New show Defying Gravity

[Thelasko]

I recently caught part of an episode of this new show on ABC here in the US. It's called Defying Gravity. I noticed it because it was on the home page of Hulu.

Apparently it's supposed to be "Grey's Anatomy in space" and it shows. The show appears to be more crappy soap opera than science fiction. I would have to say the part that annoys me the most is the fact that the crew has real time communication with Earth.

Anybody else see this show? Thoughts?

[ve4cib]

I started watching this show with expectations so low that I'm sure that I probably would have found Ed Wood's "Glen or Glenda" enjoyable with the same attitude.

Strangely enough the show is actually not too bad; I've gotten into it, and as it goes on there's less crappy soap-opera and more actual sci-fi going on. Yes, there's all the soap-opera-style flashbacks to the astronaut training program, but the actual mission stuff (and the mysterious cargo in Pod 4) is intriguing, and generally worth sitting through the rest of the episode for.

The cast is pretty good, and they do a good job working around the sketchy writing and physics-defying communication. (I think in the background there's some footnote about "faster-than-light communication" having been invented -- think subspace radio or sub-etha waves, or something like that.)

From a TV-writing perspective having the real-time communication with Earth is good. The show could be done with the people on earth in one group, and the people on the ship in another, and all the communication being done via pre-recorded messages. But that would get dull after a while. It works for movies, but I just can't see it working on a weekly TV series targeted at a mass audience. So they break physics for the sake of having a faster-paced show. Star Trek does is, The Star Wars TV shows did it, Babylon 5 did it, so why not Defying Gravity?

I wouldn't say that the show is "great". It's watchable, and in the summer lull of not much on it's not a bad time-killer. The "Grey's Anatomy in Space" advertising I think was misguided; that's not really what the main focus of the show is.

My advice would be to keep an open mind, and watch a few episodes; the show does get better as the season progresses. Don't expect too much from it, but rest assured that it is definitely not the worst show on TV.

My Overall rating for Defying Gravity: 5.5/10

[MJWitter]

Sadly the show has been cancelled already.. They filmed 13 episodes and aren't even going to show them all
http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20090914/defying-gravity-cancelled-due-to-poor-ratings/

[ve4cib]

Fortunately CTV (the show's Canadian broadcaster) appears to have decided to show the entire series. Which means that Space will also be running it (about a week later). And whatever Space shows the Sci-Fi Channel in the US usually airs eventually (and vice-versa).

I can't say I'm terribly surprised it's getting canceled after one season though. Disappointing, but not surprising.

[yabbadabbadont]

Sadly the show has been cancelled already.. They filmed 13 episodes and aren't even going to show them all
http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20090914/defying-gravity-cancelled-due-to-poor-ratings/

On Hulu, in the discussions on this show, there was an updated link to (I think) the couch critic, who reported that the show has not yet been canceled. The best information currently available is that it is basically in limbo... :(

Edit: it was the futon critic. But I found this updated information too:

http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6696


The show's publicist, Nicole Marostica, has recently confirmed that series has not been canceled and will in fact return to ABC's schedules once the network finds a place for it. Apparently, the decision to remove the series was not one of malice but instead the result of poorly timed scheduling as the new fall season has now commenced and "Defying Gravity" is currently occupying a sought-after slot.