You can’t say ABC isn’t trying to find a big-budget replacement for “Lost,” entering its final head-scratching season in January. But their two efforts, “FastForward” and now a remake of “V” (7 p.m., ABC), look remarkably similar, showcasing mind-boggling events, intrepid federal agents and “Lost” veterans in the cast.

All that said, “V” is a real eyeful and well worth checking out, even if you weren’t a fan, or even born, when the first version aired back in 1984.

“V” begins with the arrival of gigantic spaceships over 29 world capitals. Earthlings are stunned to learn of intergalactic travelers who claim to arrive in peace. While media-savvy kids compare the event to “Independence Day,” apparently nobody seems to have watched the “Twilight Zone” episode “To Serve Man.”

Federal agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) has her doubts about the Visitors, as they come to be called, even after their gorgeous leader Anna (Morena Baccarin), charms most of the planet, thanks in part to a collusion with ambitious news anchor Chad (Scott Wolf). Erica has her hands full with rebellious teen son Tyler (Logan Huffman), who becomes smitten with a fetching female Visitor.

The original “V” was introduced by a multi-part miniseries, a format better suited to set up a story of alien visitation that quickly morphs into a tale of deception, invasion, occupation and resistance.

This new “V” is a far more expensive-looking project, and like “FastForward” and for that matter, “Lost,” seems shot through with post-9/11 anxieties. Contemporary references abound. One theorist alleges that the Visitors have infiltrated global elites and weakened us with unnecessary wars and financial fraud — obvious references to recent events. At the same time, the media-fueled and cult-like adulation of Anna and the Visitors seems to echo concerns about fawning coverage of a certain president.

It’s worth noting that the first “V” premiered the same year as “Red Dawn,” another David vs. Goliath tale of insurrection against foreign invaders. At the time, U.S. foreign policy backed proxy rebellions in both Afghan-istan and Nicaragua. But since 2001, American troops have been engaged in putting down insurrections in both Iraq and Afghanistan. More than hairstyles have changed since “V” arrived in 1984, only to depart after one season.

• “Explorer: Inside LSD” (9 p.m., National Geographic) looks at efforts to use a long-demonized drug for medical and therapeutic purposes.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Two go home on “So You Think You Can Dance” (7 p.m., Fox).

• “NOVA” (7 p.m., PBS, part 1 of 3) presents “Becoming Human,” a tale more than 3 million years long.

• Eviction notices arrive on “Dancing with the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC).

• One year after election night, “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama” (8 p.m., HBO) recalls 2008.

• Peter may be a source of information and insight on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A victim’s only relative languishes in a coma on “The Forgotten” (9 p.m., ABC).

• Clay revives his business on “Sons of Anarchy” (9 p.m., FX).

• “Power Path” on “Independent Lens” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) looks at Native American efforts to regulate energy production on reservations.