Which is the better 'V' - the 'original miniseries' or 'The Final Battle

The original by a LANDSLIDE.

There is no comparison.

The original V: Mini-Series could have legitimately been released as a major motion picture in theaters. The one thing that mad this impossible was, obviously, the length and secondly the lack of any big-name stars. The script was brilliantly-written and, though the heavy-handed allusions to Nazi Germany (the hated of scientists/intellectuals, concentration camps, genocide, etc.) got to be a bit much at times but it was a unique take on the familiar aliens-takeover-Earth story and added a real-life context to itself.

The acting was mostly top-notch. The script was awesome and developed every single character perfectly. From Juliet going from mousy/push-over doctor to accepting her place as leader of The Resistance, to Donovan going from womanizing loner to team-player and hero, Elias going from careless street-hood to having a purpose in life and helping others, hell - even a bit, cameo part like that of Sancho (who was in two, short scenes before the ending) - ends up being a key player in saving the day. The ending was equally bleak AND inspiring at the same time instead of the generic "happy ending." It was a very smart, entertaining and thoughtful movie sci-fi movie.

The one bitch I've ever heard anybody say about it was the special effects look bad. But you have to keep in mind - this was a TV movie made in 1982. It had a considerably less of a budget than a feature film and the effects still look pretty damn good, in my opinion. I see SyFy movies and other original TV movies released a few months ago (present) that have worse CGI.

V: The Final Battle was just a generic, TV sci-fi/action movie to be honest. I can see where the one poster comes from when he says Ham Tyler showing up changed the tone of the story. He was too much of a generic, badass, never-misses-a-shot action tough guy. The beauty of the original was its literally a story of ordinary, believable people in WAY, WAY over their heads who are thrown into a situation where they have to band together beyond all their differences/prejudices to save the world. It was a great story.

In V: TFB, it got too ridiculous. The ending was stupid. And - like somebody else said - the Shocktroops were too easily defeated and were no longer threatening. Instead of the "how the hell can the beat these guys?" feeling you got in the original, you were wondering "why haven't they beat these push-overs?" feeling of this.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljtz63RIMq1qhcd6po1_500.gif

Just finished watching the two miniseries for the first time in years and I have to agree, the original was better for all the reasons already stated. It was more personal than The Final Battle. I like how that old Holocaust survivor kind of knew what was going on before everyone else.

Where was the government/military during The Final Battle? The Star Child was just a terrible idea. The alien lizard puppets used during the conversion parts & the twin birth were also terribly lame. I can't imagine them looking scary even back in the 80s.

In the original miniseries, only a handful of people knew the truth about The Visitors but by the end of The Final Battle, they show the whole world celebrating the defeat of The Visitors. When did The Visitors' real plans become public knowledge?

The Resistance managed to change their original plan of attacking the airbases to releasing THOUSANDS of balloons all over the world waaaay too quickly. It seemed like it was only a few days that went by. Not to mention, how were they able to produce that much poison & distribute it to the Resistance in other countries so quickly?

DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!

I was a teenager when they originally came out. I actually saw TFB first and then the original after. Back then, I preferred TFB because of the action sequences. Rewatching as an adult, I prefer the original (though I still think TFB is a lot of fun).

Cool.