'V': Science-fiction series gains steam as (supposedly) a look at the administration

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Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.

The news media swoons in admiration — one simpering anchorman even shouts at a reporter who asks a tough question: "Why don't you show some respect?!" The public is likewise smitten, except for a few nut cases who circulate batty rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions.

The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: "Embracing change is never easy."

So, does that sound like anyone you know? Oh, wait — did we mention the leader is secretly a totalitarian space lizard who's come here to eat us?

ABC's "V," the most fascinating and bound to be the most controversial new show of the fall television season, already has many talking heads and in the blogosphere certain that it's a political commentary on the Obama Administration.

The makers of the series deny the claim ("It's a show about spaceships," said executive producer Jeffrey Bell), pointing out that the series was in development a year before Obama was elected.

But the show (now on a long-planned hiatus, set to return in March), did premiere on the year anniversary of the election.

Then again, "V" is a remake of a show from the 1980s and, yes, there were those at the time who believed the original was an allegory for the Reagan presidency.

Still, there's no doubt that the parallels noted by conservative pundits such as Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck have added a bit of spice to the series.

Nominally a rousing sci-fi space opera about alien invaders bent on the conquest (and digestion) of all humanity, but "V" can also bee seen as a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors.

"We're all so quick to jump on the bandwagon," observes one character. "A ride on the bandwagon, it sounds like fun. But before we get on, let us at least make sure it is sturdy."

The bandwagon in this case is conspicuously saucer-shaped. "V" starts with the arrival of a couple of dozen ships from outer space, piloted by creatures who look like humans except a lot prettier.

"Don't be frightened," says their luminously beautiful leader Anna (Morena Baccarin). "We mean no harm."

The aliens — who become known as V's, for visitors — quickly enthrall their wide-eyed human hosts.

A handful of dissidents hold out against the rapturous reception given the V's. Some are simply uneasy, such as the youthful priest Father Jack (Joel Gretsch), who sharply criticizes the Vatican's embrace of the V's as divine creations: "Rattlesnakes are God's creatures too."

At a recent health care protest at the U.S. Capitol, The American Spectator's Philip Klein noted a sign with the letter, "V" and the words: "The Lizards Don't Really Want to Help Us."

Obviously, it was an attempt to compare the Obama administration to the TV aliens and their nefarious plans.

While one might think the Obama/"V" analogy is a stretch, The Boston Globe cited the following line, spoken by Anna: "Embracing change is never easy, but the reward for doing so can be far greater than anything you can imagine.''

Jonathan Chait of The New Republic noted the script jumps out of today's headlines: Anna "promises to use futuristic technology to heal humans. 'You mean universal health care!' gapes a reporter?"

To be sure, the phenomenon of anti-Obama forces appropriating pop culture into their activism is a clear sign that something new and interesting is afoot. This is not your father's stodgy old conservative movement.

Then again, it wasn't all that long ago that the Obama campaign was said to be the model for the presidential run of U.S. Rep. Matt Santos, D-Texas. You remember Santos; he succeeded Jed Bartlett ... on "The West Wing."

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