It’s hard to imagine ABC likes or knows what to do with ‘V’ based on the way they’re treating the sci-fi reboot with yet another move seemingly designed to sabotage the show rather than allow it to flourish.
Last year’s freshman season of ‘V’ began with four episodes designed as a miniseries and then was followed by a multi-month hiatus. By the time ‘V’ returned, many of its viewers did not despite an incredibly annoying countdown timer ABC ran during an episode of Lost in that show’s final season. If anything ABC’s publicity tactics backfired and turned irate Lost fans off from the show.
When ABC released its fall 2010 programming schedule ‘V’ was noticeably absent. The studio then confirmed at Comic-Con this past summer that ‘V’ would be a mid-season entry with season two episodes kicking off in November, much like season one.
Earlier this week ABC announced that ‘V’ would not begin in November but instead had been pushed back to January and would air during the current Dancing with the Stars’ result show slot on Tuesday nights. No reason was given for the move though an optimistic view would be to assume the show needed some creative tweaking.
Now comes word via Deadline that ‘V’s’ season two order has been trimmed from 13 episodes down to 10. One of those episodes will be lost by the scheduling logistics of moving to January, while the other two will be preempted by other programming.
Filming on V’s second season with stars Morena Baccarin and Elizabeth Mitchell is already well underway. The showrunners and writers will now need to examine their ideas for concluding the season and remove roughly two hours worth of previously planned scenes. If they’re smart and want a third season, the big lizard reveals and full-on alien occupation will get underway quickly.
