(S01E08) "Your girl's got a baby lizard in her terrarium?" - Kyle to Ryan

Somewhere in the past few episodes, 'V' has gotten really good. I've always loved the show -- and haven't watched the original series yet, so can't compare -- but I found myself waiting impatiently to see what would happen in this episode. And also see how much scarier Anna could get. I swear she gets scarier every week. She's one scary lizard-chick.

(S01E07) "Let them have this one victory, because I'm about to deliver them a thousand defeats." - Anna, before she sinks into the shiny pool with her little eggs.

Hells bells, Ryan may be a good guy now, but he wasn't always that way. In fact, he was pretty nasty back in the day. When he and the gang went to track down John May's communication device, Ryan spilled the beans to John's stepson James about what really happened ten years earlier. John May's suicide note was a fake.

Oh, and by the way, James, that girl you're hanging out with? Under that human skin, she looks like the Vaal from the planet Gamma Trianguli VI on 'Star Trek.' Hmmm...

(S01E06) "It's time we told him the truth about who he really is." - Joe to Erica, about Tyler

Well, who is he?! Is he supposed to be some sort of warrior a la John Connor, who'll lead the resistance against the aliens? I have no idea, but can't wait to find out. Based on the fact that Tyler seems enamored with the Visitors, it's hard to imagine him as a leader of the resistance. The dynamics will have to change with Lisa; Erica's plan to hide Tyler away at his dad's isn't working.

I've been thinking about where I'd fall in the alien vs. humans war, and I'd definitely be a member of the Fifth Column -- organizing meetings, gathering weapons, training people to fight ... I have no tolerance for any sort of manipulation, and doubt that I'd fall prey to Anna's bliss. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

(S01E05) Remember this show? If the ratings results for the return of 'FlashForward' are any indication of things to come, the answer appears to be "No." A difference between 'FlashForward' and 'V,' though, is that while 'FlashForward' delivered ten episodes, which many found to be disappointing, 'V' has only had four.

While ratings did decline over the course of the four episodes, the reaction to them wasn't as clearly negative. For the most part, the jury seemed to be out. The question now is whether or not the show has been out of circulation too long to recover with these remaining nine episodes of the first season.

It's been four months since a new episode of 'V,' but to the credit of the vision, it doesn't feel as if we've been gone that long at all. Tonight's mid-season premiere certainly brought plenty of exciting moments in the growing war between the Visitors and the human race, as well as a nod to a classic 'V' moment.

Moms rule on the first season of ABC's 'V,' the flashy remake of the 1983 miniseries. In the show's fall premiere, alien ships filled with "Visitors" appeared over Earth, proclaiming peace and promising truly universal healthcare.

A short four-episode run ended in cliffhangers galore -- FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) found out her son Tyler was on the mothership with head Visitor Anna (Morena Baccarin) and her daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoort); Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch) was stabbed by a V; reporter Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) discovered he had a potentially fatal brain aneurysm; and Ryan (Morris Chestnut), a V posing as human, learned his girlfriend (Lourdes Benedicto) was pregnant with his half-alien baby.

(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.

More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.

Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.

What happened on this week's 'V' episode, 'A Bright New Day' -- in 100 words or less.

Tensions mount as Anna secures 100 diplomatic visas, then smooths things over with newly widowed Mary Faulkner "so she doesn't infect others."

Erica is paired with a Visitor to track down the source of a death threat. The shooter is turned over to the Visitors, as Erica discovers a room full of surveillance videos, transmitting from the V's jackets.

Ryan meets with Cyrus to find John May, head of the Fifth Column, as Dale wakes up in the mothership. Erica interrupts a tryst between Tyler and Lisa, who returns to tell Anna -- her mother -- that "Tyler's the one."

Watch the Lisa-Anna scene now

(S01E03) When you're mounting a resistance against an alien presence that way outclasses you in technology, and even outclasses you in propaganda and being good-looking, you're going to need help, and preferably of the "inside" variety. With V scheduled to go on a long hiatus after next week's episode, it's important that the resistance come together by then.

While we made good progress this episode, and learned some more good information, I fear they won't get us to a compelling hook before they go into hibernation for the winter. People will forget about this show if we don't get hooked in good next week. Unless ABC wants to promote its relaunch like another new series, they need to grab us by the jowls and sink their teeth in ... or at least unhinge our jaws and cram a guinea pig of awesome down our gullets.

It's still too early to tell whether the reimagined 'V' will be a hit or not, since only a handful of episodes have aired to date -- but a nearly 30% decline in viewership (to a still-respectable 10.7 million) from the premiere to second episode could indicate the show is in trouble.

Reviews of the new series starring Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Scott Wolf, and Morena Baccarin have generally been favorable, but critics also argue the show feels rushed and doesn't really offer much that's new from the original aside from superficial things such as tone, pacing and effects. Yes, the acting is in a totally different galaxy, but is that enough to make the new series a success? We think not. And while we still think the series has plenty of potential, it could stand for some improvement. Here are seven geeked-out ways to make 'V' the kick-ass show it deserves to be:

(S01E02) See, now things are starting to make more sense. The important thing, as a fan of the old V, is to remember that this is a whole new kind of war. The Visitors aren't coming down in bright red suits with funny voices. Instead they've been infiltrating our society for years, possibly decades.

The question of why Erica wouldn't just go straight to her bosses at the FBI with what she knows is self-explanatory when you consider that her partner of seven years was a Visitor. They look and act like us, and they could be any one of us. So who do you trust takes on a whole new meaning.

I think it's a smart move to establish more of a guerrilla war against the Visitors. And now that the one resistance cell Erica and Jack found has been scattered to the wind, it's a matter of starting over. But, as seen with the developments this week, it may be a race to uncover the truth before it's too late.

(S01E01) We were promised a modern re-imagining of the classic '80s V mini-series, and that's exactly what we got. Gone were the allusions to World War II Nazism and the treatment of Jews in Europe. Instead, we're offered allusions to the war we've been fighting for eight years now.

I wasn't sure how they could modify the storylines from the series I remembered to accurately find parallels to our war on terrorism, and the terrorist movements themselves, but they did. And they did it all while staying true to the struggles and fears that's kept the original series fresh in our minds for 26 years now.

Even better, I watched this with my 10-year old son who's never seen the original, and he was absolutely riveted. Everything I loved about V back then is here, and there's so much more to get excited about. I always thought V should be an ongoing series, and even though we eventually got one, I think this time they've finally got it right.

Since the Season four finale aired, fans (myself included) of USA Network's The 4400 have been waiting to hear the word "renewed." Usually, news of a renewal is announced about mid-season or before the finale. Even if it wasn't the case this time around, we all held hope that USA would renew the popular sci-fi series.

I'm unhappy to report that the cancellation ax fell on the show this week.

(S01E11) "I'm not my father." - Dan

After episodes like this one, it's difficult to understand why people aren't watching Journeyman. It looked like the writers knew the cancellation ax was hovering above their heads when they wrote this week's episode because it was a payoff for loyal viewers and paved the way for episode 13, to possibly serve as a series finale.

Not only was Frank (played by The 4400's Joel Gretsch) back and Jack getting more likable this week, but we saw Livia in her "present" time and Dan's actions have once again an impact on his family and friends. What more can we want for this Christmas-themed episode? Okay, maybe answers on why Dan and Livia travels and how, but that was probably a gift that was too big to put under our Festivus pole!

(S01E05) "Time travel is impossible?" - Dan
"No. Just not proven." - Doctor Langley

Again this week, I find myself not caring much about the case of the week but highly interested in the main characters' doings. "The Legend of Dylan McLean" was of great importance for the Vassers as it cemented Zack and Dan's relationship and offered a glimpse of Dan's father.

Jacqueline McKenzie had her turn. Now Joel Gretsch (Tom Baldwin) and Patrick Flueger (Shawn) of The 4400 will team up to appear live on buddytv.com. Catch it Monday August 21st, 9pm ET/ 6pm PT where the pair will answer questions for about an hour via webcam and audio. Since this one won't coincide with a new episode of the show, there'll be no need for fans to to split their attention. Joel Gretsch is William Shatner's son-in-law so it might be fun to see if he has a take on Comedy Central's Shatner Roast which airs the night before this chat.

(Thanks, Jon!)