There has been a lot of hype and a flurry of press leading up to the premiere of
Defiance. I’ve been anticipating the show’s first episode since I had the opportunity to tour the set in October. The extensive work that went into creating the world of the show paid off in big ratings for SYFY and a satisfying start to what promises to be a long running series.
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| Grant Nolan and Julie Benz |
Defiance’s premiere episode was written by creator Rockne S O’Bannon and executive producers Kevin Murphy and Michael Taylor and directed by Scott Stewart. O’Bannon is perhaps best known is Sci Fi circles for
Farscape, the long-running and much beloved series. Murphy’s Sci Fi credentials include
Battlestar Galactica and
Caprica which Taylor also worked on. Taylor’s other credits include
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and
Star Trek: Voyager. Stewart’s directing credits include
Legion and
Priest, but he’s actually got more visual effects credits, giving him a unique perspective on directing an effects heavy production like
Defiance.
The special effects were generally very good. I did find at times that I felt like I was looking at a video game, however. I have to wonder, given the shows close ties to the video game, whether that was deliberate as a way to create another connection to the game for those who are enjoying both the game and the show: so that the two worlds are linked in effect by their very landscapes. It’s likely inevitable with effects on such a huge scale that there might be a few that didn’t quite convince me, but overall, the effects are spectacular for television. More impressive to me was the make-up for the alien races. The Castithans, Irathients, and Indogenes are all particularly well done.
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| Grant Nolan and Stephanie Leonidas |
The detail that’s gone into the show, from the sets to the clothing to the languages is simply staggering and paid off in a world that felt very real. However, it also meant that the first episode was packed with a lot of information that was mostly just mentioned in passing. I liked that we were just thrown into the action without a lot of explanations. Any lengthy exposition about what exactly “Ark-fall” was or what the “Pale Wars” were would have felt clunky and would have slowed down the action. As it was, using the somewhat tried and true trope of the newcomers to town, allowed the viewers to see the dynamic of Defiance through the eyes of Nolan (Grant Bowler) and Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) as we also got to know them. Leonidas does an amazing job behind a fair bit of prosthetic make-up to convey Irisa’s fiery temper, humor, and love for her adopted father. The chemistry between the two is wonderful and rings very true right from them singing Johnny Cash’s “Jackson” to the fight over whether to help the people of Defiance to Irisa coming back with the Spirit Riders to help.
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| Tony Curran and Jaime Murray |
In the end, what I think will set
Defiance apart from the other apocalypse shows currently on television is the characters. They are varied and eclectic with interesting dynamics between them, and the entire cast is solid. Rather than a band of people running and surviving,
Defiance is focused on the town and that sets up a great dynamic in itself. While there is a threat from outside the town, most of the drama is going to come from within the town itself. In many of the interviews, it was pointed out that this was a drama about relationships on a Shakespearean scale. The parallels with many of Shakespeare’s plays is clear. Datak Tarr (Tony Curran) and his wife Stahma Tarr (Jaime Murray) are clearly meant to evoke
Macbeth. Murray is both gorgeously beautiful and cunningly manipulative as the woman behind the man. Their son Alak (Jesse Rath) is in love with Christie McCawley (Nicole Munoz), and their relationship is
Romeo and Juliet as the Tarrs hate the McCawleys – who are lead by Rafe McCawley, played by wonderful Canadian actor Graham Greene.
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| Julie Benz and Mia Krishner |
The first episode also introduces new mayor Amanda Rosewater played by the ever popular Julie Benz. This is yet another different role for this versatile actor. I’m really looking forward to her playing this smart, tough, very intelligent woman who is still very likeable and relatable. Mia Krishner plays her sister Kenya who runs and works in the Need/Want which is the local brothel. Yet another strong, complex woman in this rugged new world. In fact, there are few other shows on the air with so many interesting female characters.
All of the characters have a past that is only hinted at in the first episode. Again, having new characters arrive in town opens up lots of possibilities for each character to relate their history at some point in the coming episodes. As this episode begins, it seems that the story behind Nolan is clear – he’s a scavenger out to make a quick buck, but by the end of the episode, his humanity is front and center, and Irisa points out that he’s always managing to give away their big score. It’s clearly not really something she’s annoyed about, but is just another indication that Nolan is one of the good ones; he is, in fact, one of the “Defiant Few.” By the end of the episode, Nolan has taken on the mantle of Lawkeeper. Of course, Nolan coming to Alak’s defense when Rafe wanted to kill him was also an indication that he’ll always fight to protect those who are weaker.
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| Nicole Munoz and Jesse Rath |
By the end of the episode, Stahma has convinced Datak that Alak marrying Christie is a good idea because it will allow them to take over the mine once Rafe is safely out of the way. While Stahma seems to be the brains behind this duo and is chillingly evil as she seduces her husband in all ways in their bath, Datak is supposed to be the bad guy about town, ruthlessly extorting money and running games of chance and the local fight club. The scene with Nolan fighting the Bioman is a great one. Nolan is willing to fight “dirty”, but Datak is willing to change the rules to insure that he still wins. However, when Defiance is threatened, Datak relieves everyone of their debt to encourage them to fight. It wasn’t clear in the scene how Stahma felt about that, but it might be an interesting twist if he turned out not to be quite so ruthless as his beautiful wife. The most chilling development, however, may be the revelation that the attack on Defiance was actually orchestrated by former mayor Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan), and there’s obviously a lot of a of story to be explored here. How the revelation will affect Amanda is only one element.
I’ll definitely be tuning in to see how these stories play out. What did you think of
Defiance? What was your favorite part – the effects? The action? The characters? Have you played the game yet? Let me know in the comments below.
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| Tony Curran, Julie Benz, and Graham Greene |
I really loved this show. I wasn't expecting much, to be honest, even though I wanted it to be awesome... I guess anything from SyFy naturally has me doubtful, but I'm hoping this will spur them on with developing more original balls-to-the-wall sci-fi drama.
ReplyDeleteI think the weakest part of the two-parter was actually the characters. While all likeable (or hate-able) in their own ways, they were very much stock characters. All did their jobs, and did them well, but because of the plotting and pacing, there wasn't much chance to delve into them like, say, Firefly did, from the get-go.
Nolan is like a carbon copy of Hans Solo, pretty much. The whole Romeo & Juliet plot was disappointing but I'm glad it's moving in a different direction (one side wanting the marriage for personal gain).
I did like the relationship between Nolan and Irisa though, especially in those opening moments. Unfortunately the characters were just kind've sidelined but that's okay... because it laid some great groundwork and will hopefully build from there.
While I thought the characters could fall into the roles we all know, I think there is lots of potential for them to break those stereotypes too. I agree that there wasn't really enough time spent with Nolan and Irisa - or really any of the characters, but they had a lot to cover - even in a two parter!
ReplyDeleteGood review. I liked the show. Some elements (e.g. the Romeo and Juliet vibe) had me rolling my eyes (the Macxbeth one not so much, especially it it means we're going to get more smoking hot Jaime Murray in the bath scenes), and it certainly wears some of its influences on its sleeve--there are pretty evident Road Warrior and Star Wars elements, not to mention many Star Trek-style aliens (essentially humanoid with some sort of variation), wiht a taste of Firefly's space western vibe thrown in. And I felt the video-gamishness of it as well, especially in the big battle scene.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you're right that it puts lots of interesting possiiblities in play, and despite its derivitave elements, the combination of post-apocalyptic story with alien invasion/first contact/assimilation storyline is certainly unusual. I especially like the idea of the Earth having undergone some sor of partial terraforming that renders it simultaneously alien and familiar. It LOOKS like they might be aiming to make the different factions not obvious good guy/bad guy opponents, but instead folk with their own plausible agendas and motivations, and I hope that's true. Evne the big bad former mayor seems to at least act like she believes she has a long-term good goal to justify her short-term evil behaviour.
Ah, Yes " Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
ReplyDeleteOr close the wall up with our English dead." Henry V... Shakespeare
It was not worthy of Shakespearean allusions or even the most tangential comparison to any of Shakespeare's characters. In fact why is it that every time we see a strong woman or women manipulating males in power does some one say Macbeth? Why not Lysistrata??? I just want a change.
But, let's be honest this show is a science fiasco.
1) Terra-forming (and would the aliens call it terra forming? Since it means to change something into anE Earth like form? Would they not call it "unnamed planet we Votans come from"-Formin") does not cause a planet to have new mountain ranges form. And yes, St. Louis is on a bluff about 200 feet above Mississippi River, however where the Arch is River front and the land is close to the water level. So why is that they have the St. Francis Mountain Range way too close to St. Louis?
2) 30 years to change an entire planetary eco-system.... Wow-- that is way too amazing. It would take several hundred years to successfully change the Earth's ecosystem into some alien ecosystem. So that would mean Earth's natural ecosystem would be already compatible to the Votan (species) so why change the ecosystem then?
3) Antarctica A tropical wonderland... Even if all the Ice Melted from Antarctica the fact remains that it is a position on the planet where it receives far less sun light then the rest of the surface of the Earth. This geographical fact cannot be altered.
4) Aliens could not produce offspring with Humans! You know that is just an unfortunate fact of beng different species. So no way could you have a Votan-human hybrid without major gene manipulation in a laboratory... If even possible. For all we know they might be silicon based instead of carbon based life.
5) Why would the Aliens need to invade with a war? All they would need to do is start to implement the necessary process for changing the Earth's ecosystem into a Votan friendly system and wait. If they keep the bulk of their race beyond the orc cloud it would take Humanity several decades to just lunch one ship to area. They have superior technology and cryogenic stasis technology they could jsut wait until the planet is just not human friendly any more! Humans die and aliens repopulate with no fuss and no muss!
Basically, this show is Deadwood with just Aliens and some cheesy CGI... The characters aren't impressive at all. The basic themes are quintessential television sci-fi fodder that Star Trek and the rest of the late 1990 sci-fi series have ridden into the ground already. Basically, I would have had more fun training a rabid squirrel to gnaw off my scrotum between the commercial breaks. Thank God I watched it on Hulu -- few commercial breaks made the horror of it all pass much more quickly.
Sadly, I was interested in this show. Not because I thought it would be Earth Shatteringly good-- no, I thought maybe I wouldn't be want to refund myself for the wasted time! Sadly that was not to be the case! In fact I think after watching it I lost a few IQ points. Luckily I restored them by immersing myself in a marathon of Malick films and Tarkovsky's Solaris. And then I was restored to my previous state.
Between NBC's Revolution and this debacle I think Sci-Fi writers have to be some of poorest writers in the industry (perhaps, only rivaled by the hacks that write tweenie Canadian television series about Horses and High Schools). I want to know why people in audience don't demand better then this drivel they keep throwing up as Sci-Fi? What happened to Sci-FI in the last 30 years? I blame Spielberg and Lucas for turning it into a domain dominated by the brainless need to blow up stuff in ever more rapid succession.
Why not Lysistrata? Well, because Lysistrata was not a strong woman manipulating a specific man by using her sexuality on him, she was a strong woman urging ALL women to manipulate men by denying them sex, so not much of a parallel in this situation. Maybe if Kenya decides to have all the whores in the Give/Take withhold their favours, though....
ReplyDeleteWhy call it terra-forming? Um, so the audience will know what they're talking about? (Or maybe they use it to mean a way of forming Terra into something else...) And while I agree that St. Louis suddenly having mountains seems unlikely, I think it's a bit of a stretch, too, to assert what terraforming might or might not do. We have virtually no data to go on about how exactly the Earth has been transformed, so perhaps it's a tad premature to be too upset about this one just yet.
I agree that thirty years isn't a long time for changes to occur (actually, isn't it just fifteen since the war?). However, it's not as if the entire planet has been completely changed over into something totally alien. And dramatic compression is necessary if we're going to have characters who remember the pre-alien Earth. Does it creak a bit? Yes. Is it deadly to the show's success? I doubt it.
Do we KNOW Antarctica is a tropical wonderland? Characters seem to think it is, but do we have objective evidence that this isn't a myth or simple wish-fulfillment--that there is some ideal place still out there?
That aliens could not produce offspring with humans is almost certainly science fact (given that we can't even produce offspring with any other terrestrial creatures), and I confess I'd prefer it not to be SF either, but a) HAS any human crossbred with an alien that we know of? Logan (or whatever Sheriff Kickass's name is) says that ... whatever HER name is is his adopted daughter and b) that doesn't mean that human/alien sexual attraction is impossible, especially if they're Star Trek-style humanoid aliens with minor variations from the basic model. (And double especially if they're Jaime Murray!)
Do we KNOW who started the war, or how exactly it unfolded? I think not. From what I can glean/remember (some of which may be form the "making of" feature shown afterwards), the aliens did not arrive planning on war or invasion but on finding a planet without its own sentient life forms. Presumably conflict among them as well as with the humans was a factor, with some wanting peaceful coexistence, others wanting just to take over etc. The whole notion of alien invasion stories is pretty shaky logically, though, so it seems to me that one needs to come to an alien invasion/first contact story with a certain willingness to accept the basic premise, or at least give it a chance to unfold.
However, given that you'd apparently rather have a squirrel gnaw off your scrotum than watch another episode, I'm guessing that you don't possess that willingness.... And if your ideals for this sort of thing are Tarkovsky or Malick, I can't imagine why you'd bother with network television at all. I mean, talk about steak and grapefruit!
1) actually Lysistrata starts off with one woman wanting to change her role and position in the system by manipulating males. The exact number of males is unimportant for the comparison to work.
ReplyDelete2) Terra-Forming doesn't alter the geography of a planet by creating mountain ranges. Nor does it create new elements out of the ether either. In fact the concept that this show is using is something more like the Genesis Torpedo in ST !!: The Wrath of Khan-- it was absurd in 1982 and it is more absurd in 2013. It just not what terra-forming does to a planet.
3) Antarctica is not important to me is just one more inane comment in another inane attempt to create science fiction on television.
4) The Mayor says "She looks full blood" meaning Irisha to the human. So that means humans and votans are interbreeding. Not to mention it is implied in the Votan Human Marriage between the two kids that something of a product of this union could occur.
5) It doesn't really matter if the attacked us or we attacked them. It is still absurd. Once the war starts clearly the Votans have technology that is far greater than Earth in 2013. So it is a moot point to talk about any resistance at all. The Votans could clearly annihilate the humans from the safety of a high Earth orbit.
6) I did give it a chance to unfold- 1 hour 26 minutes or so. It unfolded into a banal science fiction series...
7) Never underestimate the joy of training a rapid squirrel to gnaw off your own scrotum... The results are truly breath taking!
8) How many films does Malick have out on DVD? How many films did Tarkovsky create? You see I have about 300 films by the Criterion Collection and well sometimes you find that you just are watching TV. However, TV is more and more becoming a wasteland.
1. Sure, as long as the point of a comparison is the exact opposite of what's going on in the comparator.
ReplyDelete2. Terraforming has never been done, so we have no idea of what it does or does not do, nor do we have much (if any) of an idea of how it worked in this case. But yes, the Genesis project is what came to my mind immediately, too.
3 & 4 I have nothing to add, really.
5. Well, we don't know who attacked whom at this point, do we? MY assumption, in fact, is that it was not simply humans vs Votans but that there was inter-Votan conflict as well. (Given that the war seems to have ended when various factions defied their lraders and laid down arms to cooperate would seem to support the idea that it was not a war in which the sides were clearly demarcated or the combatants fully invested.)However, any story positing anything like a real war being possible between aliens arriving in interstellar craft and planet-bound humans has some pretty much insuperable obstacles to overcome on the plausibility front, so it sems kinda pointless to me to bother watching a show with such a premise at all if you're not going to give it a "gimme" at least provisionally on that front.
6. The first hour and twenty-six minutes of an ongoing series is about equivalent to the first chapter of the first volume of a multi-novel series. Of course, if one hates that first chapter, there's not much point in continuing, but it also seems rather pointless to spend anything like a significant amount of time deconstructing it either.
7. I'll take your word for it.
8. Perhaps it is more rewarding to watch repeatedly the stuff you really like than to waste your time on stuff you think is garbage. Or maybe read a book. ;-)