Sci Fi TV Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of sci fi TV
[Updated]
What Is It? This short-lived 2009 TV series followed the crew of the spaceship Antares on its near-future expedition to explore our solar system. The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks covering the training period for the mission as well as the present-day activities (from the perspective of the show) of the crew as they leave Earth for their first destination, Venus. The space mission is filmed as part of a reality show that is beamed back to Earth so that planet-bound audiences can follow their progress (and that also helps with the funding). But a series of mishaps beset the crew which leads to a revelation that could jeopardize the mission.
Aired: ABC, 2009, 1 Season Totaling 13 Episodes
Starring: Ron Livingston, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox, Andrew Airlie, Paula Garces
Created By: James D. Parriott
Why It Stands Out: While some viewers quickly grew frustrated with this series because of the many soap opera subplots it worked into its stories, it still managed to deliver a well-made science fiction series and a realistic look at near future space travel as well as an interesting story arc that had just begun to hit its stride as the show was cancelled.
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi TV? Not necessarily. But it should definitely be of interest to those who like space-based shows, especially ones that take a fairly realistic approach to exploring the solar system.
The Skinny: Defying Gravity came and went so quickly that many people never knew it was on the air. Creator James D. Parriott pitched it as “Grey’s Anatomy in space”, and it delivered a genre-splicing show that its network just could not quite figure out what to do with, so they cast it to an unfavorable late Summer timeslot where it never had much chance of finding an audience. The show did give us a heavy dose of soap opera early on as it alternated between the space mission that provided the core story and flashbacks to the training program the astronauts participated in which led to the selection of the final eight crew members. However, the story focus began to shift as it progressed, and the writers began to work more science fiction elements into the mix. In fact, it really started to pick up steam right as ABC lost faith in it and pulled the show off the air. The story from Episode 8 (the last aired in the United States) through to the series finale gave us a truly excellent and at times thought-provoking piece of science fiction. It’s at this point that we find out that some of the threads introduced early on—that at first blush looked like just soap opera asides to justify throwing in some gratuitous sex scenes—actually provided an integral part of the bigger arc.
So yes, the writers made use of a lot of love interests and personal friction to spice of the story, and yes that was probably designed to boost the ratings (didn’t work, though). But ultimately they masterfully worked many of these into the over-arching storyline which leaned heavily toward science fiction (or you could even say speculative fiction) and delivered a genre-crossing show that sci fi fans should have had more patience with. You also have to admit that they gave us a very believable look at how we might explore the solar system in the near future, both on a technological and personal level (if you are going to put men and women in confined quarters for an extended period of time, you have to address the implications of their biological urges). And we had very few television shows up to that point that gave us anything approaching a hard science take on space travel. It has since come out on DVD, and those who never saw the show or never saw the full run should definitely check it out. And series creator James Parriott later gave a detailed description of how the show would have progressed which provides at least some closure, though we would much rather have had at least one more season.
Cancelled Too Soon? Definitely. As mentioned above, ABC just didn’t seem to know what to do with this show and ended up dumping it on the schedule in late Summer with very little promotion. Not surprisingly, the ratings were low and the network yanked the show after eight episodes had aired. (You can read more about the cancellation at this link.)
Should It Be Rebooted? It won’t be, but I’d be onboard for a return of this series. It left us completely hanging and there was plenty more story to tell. It would be hard to pick up the story after over a ten-year gap, but I’m sure they could work in a plot device that deals with that. Who’s up for a “Bring Back Defying Gravity” campaign?
Interesting Facts: Defying Gravity was inspired by the BBC produced dramatized mockumentary Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets. That two episode series followed the five person crew of the Pegasus on its tour through the solar system.
Defying Gravity debuted on August 2, 2009, a month and a half after the TV movie Virtuality aired on FOX. The latter film, developed by BSG veteran Ronald D. Moore, had a similar premise of giving a believable look at near future space travel and was intended as a pilot for a television series that never materialized (more on that one at this link).
Where Can You Watch It? As mentioned above, the series was released on DVD, and it is currently available at a very economical price from Amazon.com. It is not on any of the major streaming services as of this writing, but it is available to purchase VOD.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
More Sci Fi TV Genre Gems at this link
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Sci Fi TV Update posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
