Under Their Skins, V’s Visitors Will Be More Alien, Less Goofy

 

With the return tonight of ABC’s science-fiction remake V, viewers will begin seeing tantalizing clues to the true physical natures of the Visitors, the seemingly peaceful alien species that’s hiding more than just sinister motives.

As fans of ’80s television (and Marc Singer) know, the original Visitors shed their human disguises to reveal goofy, rat-eating creatures that looked like extras from a Sid and Marty Krofft production. Think slightly more menacing Sleestaks. But USA Today unveils the first look at a new, reimagined Visitor, and it definitely looks … alien — as opposed to, y’know, simply a guy in a rubber mask. (Sure, it may have been cutting edge for the time, but I remember groaning at the special effects even when I was a kid.)

“What I like about it is it doesn’t look like any particularly recognizable species,” star Morena Baccarin tells the newspaper. “It’s like a conglomeration of all these different lizard types. It even looks prehistoric. There’s something like a T. rex about it, with a lizard mixed with a Komodo dragon.”

According to Executive Producer Scott Rosenbaum, pieces of the Visitors’ true appearance will be revealed over the course of the 10-episode second season, with the full creature unveiled during the finale.

For more on V, check out Spinoff Online’s interviews with actors Scott Wolf and Charles Measure. V returns tonight at 9 ET/PT on ABC.