If you’re old enough, you remember the original incarnations of V and V: The Final Battle.  Me?  I used to stay up late to watch them when they were re-run as a child.  I was fascinated by the Visitors and when I learned ABC has rebooting the show, I was on-board for, at the very least, the beginning.  Did I want to stay after that?  Find out after the jump.

For those not old enough, or not nerd enough, to be familiar with the original V series, you needn’t worry as this series stands on its own legs.  Planet Earth is in turmoil.  We starve.  We struggle.  We fight.  We repeat that pattern ad nauseum.  You’re all too familiar with the drill.  Imagine one day, you looked up to the sky and saw massive spaceships.  It’s not you alone, either; it’s the whole world.  My first thought, of course, would be “oh expletive!” because I’ve seen enough science fiction, but now imagine that a very pretty, and very human looking face, assures you that these newcomers are “Of peace… always.”  Add to that an offer of cures and technologies to raise us up from our daily struggles.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  A small group of people start to peel back the layers and find the cold, reptilian heart beating beneath.  Season One of V tracks the arrival of the Visitors and the formation and first steps of defiance of the resistance.

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I hear the order of ABC’s sophomore sci-fi drama V is being reduced from 13 to 10 episodes for scheduling reasons. ABC last week announced that V will return January 4 and will air in Dancing with the Stars’ result show slot at 9 PM on Tuesdays, following fellow sci-fi drama No Ordinary Family. That gives V a 12-episode window until the spring season premiere of Dancing on March 29, but I hear the period is expected to include 2 preemptions, leading to V’s order getting trimmed. Since the series is still filming, V producers will adjust the storyline for a proper season ending.

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V will return for its sophomore season on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 9/8c, ABC announced Friday.

The sci-fi drama, which stars Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin, focuses on the coexistence of humans and supposedly friendly aliens (aka Visitors) after the lizard creatures arrive on Earth. The second season will focus more on lizard reveals as well as the Visitors’ mythology, the network said.

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The Shield alum Jay Karnes will join ABC’s V in a recurring role, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.

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Karnes will play FBI agent Chris Bolling, a newly assigned partner for agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell). The two have some history, having trained together at Quantico. However, Bolling quickly begins to suspect Erica may have divided loyalties when it comes to her dedication to the Visitor resistance group, the Fifth Column.

Karnes, 47, is best known for his role as Detective Dutch Wagenbach on The Shield. He has also held recurring roles on Sons of Anarchy, Burn Notice and Brothers & Sisters. His role on V reunites with him former Shield producer Scott Rosenbaum, who now serves as V‘s showrunner.

The second season of V is slated to begin airing in November on ABC.

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[003] July 23rd – Girls That Kick Ass A New Generation Of Heroines – Comic-Con 2010
[008] July 23rd – TV Guide Magazine The 2010 Hot List – Comic-Con 2010
[040] August 21st – 2010 Creative Arts Emmy Awards