image: ABC

Most of the reviews I’ve seen have been favorable with even E! Online saying that the pilot ”on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11. V is the best pilot we’ve seen in, well, forever” and USA Today‘s Robert Bianco said that the show is well-made and “quickly establishes its own identity.”

I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say that it’s the best pilot I’ve ever seen but I was positively stunned by the quality of the special effects, the casting was excellent and I agree that the identity of the show was established immediately.  I didn’t sense any of that awkward in-your-face character definition that you see with pilots.  I wasn’t even planning on watching it but then I saw the first few minutes and I couldn’t turn away.

The storyline unfolds after giant spaceships are spotted hovering over 29 major cities around the world.  The alien “Visitors” leader, Anna, is both beautiful and charismatic as she assures the humans that they come in peace.  They are generous and basically do everything right but some people start to wonder about their true intentions, including FBI counter-terrorism agent, Erica Evans.  A resistance takes shape and she joins the ranks of the humans, and one Visitor sleeper agent, who aim to save humanity.

Post from: EveryJoe

image: ABC

I swear I just recovered from the shock just last year and now this show is making a comeback on ABC.  It was supposed to start sometime in early 2010 but they’ve moved up the launch so that the show will premiere on November 3, 2009 at 8:00pm (just in time for November sweeps!).

The cast includes Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) and Joel Gretsch (The 4400).  That should definitely pull in the sci-fi fanatics, including me – I plan to give it a try.

The executives said that they are going to take the storyline in a new direction but they will, of course, pay homage to the original.  Should be interesting!  Here’s a quick preview of the new series:

Post from: EveryJoe

Everyone likes to complain about how there are so few new ideas in Hollywood these days, that studios are churning out remakes by the bushel. And sure, there’s some good stuff in the mix, but for every gem like Battlestar Galactica you’ve got four or five stinkers like Bionic Woman or Flash Gordon.

V creators Scott Peters and Jeffrey Bell

Based on the hour-long pilot episode screened at Comic-Con, the new reimagining of V is off to a very strong start. It’s not a new plot — alien “visitors” arrive on Earth promising peace, but secretly plan a subversive takeover — but there’s enough new angles in this version of V to keep things exciting and surprising. And it moves along at a fast clip, setting up the premise of the show while introducing the main characters, and it wastes no time on anything nonessential. There are some terrific special effects in the pilot, and I can only hope the standard they set here is maintained.

Without giving too much away, when the Visitors first arrive with their massive spaceships hovering over 29 major cities around the world, it creates quite the panic. (Yes, the show is fully aware of its opening scenes’ resemblance to the movie Independence Day, and even plays off of this at times.) Until, that is, the people of Earth set eyes on them for the first time, and find them to be highly attractive and human-like in appearance. The Visitors claim to be in need of natural mineral resources that can be found on Earth, and in exchange they will share their technology with us until they have finished replenishing their own supplies, at which time they will leave. But of course not all is as it seems, starting with an FBI investigation into a terrorist cell and ending with… well, that would be telling. But ask yourself how the Visitors would be able to immediately speak our language, appear in pleasing human forms, and cure many of our diseases if they have only just arrived.

One of the best parts of the show is seeing a lot of fan-favorite genre actors in a whole new sandbox. Lost‘s Elizabeth Mitchell is arguably the show’s lead as FBI agent Erica Evans, and her steely-calm intensity is put to good use here. Morena Baccarin stars as the alien leader Anna, and she brings the same grace and tranquility she displayed in Firefly, along with a subtle, unsettling quality that lets you know not quite all is as it seems on the surface. The 4400‘s Joel Gretsch takes an unexpected turn as a priest named Jack Landry, a devout man of faith who immediately suspects the Visitors of being less than honest about their intentions. Party of Five‘s Scott Wolf is perfectly cast as ambitious-but-righteous news anchor Chad Decker, a man who unwittingly finds himself caught between the Visitors and humanity. And character actor Morris Chestnut is Ryan Nichols, a man with a very mysterious past who’s trying to leave it behind and create a new life with his romantic partner. Smallville‘s Laura Vandervoort and newcomer Logan Huffman appear in supporting roles.

It’s a fun, fast ride, with a talented and appealing cast, and a modern take on a familiar premise. I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold. Watch for V to debut sometime this November. A full video of the brief Q&A panel that followed the screening is below.

Post from: EveryJoe

We went out to eat at Hemingway’s Island Grill and the server suggested the Mojito. Since I was but a young pup at the time, I had never heard of the drink and was willing to give it a try. Hell, the thing has rum, sugar and mint-can’t go wrong there.

Image|Amy Tucker

I tried it. I loved it. And then, I drank two more.

By the time we left, I was in a rather jovial mood and have been a fan of the Mojito ever since.

Now that we’ve moved in-land and away from Florida, I’ve been hard pressed to find a Mojito that can even come close to the heaven that I experienced in Pensacola. Maybe it’s the fact that the Mojito has become so well known across the country and so companies have introduced mixers to create the drink, or, maybe I’ve just been cursed with bad bartenders.

The fact remains that I haven’t had a good Mojito since 2003…until today.

Today’s drink came from a Ruby Tuesday’s in Arkansas.

It was the “drink of the day” and I figured, “What the hell? Might as well”.

I asked the waitress if the drink was made from a mixer or if the bartender actually muddled the mint and sugar them self. If I had to go by the vacant look the waitress gave me, I probably would have canceled my order right then. The waitress promised to ask the bartender and then get back to me.

In the end, the drink was actually made in the restaurant so I gave it a try. Glad I did.

I didn’t have a single complaint with the drink. The sweetness [a common issue with Mojitos] was just right and the taste of mint was just enough so that I knew it was there but it didn’t overpower the drink.

Bravo, Ruby Tuesday.

Mojito

Ingredients:

• 1 spoonful of sugar
• The juice of half a lime
• Fresh mint
• 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años
• Sparkling water

Directions:

In a tall glass :

Muddle [crush] the sugar and mint together.

Add the juice of half a lime and 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años.

Add two or three ice cubes.

Top with sparkling water, stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Post from: EveryJoe