The premise of the show – the original and the new series – is as follows: aliens arrive on earth, claim they come in peace, people don’t really believe them, drama &/or chaos ensue. Pretty straightforward. The alien – human encounter story is one that has been popular for decades.
Another classic vision of human-alien encounters can be found in H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. In that book – originally written in 1898 – the world is invaded by Martians, who with their advanced technology, attacked and attempt to enslave the world.
Check the library catalogue under the subject “human-alien encounters — fiction” to find even more stories of how authors envision the out come of alien arrivals on earth. You’ll find titles from Robert Sawyer (who’s novel Flash Forward has recently been adapted to a non-alien focused Sci Fi TV series), And Another Thing, the new Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novel from author Eion Colfer and even a book called Gifts from Eykis from popular self-help author Wayne Dyer. Plus a tonne of books from big names in Science Fiction writing.
One final note of interest, according to Wikipedia, the original V series was inspired by the 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel It Can’t Happen Here – which isn’t a novel about aliens, but rather one imagining what would happen if America was taken over by a dictator. In 1935, with Hitler in power in Germany, it was a powerful idea to present to the American reader. The modernization of the idea, saw the charismatic dictators coming from outer space to take over.
