A Man. And His Blog.

Season 1, Episode 4
Date of airing: Aug 16, 2009 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.59 million viewers, 0.8/2 with A18-49

This episode was alright, but nothing really special. Partly it was boring and extremely time-investing (Donner [Ron Livingston] standing on the ship for, like, ten minutes and looking into his hallucination, doing nothing?), partly it was interesting and self-explaining (the flashbacks and the five-year “anniversary” of the ars disaster). Also, it was unintentionally funny at some points, especially Mintz [Eyal Podell] and his hallucinations. His behavior during the blackouts was somewhat awkward, and I couldn’t help myself thinking about Mintz being the crazy guy in the crew – even though he’s the shrink. Which should be normal, right? The therapist is always the most crazy one?

The blackout story was okay, but it shows once again that the writers are dealing with ship-internal problems during the beginning of the show. Something is not right, and the crew needs to fix the issues. Four episodes in, and it’s getting old. Also, the story didn’t really bring anything, except the crew’s love for Ajay (Zahf Paroo) and his eventual return onto the floor. If the writers needed a story to get Ajay back on the floor, a simpler story would have sufficed. But hey, the whole H2IK talk was interesting, and I will definitely steal that for future reference, when I talk with people about stuff. The thing is just: As long as they don’t know the meaning of H2IK, what am I talking about then?

The moment with Donner on the ship, like I said, was extremely time-investing, though the creepy hallucination-moment looked interesting. Having a dead astronaut on the ship with all kinds of Mars on the suit is definitely a horror moment, when it’s for real, but here it was just a hallucination. At the end I was disappointed that Sharon (Lara Gilchrist) just mouthed “I love you”and “I miss you”. Because that only seemed like a moment for Donner to deal with his past in the present (and not just the flashbacks), and not as a moment, which drives the story forward. Let’s be honest: What did Donner’s hallucinations bring for the blackout story? Exactly, nothing.

Which brings me to the anniversary storyline: It looked interesting. It gave a bit of a conflict between Donner/Ted (Malik Yoba) and Goss (Andrew Airlie). Like Nadia (Florentine Lahme) said, Donner and Ted were saluting to their failure, because Goss picks the crews. I would have wished for a deepening of this part of the story though. Seeing Donner and Ted conflicted about the whole situation, but still going through the “salute” anyway, because they want to fly. Other than that, the rest of the flashbacks were boring. The writers were just bonding Ajay and Donner, eventually explaining the connection the two shared during the pilot, when Ajay sat on the shield, and Donner was talking him down. Unfortunately, I still don’t buy that Ajay and Donner are best friends.

Finally, there were no answers about what was up with Paula (Paula Garcés) in the last episode. No pregnancy, just space cookies on the loose. I can rhyme it together myself (Zoe and Donner preparing themselves for the Venus landing, and not Zoe and Paula, which means Paula will never land on Venus to begin with – Beta is manipulating everything), but there could have been a continuation of that storyline in this episode. Here, Paula was just there to give comfort to Wassenfelder (Dylan Taylor), who actually annoyed me this time. Didn’t he learn to swim? Why was he in such a panic during the gravitation outage? Also, why would Wassenfelder not return to where’s gravity and heat (like Paula said)? It seems illogical that Wassenfelder is trapped in his fear of being a non-swimmer, and eventually risks his health, even though it’s part of his character development. But maybe it was a development in the wrong direction. Or maybe it was just used to give Paula and Wassenfelder screentime together. 6/10

The hair floats

The suit is dirty

Season 1, Episode 3
Date of airing: Aug 9, 2009 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.81 million viewers, 1.0/2 with A18-49

This episode was kind of boring, even though it succeeded to not being killed by all the love stories and romantic angles. Because the script had way too many of both, and the whole flashback story was all about the libido, and how the guys could break their HALO, just because they want to proof that they can get a boner, despite the HALO. It was not an exciting storyline though, because it didn’t bring much for the actual story. I mean, the flashback only brought answers to the questions, if Ted (Malik Yoba) and Jen (Christina Cox) had a relationship, and what Nadia (Florentine Lahme) is thinking about when undressing. The rest is pretty much useless. All the flashbacks were nothing but garbage for me.

At least the present storyline was okay, but here only because of the mysteries going on. Okay, it was confusing, and the writers try to copy LOST without being too obvious about it, but I dig it. Ted seeing the Mars surface, which is definitely a creepy moment (I mean, there is Mars behind the door to the storage compartment), the mystery surrounding the Venus lander and what Mission Control has to do with it, and finally the connection between Zoe (Laura Harris) and Donner (Ron Livingston). There wasn’t a baby cry in this episode, and still the writers weren’t tired to explain (through various corners and sub-stories) that either Zoe or Donner (or both) are deeply connected in what ever is happening on the ship. This is why I just loved the tiny little moment near the end, when they realized that the Venus lander was updating its information. Also, I like that the mystery surrounding “Beta” is kind of developing. In the pilot, it was referred to as “It”, in the last episode, it was “Beta”. Now it seems to be the all-knowing, and probably even all-mighty thing, which manipulates the whole crew and people on Earth, and makes me wonder what the fuck is actually going on.

The rest of the episode was also okay. Paula Puke (Paula Garcés) was just a way of somewhat bringing her and Wassenfelder (Dylan Taylor) closer (that they would probably end up together, least understanding each other, is obvious from this point forward). First I thought she would be pregnant though, continuing the theme of relationships and families in the present storyline, after the flashback storylines were full of it, but then I just explained it myself with the fact that the crew’s genomes are changing, and it seems to have an effect on Paula. Also, Paula being pregnant would be idiotic – who would have fucked her, when she’s more religious about her life and fate than the Phelpses? It’s a shame though that Paula is the only one clearly affected by the mysterious changes. The rest of the crew seems to be alright, as far as I can see, and when they have enough screentime to build a character. Mintz for example doesn’t have much screentime for him to build a character. He’s just there, talking for a few seconds, and then be forgotten for the rest of the episode. Super-lame.

This episode created a tiny problem though: frustration. With all the secret shit going on, it could be confusing for the audiences after a while. Especially after LOST, it’s not always a good idea to wait with answers to burning questions for multiple seasons. Not that DEFYING GRAVITY makes the same mistakes, even though it only lived for 13 episodes… 5.5/10

Tragedy

Happiness

Season 1, Episode 2
Date of airing: Aug 2, 2009 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 3.56 million viewers, 2.3/4 with HH, 1.0/3 with A18-49

It was a pretty good episode, surprisingly. This show is actually not shitty and so not like GREY’S ANATOMY. Just a few of the character constellations are similar, as well as how their relationships with each other are handled. I’m also impressed how the writers were handling their minimal amount of storylines, compared to other TV serials. DEFYING GRAVITY is clearly a serial, even though it’s mostly character based, but this episode showed that the writers want to cunt on the dialog, and not really the scenes itself. Pretty much simplistic, and also cheap to produce for a science-fiction series. This way, you don’t have to have much CGI and greenscreen scenes.

I’m also surprised about the fact that the show includes some sort of a “higher power”, which explains how Ted (Malik Yoba) and Donner (Ron Livingston) came on board, and how the hatch was eventually opened. Thinking about it a bit longer, it seems like the easy way out to explain the events with “God”, but as long as it fits into the overall tone of the show (which isn’t even clear at this point of the show), then I’ll take it. Also, since the “It” part from the pilot got a name now (Beta), it’s obvious that Beta is “God”. I just wonder why “It” wasn’t named Beta in the pilot episode. The whole Beta thing reminds me a bit of the fourth season of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA though – even though the whole “God” theme has something of a meaning, it has an aftertaste. In this case, it could be good, but it also could be really bad and shitty.

I’m glad that this episode went a bit deeper into the mystery though. Only a few people know about the mission, and there seems to be the question what the mission actually is. Ted surely knows about the mission, and therefore keeps secrets (which could be interesting after a while), on the floor Eve (Karen LeBlanc) and Goss (Andrew Airlie) know about the mission, and they keep secrets from everybody, which could also be interesting after a while. For a writer, it looks clichéd and predictable that a few characters have secrets, while other characters try to find out what’s really going on. But in the realm of science-fiction, which wants to be esoteric, which wants to be mystical, which wants to take God and put it into a metaphor… It could actually work.

The flashbacks were a bit confusing though, especially since the episode was jumping to two different flashback stories all the time. Maybe it would have been a better idea to completely neglect the scenes with Donner and Zoe (Laura Harris) loving each other – it was already clear and obvious with the usual flashbacks that Donner was the guy Zoe slept with. Every time (including pilot) Jen (Christina Cox) was talking about Zoe having sex and talking about the guy/asking who he is, Donner was in the picture or said something. So, even a blind and deaf guy could have figured out by now that Donner put his dick in Zoe and forgot to mention that he was not clipped. Okay, he doesn’t know… At least the interconnections (as a couple, as two persons within the universe, as two lovers defying the universe and life in general?) were working well between the two. Both of them having the same dream is kind of creepy.

I just have one problem with the episode: Two episodes in, and we have our second rescue mission. It seems lazy to do another “rescue mission” in the show, especially since it was so damn convenient to have Donner secure Zoe before the test. Just because his guts are always mad and rambling in those kind of situations doesn’t mean that it can be an excuse for a stunt like this. So, this was an eyesroll worthy moment. Same goes with Nadia (Florentine Lahme), asking the same question to Wassenfelder (Dylan Taylor): “Why are you here?” Couldn’t she have asked that question BEFORE the mission? Why now, now that Antares is a bit away from Earth?

I have a funny scene to report: When Donner entered the girls washroom and quick-saluted the random woman while he was going into the stall and she was going out – I don’t know, but I was laughing bout this one. Actually, the whole scene with Donner in the washroom was funny. Making noises while Zoe is talking to her mom, just to make her realize that a guy is in the washroom. This guy is fucking ballsy. I want to be like Donner! 7/10

Let us remember where we are

Do the spit take, Zoe!

Season 1, Episode 1
Date of airing: Aug 2, 2009 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 3.83 million viewers, 2.4/4 with HH, 1.1/3 with A18-49

Re-post time! You might have heard about this show, and you might know that it is one of my favorites. Definitely underrated and filled with comments from haters, because the fans of the show never actually found the show to begin with. I rewatched the short-living space opera (true in every sense and meaning) multiple times, but I thought it would be tie to go further into the episodes, now that I’m able to fully grasp the understanding of character and story development, and storytelling in general. As always, I will stay spoiler-free in the single episode reviews – for the people who have never watched the show, decided to do so and accidentally stumble upon my blog while scouting for reviews.

Back in the day, before DEFYING GRAVITY premiered, I was waiting for the show, because I wanted to know if the premise – “Grey’s Anatomy in space” – was in fact true, or if the show would be better than anticipated (and since I was expecting the worst of the worst, I could only have been better). I have to say though, it is kind of both. It has to be a bit of GREY’S ANATOMY, because the relationships among the characters are very similar, also the way they talk to each other. Part of the premise itself – a group of lovable adults, all in the midst of some relationship with each other, in one space, living and reacting to each other while working and living “life” as usual (under circumstances) – is pretty much GREY’S ANATOMY in space, and the character drawings could have been take right off the medical dramedy. Only the characters on GREY’S ANATOMY were better and more interesting during the premiere. Also, the voyage to the planets, taking a span of six years, doesn’t do much as a story, which is why something else has to be created to fill the void. Voila mystery plot, and the talk about “It”, whatever it is. At the end, DEFYING GRAVITY is GREY’S ANATOMY in space, with a touch of LOST. The thing is: That makes the show definitely more interesting than expected.

The pilot needed to be filled with all sorts of proper stories, and James Parriott did a good job of doing so. Even though I was reminded of BBC’s SPACE ODYSSEY (which I’m actually watching once every two years or so – as an astronaut and outer space buff, the fictional doc is a must-see and definitely one of my all-time favorite television productions), and the storylines of SPACE ODYSSEY and DEFYING GRAVITY is basically the same, I like how the show was set up here: interesting characters, a bunch of could-be interesting drama, and all this mixed with the opportunity for some emotional and psychological storylines and drama. And as long as a pilot episode manages to grab me like that, it’s good enough to follow the whole show, until to a point where it has gotten bad (GOSSIP GIRL, anyone?). Also, DEFYING GRAVITY is one of the true last spaceship science-fiction TV shows, and TV definitely misses some real spaceship sci-fis (unfortunately, STARGATE UNIVERSE got killed off, too despite the shitty way of telling the story here and there). Also, the premise of the show allows it to be a bit more doc-like than expected, giving it a feeling of being somewhat “authentic” (like SPACE ODYSSEY), and therefore giving me a reason to like the characters more. Especially Donner (Ron Livingston), who spits out his thoughts and feelings in the voice-overs – which are probably the best use of voice-overs I have ever encountered in a TV show. Not even Meredith Grey can interest me like Donner.

The actors do a good job, their characters are laden with clichés, but at the moment I don’t mind. The character drawings were done very nicely, and I have something to identify with each of the characters (the fact I’m a space buff helps things along, I think). Ron Livingston is definitely not Ellen Pompeo (GREY’S ANATOMY in space my ass), even though it’s already obvious that every episode will begin and end with a voice-over from him. Laura Harris was good too, thanks to her character getting the first creepy scenes of the series. When Zoe first heard the crying, I got chills (even after repeated viewings of the episode – it’s like living through Alex’s nightmare/vision from FINAL DESTINATION over and over; it just works). The rest of the character pool is also interesting, but they haven’t gotten much attention over the first hour. Minus points go to Jen (Christina Cox) and Rollie (Ty Olsson) and their sex scene – unnecessary. Also, very much ugly to look at, because the “love in space” theme tasted bad.

Minus points regarding story go to a few unrealistic things. Like Donner and Ted (Malik Yoba) leaving two people on Mars. Definitely a hell-of-an-interesting story, but it was thrown into the flashback like this, and now it stands there. Jen mentioned “tragic American hero”, and it would have been a nice front-and-center story for a few episodes. Here, it’s just a back story, which makes it more unbelievable in a way of “it could never happen”. Also unrealistic was the fact that no one on Antares screwed the orders from Mission Control and went out to save Ajay (Zahf Paroo) by themselves. Sure, Mission Control had control over the airlock, but there is always a way to overwrite something. And when Nadia (Florentine Lahme) wanted to get out to help Ajay, she should have grabbed everyone’s balls and got out to help her colleague and friend. It seems idiotic that Donner had to save his friend, just because he is the major character of the show. The fact that I couldn’t get to Ajay’s “meltdown” makes it also difficult to understand his character. The “obstacles” thing was just too much for me. Sitting eight hours on the shield, literally doing nothing… I don’t really know about that one.

All in all, I can understand why people hated the show, but I’m one of the few people who found the “magic” behind this little gem. Fuck the unrealistic parts, or why it would never be possible to have corridors as big as the one on Antares on a spaceship (creative freedom, bitches, to give the characters room to move). The characters are interesting for me. And that’s why the pilot scores 7.5/10

Love reaches the stars

Don't get sucked into the atmosphere...