V To Date by James Van Hise It began as a miniseries in 1983 created and written by Kenneth Johnson of THE INCREDIBLE HULK fame. The original four hour adventure told of the advent of the Visitors on Earth. They offered to share their technology with us and solve all of our ills. Arriving in mile-wide spaceships, they soon began to infiltrate our society. Before long they had succeeded in turning mankind against scientists by protraying them as traitors who were plotting against the Visitors, when in actuality those were the only people who could possibly save the Earth against the alien's secret plan. A resistance, led by journalist Mike Donovan, formed to fend off the Visitors' incursions on our freedom. By sneaking aboard one of the ships, Donovan sees Diana for the lizard monster she is and learns that the aliens dine on raw meat, including the human variety. With the help of Julie Parrish, the resistance starts striking back, but they have a seemingly insurmountable task ahead of them. The first story ends on a note of defiance, but the defiance of captives. One year later came V: THE FINAL BATTLE. Kenneth Johnson had departed the project and new creative people were involved. While trying to keep the budget in line (the first V was reportedly the most expensive TV movie ever made because it went so far over budget), THE FINAL BATTLE still came out to a whopping 2.3 million dollars an hour for the six hour wrap-up. The story picks up with the resistance pressing their attacks against the aliens while working on a secret project designed to drive the invaders off the planet. A young girl who had been seduced by one of the Visitors gives birth to twins, one a half-human girl and the other a completely alien form that dies soon after birth. But the girl child, Elizabeth, begins to mature rapidly, attaining the stature of a ten year old within weeks. She also seems to have strange abilities that are not common to either human or Visitor. New members join the resistance, most notably Ham Tyler, a former mercenary now devoted to crushing the aliens. He and Mike Donovan had known each other in the past and are sort of friendly enemies. Tyler thinks Donovan is too clean cut to be a good fighter and Donovan feels that Tyler is too cold-hearted and merciless, willing to sacrifice others to a plan. Robin Maxwell learns that Brian, the alien who had seduced her and fathered her "children," has been captured. She slips in and finds him contained in a huge cylinder. She takes the red dust, just developed as a weapon against the aliens, and exposes him to it. He dies screaming before any of the others can stop it. Thus Robin exacts her revenge and the resistance learns that their weapon is effective. Donovan's son had been captured by the Visitors and he wants to stage a rescue before an all out assault on the Visitors takes place. He succeeds in rescuing him and all across the Earth the forces of rebellion attack. With the help of Fifth Columnists such as Martin-these are aliens that do not support the aggressive and murderous plans of their people-even the vast armada of motherships is infiltrated. The aliens are driven off as the dust is released across the world, making the air unsafe for aliens. The series opens just after the invasion has been repulsed. Donovan spots Diana's attack shuttle and chases her down, forcing her ship to crash. He lands nearby and runs her to the ground, engaging in a vicious struggle with her. She is subdued, apparently due to the intervention of some hunters. One year later Diana is scheduled to go on trial for crimes against humanity. But Nathan Bates, whose Science Frontiers has been entrusted with the captured mothership, needs the knowledge that someone of Diana's position must have. He cannot pierce the most important secret of the Visitors. Bates hires Ham Tyler (now head of a private security firm) to fake Diana's assassination and kidnap her for him. Tyler agrees with the stipulation that he be allowed to kill Diana after Bates gains the information that he needs. In a secluded shack, Bates holds Diana in a protective bubble, well knowing that she will not attempt to flee since the red dust in the air would prove fatal to her. Donovan and Martin have managed to figure out what has happened. They track Bates to Diana. Martin has the pills supplied to alien friends of the resistance which offer temporary protection against the red dust. He stays behind while Donovan goes for help. But Martin so wants to kill Diana that he bursts in on his own rather than awaiting Donovan's return. In the struggle, Martin is injured and Diana steals his last pill. She escapes and Donovan returns only to find Diana gone and Martin dying. He vows revenge and pursues the lizard queen. Meeting up with Tyler, who is also tracking Diana, they find her just as she is being rescued by one of her shuttles. Shooting at her proves useless; she sheds bullets off of her thick hide. Diana escapes and they know that only the worst can follow as Diana's fleet has remained hidden and waiting on the far side of the moon. It is clear that neither Diana nor her lizard rescuers have fallen victim to the red dust. Warm climates render the dust inert after a time, leaving L.A. vulnerable. But the attack by the Visitors proves that the dust still does work, albeit slower. After a time even this fails to happen. Nathan Bates takes it upon himself to strike a truce with Diana, declaring L.A. an open city. At the signing ceremony Ham Tyler attempts to assassinate Diana and Bates, but fails in both. Tyler finally rejoins the resistance and aids them in stealing the mothership. They take off to destroy a superweapon being brought into the solar system to end all earthly opposition. Before they pull this off, Elizabeth gives them a bad turn when she wanders off into a cave full of rattlesnakes and forms a cocoon, undergoing transformation. When she emerges, she looks to be about nineteen. While her grandfather, Robert Maxwell, is there to witness this event, Robin Maxwell is in the back country dodging Visitor patrols. When the mothership is stolen to combat the space platform weapon, Robert is mortally wounded. He makes the others flee the ship while she stays behind and pilots it head on into the space platform, destroying the superweapon and the mothership as well. Diana is most displeased. Kyle Bates, the son of Nathan Bates, enters the picture and falls in love with the shy starchild, Elizabeth. Diana is also very interested in Elizabeth, especially when she learns that the child has undergone a metamorephosis into a young woman. Unable to capture her, Diana is able to get a blood sample and clone her, but the clone is murderously violent. When the clone tracks down and confronts Elizabeth it seems to relate to its twin but is slain by a Visitor before any real communication can begin. Lydia, Diana's second in command, has become increasingly unhappy with her commander. She flees and returns with Charles, an alien who is Diana's superior in rank. When Kyle Bates and Ham Tyler are captured, Charles brainwashes Tyler to kill Donovan when he hears a certain phrase. Tyler is recaptured by the rebels and all is going according to Charles' plan. The rebels have Lydia and agree to an exchange of hostages. During the exchange, Nathan Bates speaks the trigger phrase but Elizabeth has sensed that something is wrong with Ham. She causes a light to fall which deflects Ham's aim and he guns down Nathan Bates instead of Donovan. A firefight breaks out and the rebels escape, reluctantly dragging Kyle Bates along with them even though he wants to remain with his stricken father. Then the power struggle for the open city of LA widens. While Nathan Bates was indeed gravely wounded, he is not dead but in a coma. Mr. Chiang runs things in his stead, collaborating with the aliens even more than Bates has. Chiang has the resistance outlawed and prisoners are taken who are set for execution unless Donovan and Julie surrender themselves. They agree and the prisoners are freed in the exchange while Donovan and Julie escape under the cover of an ambush. Robin falls under the spell of a handsome young man who is actually an alien agent trying to impregnate her to create another human/alien hybrid. During a commando raid on an alien weapons stash at their embassy, the alien reveals himself, only to be killed while the rebels escape. Robin then leaves for Chicago with Ham Tyler--perhaps to new adventures to be told at some future date. Kyle infiltrates the complex where his father is recovering and learns that although Nathan Bates is conscious, he is not responsible for the reprisals against the resistance. While trying to free his father, they are discovered by Chiang. He attempts to shoot Kyle but Nathan blocks the shot and dies instead. Kyle escapes, vowing revenge. Kyle sneaks back later and surprises Chiang in his office. During the ensuing battle, Chiang is shot and killed. Now the city is wide open for all takers. A full scale human/alien war erupts in Los Angeles with the aliens searching out and destroying every rebel stronghold they can find. They find the secret base beneath the Club Creole and they blast it to shreds, forcing the rebels into retreat. Elizabeth uses her powers to bring the ceiling down and block the aliens who are pursuing them so that an escape can be made. The rebels meet in Griffith Park to search for a new hideout and decide on an abandoned movie studio not too far away. Meanwhile, the aliens are fighting among themselves. Charles decides to take Diana as his wife so that he can have her sent back to the home planet to bear children. Lydia is not wild about the idea and is very jealous of the situation. The wedding ceremony is held and during it Lydia poisons the ceremonial drink which she knows Diana will imbibe afterwards. But Diana manages to get Charles to take the potion and he is poisoned. When Lydia discovers what has happened she becomes hysterical and Diana orders her arrest. Mike Donovan and Kyle Bates are running weapons to Arizona to supply a resistance group there when they encounter a hostile sheriff in the San Bernardino area. They escape him through the help of a woman rancher and learn that the sheriff has been collaborating with the Visitors to supply them with livestock. Donovan stays behind to aid her against the sheriff while Kyle finishes the run to Arizona and returns to LA via a different route. Meanwhile, Diana has judged Lydia guilty of the murder of Charles and orders her executed. But just as she is about to have the sentence carried out, the Leader's special investigator, Philip, arrives and orders a halt. It will be his judgement as to sentence. He orders Lydia freed pending investigation. Following their law, Diana and Lydia both are suspects and Philip orders them to settle it in a trial by combat. Lydia is doing quite well and is on the verge of killing Diana when Philip calls a halt to the battle. Investigation has revealed that there might be another suspect. Donovan and the rancher enlist the aid of others in the valley and withold the livestock he wants, thus putting him in bad with the aliens and destroying his power in the valley. Lydia and Diana conspire to implicate the person who sold Lydia the cat poison as Charles' murderer. Her sentence is to be imprisoned in Charles' sarcophagus when it is later ejected into space. Diana insures that the woman is still alive and conscious when the the coffin leaves the ship. Meanwhile, in LA, a diphtheria epidemic is raging and it is compounded by the ongoing street fighting against the Visitors. The drug needed to fight the epidemic is running low and the only supply is in Visitor hands. Donovan is out of town on a mission; Kyle and Willie enlist the aid of a group of teenagers who are hiding out in the hills and harrassing anyone who passes through their territory. The gang, called the Wildcats, reluctantly agrees to help. The raid proves successful but the captured drug proves to be phony. The Visitors knew the raid was coming and substituted baking powder for the drug. There appears to be a spy among the rebels. But who? One of the Wildcats is an attractive young woman who takes a shine to Willie, especially after he manages to rescue her from a Visitor. When she proclaims her love for him, he haltingly explains that it cannot be and reveals that he is a Visitor. Horrified, the girl runs off into the darkened woods where she falls over a cliff. With the help of Elizabeth, she is rescued. She apologizes for reacting to Willie's explanation in the manner that she did. Julie catches one of the Wildcats communicating wtih the Visitors. It turns out that they have his younger brother and he is trading information for the boy's release. They tie the boy up and go meet Donovan at an airstrip where he is bringing the drug needed to combat the diphtheria. But the Visitors know where he's landing and plan to surprise him. The rebels and the Wildcats engage the Visitors in armed combat, gunfire pinning each side down. The Wildcat who had been exposed as a traitor escapes and makes one final valiant statement by crashing his car into the Visitor gun truck, blowing both up. Donovan bails out of his plane and lands safely with the drugs. Thus the epidemic is brought under control and the Visitors have lost one more minor skirmish. When Diana convinces Philip that Donovan was responsible for his brother Martin's death, the alien leader then decides to go after the rebel leader. Diana has an old nemesis of Philip's accompany him--with orders to kill him in the battle so that it will appear that Philip and Donovan slew one another. Lydia agrees with the plan. When two aliens sympathetic to the resistance flee from the mothership with power crystals vital to operations of the laser weapons, they decide to follow them straight to the resistance. The aliens, a husband and wife, find Donovan but things become complicated by her pregnancy. While she is giving birth in an old warehouse, the Visitors attack. During the battle, Donovan and Philip square off and have a knock-down, drag-out fight, which Donovan wins. But he can't bring himself to kill this alien, who looks just like Martin. Then Diana's agent steps in planning to destroy them both, mentioning, in passing, that Diana was the real killer of the traitorous Martin. Before the agent can act, she is gunned down. Philip apologizes to Donovan. Then Philip pledges support and offers to help in any way that he can. He even destroys the power crystals because, "There's already been enough killing." When Philip returns to the ship, Diana is clearly startled to see him alive. but now Philip is wise to her tricks. Diana turns her attention to Lydia and has Lydia's brother transferred to the mothership and increased in rank so that he will be the youngest officer on board. This sets him up as the only possible choice to be sacrificed in a scheduled, traditional feast. At the same time, the rebels steal aboard ship to find a computer list of underground leaders hidden by a Visitor sympathizer before he was killed. The resistance must find the tape before the Visitors can locate and play it. The resistance succeeds and Philip halts the execution of Lydia's brother, thus making Diana an even more dedicated enemy as he forces her to stand by him in countermanding the execution. During a pitched battle between Visitors and the resistance, it looks as though the rebels are about to take a real beating, when all of the Visitor troops are suddenly recalled to their ships. Their leader is coming and he plans to sue for peace with the humans. Diana is furious and plots the Leader's demise. The Leader mentally contact Elizabeth and chooses her to be his mate. This makes the rebels suspicious of the peace initiative but they reluctantly agree because Elizabeth is willing to go along with the marriage. Diana disguises two of her men as rebels and when they seemingly blow up the Leader's shuttle, she has them executed prior to questioning. But the Leader wasn't aboard the craft. Philip had seen to it that the Leader followed in a second ship. Diana is arrested and Elizabeth agrees to leave with the Leader in his shuttle. But just as it takes off, it is noticed that Kyle Bates-a man still in love with Elizabeth-is missing. Did he sneak onto the shuttle to be with her? Since this was the final episode of the series, we may very well never know.