because by then, I had seen people try to reimagine my work and really miss the point of the whole thing. The style and the quality, more than anything, was what I was trying to protect."
Johnson worked with Big Finish regular and frequent Doctor Who novelist and audio drama writer Jonathan Morris on the scripts for V – UK: Visitation, commending the writer for being "remarkably respectful" throughout the adaptation process and helping to assuage his doubts that V could be too visual a franchise to work as an audio drama.
"We've managed to capture, I think, a lot of the essence of what I was endeavouring to do. He has brought a lot of new ideas of his own into it – and I've also shared with him the feature [film] script that we are trying to get made now, which has new changes in it. It was so powerful because every single one of the actors was on their game," he said. "I just sat there going, 'Wow, the cake is baked…. everything else we do – visual effects, music, sound effects – it's all just frosting, but the cake is baked because the actors' performances were so solid. The basic essence of V is the interplay of characters and their emotions, so what really makes V successful is that byplay between the actors."
V – UK: Visitation is now available from Big Finish.
Adi Tantimedh is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote radio plays for the BBC Radio, “JLA: Age of Wonder” for DC Comics, “Blackshirt” for Moonstone Books, and “La Muse” for Big Head Press. Most recently, he wrote “Her Nightly Embrace”, “Her Beautiful Monster” and “Her Fugitive Heart”, a trilogy of novels featuring a British-Indian private eye published by Atria Books, a division Simon & Schuster.
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