V (ABC)

When a fleet of massive spaceships suddenly appears over Earth, mankind is terrified. Where have they come from? What do they want? What kind of creatures are inside? But all of these concerns are dispelled when they see the aliens’ leader, Anna (Morena Baccarin), who looks like a beautiful woman, speaks perfect English (and many other languages), and reassures the planet that her people have come in peace. The Visitors, as they like to be called, simply want to befriend us and promise to share all kinds of advanced technology and medicine. Most of the world welcomes the Visitors with open arms. But a handful of people have doubts about the Visitors' intentions, including FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch), who are recruited by an anti-Visitor terrorist group that's determined to expose the aliens’ true intentions.

V is a departure from the typical alien-invasion yarn because these invaders don’t rush in with blasters blazing; their plan -- to gain the planet’s trust and then slowly assume power -- is much more insidious. There’s plenty of fighting when the guerrillas take on Visitor guards, but the more interesting part of the show is watching how people react to the Visitors. Ambitious journalist Chad Decker (Scott Wolf), for example, is offered the chance to become the Visitors’ primary news conduit, a position certain to boost his career if he’s willing to abandon his principles. As Anna watches him squirm, it’s clear that the Visitors know exactly how to manipulate the people of Earth.

Still, it's sometimes hard to believe that so many people can be so easily misled, and that only a small handful of resistance fighters are aware that that the Visitors' intentions are anything but benign. Not only is Erica defying the aliens, she also must stand up to the government that seems only too willing to embrace the Visitors and ignore the potential threat. As a result, the show often plays much like many other actions programs that pit a small team of rebels against a larger force -- the fight scenes can be dramatic but not especially original. Where V stands out is in the more personal dramas, when it creates thoughtful moral conflicts. Watching people struggle with choices that could be good for them as individuals but terrible for the world shows the best, and worst, of humanity.