As it happens, I’m acquainted with Scott Peters who developed and wrote the remake of “V” for ABC.  Mr. Peters was also the creator and executive producer of “The 4400” and a writer for “The Outer Limits.” As far as I know Mr. Peters has only made one mistake in his career and that was directing me in the low-budget film “Don: Plain and Tall” back in 2003. It was the story of my friend comedian Don McMillan’s life as a comic. I played myself in the film and the part was horribly miscast. 

When I started reading some of the rumors and theories about Mr. Peters’ latest show and the behind-the-scenes politics, I laughed out loud.  Let me try to shed some light on the “V” controversy.

The script was not written as a roman a clef or allegory for the Obama administration. The script was written by Mr. Peters during the Bush administration and started before Mr. Obama clinched the nomination. The author, Mr. Peters, is not some evil sleeper right-winger/Obama hater. Mr. Peters, besides being a talented writer and director is a gay man, legally married in California, very liberal politically and a dedicated supporter of the President’s campaign. If he’s a mole for some right-wing conspiracy he may be the most committed spy ever. Mr. Peters, who was born in Canada, recently became an American citizen; a process he tried to expedite so he could vote for Mr. Obama, a deadline he missed by two days.

Unfortunately for Mr. Peters, this isn’t the first time in his career that fans or critics saw things in his work he didn’t intend. Some fans of “The 4400” saw hidden meaning in those episodes too. At first, Mr. Peters would try to respond, but eventually he had to quit paying attention as the theories got more and more bizarre.

Mr. Peters’ replacement as showrunner by Scott Rosenbaum isn’t due to some political move at ABC. From reports I’ve received from informed sources, Peters is well-liked by the network. The show’s being produced at Warner Brothers and there appears to be some friction between the network’s vision for the show and Warner Brother’s. Mr. Peters’ replacement was being worked on well before the show aired and became a hit.

Sometimes we all, left and right, get it wrong. So next week just try to enjoy the show because to paraphrase Sigmund Freud, sometimes a TV show is just a TV show.

[Editor: This post was updated to correct a factual mistake. Mr. Peters did not donate to Barack Obama's campaign before becoming a U.S. citizen.]

There was another documentary about the Obama campaign on HBO, but that left out a lot of relevant facts, so spaceships and lizard-people aside, ABC wins the veracity award.

The parable is, an attractive group of aliens show up, out of the blue, and offer universal health care, advanced technology and world peace in exchange for our trust and devotion. All we have to do is believe everything they say without question. Which means, don’t ask anything about their hidden motives or past associations because that would be racist impolite. In fact, one reporter who is offered an exclusive interview with their leader is admonished not to say anything negative or they would be denied access (Hi, Fox!).

And what do you know, the aliens are really here to eat us. And maybe even take over our car companies and banks. That part is unclear. But I’m sure they will reduce unemployment, because there will be less people looking for work. Oops, I guess “V” has nothing to do with Obama, because he sure isn’t doing well on that front. But anyhoo–

The New Republic’s Jonathan Chait was outraged by the pilot. Outraged, I say!

This is not just a right-wing worldview but the worldview of the paranoid Tea Party movement. I’m really not sure how this made it onto network television. Maybe the calculation is that Glenn Beck will start urging his viewers to watch and a ratings bonanza will ensue. (I don’t expect scientists will be the scapegoats in the new series, as the original “V” alien campaign to tar scientists as a fifth column sits uncomfortably close to the current right-wing view that the world’s leading scientific organizations are conspiring to suppress evidence that global warming is a hoax.)

Ah, it’s Glenn Beck’s fault. He’s the new W, don’t you know. The New York Times critic said “V” was unrealistic because no one would trust attractive strangers with a hidden past and motives, who told them what they wanted to hear in such a short amount of time. Yeah, right. Like that would happen.

Naturally, when a show debuts to huge ratings and mostly great reviews, the producer’s career is golden. Not this time. Apparently the network who gave Obama an infomercial and refuses to release the “Path to 9/11″ DVD decided to replace the show runner Scott Peters before the pilot even aired. In fact, ABC hosted a big visit by press people last Monday, but Peters was notably absent. Exec producer Steve Pearlman spoke with the reporters.

Peters has been demoted to exec producer, a largely honorary title and has been replaced by former “The Shield” and “Chuck” alum Scott Rosenbaum.

Was this a case of ABC purging a political dissident from the show to make it more politically subservient? ABC has been very pro-Obama. And while the president’s name is never mentioned once in the show, there’s little doubt what they’re getting at. Critics of the “V” aliens are shown to be viewed as wackos and fringe people, the same way the MSM likes to portray ordinary Americans who don’t drink the kOOl-aid. Journalists who question the motives of the V are treated like they’re “not real news”. Wink!

The show has been very entertaining so far. It tries to get a lot in the first episode so things move very fast. I guess that’s why the NY Times guy found it so unbelievable. After all, lefties were questioning if Obama was black enough in 2007 before they became full on acOlytes a year later.

We’ll have to see if Rosenbaum’s episodes will feature positive portrayals of the “V’s” “death panels” and their reduction of the human population as lowering our carbon footprint and “saving the planet.”

One thing’s certain, I doubt the “V” would find too many people in this administration very appetizing.