Three generations of alien ruler attended NYCC on Saturday — Visitor royalty Laura Vandervoort, Morena Baccarin, and Jane Badler were on the scene and ready to talk up the Visitors' return this November.
We were running around like maniacs on Saturday and were unable to see the new footage that debuted at the V panel. Fortunately, the V files put together a synopsis of the teaser, which includes a scene of Anna offing a subordinate with her tail. Perhaps the most enticing preview was Anna's meeting with her estranged mother, Diana:
Anna is in a strange cave – like setting.. A woman emerges from the shadows; it is Diana, played by Jane Badler – the original Diana from the original series.. We learn that Diana has been exiled to this cavern by her daughter because she had became too emotional and hasn't even seen her daughter for fourteen years.. In any event, Diana chastises her daughter and mocks her for showing emotion.. Anna is visibly upset by her mother's words.. We also learn that Diana came here years ago.. Humanity's first use of the atomic bomb was the signal to them that we were here.. Diana learned quickly, however, that interbreeding was impossible.. There would be a generation of half – breeds that would refuse to bow to a queen.. Anna wants to put her faith in Lisa and Tyler; Diana scoffs – Anna's infertile and the next nearest viable planet is too far away.
Prior to the panel, we caught up with this extraterrestrial trio. First we talked with Laura Vandevoort (a.k.a. the Visitor Lisa), who discussed how the presence of her grandmother will affect Lisa's interaction with Anna:
This season she comes in being very assured of what she is [...] but she has no idea that her grandmother is alive. It's a shock for her. Will her grandmother be an ally? Or not? It will be a lot of fun to have someone from her own family. Now that grandma's alive, will Lisa have a chance? Also, my relationship with Erica continues to evolve this season. Don't get attached to anybody because anyone could go at any time.
Next up was Morena Baccarin, who discussed Anna's tortuous relationship with Badler's Diana. She said the following about acting with Badler:
It's really fun. It's fun to see Anna in a mother-daughter dynamic. It's a very complicated dynamic. After all, Anna overtook her mother.
I then asked Morena if this means we'll see any gladiator style deathmatches between her and Badler:
[Laughs] No, because that would be weird! [...] But I will be off the ship more this season, and you'll also see that she still has sway over Tyler.
Next up was the original Visitor matriarch, Jane Badler. I asked Badler who had better fashion sense — the old or new Visitors:
[laughs] I don't know, I think the 80s were pretty tragic. But there's something in that tragedy that's so much fun! It's like that movie with Sigourney Weaver, Galaxy Quest. They used our kind of costumes, a cliché of science fiction [...] The funny thing is when I got [to the set], they had a whole wardrobe of outfits, and they picked the red dress that looked very similar to the original Diana. And I was very pleased with that.
This Diana has much more calm, she's much more dignified and much more patient. She's a little bit of a throwback to the 80s. [...] Being in front of a green screen is strange, I have nothing around me, no props, nothing. It's really weird. What was Diana doing down there? I could water the extraterrestrial plants! I had to have something to do in that bloody dungeon!
Jane also talked about how Diana would be playing a large role in Season 2 and discussed her favorite facets of the new series:
The producers said, "Jane you're here for the entire season, and it gets very big, your role [...] I like the idea that only the queen can spawn the eggs and only her children can spawn the next generation. I also like the idea that you don't know who the Vs are. I love that aspect of it.
[Top photo credit: Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/Eric Liebowitz]