Los Angeles Resistance Cell

The Los Angeles Resistance Cell is an underground rebel organization within the V science fiction franchise. According to the series mythology, the group was formed in response to the invasion of the Earth by the Visitors, a hostile alien species. The cell group is part of a much larger organization called "The Resistance" which is a large collection of cell groups based in different countries or continents that fight the Visitors using whatever available means.

History

V (or V: The Original Miniseries) and V: The Final Battle: When the Visitors came to Earth, claiming friendship and offers of technological advancements to their people, the world's separate governments all accepted and the Visitors soon dominated modern-day life. Eventually several people began to doubt their intentions and began investigating. Eventually the Visitors were exposed as invaders hoping to harvest the human race and the Earth itself for its resources due to their own resources being long depleted. A group of sixteen individuals came together under Julie Parrish, one of the few scientists left alive following a massive Visitor-induced discrimination effort, and arranged the cell structure and common survival tactics that the Resistance uses to this day.

Soon, open warfare with the Visitors began, though the Resistance initially floundered, it was able to secure military-grade equipment and weapons and their superiors in the World Liberation Front, inspired by their daring "stunt" that un-masked Supreme Commander John as a reptilian-based humanoid instead of a human-like being, sent experts to get their group off the ground and the Fifth Column, the Visitor underground organization dedicated to bring peace to their people and end their war on Earth, provided information on the latest Visitor operations. But several key members of the group were killed in ensuing battles and skirmishes in-between these events, demoralizing the group.

When the Red Dust, a deadly viral strain toxic to Visitor physiology, was discovered, Resistance scientists cultivated it into a weaponized gas weapon. But when word reached the Visitors of the development of the Dust, Commander Diana planned to use the L.A. Mothership to destroy the Earth with its self-destruct mechanism. This forced the Resistance to divide their forces into one all-out operation; most of the Resistance soldiers would deploy the toxin in hot-air balloons in a massive coordinated release with other groups with their own groups of balloons, and release the toxin into the air. Meanwhile, a small Resistance force would go with an armed Fifth Column assault team to shut down the self-destruct before it went off. The attack was successful and the Resistance was victorious while the Visitors were forced to flee the now-toxic Earth and into space.

Return of the Visitors

V: The Series: One year after Liberation Day, Diana; the Visitor Commander captured trying to flee the Mothership she was trying to destroy, escaped custody and fled into space; returning a short time later with reinforcements from a new Visitor fleet based around the Moon. Since the Red Dust's effect in warm climates is temporary, half the world was once again open to invasion. When the attack began, The government and military forces, still recovering from the First Invasion, quickly collapsed under the Visitors repeated incursions, leaving the population and most major cities open to attack. Resistance cells formed back together, some old members not returning, and new members joining. The L.A. Resistance reformed in Elias Taylor's restaurant; Club Creole, and used its hidden cellar as a base of operations against the Visitors. Unlike the First Invasion, the Resistance had to face an increasing number of problems from Collaborators; most especially Nathan Bates; the owner of the largest and most powerful corporation in the world; Science Frontiers, whose security personnel took control of law and order in the local areas around their Los Angeles-based Headquarters. Bates, concerned about trying to keep law and order, outlawed the Resistance group and routinely hounded them, capturing and killing members. However, Science Frontiers was shut down after Bates's assassination and the Resistance prospered. The group also performed more tasks for other Resistance groups, such as supply missions, aid missions, reinforcement deployments, Visitor facility raids and performed many missions across the United States, all of them designed to steadily dislodge the Visitors hold on the world.

Specifications

The group numbers around 75 active members, and several hundred local supporters. The group itself is an independent subsidiary of the "World Liberation Front", the most powerful of the Resistance's groups and openly fights the Visitors using standard army methods instead of common guerilla tactics. Since the cell group is based in central Los Angeles, which is directly below Commander Diana's flagship; this makes them the frontline against all her plans to crush all opposition to Visitor colonization of Earth and generally acts as the most defiant of all groups under their infamous leaders; Julie Parish and Mike Donovan.

Status

The L.A. Resistance is currently active in fighting the invading Visitors; but the majority of the Resistance organization itself was crushed in the (unaired) final episode "The Attack", where the supreme leader of the entire Visitor civilization; known only as "The Leader", used the temporary Armistice between their peoples to launch a surprise attack that overwhelmed the majority of the world's Resistance groups. The fate of the organization is revealed in the novel V: The Second Generation.

Bases

The L.A. Resistance has had a multitude of bases for headquarters in the past (due to lack of resources and suitable areas; other bases or outposts couldn't be constructed or maintained).

Equipment

Leaders

V Character
Juliet Parrish
First Appearance V: The Mini Series
Last Appearance V: The TV Series
Portrayer Faye Grant
Status Alive
Gender Female Quote
Occupation LA Resistance Cell Founder
Family none

Julie Parrish is a young biomedical student who is caught in the middle of a scheme of worldwide persecution against scienstists aiming to ostrasize, round up, and later eliminate scientists. After Visitor forces have planted themselves firmly in the US, she bands with other scientists and rebels in Los Angeles. Julie becomes a leader of sorts for the human resistance in Los Angeles that was to inspire rebellion against the Visitors around the globe. She is wounded during a raid to steal medical supplies but comes back fighting. As the Original Mini Series ends, Julie points a pistol to the sky and defiantly fires round after round in defiance of the Visitor's that occupy her world. With one battle won, she prepares for a long war and sends a distress signal into space in the hopes that an enemy of the Visitors may arrive one day to help humanity in its struggle.

Julie leads the resistance in an attack on a Visitor food processing plant which fails. After this she and her resistance members prepare to unmask the Visitor's Supreme Commander on national television. During the broadcast Julie herself holds Supreme Commander John hostage and tears his face off personally. Separated from the rest of the resistance during their escape, Julie is captured and taken to the mothership.

Julie is placed into the conversion chamber. Diana intends to brainwash her against her own people. Diana learns Julie has a fear and loathing of anything abandoned or deserted, a result from a childhood trauma. They also find out she has a heart condition. Diana begins the process, forcing Julie to have horrifying hallucinations. Julie proves mentally tough, forcing Diana to increase the chamber's intensity. The visions worsen, making Julie have a difficult time determining what is real, but again she is able to resist. Diana up the chamber to mode 3, offering to help Julie. Her grip on reality slipping, Julie reaches out to her. However, she realizes what is going on and jerks her arms to her sides. As her heartbeat becomes irregular, the visions become even worse. She goes into cardiac arrest and nearly dies.

Despite Julie's failing health, Diana is determined to break her. She places Julie back in the chamber for another session. This time the chamber is taken to maximum power, causing Julie to suffer incredible agony. As she endures the hallucinations again, her heart starts to become an issue again. Her strength nearly gone, Julie breaks. Diana offers to help her and Julie reaches for the Visitor commander. Diana asks her what she wants and Julie says to be hers and begs her to stop the pain. With Julie converted, Diana stops the process. Just then, Mike Donovan breaks in and attempts to assassinate Diana. However, he is shot and killed by Jake in front of Julie. Even though she isn't rescued, the incident seems to pull Julie out of her brainwashing. It turns out it was a Visitor disguised as Donovan. Once this is discovered by Diana, she orders that Julie is to be transferred to Earth Security Headquarters, until the ship could be secured. Julie is rescued during the transfer, but the Resistance members, especially Ham Tyler, doubt where Julie's loyalties lie after her captivity. Julie shows a brave face, but has doubts herself, wondering if she was converted. She finds herself beginning to use her left hand, a side effect of conversion. Julie helps deliver the Starchild and with the help of Robert Maxwell a toxin that is lethal to the Visitors is discovered. She also leads the assault on the mother ship that results in their victory and allows them to capture Diana. However, Diana uses her conversion of Julie to escape.

V Character
Michael "Mike" Donovan
First Appearance V: The Mini-Series
Last Appearance V: The Series
Portrayer Marc Singer
Status Alive
Gender Male
Occupation News Cameraman, Leader of the Resistance, Earth's Biggest Fugitive
Family Eleanor (mother), Sean (son)

Mike Donovan was a news cameraman who was partnered with Tony Wah Chong Leonetti and went around the globe documenting stories for airing on the news, he is also son of Eleanor Dupres, ex-husband of Marjorie Donovan and father of Sean. Mike first witnessed a Visitor Mothership arriving while in El Salvador (where he learns the basic rules of being a freedom fighter from local rebels), and he and Tony were representatives of the news group for the first tour aboard the Los Angeles Mothership. Mike initially thought the Visitors were friendly, but when Tony pointed out suspicious activity among high-ranking scientists (at a time scientists were becoming increasingly ostracized), Mike and Tony attempted to sneak aboard the LA Mothership to discover the truth, but Mike and Tony were ambushed on the landing platform and Tony and he were separated.

Lieutenant Martin, a Visitor Mike had befriended and was really leader of the Fifth Column; a Visitor movement dedicated to bring peace to their people, freed Mike and revealed Tony had been experimented to death by Diana. Martin then helped Mike, Robin Maxwell and Sancho Gomez escape in a shuttle back to Earth, and also revealed why the Visitors had come to their world; the Visitors plan to steal the population of Earth for food and the entire worlds water supply as their own world was dying.

Upon arrival, Mike joined the Resistance; led by Julie Parrish, to stop the Visitors plans. Mike led the Resistance (using methods he learned in El Salvador) to victory time and again, and struck up a romantic relationship with Julie and crude friendship with a gruff and experienced Resistance member named Ham Tyler (who gave him the nickname "Gooder", which was short for "Do-gooder" as he constantly did things to help others despite risks to his life). When the time came to decide whether or not to use the newly created Red Dust on the Visitors, Mike vouched for it and was supported by Elias Taylor and several other key members of the Resistance leadership.

He and Martin, who had now mobilized his movement to openly help the Resistance, led the attack on the LA Mothership and stopped the self-destruct intended to destroy the Earth. He then took the ship, now under Resistance control, back to Earth victorious.

One year after Liberation Day, Mike has returned to his job as a cameraman, this time with Martin as his sound operator and is poised to become a full-time anchorman, but his relationship with Julie has ended. However, he now has a worldwide reputation of a freedom fighter and "Hero of the Resistance", and has even gained the grudging respect of the Visitors themselves. When Diana is supposedly "assassinated" by an agent of Ham Tyler. Mike and Martin pursue her and corner her at Tyler's hideout. Martin then knocks Mike out and attempts to kill Diana himself. Martin fails and warns Mike (now conscious) of Diana's plan to re-invade the Earth before dying in his arms. Mike joins up with Tyler to hunt down and kill Diana, but fail to stop her from escaping the planet and returning to the Visitor fleet. Donovan catches up with Diana at the southwest tracking station, noticing that Diana is already calling the second orbital fleet he plans to keep Diana Earth-bound long enough for the Red Dust to take effect. Mike yells and says that she doesn't have much time, Diana notices her timer is nearly ran out bailing out of a short gunfight, Diana heads for the rooftop, however Donovan beats her there and she fires a shot planning to kill him. seeing the Visitor shuttle arriving Mike realizes he doesn't have much time. seeing Diana making a run for it he yells then Diana turns around Mike fires several shots hitting Diana in the chest and twice in the back before she leaves. once inside Diana pulls a bullet shell fragment from her uniform saying "What a primitive planet.

During the Second Invasion, Mike and Tyler join up with Resistance; now reunited by Julie Parrish and resumed to wage war against the Visitors across the United States, Mike also becomes more independent when Tyler leaves for Chicago and forms the "bond of friendship" with Philip, Martin's twin brother and new leader of the Fifth Column. Mike became the primary leader of many Resistance cells, going across the world to fight the Visitor armies, becoming a symbol of hope to the human race and even gaining the grudging respect of the Visitors themselves, who made him into the Most Wanted Man on Earth.

In the (unaired) series finale, Mike and the rest of his Resistance group narrowly escape the Los Angeles Mothership, although Julie is vaporized, and narrowly escape back to Earth, where they are reunited with Ham Tyler. Mike and the rest of the group are now hunting for an artifact called the "Anyx" to use against the Visitors amidst the devastation wrought by the Visitors during the temporary Armistice, which the Visitors took advantage of to crush the majority of the Resistance.

It was thought that Mike was killed in what is known as the great purge of '99. However, it is learned that he has been kept barely alive on a mothership for years. (VTSG)

V Character
Ham "The Fixer" Tyler
First Appearance V: The Final Battle
Last Appearance V: The Series
Portrayer Michael Ironside
Status Alive
Gender Male Quote "When you have a problem deal with it"
Occupation Mercenary, Resistance Cell Leader
Family Unnamed Wife & Daughter (deceased)

Ham Tyler (or better known in the Resistance as "The Fixer") was a CIA operative who, along with associate; Chris Farber, went on specially requested missions for the U.S. government into other countries. While on a mission in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, Ham married a Eurasian woman and had a daughter with her. His superiors promised that his family would be evacuated during the mission. But while he and Farber were sent to their target, a bombing raid caused his family's disappearance (and most likely deaths) and he never saw them again. Ham was devastated by the loss of his family and he and Farber left the agency, becoming mercenaries-for-hire.

During the First Invasion, he and Farber, join the Resistance and helped get the fledgling Los Angeles Resistance group off the ground and use proper tactics and use better weaponry. Here he forms a rivalry with Resistance leader Mike Donovan that eventually comes to a head when they disagree about when to distribute the newly made Red Dust toxin to other Resistance groups; his fighting style, strength and loyalty earned Ham's respect and gave him the nickname "Gooder". Ham coordinated the worldwide dispersal of the Red Dust in conjunction with Mike's attack on the Mothership, leaving the Earth poisonous to Visitor habitation.

One year after Liberation Day, Ham has started a high-tech security agency and is hired by Nathan Bates for $500,000 to capture Diana and assist in interrogating her for Visitor technological information. This is a decision he comes to regret as this leads to Martin's death and Diana causing the Second Invasion of the Earth. Ham was disgusted by how Bates treated human life and deserts, rejoining the reformed Resistance. He continued his friendship with Donovan and became Kyle Bates's (Nathans son) mentor, giving him the nickname "Ace".

He fought for the Resistance time and again and departed with Farber to escort Robin Maxwell to Chicago. In the (unaired) series finale, Ham and Farber return to help Mike's Resistance group escape Visitor attack shuttles. Ham now currently works with the Resistance to find the "Anyx", an artifact that can defeat the Visitors, amidst the destruction the Visitors wrought during the Armistice, when the Visitors took advantage of the peace to wipe out the majority of In Liberation Day When Ham is at Science Frontiers Nathan looks to a Television Feed a sees a "File Footage" Photograph of the Alien Commander Diana, Nathan then asks Ham what would he do with Diana, which causes Ham to also look at the picture of Diana, he says to Tyler that he would use Diana for target practice and when Nathan was thinking about capturing her so that Diana could assist with this universal cure for cancer Ham says that Diana is a disease.

Other Members

The Taylors


V Character
Doctor Benjamin "Ben" Taylor
First Appearance V: The Mini-Series
Last Appearance V: The Mini-Series
Death Internal injuries from falling three-stories
Portrayer Richard Lawson
Status Deceased
Gender Male
Occupation Doctor, Resistance Agent
Family Caleb (father), Elias (brother), Unnamed Mother

Benjamin Taylor was a medical doctor and oldest son of Caleb and brother to Elias. Ben helped the family to become more financially stable when he became a doctor, but didn't marry as he was too interested in studying medicine and too dedicated to the Hippocratic oath to take advantage of women he took care of. Caleb regularly considered Ben's practise a more worthwhile job and constantly nagged Elias to become something more worthwhile than a black market dealer. However, this enraged Elias, who liked his life the way it was, and this led to a severe conflict between him and Ben. This conflict lasted for 10 years, while Elias was steadily distancing himself from the family and Ben became part of Doctor Rudolph Metz's staff and became a good friend of Doctor Julie Parrish.

When the Visitors arrived on Earth, Ben and his colleagues were all eager to learn the secrets behind Visitor physiology, but never got an opportunity to study them in detail. Meanwhile, ominous changes appeared in society, such as a sudden wave of ostracization against scientists, and the growing influence the Visitors had over the government and local authorities. This concerned Ben to the point where he joined Julie's new-found L.A. Resistance Cell, a group dedicated to fight the Visitors. Ben tried desperately to get Elias to help the group, as he had many useful contacts in the black market and could get the Resistance badly needed materials and supplies. Elias however refused, as their conflict was still strong.

Ben, Julie and former-Officer Brad McIntyre raided Stamos Pharmaceutical Company for lab equipment for their new headquarters. Just as they were poised to escape, the Visitors guards saw through Ben's act and began chasing him, separating him from the others. He ended up running down an abandoned multi-story car park and, when trapped by a Visitors shocktrooper, was shot by his laser rifle and knocked off the three-story ledge and landed in a pile of garbage below. Julie narrowly rescued him and got him too Elias, but, due to severe internal injuries he suffered in the fall and unable to call an ambulance without alerting the police, died of his injuries in the car several minutes later. The shock of his death finally led Elias to snap out of his juvenile attitude and he cried, cradling Ben's body in his arms.

After Ben's funeral, Caleb and Elias joined up with the Resistance to fight in his name, and the conflict turned Elias into the responsible adult Ben always wanted him to become.


V Character
Caleb Taylor
First Appearance V: The Mini-Series
Last Appearance V: The Final Battle
Death Unknown Quote: No They're grown let em' go. Portrayer Jason Bernard
Status Unknown
Gender Male
Occupation Chemical Plant Worker, Resistance Agent
Family Unnamed Wife (deceased), Ben & Elias (sons: deceased)

Caleb Taylor was a worker at Arthur Dupres's chemical plant and widower with two sons; Benjamin and Elias. His family was in turmoil when Caleb constantly nagged Elias about becoming more worthwhile than a black market dealer, often using Benjamin; a doctor, as an example and this led Elias to despise Benjamin. Caleb was injured in an accident at the plant, and is rescued by one of the Visitor technicians; Willie, which leads them to become friends. When Benjamin joined the Resistance and is killed by the Visitors, Caleb and Elias both become active members of the Resistance to avenge his death. When Willie was captured for research into the Visitors biology, Caleb vouched for his survival and freedom as he considered him more trustworthy than most Visitors. During the discussion for the final attack on the Visitors with the Red Dust toxin, Caleb feared nuclear annihilation and voted against it, while Elias supported it. Caleb is proud of the man Elias has now become and accompanies Elias, Mike Donovan, Julie Parrish, Sancho Gomez, Harmony Moore, Willie and many others onto the Visitor Mothership orbiting Los Angeles and helped kill the entire crew with the Red Dust, allowing the ship to be captured by the Resistance and Earth be saved from destruction.

Whether he is still alive during the Second Invasion or he lived to see his second son, Elias, die in combat, is unknown.

after Ben's casket is placed in the funeral hearse, Willie says that he feels sorry for Caleb's loss, but Caleb pushes Willie blaming the visitors for Ben's death.


V Character
Elias Taylor
First Appearance V: The Mini-Series
Last Appearance V: The Series
Death Vaporized by the Visitors
Portrayer Michael Wright
Status Deceased
Gender Male
Occupation Street Thug, Propierter, Resistance Agent
Family Caleb (father), Ben (brother: deceased), Unnamed Mother (deceased)

Elias Taylor was the youngest son of Caleb Taylor and juvenile brother of Benjamin and an influential member of the black market and a petty thief and criminal. He was in constant conflict with Ben as Caleb constantly compared the two and found Benjamin better, leading to an estrangement that lasted for 10 years. Elias was asked by a desperate Benjamin to aid the newly founded Resistance with materials and weapons that Elias could secure, but he refused. Elias finally became a man when he was devastated by the loss of Benjamin when he died of injuries inflicted by the Visitors.

Elias and Caleb then became active members of the Resistance, and although he still resorted to using criminal practises to achieve objectives, he still remained conscious of what he was doing and remained loyal to the cause. He vouched for the use of the Red Dust despite the threat of nuclear annihilation by the Visitors, saying that they were the only chance the Earth had. Caleb was touched by his deep belief in the cause and reconciled with him. Elias was part of the Resistance assault team that stormed the Visitor Mothership in orbit above Los Angeles and helped secure the command center and bring the ship back to Earth in Resistance hands.

Having obtained "Hero of the Resistance" status and gained a widely respected reputation with the population shortly after the war's end, Elias decided to leave his criminal past behind and go into the restaurant business. He bought a broken-down restaurant in Los Angeles, and brought back its former glory and made it into a high-successful business, which he named Club Creole, with Willie as its bartender, and then began expanding his blooming business to encompass marketing and entertainment products, making him fabulously rich. One year after Liberation Day, when the Visitors launched the Second Invasion, Elias feared for his business's safety, but nonetheless provided support for the Resistance by allowing them to use the club's hidden Prohibition-era bordello, providing a perfect hideout from the Visitors and headquarters for the movement. Elias himself remained with the group, often going on missions with the team, while maintaining his public facade as a neutral propierter for both humans and Visitors in the new "Open City". Though his restaurant is ultimately destroyed by Science Frontiers security personnel for being a Resistance hotbed of activity and forces Elias underground, he kept doing his part for the cause with unwavering loyalty.

When Caniff Printing, a newspaper shop loyal to the Resistance and publishing an underground newspaper, was seized by Science Frontiers security personnel and 6 Resistance agents, including Robin Maxwell, captured, Mike Donovan sent teams of two all over the city in an effort to locate the hostages. Elias and Willie were the ones who found the hostages, trapped in the shop. Willie initially wanted to leave back to the hideout to warn the others, but Elias wanted to know what the mysterious new platform was outside the shop and crept closer. Unfortunately, this was actually the platform for a Visitor disintegrator ray and, when the Visitors spotted Elias, turned the weapon on him and fired. Elias was vaporized.

When Mike was about to lead an attack on the shop to free the hostages, he gave a speech about Elias Taylor; their fallen hero;

"Now Elias is gone, but it's up to us to do something about it. Now we know he wasn't perfect, he took advantage of what we went through to set himself up. Flashy restaurant, the whole nine yards. But when it counted, when the Visitors returned, the truth was he cared too much to turn his back on us. He took us in, he gave us a place to stay and he paid for it with his life. And if you think about it, we're all together right now because of him. I'd say we owe him one."

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