Episode Studies by Clayton Barr enik1138 at popapostle dot com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"The Overlord" Written by David Abramowitz Directed by Bruce Seth Green
In order to mine much-needed
cobalt for her troops’ weapons, Diana enlists the aid of a tough
motorcycle gang to enslave a small town in a red dust
contaminated area. Notes from the V chronology Although it originally aired before "The Dissident", I have chosen to place this episode after it due to the fact that the Visitor character of Daniel (no relation to Daniel Bernstein!) is alive and well in "The Dissident" even though he was killed "previously" here. So the air order must have been a snafu on NBC's part, right? Well, not so fast, because Lydia "dies" in "The Dissident" (actually she fakes her death, but she is gone for a couple of episodes) and yet is seen here in this episode! So, really, these two deaths wind up completely contradicting both of these episodes! I think I recall reading somewhere that the producers realized they had made a mistake with the two deaths in these episodes due to the fact that episodes and scenes are often shot out of order, so it can be confusing to keep the script chronologies intact; I believe they decided that viewers noticing guest-star Daniel's brief "return from the grave" was less likely than their noticing major character Lydia's, so the episodes were presented "The Overlord" first, "The Dissident" second. But another aspect of "The Dissident" story makes me present the two episodes in the opposite manner: Elizabeth's stowing away with Kyle for the adventure, upsetting both Kyle and Donovan. Here in "The Overlord", Elizabeth finally stands up for herself and insists on accompanying the rest on their mission and stating how she resents being protected all the time. Kyle and Donovan finally accept this and allow her more freedom to participate. Since Lydia's scene in this episode's story is so brief, I think we must simply overlook the appearance and pretend she was never there. Didja Know? Most of the story takes place in Rawlinsville, CA. This is a fictitious town. At one point in the story, Elizabeth pretends to be a bored girl from North Flats, CA. This is also a fictitious town. Didja Notice? In the Freedom Network report, Howard K. Smith reports that Bangkok, Thailand has fallen to the Visitors; the fight for Birmingham, Alabama continues; the Freedom Network's Medal of Valor goes to Dr. Harvey Wachman of Kansas City, Missouri for freeing a dozen boys from a Visitor Youth Corps camp and reuniting them with their families in Chicago.
At 6:47 on the DVD, the futuristic crates in the mothership's storage room are obviously just simple Styrofoam packaging!  The white armband worn by Kenneth has two triangles on it. It must be the symbol of medical personnel because he says he is a medic and in the "The Dissident" there are a couple of Visitors wearing a similar white band (we never get a close look to see if there are symbols on them) assisting the injured after Donovan and Tyler's attack. 
Apparently the main covenant of the Zon religion is: Zon is the cause for which I would die. But there is no cause for which I would kill. Willie seems to be in the habit of preparing bizarre mixes of food for himself. First there were the unusual smoothies he blended in "The Sanction" and Death Tide, and here he dips cherries in mustard and eats them! Perhaps he is trying to recreate the flavors of foods on his homeworld. Julie learns from her research that the Visitors' laser pistols are powered by a cobalt base, but it has an irregular molecular structure.
At 15:47 on the DVD, in the back of the truck transporting weapons for Bates, there is a box labeled Boothe Fruit Co. with a date of March '57! This may be a real world box that the prop master found. There was a real Boothe Fruit Company that existed in 1957 and some of their products were even packaged as C-rations for the U.S. military at the time.  At 16:45 on the DVD, Diana is reading the Book of Zon she took from Kenneth, but the Visitor print on the pages is too blurry for us to see clearly. She calls it religious nonsense, a collection of myth and fairy tales. The reptilian skin make-up worn by the actor playing Kenneth looks better than it typically does in other episodes of the weekly series. 
Glenna says the resistance force will be able to take
Rawlinsville "like Grant took Richmond". This is a phrase that
was popular in the 20th century (though increasingly less used)
referring to the Union forces' taking of the Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia during the U.S. Civil War. General Ulysses S.
Grant was the General-in-Chief of the Union Army at the time,
though it was actually General Godfrey Weitzel who led the force
that took the city on April 3, 1865.
It looks like Faye Grant delivered a real slap to Lane Smith at 29:35 on the DVD, judging from the reaction on his face! Diana tells Daniel to send a hyperlight cable to the Leader. This must refer to the Visitors' faster-than-light communications.
Back to Episode Studies
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
