Greetings,
I suppose I would consider myself a fan of the science fiction genre. However, with me, it tends to be hit or miss more than any other. So, when something good and unique pops up, I tend to take notice. That brings us to today's subject of The One Seasoner's Cub, Defying Gravity. And, no, it has absolutely nothing to do with Wicked. Thank God.
In 2009, ABC began airing Defying Gravity, a series that was inspired by a BBC fictional documentary (What?) called Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets, released in the U.S. as Voyage to the Planets and Beyond. That was all about how a mission to visit other planets might play out in reality. I haven't seen it yet, but, after watching this series, it definitely has a place on my Netflix queue.
So, as you may have guessed from that and if you saw any of the promos, Defying Gravity is about a team of astronauts in 2052 on a six year mission to Venus for...reasons. Yeah, the reason as to why they are going there gets revealed as the show continues on. Until it stops abruptly. We'll get to that. Anyway, this is not shot in a documentary form, though there is a subplot of one of the team members shooting a documentary intended to be shown to children. But the children cannot see everything, and we have much else going on here.
Okay, there are a lot of characters in this show, the central one being Maddux Donner. First of all, what's up with that awesome name? Second, I call him central because, as I recall, he did most, if not all, of the voice-over narrations. Also, he was played by Ron Livingston, probably the best known actor in this series. Anyway, this is a bit of a timeline jumping show, though it's not at all confusing. See, ten years earlier, on a trip to Mars, Donner was put in a situation where he was forced to leave two colleagues behind. It has haunted him ever since, and he has become well-known as a "tragic American here". We don't see a ton of the Mars stuff, as we mostly jump between "present" day and the events of only five years earlier. Those events centered around would be astronauts trying to get into the program and eventually make the team for the Venus mission.
But, as astronauts are people, they have much human drama by way of their personal relationships and life decisions. I could go into specifics, but, as I said, there are many characters and, thus, many plots going on. Everything from the two points in time are connected, though, so it makes it much easier to follow. Also, no shock here, we begin to realize that their may be some shady goings on within the hierarchy of the space program, and they are intent on sending specific people for the mission. As I said, we learn more as time progresses, as do the previously uninformed astronauts. By the end, such as it is, we can see that everyone, audience included, is just scratching the surface of the mystery. Sadly, it is a mystery for which we will never get an explanation. Thanks a pantload, network.
I suppose I should make mention of the cast, since, whilst largely unknown, it was very good. Besides Ron Livingston, some of the others you may recognize are Malik Yoba, Christina Cox and Laura Harris. Oh, yeah, one of the reasons why it's so easy to tell the two points in time apart is much thanks to the hairstyle of Miss Laura here. Long hair = past, short hair = present. The rest of the cast is full of a ton of lesser known actors. At least, I personally did not recognize any of them. But if you get a chance, I say look them up, because there was a lot of talent on this show.
So, we had a unique story line, good writing, great actors and stunning visuals. Why was it cancelled? Perhaps, it was because it had all those things I just mentioned, and television often has no use for quality shows. Seen the lineup lately? I suppose it was because of ratings. Why else? Actually, I have no concrete proof of this, but I've heard that ABC had poised this to be something of a replacement for Lost, which was on its way out. Unfortunately, Defying Gravity did not have a pilot that was a massive hit. And, of course, shows like this can never get big thanks to word of mouth and develop a loyal following. Nope! That never happens. It's not like there was a show that premiered in 1963 about a time traveling alien that had a fairly slow start and then ended up lasing fifty+ years with a rabid fan base. And before said fan base has a meltdown, I am not comparing Defying Gravity to you beloved Doctor Who. I'm just saying the principle is the same. Also, the eighth series just began, and it's on my mind. Point is, some shows deserve a chance to build an audience. You never know what might become of them.
Okay, let's just get to the question that I've pretty much already answered. Did this show deserve a second season? Yes, without a doubt. Actually, of all the shows I've covered in this little series of mine, I'd say this is in the top three of ones that most deserved to go on. And not just because I and many others wanted to know what the heck was happening, but because it was a well-made, interesting and entertaining show. We do not have many of those these days. Why take any away? I don't know. Still, with the phenomenon of Netflix choosing some past series to resurrect, I certainly hope Defying Gravity gets a nomination.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
