Greatest Jerks of the Silver Screen: Daniel from V (1983) and V: The Final Battle (1984)

Daniel the evil man/boy, clutching a fine example of an original Visitor pistol

This is a tribute to “Daniel,” one of the greatest jerks ever to grace the silver screen…the small one, that is. In 1983, V kicked sci-fi rumps everywhere, reminding us all that aliens don’t always want to share their Reeses Pieces with humanity. V was an excellent miniseries that still holds up today, about an alien invasion that appears friendly at first but soon becomes sinister and fascist, harkening back to the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany.

The awful Daniel Bernstein, who is a human, betrays his kind to reap the benefits of working for the Visitor/alien army. He soon becomes a Visitor Youth recruit, turning in neighbors and friends to the Visitors for his own gain. He even kills an old lady when he finds her spying on the aliens, even though he had known the neighbor woman most of his life. His greed and menacing “teen with too much power” syndrome make his character both compelling and wildly repulsive. His story ultimately ends in a satisfyingly horrible way. It’s awesome.

Rare and cool V artwork from the Japanese laserdisc inner sleeve

I once spent an entire weekend in Yosemite watching V: The Original Miniseries, eschewing the glories of nature to the joys of bitchen’ aliens in red jumpsuits.  It was totally worth it. This version of the miniseries is superior to all other incarnations of V not just because of the deliciously horrible Daniel, but also because of Marc “the Beastmaster” Singer’s ripped physique, here on glorious display.

Oh Daniel, you nasty little rapscallion!

Daniel’s original Visitor Youth costume, complete with original patch and costume tag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Costume courtesy of Gary Emerald

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