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Originally posted by ecgordon:
. . . since there are aliens it can't be that similar.

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Originally posted by ecgordon:
Oh yeah, I forgot. Julie Benz! And Jamie Murray!

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Originally posted by ecgordon:
Oh yeah, I forgot. Julie Benz! And Jamie Murray!

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Not a bad start.

Really like Irisa. Great attitude she has.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Originally posted by ecgordon:
Syfy has been promoting the hell out of this show, but so far I've stuck to my usual tactic of avoiding as much of that as possible. I prefer to watch a show with as little preconceived notion of what it will be like as possible. What I have seen leads me to believe it will look good, but the story is what interests me more. I couldn't care less about the video game tie-in since I'm not a gamer.

Some of the characters might be Firefly-esque, but since there are aliens it can't be that similar.

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
It's filmed in Canada, I guess to reduce overall costs and for it's terrain.

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That would explain the mountain range that suddenly appeared in Missouri.

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Originally posted by Cedric:
Y'know how people who haven't seen Firefly are turned off when you say it's a sci-fi western, because that phrase just doesn't sum up the brilliant writing, the surprising plot twists, the intricate layers of Joss Whedon's work?

Well, from what I've seen so far, "scifi western" pretty much sums up Defiance.

From the minute that our hero and his indian sidekick--I mean, alien sidekick!--got surrounded by a bunch of hootin' and hollerin' indians--I mean, aliens!--who came riding in on their horses--I mean, motorcycles!--to the moment when the virtuous and apparently virginal schoolmarm--I mean, the virtuous and apparently virginal mayor!--handed the badge to the hero, so that there's a new sheriff in town--I mean, Lawkeeper!--this was a western with a very thin sci-fi veneer.

What it lacked was the brilliant writing we love from the Mutant Enemy team. As soon as it was clear that doom was impending, I knew our hero would think about leaving but go back to save the day. As soon as his alien sidekick left him in a huff, I knew she'd come riding into the battle at a critical moment (though in truth, that moment didn't seem terribly critical--it felt more like she and her insta-friends were getting in the way). As soon as I saw Juliet--I mean, the daughter of the man who owns the mines--making eyes at Romeo--I mean, the son of the well-dressed Victorian vampire, I mean, alien!--I knew one of them would lose a kinsmen. Even as our hero was speculating after the battle concerning who might have been behind the attack, I knew the final scene would reveal that . . .

Maybe we'll see some better writing as the series progresses. Maybe they'll venture beyond the predictable. Maybe they'll realize that "terraform" means "make a planet become like Earth"--so by definition, you can't do it to Earth!

But for now, I'm still thinking there's a committee out there that believes what will sell is westerny-alieny-gritty-scifiishness--with a top-hat and goggles thrown in to get the steampunk demographic--without realizing what really sold Firefly:

QUALITY.

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Originally posted by Cedric:
Y'know how people who haven't seen Firefly are turned off when you say it's a sci-fi western, because that phrase just doesn't sum up the brilliant writing, the surprising plot twists, the intricate layers of Joss Whedon's work?

Well, from what I've seen so far, "scifi western" pretty much sums up Defiance.

From the minute that our hero and his indian sidekick--I mean, alien sidekick!--got surrounded by a bunch of hootin' and hollerin' indians--I mean, aliens!--who came riding in on their horses--I mean, motorcycles!--to the moment when the virtuous and apparently virginal schoolmarm--I mean, the virtuous and apparently virginal mayor!--handed the badge to the hero, so that there's a new sheriff in town--I mean, Lawkeeper!--this was a western with a very thin sci-fi veneer.

What it lacked was the brilliant writing we love from the Mutant Enemy team. As soon as it was clear that doom was impending, I knew our hero would think about leaving but go back to save the day. As soon as his alien sidekick left him in a huff, I knew she'd come riding into the battle at a critical moment (though in truth, that moment didn't seem terribly critical--it felt more like she and her insta-friends were getting in the way). As soon as I saw Juliet--I mean, the daughter of the man who owns the mines--making eyes at Romeo--I mean, the son of the well-dressed Victorian vampire, I mean, alien!--I knew one of them would lose a kinsmen. Even as our hero was speculating after the battle concerning who might have been behind the attack, I knew the final scene would reveal that . . .

Maybe we'll see some better writing as the series progresses. Maybe they'll venture beyond the predictable. Maybe they'll realize that "terraform" means "make a planet become like Earth"--so by definition, you can't do it to Earth!

But for now, I'm still thinking there's a committee out there that believes what will sell is westerny-alieny-gritty-scifiishness--with a top-hat and goggles thrown in to get the steampunk demographic--without realizing what really sold Firefly:

QUALITY.

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Originally posted by Wishimay:
I think the mountain valley thing bothered me the most too. I've been to St. Louis many times, and while they do have quite a few "cut throughs" in stone on the way I think 40 or fifty feet is about high as they get, 4- or 5 HUNDRED is ridiculous... Really negligent storytelling....

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Originally posted by ecgordon:

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Originally posted by Wishimay:
I think the mountain valley thing bothered me the most too. I've been to St. Louis many times, and while they do have quite a few "cut throughs" in stone on the way I think 40 or fifty feet is about high as they get, 4- or 5 HUNDRED is ridiculous... Really negligent storytelling....

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Rafe McCawley did say that the terraforming process sort of folded the landscape over on top of old St. Louis, so that could account for the mountains there now.

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Originally posted by ecgordon:
I agree that they need to give us more information, but they have put out quite a bit relating to the game and in other promos. I'm waiting for them to explain it in the show with some flashbacks, but apparently the Votans must have been stupid because they came here thinking Earth was uninhabited. The terraforming began accidentally when one of their ships crashed. There was a war when some humans couldn't accept that it was an accident, then the war ended with an uneasy truce and alliance.

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Originally posted by OLDGUY:
I downloaded epi 2 Tuesday night ( I hate commercials) from Itunes... honestly, I can't half remember what the episode was even about..it was that forgettable.... I rode out the first season of Star Trek TNG while the actors shook off the cardboard and settled into their roles, I'll give Defiance time as well, cause I like what it could be...but they might want to call Joss up and see if he has any phone numbers for some of his old writers

and what the heck?...did the little red haired girl get a makeup change or is it a different actress?... she was much cuter in the pilot

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Irisa continues to intrigue me. I don't know if it's her personal story, or that we don't know much of her species yet. My impression is that she's feisty, clever and independent ,but has a streak of the latter that gets her into trouble. She must be good at fighting, or sticking close to Nolan. My guess is they keep each other out of trouble a bit.

Also, I'm liking the alien doctor, when ever she's ( it ?) is on screen.

As for the 2nd ep... meh. The whole 'cleansing' ritual nonsense really does seem ridiculous. Their planet blows up, and yet they cling to " the old ways ", such as public torture for the high crime of cowardice, and a social cast system, in a world where there's no need for it. Oh yeah... there's a foundation for an advanced society. ( sarcasm )

And jumping to the part of 'Old St. Louis'... where there's a fairly intact nuclear power plant, just sitting there, unused, unprotected, doesn't seem to concern anyone ?

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I still say that this is Universal's answer to the Fox television rights of Firefly, we're in the presence of an end around folks - soak it in, such as it is.

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I just keep remembering the quote from Zoe:
"We live in a spaceship dear!"

We suspended our belief for a rag-tag crew of 9 once.......

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Dwarves=German Hobbits=U.K. Elves=French
Write what you know...

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Originally posted by Wishimay:
I do have to give credit for the Johnny Cash intro though... classy!

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Wish - while I'm intrigued with your post, do writers really put that much thought into their characters?

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:


I do like Irisa as a character, especially because she reminds me of River, in a sense. From next week's promo it looks like she'll be having some dreams foretelling something or some-such. It was very brief.

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Originally posted by OLDGUY:


never mind the gratuitous sex scene that was just gross.... think I'll just go watch Mr. Maggoo

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