In
“War of Illusions,” Diana (Jane Badler) and Lt. James (Judson Scott) plan to
use a weapon called “the battle-sphere” to destroy Earth’s resistance forces
permanently. The device will control and
coordinate a massive attack on the planet. The attack is based on plans “personally
designed” by the Leader.
Philip
(Frank Ashmore) meets with Donovan (Marc Singer) and Kyle (Jeff Yagher) to
inform them of the imminent danger.
Before
long, Donovan and Kyle learn that a hacker, Henry, can take control of the
weapon. They need his help to save the human race.
Unfortunately,
Henry will not help unless the Resistance will rescue his father (Conrad
Janis), who has claimed to be the hacker infiltrating the system, and has been
taken aboard the mothership.
“War
of Illusions” is an absolute train wreck, a sign that less and less attention
was being paid to the crafting of V: The Series (1984 – 1985).
First,
the episode looks like it didn’t get enough footage in the can, and so resorts
to stock footage from previous episodes on at least two occasions.
In
the first instance, we see repeat footage of Lt. James warning Visitor troops
not to leave vehicles on the street for the Resistance. This is footage from “The
Littlest Dragon.” And it isn't just a establishing view, it's an entire scene, replete with (repeat) dialogue.
And
yes, that installment is actually the
previous one, meaning this particular footage aired two weeks in a row.
The
second piece of stock-footage is the episode’s punctuation. After the battle-sphere fails, the episode
cuts to Lydia (June Chadwick) on the Mothership with Diana, and she flippantly quips
“better luck next time,” before walking away.
This
clip is actually taken from “Breakout.”
In
this case, the episode wasn’t aired in regular continuity order, so perhaps it
doesn’t qualify as stock-footage. But if
you’ve been watching the episodes in order, you’ll recognize the clip
nonetheless. What’s worse is that Lydia’s hair and uniform style don’t look the same as they do in the rest of the episode.
And why is
she snarking at Diana over this? Their
fleet of sky-fighters has just been decimated.
Lydia’s response makes no sense.
Another
cheap expedient is the battle-sphere itself.
Fans watching the series regularly will recognize that the prop appeared
frequently in Bates’ office at Science Frontiers. The “battle-sphere” globe was also a
specialty sold regularly at Spencer’s Gifts throughout the 1980s.
Elizabeth
(Jennifer Cooke), meanwhile keep gaining amazing powers just as they are
needed; powers that are almost never used twice in the series. Here, she can provide power to elevators,
computers and other electronic devices with her mind. Again, it’s amazing how new powers form in
her psychic gestalt at the very point they could prove useful to her friends.
Finally,
it is clear from her absence that Julie (Faye Grant) is now being phased out of
the series entirely, which is a shame.
She started out as a strong leader of the Resistance, and is now little
more than a guest character.
As
has become the regular case, the only moments in “War of Illusions” that prove entertaining
are those involving Diana. She gets another
great line “peel you a goldfish?”
while in bed with Lt. James, and then gets to bark an intriguing order at her
underling Oswald, the flamboyantly gay Visitor.
After
sizing up a row of hunky men, she says “have
them scrubbed and oiled. I’ll make my
choice later.”
Is
she going to eat them or screw them? Or both?
With
Diana, you simply never know, which is all part of the fun, I suppose. Badler makes V -- even in its death
throes -- worth watching. Sometimes, I can't believe some of the kinkier scenes involving Diana made it to air, but I'm sure glad they did.
Next
week: “Secret Underground.”
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