Chad Decker

From V

Chad Decker is an ambitious reporter, hungry to make a name for himself. Chad’s already precarious moral limits are stretched as he finds himself in the uncomfortable, yet highly beneficial position of becoming the conduit for Anna’s propaganda.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Season 1

Chad is present among the press pool when Anna makes her first physical appearance. While other reporters question the scientific validity of some of the Visitors' claims, Chad discourages their badgering, and instead asks her about the Visitors' attractiveness. Later, Marcus approaches Chad about becoming the reporter to whom Anna grants her first on-board interview.

Immediately preceding the actual interview, Anna advises Chad not to ask anything that would paint the Visitors in a negative light, so as not to antagonize the protesters. Chad disagrees, asserting his journalistic integrity, but relents when Anna threatens to cancel the interview. During the interview, Chad asks Anna uncontroversial questions, concerning such things as their home planet.

After the interview, Chad expresses dismay at having discarded his principles. ("Pilot")

To reclaim some of his integrity, take advantage of lagging poll numbers, and also to earn the respect of his patrons, Chad devises a plan to boost the popularity of the Visitors. He invites two guests, one a Pro-V advocate (Harold Stern), and the other, taking the Anti-V position (Marion Geiger), to debate their pursuit of diplomatic relations. Anna is displeased by the apparent slap in the face, but Chad visits her, prepared with poll numbers before and after the broadcast, showing the positive approval. Citing his ability to influence public opinion, Chad shows her that she needs his support. His plan works, since the United States offers diplomat relations with the Vs.("There Is No Normal Anymore")  

[edit] Trivia

• In casting, this character was described as "28 years old, an Anderson Cooper wannabe, he's a newscaster with BBN, based in New York City. Amoral, ambitious, and a little slippery, Chad is intent on getting to the top of his profession in a big hurry. The kind of man who sleeps with the Vice President's press secretary in order to gain entree, Chad gets the Ultimate Source when he is tapped by Anna to become her steady outlet for information (propaganda) about the Visitors. Too ambitious to realize that he's going to become an unpaid sycophant, Chad doesn't question his good luck..."
  • Some aspects of the description appear to have been changed for the character as portrayed in the pilot episode, with Decker questioning Anna's manipulation of him.
• The character of Chad is somewhat analogous to that of Mike Donovan of the original series, insofar as both are television journalists. Decker's character also appears to possess many of the same attributes as Kristine Walsh, another character from the original series. Like Decker, Walsh was an aggressive, up-and-coming young TV journalist who saw the Visitors as her 'golden ticket', but who ultimately found herself unwillingly transformed into little more than a propaganda minister for the Visitor regime.

New Series Characters edit
Erica Evans · Ryan Nichols · Jack Landry · Valerie Stevens · Tyler Evans · Lisa · Anna · Chad Decker