"Defiance"

[pg240]

Did anyone watch "Defiance" Monday night on the Syfy Channel? I'd planned to but then time, as it sometimes does, got away from me. I'm a big Mia Kirschner fan and really liked "Firefly" and "Battlestar Gallactica," so thought I should give this a chance. Since I missed it, thought I'd check to see if anyone has an opinion after the first episode before I track it down and watch it. Here's a description: It pits humans in a post-apocalyptic world working with, and against, alien creatures who have taken over their planet.

 

[jamjars]

Just watched the trailer for it - definitely has a Firefly vibe. Looks like an interesting watch though. I think I'll watch episode 1 tonight if I can find it online.

 

[pg240]

I just discovered that Syfy is replaying it Friday (5 p.m. central) so I have it set to record. Looking forward to it. And thanks for the response. Loved Firefly!

 

[pg240]

Guess that TV info doesn't do you a lot of good in Scotland! Sorry for the USA time listing.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I just finished watching it and I guess I'm not sure whether I like it or not. The overall plot was rather predictable. It seemed to me like the writers just took several plots from other things, even the standard Romeo & Juliet love between two kids belonging to families who are bitter enemies. Then they just tried to mishmash all of them together with as many alien races they could create.

Instead of the writing I think Syfy put most of their focus into special effects, which was better than most of the movies they produce. Unfortunately if they follow their normal trend it means they've only got about 40% of the yearly budget left for the rest of the season. So I wouldn't expect a lot of cool looking scenes for awhile. Which leaves me really hoping they develop a better story for each of the characters. The premiere left a lot of them feeling like very clichéd versions of characters I've seen many times before.

Overall I thought this one was just an average run of the mill show so far. Out of 5 stars I'd cut it right down the middle at 2.5. I'll probably watch two or three more episodes in hopes they improve or pique my interest. Without improvement I'd be very surprised to see it renewed for a second season.

 

[jamjars]

Guess that TV info doesn't do you a lot of good in Scotland! Sorry for the USA time listing.

Hah, it's cool! I've got a particular website that I use for streaming uploaded tv shows, so time listings don't make much of an impact on me.

 

[pg240]

I just finished watching it and I guess I'm not sure whether I like it or not. The overall plot was rather predictable. It seemed to me like the writers just took several plots from other things, even the standard Romeo & Juliet love between two kids belonging to families who are bitter enemies. Then they just tried to mishmash all of them together with as many alien races they could create.

Instead of the writing I think Syfy put most of their focus into special effects, which was better than most of the movies they produce. Unfortunately if they follow their normal trend it means they've only got about 40% of the yearly budget left for the rest of the season. So I wouldn't expect a lot of cool looking scenes for awhile. Which leaves me really hoping they develop a better story for each of the characters. The premiere left a lot of them feeling like very clichéd versions of characters I've seen many times before.

Overall I thought this one was just an average run of the mill show so far. Out of 5 stars I'd cut it right down the middle at 2.5. I'll probably watch two or three more episodes in hopes they improve or pique my interest. Without improvement I'd be very surprised to see it renewed for a second season.

2.5 is a fair rating. I "kind of" liked it, but I agree about the writing. Seemed like it was mailed in to a certain degree, but I'm hopeful they were trying to set the tone with production values in the first episode. Of course, for me anything with Mia Kirshner in it is worth watching, so I'll stick with it for a while at least. And I've always admired Graham Greene, so that's a plus, too; although the feuding ruling clans is pretty damn stale -- have to agree with you about that as well. All in all, your assessment is pretty much spot on, so thanks for sharing it.

 

[emptiedglass]

Actually watched it last night and it was better than I thought it'd be. I hope it gets a proper run and doesn't get an early cancellation.
There's also a video game based on it that could be interesting.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Actually watched it last night and it was better than I thought it'd be. I hope it gets a proper run and doesn't get an early cancellation.
There's also a video game based on it that could be interesting.

Totally agree. I like science fiction a lot so i'm hoping it gets better and goes on for more seasons. That said season 2 of Continuum starts tomorrow night, so :dance: :dance: :dance:

 

[pg240]

One thing I got a kick out of is the similarity between the doctor and Odo on Deep Space Nine. Maybe she's in his ancestry somewhere along the line.

 

[emptiedglass]

One thing I got a kick out of is the similarity between the doctor and Odo on Deep Space Nine. Maybe she's in his ancestry somewhere along the line.

Nah, different story universes. That's like saying the Volge are Darth Vader's cousins. Or that Datak Tarr is Lucius Malfoy's twin. :lol:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

One thing I got a kick out of is the similarity between the doctor and Odo on Deep Space Nine. Maybe she's in his ancestry somewhere along the line.

Nah, different story universes. That's like saying the Volge are Darth Vader's cousins. Or that Datak Tarr is Lucius Malfoy's twin. :lol:

But to be honest I saw the similarities as well. I'm betting the actor was a fan of Deep Space 9.

 

[emptiedglass]

I didn't see it, but my mind did confuse Daytak for Malfoy for a brief bit... probably because I recently watched the Harry Potter movies.

 

[TeaganO'Holloran]

I just finished watching it and I guess I'm not sure whether I like it or not. The overall plot was rather predictable. It seemed to me like the writers just took several plots from other things, even the standard Romeo & Juliet love between two kids belonging to families who are bitter enemies. Then they just tried to mishmash all of them together with as many alien races they could create.

Instead of the writing I think Syfy put most of their focus into special effects, which was better than most of the movies they produce. Unfortunately if they follow their normal trend it means they've only got about 40% of the yearly budget left for the rest of the season. So I wouldn't expect a lot of cool looking scenes for awhile. Which leaves me really hoping they develop a better story for each of the characters. The premiere left a lot of them feeling like very clichéd versions of characters I've seen many times before.

Overall I thought this one was just an average run of the mill show so far. Out of 5 stars I'd cut it right down the middle at 2.5. I'll probably watch two or three more episodes in hopes they improve or pique my interest. Without improvement I'd be very surprised to see it renewed for a second season.

I thought the same thing about the plot. I feel like they went through T.V Tropes and threw in every stereotype it could find: innocent old lady bad guy, Romeo and Juliet, big brother being overprotective, mayor giving heart-warming speech while pointing out random town people and saying, "remember that time when you..."

Once I got past the stereotype hate-on, I actually really liked it. The world seems really unique, and the characters seem like they have a lot of potential. I'm sure it'll get better once we see more in-depth storylines. Pilots are always wonky, after all....

Also, I'm sorry. I know they aren't siblings, but I was getting a really big "Cersei and Jaime" vibe from Stahma and Datak.

 

[pg240]

One thing I got a kick out of is the similarity between the doctor and Odo on Deep Space Nine. Maybe she's in his ancestry somewhere along the line.

Nah, different story universes. That's like saying the Volge are Darth Vader's cousins. Or that Datak Tarr is Lucius Malfoy's twin. :lol:

wasn't meaning to be that literal. I should have stopped after the first sentence!

 

[emptiedglass]

Episode 2 wasn't too bad, if not predictable. But I find too many shows/movies are.
I did like the cover version of Nirvana's Come As You Are at the end. Check it out over here here in the Covers thread.

 

[Red7227]

Just starting to watch it now. I like all of the people playing the characters, so I will see what comes of the series.


http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/inte ... son_1.html

There are usually 2 or 3 popups to get past but it will give you a range of links for each episode and the "making of" to stream if your internet doesn't suck

 

[waogo]

I've watched all the episodes so far (6 or 7?) and I'm still not sure what to think of it. I didn't recognize til the second or third episode that this show is by the guy who did Farscape, so I'm hoping it'll pick up. Though, may have to wait til the second season, or near the end of the first, if it follows the Farscape model.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I'm about the same. My first post in this thread I gave the pilot a middle rating of 2.5. I can't say it's changed too much since. If anything it's gone down just a bit because some of the characters I find just plain boring or annoying. Right now I'd still give it a 2.3 or 2.4. It needs improvement.

But many first seasons on shows weren't that great. It takes time to get into a stride so I'm still hopeful, if it manages to be picked up for a second season.

That said if they got rid of Datak Tarr and his entire race I wouldn't be upset in the least.

 

[Shaun__]

I finished watching the marathon I recorded from the weekend yesterday. It is not the greatest show ever, but it reminds me of Babylon 5. That is a good enough reason to get a spot on my Tivo.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

It finally hit me what's so annoying about Datak's race. It's just so lazy for the show. How many alien races have you seen where the low budget made them just put a white wig on an actor and poof flour all over their face and call it 'alien?'

 

[emptiedglass]

It finally hit me what's so annoying about Datak's race. It's just so lazy for the show. How many alien races have you seen where the low budget made them just put a white wig on an actor and poof flour all over their face and call it 'alien?'

No worse than Star Trek's putting bumps or spots on different parts of their faces... or making their ears pointy.
Then they covered themselves by writing an episode explaining that all the humanoid races in the galaxy had a common ancestor. :lol:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I feel the latest episodes girl girl scene has improved my opinion of the show. :-D

 

[Red7227]

I finished watching the marathon I recorded from the weekend yesterday. It is not the greatest show ever, but it reminds me of Babylon 5. That is a good enough reason to get a spot on my Tivo.

Yeah, that was my thought too. The writing will need to get a lot better if its to be anything like B5 though.

 

[adorkabelle]

I rather like Defiance. The first episode is a blend of all the cliches, my goodness. But I feel like as the show goes on the writing gets better.
I also rather like the low-budget alien look. I feel like it adds a layer of believability to the species ability to co-exist (in the same ecosystem, and culturally [you might be the nicest alien ever, but if you look like a giant ant, it's going to be hard to resist the urge to light you on fire]), and that they are spending that money on say... writers. I feel like other sci-fi shows fall into the trap of the big budget effects and then have nothing left over for plot (like Terra Nova [but then I'm still a little sad Terra Nova wasn't a gritty reboot of DinoRiders]).

I'm not saying it's great tv, or super good. Just worth a watch and enjoyable.Also the sound track is awesome (they have a playlist on Spotify now, for those with access and curious).

 

[emptiedglass]

I'm sure the hot alien stepdaughter & her outfits aren't hurting the ratings much.

 

[CallMeWilliam]

I somewhat enjoyed the series but I find the whole Irisa story arc to be somewhat out of place. Unfortunately I can see her story arc being front and center in the next season which is too bad because it will probably get really boring after a few episodes of it.

 

[Crumb]

I finished watching the marathon I recorded from the weekend yesterday. It is not the greatest show ever, but it reminds me of Babylon 5. That is a good enough reason to get a spot on my Tivo.

just curious here, how does it remind you of B5? I ask because I am a huge Babylon 5 fan.

It finally hit me what's so annoying about Datak's race. It's just so lazy for the show. How many alien races have you seen where the low budget made them just put a white wig on an actor and poof flour all over their face and call it 'alien?'

No worse than Star Trek's putting bumps or spots on different parts of their faces... or making their ears pointy.
Then they covered themselves by writing an episode explaining that all the humanoid races in the galaxy had a common ancestor. :lol:

I liked that episode I liked it because they finally did take the time to address the fact that all the aliens were bipedal, two eyes, nose, ears etc with only a little variation among them.
.

 

[Shaun__]

I finished watching the marathon I recorded from the weekend yesterday. It is not the greatest show ever, but it reminds me of Babylon 5. That is a good enough reason to get a spot on my Tivo.

just curious here, how does it remind you of B5? I ask because I am a huge Babylon 5 fan.

Alien who just cares about his own power and wealth.

Alien who seems bad at first, but turns out to be good.

Mysterious alien who did things during the war. Also knows what is really going on, and is trying to stop it.

Notorious war hero who is well know for killing aliens.

Spunky female with psychic powers who can kick ass.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I finished watching the marathon I recorded from the weekend yesterday. It is not the greatest show ever, but it reminds me of Babylon 5. That is a good enough reason to get a spot on my Tivo.

just curious here, how does it remind you of B5? I ask because I am a huge Babylon 5 fan.

Alien who just cares about his own power and wealth.
Alien who seems bad at first, but turns out to be good.
Mysterious alien who did things during the war. Also knows what is really going on, and is trying to stop it.
Notorious war hero who is well know for killing aliens.
Spunky female with psychic powers who can kick ass.

Well, when you put it that way, I can see it.