Life on Earth is brought to a standstill as enormous alien ships appear over most of the world’s major cities. Each ship reconfigures itself into a gigantic screen projecting an image of a seemingly human woman who introduces herself as Anna, the leader of these alien visitors. She promises peace and an exchange of technology with humanity – and all the visitors ask is access to Earth’s abundant water and a commonly occurring mineral. The visitors are welcomed with open arms, and they begin bringing the benefits of their advanced technology to Earth almost immediately, opening “healing centers” capable of repairing almost any damage or disease.

And yet there is suspicion about the motives of Anna’s people. A priest named Father Landry shocks his congregation by suggesting that the visitors need to earn humanity’s trust. Erica Evans, a counter-terrorism expert, is suspicious when the visitors take to the internet immediately with their own propaganda effort, though her son is less suspicious, finding the visitors’ women very attractive. Reporter Chad Peters earns Anna’s trust by asking the press corps to show her respect at a peace conference – enough trust that Anna personally selects him to conduct her first major prime time interview, though she makes it clear before the cameras roll that the interview will be conducted on her terms, with no questions permitted that would paint the visitors in a negative light.

A member of Father Landry’s congregation appears in the church, bleeding to death, and he hands Landry a package of photos and instructions to take them to a specific address at a specific time. Erica also winds up at that address, following a lead on an open terrorist investigation. Where they find themselves is at a meeting of an underground resistance, taking up arms to fight the visitors…and before Erica or Father Landry can ask why the visitors need to be fought, the visitors themselves appear and, to the few survivors of the resulting massacre, all becomes clear: the visitors have been among humanity for years already, and they do not come in peace.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Elizabeth Mitchell (Erica Evans), Morris Chestnut (Ryan Nichols), Joel Gretsch (Father Jack Landry), Logan Huffman (Tyler Evans), Lourdes Benedicto (Valerie Stevens), Laura Vandervoort (Lisa), Morena Baccarin (Anna), Scott Wolf (Chad Decker)

written by Scott Peters
story by Kenneth Johnson and Scott Peters, based on the miniseries by Kenneth Johnson
directed by Yves Simoneau
music by Normand Corbeil

Guest Cast: Christopher Shyer (Marcus), David Richmond-Peck (Georgie), Britt Irvin (Haley Stark), Scott Hylands (Father Travis)

Notes: Originally created by Kenneth Johnson as a non-sci-fi modern-day (well, 1980s) retelling of the rise of the Nazi Party, the original V miniseries resulted from NBC’s request for a sci-fi epic, retaining its cautionary tone but now with more futuristic action. In some ways, ABC’s revival of V steers things slightly closer to Johnson’s original intent. But Johnson himself was almost stripped of anything more than a “based upon” credit for the new series; the Writers’ Guild of America decided, in arbitration, that despite a wholesame revamp of the show’s cast of characters, Johnson should still be credited for creating the series, and should receive a story credit for the pilot (which seems to cover much of the original five-hour miniseries’ ground in the space of a single hour). The writers of the new series do not have to seek any further approval from Johnson for any storyline developments, however Johnson does retain the feature film rights to V. The location of the ill-fated resistance meeting, 4400 Pier Avenue, is a nod the cancelled cult SF series The 4400, whose cast and crew included actor Joel Gretsch, writer/producer Scott Peters and director Yves Simoneau.

Sarah, Rani and Clyde pay a visit to Ashen Hill Manor, reputedly the most haunted house in England. Professor Rivers and her somewhat smug assistant Toby have already set up shop in the house, looking for spikes in electromagnetic readings and other signs of paranormal activity. Despite Sarah’s reassurances that there are no such things as ghosts, strange things begin occurring almost immediately, including Rani’s sighting of Erasmus Darkening, an alchemist who supposedly conducted dark experiments in a lab beneath the manor in the 1600s. When Professor Rivers vanishes without a trace, even Sarah Jane has to admit that something strange is happening.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers), Donald Sumpter (Erasmus Darkening), Callum Blue (Lord Marchwood), Adam Gillen (Toby Silverman), Amelia Clarkson (Elizabeth Marchwood), Rhys Gear (Joseph Marchwood)

Note: Floella Benjamin has appeared as Professor Rivers in parts 1 & 2 of season 1 finale The Lost Boy, and in part 2 of season 2’s Day Of The Clown. Absent from this episode is Tommy Knight as Luke.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Clyde and Rani make an amazing discovery while exploring the catacombs in which Erasmus Darkening reportedly conducted his alchemy experiments, finding advanced electronics. But it soon becomes apparent that Darkening isn’t the only “ghost” on the premises – and not all of them are under Darkening’s power. In fact, some of these apparitions may prove to be more than willing to help in the fight against Darkening’s power. But will help from the other side be enough? Sarah still can’t bring herself to believe in ghosts, despite the mounting evidence.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers), Donald Sumpter (Erasmus Darkening), Callum Blue (Lord Marchwood), Adam Gillen (Toby Silverman), Amelia Clarkson (Elizabeth Marchwood), Rhys Gear (Joseph Marchwood), Tony Boncza (Mr. Scriven)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Having just escaped the bloodbath of the V raid on the resistance meeting, Erica and Father Landry have a new problem: the Visitors have launched a killer airborne drone which homes in on them. The two barely escape with their lives, and Erica decides it’s best if they’re not in the same place at the same time. She is soon called in to account for her partner’s disappearance, but she doesn’t reveal that her partner turned out to be an alien lizard in a human disguise – or that she killed him. Father Landry goes to the police to report the massacre, but soon find his trust in the authorities flagging. With so many Visitors already living among the human race, who can be trusted?

written by Scott Peters & Sam Egan
directed by Yves Simoneau
music by Marco Beltrami

Guest Cast: Alan Tudyk (Dale Maddox), Christopher Shyer (Marcus), Scott Hylands (Father Travis), Roark Critchlow (Paul Kendrick), Rekha Sharma (Sarita Malik), Britt Irvin (Haley), Ingrid Kavelaars (Jocelyn Maddox)

Notes: Guest star Rekha Sharma brings a healthy SF TV pedigree to her appearance here, having played the major recurring role of Tory Foster on the remake of Battlestar Galactica; she has also guest starred on SyFy Channel’s series Sanctuary. Ingrid Kavelaars was a regular on the J. Michael Straczynski series Jeremiah, on which writer Sam Egan also worked.

Clyde’s artwork lands in a local gallery, winning his class a trip there and a rare opportunity to see a prized piece of art on loan from the Louvre: the Mona Lisa itself. But when the legendary painting is unveiled, it isn’t the Mona Lisa at all – it’s an image of one of the gallery’s employees, trapped inside the painting. The news spreads quickly that the Mona Lisa has been stolen, and police pour into gallery. The woman who most people associate with the Mona Lisa is, in fact, on the loose in the gallery: she has escaped the painting and has at least a limited existence as flesh and blood. She arms herself with the Sontaran blaster depicted in Clyde’s painting and begins to trap the police in other paintings throughout the gallery. Only Luke, Clyde and Rani remain – until Sarah herself walks into the gallery, and into the Mona Lisa’s trap.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts & Dan Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Suranne Jones (Mona Lisa), Ace Bhatti (Haresh), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jeff Rawle (Mr. Harding), Liza Sadovy (Miss Trupp), Lizo Mzimba (himself)

Notes: The gallery scenes were filmed at the Welsh National Temple of Peace and Health, which explains its resemblance to the space station in the Doctor Who episode The End Of The World, which also used it as a location.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sarah has been trapped in a painting by the Mona Lisa, who will stop at nothing to find her brother, who is also encased in a painting elsewhere in the gallery. When Luke, Clyde and Rani try to interfere, a gun-toting highwayman from another painting is sent after them. Clyde is captured and brought before the Mona Lisa, who plans to keep him as an insurance policy against the others – and the means to free her brother and devour all life on Earth. With Sarah unable to help them, Luke sees no choice but to give the Mona Lisa what she wants… unless he can do what his mother has always done, and come up with a plan to save the world.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Suranne Jones (Mona Lisa), Ace Bhatti (Haresh), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jeff Rawle (Mr. Harding), Liza Sadovy (Miss Trupp), Paul Kasey (Highwayman), John Leeson (voice of K-9)

Notes: The Mona Lisa itself has already played a significant part in Doctor Who history, as it was central to the plot of 1979’s City Of Death, co-written by Douglas Adams – but it’s just possible that City Of Death helps to explain this story. Luke theorizes that Leonardo da Vinci may have used paints laced with alien minerals for the Mona Lisa; it’s just possible that da Vinci’s paint was provided for him by Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, who demanded that da Vinci paint extra copies of the Mona Lisa for him as part of a scheme to fund time travel experiments in the 20th century. (It is mentioned in City that, as of 1979, the Mona Lisa in the Louvre – and therefore the one in this story as well – was one of Scaroth’s duplicates.)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The TARDIS materializes on Mars in 2059 near Bowie Base One, the first human settlement on the red planet. The Doctor’s stroll across Mars is interrupted by an armed robot, which brings him back to the base at gunpoint. It’s only when the Doctor meets Captain Adelaide Brooke and her crew that he remembers how history records the fate of Bowie Base One: the base is doomed to be destroyed when Brooke activates the self-destruct mechanism. Why she did it, or will do it, is still a mystery – one in which the Doctor is reluctant to get involved. But when other members of the Bowie Base One crew stop communicating with their crewmates, it seems that the Time Lord has no choice but to play a pivotal role in the events that will transpire. The Doctor soon discovers the truth: a living form of liquid is taking over the crew one-by-one and intends to force an evacuation so it can stow away aboard the escape vehicle and begin to take over Earth. But even knowing that, the Doctor hesitates to interfere – the death of Brooke and her crew is a pivotal event that sets the stage for humanity’s eventual expansion into interstellar space, and not allowing them to die could undermine all of Earth’s future history. But does the entire crew have to die? It’s not as if anyone’s around to enforce the laws of time if the Doctor decides to save them.

written by Russell T. Davies & Phil Ford
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke), Peter O’Brien (Ed Gold), Aleksandar Mikic (Yuri Kerenski), Gemma Chan (Mia Bennett), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Maggie Cain), Chook Sibtain (Tarak Ital), Alan Ruscoe (Andy Stone), Cosima Shaw (Steffi Sherlich), Michael Goldsmith (Roman Groom), Lily Bevan (Emily), Max Bollinger (Mikhail), Charlie De’ath (Adelaide’s Father), Rachel Fewell (young Adelaide), Anouska Strahnz (Urika Ehrlich), Zofia Strahnz (Lisette Ehrlich), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma)

Notes: The Doctor mentions a mighty empire on Mars that may have contained and frozen the Flood; it’s likely that he’s referring to the Ice Warriors (not seen on TV since 1974’s The Monster Of Peladon starring Jon Pertwee), though other Martian societies have been portrayed in Doctor Who, including the godlike Osirans and the Ambassadors of Death. A sign that The Waters Of Mars is a true product of the DVD/download age, the many “computer screens” depicting the crews’ biographies can be read in full when paused. Waters is dedicated to Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who from Jon Pertwee’s second adventure through the first Tom Baker story, who died shortly before this special premiered.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green (more…)

A man wakes up in the desert, with only vague, fleeting memories of his previous life in New York City. He goes into hiding when he spots a hunting party in pursuit of an elderly man; he manages to reach the old man and help him to safety, but the old man is babbling something about 554 and the Village. When his younger rescuer reveals that doesn’t understand this, the old man says it’s a miracle… and dies.

The younger man, still unable to remember much of anything about his life before these events, wanders until he finds signs of civilizations: a grouping of mostly-identical homes. He has found the Village, but he quickly learns that no one who lives in the Village seems to acknowledge even the possibility that there are places beyond the Village. And he can find no escape himself – the Village seems to be surrounded on all sides by vast expanses of desert. Everyone living there has a number for a name, and this quickly leads the man to go looking for 554, who turns out to be a waitress at a diner. She knew the old man as 93, and he constantly talked of escaping the Village. Pursued by the hunting party from the desert, the man tries to make his escape, but is cornered and then wakes up in a hospital. Everyone there knows him as 6, but thanks to his scrambled memories, he can’t correct them with a real name. He only knows that he must escape the Village… and he quickly learns that the Village’s leader, a man known simply as 2, will do nearly anything to stop him.

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), John Whitely (93), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12), Jessica Haines (554)

Notes: With the classic-series-style furniture and jacket, lava lamp and the drawing of Big Ben, 93 is strongly implied to be Number Six from the original series. (Nine minus three also equals six.) In an NPR interview, series star Jim Caviezel says that the intention was to have Patrick McGoohan play the role, but McGoohan, who died in January 2009 several months ahead of the new series’ premiere, was too ill to take part. Over the years, numerous revivals of the series had been mooted, including a big-screen revival starring Mel Gibson, and indeed even this revival of The Prisoner had been dead in the water at one point, with the original UK production partner balking at the expense involved. The original Prisoner has also inspired several shows directly, most notably Nowhere Man (1995-96) and Lost (2004-10), whose creators both admitted to being heavily influenced by McGoohan’s original series.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Having proven obstructive in a series of interrogation sessions thinly disguised as counseling, 6 is introduced to a man known as 16, who is supposedly his brother. Disturbingly, 16 seems to have photographic proof of this family connection, but 6 vehemently denies it: surely 2 has put 16 up to this charade for his own reasons. 16 tries to return 6 to the normalcy of his old job, driving the family-operated tour bus around the Village and for quick sightseeing tours into the desert. On one of these trips, 6 spots what appears to be a large boat anchor in the sand – evidence of a body of water whose existence everyone in the Village denies. One of his passengers is intrigued as well. 16 wins a trip to the legendary Escape Resort and invites 6 to join his family; while there, 16 reveals that he is not, in fact, 6’s brother, and decides to join 6 in his quest for a way out of the Village.

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), Jeffrey R. Smith (16), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12), Jessica Haines (554), Warrick Grier (1955), James Cunningham (70), Leila Henriques (Winking Woman)

Notes: The new Prisoner episode titles hearken back to episodes of the original – in this case, the pointed anti-war western pastiche Living In Harmony – even though there may not necessarily be a direct story correlation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

2 recruits 6 to join his legion of “undercovers” – Village residents who spy on other Village residents. The undercovers don’t try to determine if someone is guilty; they assume guilt and then try to find out what their subject is guilty of. 6 vows on the spot to find ways to turn this new assignment against 2, but even 6 is surprised when he learns about the culture of surveillance that exists within the borders of the Village: children are taught spying techniques, and virtually anyone could be a spy. 6 worries about the fate of the dreamers, Village residents who have inexplicably drawn sketches of such things as Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty. Anyone caught remembering the world outside the Village doesn’t have a long life expectancy; anyone caught associating with 6 may have an even shorter life.

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), Jeffrey R. Smith (16), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12), Vincent Regan (909), Warrick Grier (1955)

Notes: The new Prisoner episode titles hearken back to episodes of the original – in this case, Hammer Into Anvil – even though there may not necessarily be a direct story correlation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A gaping hole leading to nowhere has opened up in 147’s back yard. 6 is curious as to what caused it – the best explanation anyone seems to have is that it’s not the weather – and even wonders if it’s a mean of escaping the Village. At the same time, 6 is being pressured to take part in the Village’s matchmaking program, and while he’s skeptical at first, he’s stunned to find himself matched to a woman who he remembers encountering in New York City. Only now she’s blind, and has no memory of life before the Village – or of 6. One of 147’s children disappears into the hole while playing, never to emerge again. As it seems as though wedding bells may be ringing for 6, the hole may be ringing in the end of the Village.

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), Jeffrey R. Smith (16), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12)

Notes: The new Prisoner episode titles hearken back to episodes of the original – in this case, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling – even though there may not necessarily be a direct story correlation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

As the first hundred American visas are issued to the Visitors, human suspicion and sentiment are turning against the aliens. Threats are made against the Visitor compound established in New York City, and Erica Evans is assigned to partner with a Visitor security officer to beef up security there. Members of the fifth column – a resistance movement within the Visitors’ own ranks – are making preparations from within the human population. Erica gives Father Landry access to her FBI records so he can try to determine the identity of the other human survivor of the resistance meeting massacre, and while the priest does find the name and face he’s looking for, merely looking could prove to be a deadly endeavour. In the meantime, Anna becomes concerned with one woman’s outspoken protests against the Visitors’ presence – more concerned than her advisors think she should be – and decides that the protests must be silenced.

written by Diego Gutierrez & Christine Roum
directed by Frederick E.O. Toye
music by Marco Beltrami

Guest Cast: Alan Tudyk (Dale Maddox), Christopher Shyer (Marcus), Michael Filipowich (Cyrus), David Richmond-Peck (Georgie), Britt Irvin (Haley), Roark Critchlow (Paul Kendrick), Mark Hildreth (Joshua)

6 discovers that someone who looks like him is stalking the Village. 313 says that 6 was in her apartment last night, and 147 claims that he and 6 got into a vicious argument. 6 even sees his double and tries to follow him, only to be cornered and attacked. His doppelganger urges him to follow the only course of action that will allow him to escape the Village: kill 2. A warning is issued by 2 that there is also a 2 impersonator on the loose, a disheveled man who looks like him but claims to have no number: one of the highest crimes possible in the Village. 2’s double and 6’s double are on a collision course. Or are they?

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), Jeffrey R. Smith (16), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12)

Notes: The new Prisoner episode titles hearken back to episodes of the original – in this case, The Schizoid Man – even though there may not necessarily be a direct story correlation. That episode of the original Prisoner series proved to be memorable to writer Tracy Torme, who bestowed the same title upon one of his episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

6 is falling ill, and 313 confirms the grim diagnosis: something is slowly killing him. 147 tries to get him help, but 2 seems content to sit back and watch his adversary wither away as more new arrivals – who seem to have no idea that they came from outside the Village – roll in on a bus. But as 2 concentrates all of his time and energy on watching 6 die, his own family is wiped out, and the mysterious holes to nowhere continue opening in the ground. What happens to the Village when 2 doesn’t feel like being in charge anymore?

written by Bill Gallagher
directed by Nick Hurran
music by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Cast: Ian McKellen (2), Jim Caviezel (6), Hayley Atwell (Lucy), Ruth Wilson (313), Lennie James (147), Rachael Blake (M2), Jamie Campbell Bower (11-12), David Butler (Shopkeeper / Access Man), Renate Stuurman (21-16), Hanle Johanna Barnard (23-90), Leila Henriques (Curtis’ PA), Wolfgang Weissenstein (Butler)

Notes: The new Prisoner episode titles hearken back to episodes of the original – in this case, Checkmate – even though there may not necessarily be a direct story correlation.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sarah and her friends engage in one of their least favorite pastimes: tracking down a nest of Slitheen bent on destroying the world. Just as it looks as though the Slitheen have the advantage, two more Slitheen-like creatures appear, neutralizing both the Slitheen and their world-destroying equipment. The newcomers introduce themselves as members of the Blathereen family, and claim to be devoted to law and order – by way of bringing the last remaining members of the Slitheen family to justice. The Blathereen apologize for the Slitheen’s behavior over the years and offers a gift to humanity as an apology, a vegetable which they say will eliminate famine on Earth. Sarah asks for time to study the gift before distributing it to the rest of the Earth… but the gift has its own timetable for spreading across the planet, with or without human assistance.

written by Rupert Laight
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Miriam Margolyes (voice of Leef Blathereen), Simon Callow (voice of Tree Blathereen), Paul Kasey (Leef Blathereen), Ruari Mears (Tree Blathereen), Calvin Dean (Chris), Jimmy Vee (Chris Slitheen), Edward Judge (Dave), Sarah Paul (Miss Jerome)

Notes: Actor Simon Callow had previously played Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead, the third episode of the new Doctor Who series in 2005, and had been rumored as a contender for the role of the Doctor himself. Miriam Margolyes made multiple appearances in Blackadder. The Blathereen do have a point: the Slitheen have a lot to answer for: they crop up persistently in the Doctor Who episodes Aliens Of London, World War Three and Bad Wolf, and they’ve kept Sarah Jane & company busy in Revenge Of The Slitheen and The Lost Boy. The real reason the Slitheen keep popping up: the partly-animatronic Slitheen costumes are still among the most expensive investments made in the new Doctor Who series (and its subsequent spinoffs).

LogBook entry by Earl Green