Hey, V! Lighten Up!

This weekend, the fiancé and I watched the two new episodes of V that aired recently. V, like FlashForward, had the misfortune of getting its season sliced in half and going on forced hiatus for four months.

Seriously, what gives, ABC? Can you stop doing this? Why do you hate your viewers so? And don't even get me started on Ugly Betty.

Where was I? Oh, yes, V. Now don't get me wrong--I don't like this show. I didn't like Juliet on Lost, and I don't like her here, either. (She plays basically the same character in both.) But watching these two episodes made me think of another reason V falls far short of the quality of say, Lost.

V takes itself WAY too seriously.

For example, in one episode, Anna the head alien decides to mate with one of the nameless males on her ship. After she does her thing (it takes about four and a half seconds total), she goes, "It's done. My eggs are now in need of nourishment," and whips her head around and eats her mate alive. This would've been a funny, campy scene, except...it wasn't. It was done in a way that you felt obligated to think, "Wow, that's some hardcore alien-lizard- mating! This Anna means business! Don't mess with her!"

I can't get into a drama that tells me I should feel serious about something. If I can't laugh at it, I don't want to watch. I often laugh at 24 and CSI: Miami, because they practically invite you to have a good chuckle. Look, Jack Bauer just killed six men after being shot in the stomach! Look, Horatio just paused in the middle of his sentence! For no reason!

V, on the other hand, is just one thing after another. Oh no, the black dude's wife is pregnant with a lizard baby. Yikes, they're torturing another 5th Column traitor. Oh, and those aliens just killed themselves. This is an remake of a corny old '80s alien show, for crying out loud. Make me laugh! Or at the very least, make me crack a smile and go, "That is ridiculous...ridiculously awesome."

There is nothing ridiculously awesome about V.

Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe I shouldn't compare it to Lost (even though ABC wants it to be the next Lost). Maybe I shouldn't compare it to other ridiculous dramas (even though V is a drama with lots of ridiculousness potential). Maybe I should just shaddup and watch the dang show.

But, as I like to say, life's too short to watch bad TV. Life's also too short to watch TV you can't poke fun at...especially if the show can't even poke fun at itself.