logan huffman

The Visitors are back, and they don't come in peace. After seven months away from our screens, ABC's 'V' returns with a vengeance tonight to begin its long-awaited second season, and judging by the first few episodes, it certainly intends to make up for lost time.

TV Squad was among a select group of journalists invited up to the set of the Vancouver-based series last September, and we have plenty of juicy scoop to whet your appetite for the new season before it premieres tonight.

Join us after the jump to get your 'V' fix -- it's far more tasty than eating a rat, we promise.

Anna, the evil alien queen, physically abused her own daughter Lisa on 'V' (Tue., 9PM ET on ABC). But if her intention was to create friction between Lisa and Tyler, it looks to have backfired.

"I've never had feelings like this for someone before," said Lisa, whose human emotions are growing. Tyler told her he felt the same.

His mom Erica looked on, worried and disturbed by the idea that their relationship was getting stronger. But Joshua had some comforting news for her. Only time will tell if it's true.

(S01E09) "What does this mean? I'm pregnant! What about the baby?" - Val to Ryan, after learning that he's a Visitor

I guess it would be pretty startling to learn that the guy you've known for ten years, the guy who's the father of your baby, is an alien with a lizard-like body hiding under his human suit, or "meat suit" as the 'Supernatural' boys call it. Poor Val. What a shock. And a shock for Ryan when she tells him she doesn't want him getting on the train with her.

In one way, I'm worried that she won't have Ryan to protect her, but in another way, she might actually be safer without him. Either way, it's a dismal situation, and Anna won't stop until she has that "mongrel" baby. But doesn't it seem like there would be other half-breed babies, since the Visitors have been living on earth for quite some time now? Anna better prime up some more soldiers, because they have their work cut out for them.

(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.

(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' season 1 episode 4, '"it's Only the Beginning" -- in 100 words or less.

Erica, Georgie, Ryan and Jack work together. Georgie shoots a V, who takes a self-destruct pill. But not before spitting at Ryan, "You can't stop us!"

Ryan is revealed to be a Visitor, but Fifth Column. "We're on the same side," he tells Erica. Tyler is impressed by the V's medical technology. He talks to Valerie, a therapist; Anna and Lisa eavesdrop via the jacket cam.

(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.

(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.