An effeminate, strange-looking, sharply dressed stranger comes to town and the media falls all over itself declaring this being "The Lightbringer", "The World Saver", "THE ONE"...with only disaster to follow.

We’ve been telling you everything we could find out about the new “V” remake on ABC for several months now, including reports out of Comic Con in San Diego that ABC, under pressure from parent company Disney and other “higher ups” (which we take to mean the White House), demanded the show-runners halt production on the show and “retool it” to be less anti-Obama.

You can see why the current White House would not want this show to air, when you read this description of it in the Tribune today:

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 I mention the leader is secretly a totalitarian space lizard who’s come here to eat us?

You are going to see the first four hours of “V” as the showrunners intended…because contractural obligations forced ABC to air the show as-is. However, ABC forced major changes that will be seen in March if they bring the show back…those changes are meant to make things more friendly to the current White House at the expense of the show’s premise.

Chances are, ABC will do everything it can to relegate “V” to Friday or Saturday nights in the future and kill it off so it does not become an issue between the network and the most vindictive and enemies-list drafting administration in generations.

It is not hard to imagine ABC being punished for this show by having press credentials revoked for its news division.  If this White House decides what is and what is not a news organization, then perhaps that’s what’s made ABC so skittish about calling a lizard a lizard in the case of the obvious parallels between “V” and Dr. Utopia’s Magical Mystery Tour.

UPDATE:  This is interesting, but various people are emailing us today saying they believe the Chicago Tribune is guilty of plagiarizing us in this “V” piece…since we first starting talking about this show back in January and the feel of the Tribune article is almost dead-on to what we have been saying for 11 months now.

Here are our posts on the TV show and its assault on Obamania, and ABC’s progressively adverse reaction to that:

http://hillbuzz.org/2009/01/27/totally-unrelated-to-obama-abc-just-greenlit-pilot-about-creepy-cult-of-otherworldly-beings-from-the-stars-here-to-change-the-world/

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http://hillbuzz.org/2009/02/05/cast-of-abcs-remake-of-80s-lizard-in-human-clothing-series-v-has-nothing-to-do-with-obama/

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http://hillbuzz.org/2009/05/19/they-came-in-peace-they-offfered-hope-they-lied/

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http://hillbuzz.org/2009/08/28/did-abc-shut-down-production-of-the-new-show-v-to-make-it-less-about-dr-utopia/

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http://hillbuzz.org/2009/09/26/abc-effectively-cancels-obama-centric-v-remake-before-it-even-airs/

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http://hillbuzz.org/2009/11/03/dont-forget-the-anti-obamania-v-remake-premieres-tonight-despite-abcs-best-efforts-to-quash-it/

We don’t have an opinion on the Tribune other than thinking it’s nice they are finally reporting on what a bunch of gay dudes in Boystown have been talking about since January.

 Though, it would be nice if actual reporters in the Jurassic Media got around to doing what we do for free everyday, when they’re the ones collecting actual checks to do it.

If a ragtag band of amateurs can scoop these fools on something like this, then why on Earth is the Tribune even paying a staff?

Great Merciful Zeus, the lot of us could use those jobs (and would be better at it in many ways, too, we think).

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UPDATE:  The ratings are in for “V” last night, and they were HUGE.  ABC won that timeslot for the first time in as long as anyone can remember…making “V” one of the biggest premieres this season.

However, it looks like the current White House is most displeased with “V”…ABC has axed its producer and top writer, replacing them with people who have seemingly promised to make less references to “hope”, “change”, and the other catchphrases and slogans of Dr. Utopia.