Aug 2
Defying Gravity
I wasn’t expecting much from this new sci-fi series because it’s on ABC and really, one of the major American broadcast networks? Bleh. But I was pleasantly surprised. All the marketing for this series made it sound like Grey’s Anatomy in space, i.e. a soap opera but I quite liked it. It’s just my kind of sci-fi: the kind with a lot of science fact and with an emphasis on characterization.
I didn’t like all the crying baby, anti-abortion shit but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt ’cause it feels like they’re going somewhere with it. And I’m intrigued by the Beta mystery thing.
So far so good. I will watch until it is inevitably cancelled.
[rating:35]
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Hopefully they were able to script it all out in advance… too many shows get on a path and have no idea what the endgame will be.
I’ve lost faith in major networks… all the truly good TV is on channels like HBO and Showtime.
Agreed. I haven’t reviewed True Blood because I think it’s obvious that it’s the shit.
Not sure what to make of this show. It is very soap-opera like. Which is weird since the sci-fi stuff is so well done. The realism of the sci-fi makes the drama seem unrealistic (a real space agency wouldn’t tolerate all that fraternizing and punching-of-superiors).
Still, I will keep watching.
I must admit I quickly lost patience with the dude who kept punching people. Obviously he wasn’t fired because “Beta” wants him in space but still, it was ridiculous. No one does that. No one in real life flies off the handle and starts punching people at work. Insane.
The married couple… I dunno. I thought it was a nice touch that they were given seperate quarters but would they have been permitted to start dating in the first place when they were trainees? Maybe in the future office romances aren’t frowned upon. Buying a pregnancy test though, totally illegal.
Yeah there is an explanation for keeping him on the mission… but still the other characters should have reacted more to the incident. I mean if you saw a coworker punch their boss, would you just chuckle? In real life (especially, I would think, in space agencies), people would rush to help the boss, hold back the dude, call the cops, file workplace violence reports, testify at the inevitable hearing, and so on.
In fact it was a missed opportunity to show the higher-ups strangely arguing to keep him on the mission, and to sow suspicion in everyone else (“Why did they let that slide?”).
I am giving them some latitude for it being the future, which both means that social norms may have shifted, and that space travel is a little more routine. But still.
Despite those drama complaints, there were some things that were really nice. Like during the leak scene, I was about to cry foul when that girl was starting to act loopy even though her suit pressure had only dropped to 23.9 psi (still above atmospheric pressure!)… but then they mentioned nitrogen narcosis and I was, like, “you’re right!”. That sold me, right there.
While I think the guy punching his boss was a bit of creative license, they stated that the thing was a 10-trillion dollar project. It needs an engineer (plus the whole Beta factor) to go, else the whole thing is scrubbed and that money wasted.
I’m pretty sure that, in addition to punching his boss, he could have dropped ‘trow right there and taken a dump in his bosses chair. He had everyone there over a barrel and they all knew it.
The nitrogen narcosis was bang on, and I liked the whole “spit” thing at around 7psi. We’ll see if this show has legs beyond the first couple of weeks, though. Generally if there’s not enough explosions or sex, the casual viewer loses interest and good shows die premature deaths.
But it’s on ABC so there will be plenty of explosions and sex.