What Worked
Dan Copp does a really good job showing how Kenneth Johnson, writer and director of V (and many other sci-fi shows), grounds his speculative fiction stories in literature. V is more or less a retelling of Sinclair Lewis’s novel It Can’t Happen Here, a novel published in 1935 about the possible rise of fascism in the United States, with strong nods to the scope of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

Copp also looks at Johnson’s career before V for evidence of science fiction strengthened by literature and finds it in the classically heroic underpinnings of Johnson’s The Incredible Hulk and The Bionic Woman episodes. Copp also notes how, without Johnson’s influence, V: The Final Battle and the V television series in 1983 and 2009 rarely rise above a shoot-em-up or the usual prime-time drama.

One of the other things the V does really well that its later siblings doesn’t do, Copp points out, is show the use of media to control a population. In 1983, that was easily achieved by the Visitors taking over the small number of TV networks. The 2009 TV series (which I personally had forgotten existed until mentioned in Fascist Lizard‘s introduction) missed a great opportunity to similarly take advantage of how a fascist regime might levy social media.

What Didn’t Work
Much of Fascist Lizards from Outer Space is about how bad both TV series are. There is a nearly episode-by-episode breakdown of things that the TV shows do wrong. Some of it illustrates the choices that NBC (the 1983 series) and ABC (the 2009 series) made concerning the show’s budget and what they thought made the original popular. That part is interesting, but after a few strong examples, the litany of errors just gets boring.

I was also a little disappointed that Copp didn’t extend his evaluation past V to include Johnson’s Alien Nation. I was inspired by Fascist Lizards to rewatch both the original V and the Alien Nation TV series (1989). It’s hard not playing the “currently relevant” card right about here.

Overall
If you like reading about the history of science fiction in the movies and on television, this is solid choice.

I was 9 years old when the original V miniseries debuted. Having grown up on Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers (at the time, Star Trek was just that old show my parents watched), I was absolutely blown away. I was allowed to stay up long enough each night to watch the first hour, and then had to watch the rest on VHS the next day. I was just as hooked on V: The Final Battle when it aired, and I remember being completely devastated (as only a kid can be) when I missed the final episode of the short-lived TV series due to a poorly time sleepover.

I read the novelization by A.C. Crispin (still one of my all-time favorite reads), all of the tie-in books, and the entire DC comics series. The only reason I didn't have the lone 12-inch Visitor figure is because it never seemed to make its way to Canada. If you're ever stuck for a gift idea, one of those figures would be awesome. Just leaving that out there . . .


Anyway, that's a long sort-of introduction to Fascist Lizards from Outer Space: The Politics, Literary Influences and Cultural History of Kenneth Johnson's V. The moment I spotted that digital ARC on NetGalley, with the familiar image of the jackbooted Visitor standing before the graffiti'd poster, I knew I had to give it a read.

What struck me most in reading Dan Copp's book is just how little I understood about the phenomenon back then. To me, it was just an action-packed sci-fi spectacle, full of cool ships, awesome lasers, and kick-ass aliens with hidden reptilian faces. Don't get me wrong, I did understand the holocaust references, but I had no idea how deep its political commentary on fascism ran. Similarly, living in a pre-internet age where TV Guide and Starlog were the sum total of my pop culture knowledge, I had no idea that Kenneth Johnson's involvement ended with the first miniseries, and I had no concept of the budget constraints that contributed to the franchise's demise.

Now, looking back with Fascist Lizards from Outer Space as a roadmap, it's astounding to realize how and why the franchise changed. With the departure of Kenneth Johnson, the intelligent political themes were dropped, the dark social commentary was torn away, and things descended into cheesy sci-fi clichés. I remember being disappointed in the bad effects, reused footage, and character deaths in the TV series, and I didn't quite understand why Diana swapped out her sexy uniform for soap opera gowns, but now it all makes sense. In the span of just a few years, a brilliant sci-fi themed story of fascism became a cheap soap opera . . . and don't even get me started on the lame 2009 reboot that completely missed the point.

I'm glad Dan talks about Kenneth Johnson's personally penned sequel to the original miniseries, V: The Second Generation, because it was in reading that book that I first understand what happened to the franchise. Dan, of course, goes into much greater detail, and paints a much broader picture of the influences and inspirations, outside forces, and critical reception. Although the book repeats itself in places, and probably could have been a bit shorter, it's still a fascinating read. I can honestly say I have a better understanding and a greater appreciation for the saga, and a deeper sense of remorse over what could have been. Even if you were never a fan, this is a must-read for any fan who has ever wondered about how and why broadcast television destroys so many of our beloved genre franchises.

It's one of those things, that you don't even know exist, but when you find out, it's something you've waited for, for years.

All of a sudden, the little piece of unknown empty is filled. For some, it's religion. For others, it's love. For me, it was Dan Copp's Fascist Lizards From Outer Space: The Politics, Literary Influences and Cultural History of Kenneth Johnson’s V.
Seriously.
When I saw the title on the list, without the subtitle, I knew I had to read it. Then, discovering it's 1) Non-fiction, 2) From one of the best pop-culture publishers ever, McFarland, and 3) About the coolest science fiction television show of the eighties... well. Sounds like perfection to me. I was able to get an reader's copy, and I was more than pleased.
First, Copp fills a fanboy need we didn't even know exists. V, the original, was two mini-series and a short lived prime time series about lizard aliens in people costumes, who came to Earth for our water and people as food. FLfOS provides an excellent view of the behind the scenes development process, from Kenneth Johnson's original ideas in the original mini-series, to the follow-up mini-series that Johnson wasn't involved, to the weekly series that... had flaws. Copious interviews with not just the production staff, but the stars as well, give the reader not just a terrific background on a cult favorite show, but also allow for a deeper understanding of just what goes into developing a network television show.
For the old-school V fans, Copp provides something that Trek fans take for granted: an episode guide. He's rewatched every classic eighties episode and provides some pretty good commentary.- for example, because it was SCIENCE FICTION and I was a kid, the Diana/Lydia/ Dynasty thing was lost on me. I was all about the lizard people eating rats, or the makeup tricks that seem simple today, but at the time, were pretty spectacular- like the unmasking of one of the Visitors: he was captured by the resistance and unmasked on live-tv in the story, so they made a prosthetic face piece for the actor, of his own face, that went over an alien face piece that went over the actor's skin. I think it was TV Guide that showed how it was done.
Of course, like good cult television, it didn't die just because the show got canceled. There were novels, from Pinnacle then Tor. Several moves ago, I lost my collection of them, but they're easy enough to replace. There was also a short lived comic book. I think the artwork impacted that more than the cancellation of the show- it was by classic Flash artist Carmine Infanto. This was the hey-day of George Perez and John Byrne, and Infanto's art seeemed... clunky.

Copp includes a look at both of those, as well as what might have been- Johnson's generation mini-series, over several years, and even a follow up from Babylon 5's J. Michael Straczynski. But these were not to be, sadly, because in 2009 ABC brought V back with a reimagining for the post 9/11-Obama era.
I found this part of Fascist Lizards a little dryer than the earlier part of the book, mostly because I never saw the reboot, not a single episode. Apparently, I wasn't alone. Fraught with behind the scenes shakeups, V-The Reboot never really grabbed the audience like the original did.

Copp reminds us, however, that Kenneth Johnson still owns the rights to the movie version, so there's always hope.
As with all McFarland books, Fascist Lizards from Outer Space is lovingly and exhaustively researched. At $19.99 it's more accessable to the fans than most of their other titles, a good shelf companion to a box set of DVDs and yellowing mass market paperbacks. Highly entertaining and informative.