The 1980’s miniseries V, and its sequel V: The Final Battle, were -- if not formative -- then certainly memorable experiences for a generation of sci-fi fans. Even people who remember little else about the phenomenon that was V remember two things: Alien leader Diana snacking on a guinea pig, and the birth of teenage what’s-her-face’s alien baby. (Talk about a cliffhanger!  My entire family screamed when that little lizard popped out.) Now, because everything old is new again, ABC has resurrected V as a regular series. But can the new V ever hope to live up to the original flavor for sheer cheesy awesomeness?

It’s early days yet, but so far I would say that the answer to that question is Yes and No. The new version is certainly better acted than the original (Marc Singer was pretty, but… yeah, he sure was pretty), with one exception, which I’ll get to in a minute. I’ll follow Elizabeth Mitchell just about anywhere, and she gives her usual competent performance here as FBI agent Erica Evans. Scott Wolf makes a very convincing vapid bubble-headed pretty boy, and Morris Chestnut is doing well so far in what may turn out to be one of the more interesting roles on the series as Ryan, an off-the-grid Visitor passing as human. I’m also loving Joel Gretsch’s conflicted priest, Father Jack. In fact, I’m hoping he gets a lot more conflicted over the course of the series: I don’t usually ship television couples, but after this episode I’m shipping Jack and Erica so hard that it’s a little embarrassing. Gretsch and Mitchell have insane chemistry together.

As Anna, leader of the Visitors, Morena Baccarin is… I just don’t know yet. She’s not doing a bad job; I just can’t figure out what she’s up to. Maybe I’m not meant to figure it out, in which case she’s doing a great job. She’s worth keeping an eye on, in any case (and not just because she’s the face of the series). The only actor who makes me want to throw things at my TV so far is Logan Huffman as Erica’s bratty teenage son, Tyler. In all fairness, his material isn’t doing him any favors, but the material isn’t so bad that a stronger actor couldn’t rise above it. But again – early days; he has time to improve.

The first episode has some nifty twists in it; I had Erica’s shifty partner Dale (Alan Tudyk) pegged as a Visitor from his first appearance, but the Ryan reveal took me by surprise. Although the existence of Vs pretending to be human raises a whole slew of new questions: How long have they been here (Dale and Ryan both appear to be established members of the community)? How many of them are there? And – crucially – how have they managed to avoid detection? Ryan looks pretty athletic – hasn’t he ever ended up in the emergency room after a vigorous rugby game or something? Dale is in law enforcement – doesn’t he need a comprehensive annual physical? (That one, at least, is easily wanked away – the FBI doc Dale sees is probably a Visitor, too.) Have no “undercover Vs” ever been in a catastrophic car wreck, died suddenly and been trucked off to a mortuary, needed a blood transfusion… If Mulder were here, he would have an answer for me. The Truth is Out There!

My only real disappointment so far is that the original V, for all its overacted lizard baby rodent-eating cheesiness, actually tried to be about something. The writers carefully drew overt parallels to fascism; the Visitors’ symbol was designed to resemble a swastika, and the overarching theme was the ways a few brave people can band together and resist encroaching evil. The new V doesn’t appear to be up to anything that ambitious, which is kind of a shame. Pretty faces, competent acting, and plot twists (which V will need plenty of to keep people’s attention, so keep ‘em coming) are all well and good, but the best sci-fi traffics not just in plot but in ideas. The new V still needs something to elevate it above the level of prime-time spacey soap opera.

A final mystery that occurs to me, and that I hope we’ll see addressed fairly soon, would be why the Visitors are going to so much trouble. They’re obviously a powerful crowd, so why do they not just attack us frontally and take what they need? My rather out-there theory is that the “mineral” they so desperately seek is something precious and difficult to renew. Something like, say… human blood.  That would mean that – ZOMG!  The Vs are vampires.

Now that right there?  That would be a twist.