Defying Gravity

Fox

R1 DVD Series

Defying Gravity is an intriguing science fiction series which sadly only went for one season. It first aired on August 2nd 2009 on ABC and CTV in the United States and Canada and was cancelled in the fall of 2009. Set in the year 2052, the series follows eight astronauts, four women and four men, from different countries and of different nationalities on a six-year space mission through the Solar System. The mission is publically represented as an exploration mission while secretly it is to explore the nature of an extra-terrestrial intelligence known as Beta. The team in space is complimented by a team of seven on earth as well as supporting staff.

The series is visually stunning and uses the very latest in CGI to create a truly lifelike space experience. The look of the series cannot be faulted and it is probably the most advanced science fiction series made to date when it comes to special effects.

The characters are extremely well developed and the series combines an over-arching story about encounters with an extra-terrestrial intelligence with what is essentially a soap opera in space. The pace of the series is unusually slow and this make have contributed to the difficulties viewers had relating to it. The action was “uneven” with some episodes packed with tension and impressive plot twists while others just seem to glide along with little to nothing happening.

The soap opera aspect of the series is problematic. While on one level the interpersonal relationships provide a solid backbone to the series there are too many conservative themes which seem to overpower the series. The exploration of the machinations of NASA and big business, the stress of space travel and the balance of work and personal life are well explored. More irritating is the range of middle class “Republican” themes which seem to resonate throughout the series. There is the abortion guilt theme, the abuse recovered by memory theme (even though the whole repressed memory syndrome concept has been thoroughly debunked) and the faith vs. science theme. The last is very heavy handed with the Paula Morales character constantly referencing the Bible and even praying before the Venus mission. Regardless of American religiosity I think it is extremely unlikely NASA would send someone into space who is so religiously obsessed and collapses into raves about Satan when put under stress.

There are other inconsistences which mar the series, the doctor and psychiatrist, Evram Mintz, is on medication as a recovering alcoholic and has traumatic stress syndrome and yet somehow is on a six year mission. Unlikely. A further major plot flaw concerns Zoe Barns. She actually fails the training program and is seen leaving for Chicago and yet she lands a place as part of the team with no explanation of when or how she was called back into service. This is quite a glaring error in plot consistency.

While there are excellent and credible sub plots such as Evram Mintz’s war experiences and Rollie Crane’s alcoholic binge from stress which results in an accident in which a woman is left in a coma, too many of the themes seem religiously or spiritually based. Even Ajay Sharma, the Indian has his Hindu faith emphasized time and time again with dialogue which makes him seem like a two-bit guru rather than a human being. These characterizations take away rather than add to the series and I can begin to understand the decision to cancel the series. Too often the themes are heavy handed, conservative and use stereotypes rather than textured character development

In many ways Defying Gravity reminds me of the problems that plagued Enterprise, the final Star Trek series. While it was able to overcome its first season jitters, it was still cancelled after season four. Defying Gravity, however, did not have that chance and it is hard to know where it would have gone. Would it have overcome its limitations, focused on the extra-terrestrial plot and become a successful sci-fi series ? Or would it have continued with the religious and new age hokum and become bogged down in middle class soap opera issues as clearly on show in the first season. Sadly we will never know. This was a series which was flawed but showed great potential and we really did not get a chance to know where it could have gone.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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