In November 2005,
Entertainment Weekly named
V one of the 10 best miniseries on DVD. The article noted, "As a parable about it-can-happen-here fascism,
V was far from subtle, but it carved a place for lavish and intelligent sci-fi on TV. Its impact can still be felt in [contemporary science-fiction projects] ..." In December 2008,
Entertainment Weekly put
V on its list "The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982", and called Visitor leader Diana's devouring a guinea pig "one of the best TV reveals ever."
...
Inspired by Sinclair Lewis' antifascist novel
It Can't Happen Here (1935), director-producer Kenneth Johnson wrote an adaptation titled
Storm Warnings in 1982. The script was presented to NBC for production as a television miniseries, but the NBC executives rejected the initial version, claiming it was too "cerebral" for the average American viewer. To make the script more marketable, the American fascists were recast as man-eating extraterrestrials in order to capitalize on the popularity of franchises such as
Star Wars.