Where Has All the Sci-Fi Gone?

Tonight marked the season, and possibly the series (it hasn't been renewed for next season yet, and there is much speculation that it won't be), finale of V. The original V was a mini-series and short television series back in the 1980s. Both series are about lizard-like aliens, disguised in human flesh, who come to earth in the spirit of peace, but who have ulterior motives. This updated version has (at least in my opinion) a better storyline, more relevant themes, and much improved special effects.

As you can tell from my brief description, V is a science fiction show. Sci-fi is my favorite genre for television and movies. One of things I love about science fiction is that it is able to make a commentary about our own world through telling a story about a different reality. The Star Trek franchise is particularly adept at this, with commentaries on topics ranging from the environment to war.

One of the aspects of V that has particularly piqued my interest has been its wrestling with issues of faith. One of the main characters and members of the Fifth Column is Jack, a now-defrocked Catholic priest. Through him, we see a constant tension and struggle between the greater good and the morality of individual actions - do the ends justify the means? The soul has also been a focal point as well. It appears as though the alien visitors do not have one, and their queen has been trying to isolate the human soul so that she can destroy it and thus crush the hopes of humanity - is their something in us that is eternal? Perhaps one of the most telling commentaries is that while Jack's faith guides and sustains him, the alien queen is able to hijack his religion through influencing the Vatican and make it her ally in her quest to dominate humanity - what role should organized religion play vs. individual spirituality?

All of these issues/questions and many more raised by the series are why I enjoy the show (once I get past the gore and violence) and the science fiction genre in general. There aren't a lot of great sci-fi shows these days...they simply don't get a large viewership and so they aren't as profitable as other shows. But I am thankful for the ones that are still around because they help me to see the world a little bit differently. I guess they are a little like parables in that way.

So, I leave you with a parable to ponder from Matthew 13:45-46 - "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."