This was great back in the day

I'm about the same age you are, and I can remember talking about the miniseries nonstop with my friends at school. The original miniseries aired only weeks before Return of the Jedi premiered in theaters (May 1983), so our enthusiasm was primed for virtually any alien/sci-fi type show.

BTW the military is addressed in at least one quick scene in the original miniseries: Mike Donovan investigates a U.S. Air Force base and discovers that all Air Force personnel are under house arrest by the Visitors. Presumably the same thing has happened to the other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces at bases all over the world. (Some syndicated TV versions of V have several scenes missing, and the scene at the Air Force base is not included in those versions. I had forgotten about that scene until I watched the miniseries on DVD.)

i must be about the same age, so this as great as a kid, in the 80s, where one could get away with stuff like this. nevertheless, as an adult that has seen more serious attempts at stories like this, i find this to be quite laughable in retrospect. reptilians with pseudo human skin and mind controlling abilities, that want to steal our water and use us as food? hahahahahaha. i am surprised the remake even made it to the second series.

I was in HS then, and recall the popularity.

I re watched it a year ago and still love it

I didn't like V very much when I first saw it, and I still don't. I think it has a great concept and good production values, but its execution just leaves so much to be desired. The Nazi parallels are so heavy-handed it lacks any form of subtlety. Most of the heroes are just plain dull, and the visitors act more like campy soap opera villains in cheesy orange jumpsuits than menacing and fearsome extraterrestrial foes.