Defiance [SyFy - US] [** Spoilers **]

Richard Dower

don ramo wrote: »

on further thought of the pilot, its seemed very eureka ish,

guy comes into town with his "daughter" whos a bit of a rebel, ends up saving the day and is then made sheriff,

strong woman in charge,

a local establishment with an on the ball patron,

the local genius that seems capable of putting their hands to anything,

a background element that is trusted to a fault but is working to ruin the town,

Nah, it's almost identical or Borealis http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=82727064

VinLieger

don ramo wrote: »

on further thought of the pilot, its seemed very eureka ish,

guy comes into town with his "daughter" whos a bit of a rebel, ends up saving the day and is then made sheriff,

strong woman in charge,

a local establishment with an on the ball patron,

the local genius that seems capable of putting their hands to anything,

a background element that is trusted to a fault but is working to ruin the town,

I got a bit of a Terra Nova vibe off it

Just after watching it and all I can say is that I loved it. It's by far the best sci-fi show to come along in ages and those 5 minutes we saw were more enjoyable than all of Revolution, Falling Skies and Terra Nova combined. It's intelligent, adult sci-fi that looks absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing score courtesy of Bear McCreary.

It's been a long time since I've been this genuinely exicted about a show. It's exactly the kind of show that the 10 year old inside me loves. The opening shot with the ships literally took my breath away, it's been a long time since we've seen a show where space ships were actually onscreen and I missed it. The shots of young Nolan looking up in awe of the ships were gorgeous and really conveyed a sense of grandeur that the genre has been missing. The show has something that Revolution, Tera Nova and most other modern sci-fi sorely lack, a sense of wonder.

The plot, while indebted to a dozen other sci-fi shows really impressed me. There are shades of Babylon 5 in all the political intrigue, some good old fashion western sensibilities and motifs, hell Nolan could very easily have been played by John Wayne. The final scene revel was very well handled and shows that there's far more going on than was hinted at early on, hopefully considering the writing talent involved this wont be some conspiracy that's tediously played out over a few years.

I'm actually trying to think of something I didn't like about the pilot and really, there's not much. The cavalry charging in on horseback was a little convenient but then again it plays well into the western style setting. Sure some of the CGI was a little underwhelming but honestly I actually liked the car stuff, there was a certain rustic charm to it and it makes a nice change to the usual everything is all silver and shiny.

I really hope that the rest of the season is up to the standard set by the pilot. It'll be nice to be able to sit down every week and enjoy some good, ole fashioned sci-fi and when the characters are so well drawn and there's so much chemistry between them then even the most mundane of episodes should certainly be more than watchable.

I noticed rereading the above that I use a long time a lot and it really has been years since we've had some sci-fi that wasn't trying to be anything other than entertaining. It's nice to find a show that's more concerned with battle scenes and cool aliens than trying to come across as dark and adult.

This moment

+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk7eThU-pbg

equals one of the finest scenes on TV in many a year. One of those rare goosebumps moments.

Richard Dower

Always enjoy reading your reviews Darko....next week looks good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R20wOt1eRU

http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/04/defiance-episode-103-devil-in-dark-promo.html


FYI - it airs in the UK one day after the US,

Deleted User wrote: »

Just after watching it and all I can say is that I loved it. It's by far the best sci-fi show to come along in ages and those 5 minutes we saw were more enjoyable than all of Revolution, Falling Skies and Terra Nova combined. It's intelligent, adult sci-fi that looks absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing score courtesy of Bear McCreary.

It's been a long time since I've been this genuinely exicted about a show. It's exactly the kind of show that the 10 year old inside me loves. The opening shot with the ships literally took my breath away, it's been a long time since we've seen a show where space ships were actually onscreen and I missed it. The shots of young Nolan looking up in awe of the ships were gorgeous and really conveyed a sense of grandeur that the genre has been missing. The show has something that Revolution, Tera Nova and most other modern sci-fi sorely lack, a sense of wonder.

The plot, while indebted to a dozen other sci-fi shows really impressed me. There are shades of Babylon 5 in all the political intrigue, some good old fashion western sensibilities and motifs, hell Nolan could very easily have been played by John Wayne. The final scene revel was very well handled and shows that there's far more going on than was hinted at early on, hopefully considering the writing talent involved this wont be some conspiracy that's tediously played out over a few years.

I'm actually trying to think of something I didn't like about the pilot and really, there's not much. The cavalry charging in on horseback was a little convenient but then again it plays well into the western style setting. Sure some of the CGI was a little underwhelming but honestly I actually liked the car stuff, there was a certain rustic charm to it and it makes a nice change to the usual everything is all silver and shiny.

I really hope that the rest of the season is up to the standard set by the pilot. It'll be nice to be able to sit down every week and enjoy some good, ole fashioned sci-fi and when the characters are so well drawn and there's so much chemistry between them then even the most mundane of episodes should certainly be more than watchable.

Richard Dower

VinLieger wrote: »

I got a bit of a Terra Nova vibe off it

It's a mix of a dozen other shows before it, there is nothing hugely original...but dosen't take away from the entertainment value, i think the concensus is...based on SyFy's poor reputation post BSG re; science fiction and the network....it was surprisingly good, much better then expected.

I mentioned that proposed tv pilot for Space channel in Canada called Borealis....i highly recomend people watch that, you'll be shocked how similiar both shows are!

Brothel = check, female brothel owner hooking up with the sheriff = check. Cage fight? = check. future version of Deadwood = check!

Vic vs, Nolan = check!....very similiar guys, there are numerous other comparisons to be made.

Richard Dower

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Irisa seems like a good character and like the relationship with her and her dad Nolan, I think Grant Bowler has great charisma to play Nolan so good casting there, overall not a bad pilot

+1...shes a little bad ass!, i deffo think she'll become a very popular character. hope they avoid any teen angst stuff or triangles or tantrum stuff :rolleyes:

Backstory as well with him killing her parents, lots more to that i'm sure. also sure the Defiance few and final battle didn't go down as hisory wrote it.

donfers

I thought it was average, the speech by the mayor to rouse the locals was cringeworthy and almost every character in the show was one dimensional and cliched - hooker with a heart of gold, rebellious teen girl, sarcastic reckless yet charming male lead etc etc yawn...still it is only the first episode but quite honestly i think it'll only get worse as plot and direction don't seem very focused, too many characters, too many things not to care about,sorry folks just my take, hope to be proven wrong

donfers

donfers wrote: »

I thought it was average, the speech by the mayor to rouse the locals was cringeworthy and almost every character in the show was one dimensional and cliched - hooker with a heart of gold, rebellious teen girl, sarcastic reckless yet charming male lead etc etc yawn...still it is only the first episode but quite honestly i think it'll only get worse as plot and direction don't seem very focused, too many characters, too many things not to care about,sorry folks just my take, hope to be proven wrong

I think that in order to truly enjoy the show you have to accept the fact that the writers are embracing all the cliches of the western. I fully expect to see barroom brawls where people are thrown through windows and showdowns in the streets.

A lot of people effect too much from TV these days. Everything has to aspire to be the next Sopranos or The Wire or Breaking Bad. Some shows just want to entertain and tell a thrilling story and Defiance seems to be one. It could easily tell a far more mature and challenging story, the integration of different races, the post war effects on soldiers, etc. input instead it's set out to be a fun filled romp with the emphasis on thrilling the viewer. As I said already, it's exactly the kind of take that you could easily imagine John Waybe starring in.

pixelburp

I can only echo the generally positive sentiments here - I loved it. It feels like a long, long time since I tuned into a new series that offered unpretentious fun, adventure and the wonder of an unknown frontier (I'm sure it won't be that exciting every week of course, but it was still good to watch a show trying to be cinematic & generally succeed). In an attempt to copy the 'Lost' format, too many series - particularly genre TV - have lost the run of themselves with overly-contrived mysteries that can't be sustained (Flash Forward, the Event), or else spend so much time forging their principle gimmick that the characters & plots suffer (Falling Skies, Terra Nova). Defiance appears to be happy with a classic format, held together with energy from the cast & their characters.

Some of the criticisms point to stereotyped characters, but what else can be expected from a pilot? Very few first episodes - if any - throw audiences in at the deep end, and with a world so complicated and explicitly alien as this one, it makes sense to keep things to broad strokes; establish the characters, chart their basic motivations & relationships, then introduce the initial threat & future arc(s). No fuss, no muss; I guarantee we'll see the subtleties creep in across the coming weeks but for now it's best to keep things simple so we can deal with this strange new world.

It's nice to think TV is now held in such high regard that we demand to be challenged at every turn, but there's a lot to be said for an old-fashioned format with an uncomplicated yet interesting narrative. This clearly isn't aiming to be the next Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men or The Wire, so it shouldn't be held up to those standards in comparison.

Sure, Nolan is clearly channelling Han Solo by way of Mal Reynolds, but that's scarcely a criticism in my book. Grant Bowler brought just the right amount of charm & roguishness to sell the role (compare that with a pretty similar set-up for Terra Nova, where its lead male character was dull & utterly charmless). Irisa nicely straddled the line between surly & obnoxious, but with an obvious underlying warm relationship with Nolan. In trying to get the audience up to speed, some of the dialogue bordered on the clumsy infodump yes, but it got the job done and otherwise I think the characters were interesting & interactions fun. Again, things like the Doctor with an awful bedside manner are hardly groundbreaking, but it was done with enough brio that it worked.

As for comments about the SFX - I think people are being overly harsh here. It's a smaller cable channel whose budgets are generally pretty low. For what they had to convey I think they knocked it out of the park; even if some of the execution was a little rough in places, the effort was commendable. The landscapes and environmental effects were consistently gorgeous - the Bear McCreary score definitely helped on that front (even if some of his work strayed way too close to his BSG work - not a bad thing to say mind you)

Will definitely be tuning into Episode 2 & hope the show kicks on from here.

Icyseanfitz

just watched it and it seems like it could be good, all the aliens seem far too human to me though, besides looking a little odd they all seem to act and behave like normal human people would
the aliens in prometheus are exactly what aliens should be like, odd in every way

Icyseanfitz

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

just watched it and it seems like it could be good, all the aliens seem far too human to me though, besides looking a little odd they all seem to act and behave like normal human people would
the aliens in prometheus are exactly what aliens should be like, odd in every way

Remember that we have only seen 4 alien races and if I recall correctly there was reference made to 8 races. I would imagine that if there are a number of races then only the most human like would live alongside humans as lets be honest, if you look and act too odd then fitting in will be difficult. Remember that Defiance is just one town, there must he hundreds of settlements and there could be all manner of oddities waiting to be discovered.

Richard Dower

I appreciated we got to hear an alien language sans captions, it added to the reality we had be terraformed, the alien plants and weird critters. While there is a positive response i would urge caution, i'm cautiously optomistic and hope for the best.

Giving it a few more episodes helps, but it could go Terra Nova.

Richard Dower

Richard Dower wrote: »

I appreciated we got to hear an alien language sans captions

I think that the use of subtitles is something a lot of filmmakers get wrong. If two characters are conversing in a non-English language then the dialogue should be subtitled if it is just the two of them. Now if that conversation is occurring in front of people, such as our protagonist who do not understand the language then subtitles are not necessary as we can be as lost as he is.

FreudianSlippers

Finally got around to watching this today. Very good, solid opener and left me wanting more. If they can keep up that standard it'll be good. Agree with the comments about the dodgy CGI and the Caprica/BSG feel to it (but is that a bad thing!?). Definitely a strong new show and a great addition to the summer stable.

Richard Dower

that's two for two.......;):)

VinLieger

Richard Dower wrote: »

that's two for two.......;):)

Great something to look forward to after work now

FreudianSlippers

Pretty good second episode, but idk. Some of the characters are getting annoying already. I think they need to hone the show slightly. Growing pains perhaps - it certainly has potential but I'd hate to see it go all MOTW

Oh,and I hated the Nirvana schmaltzified at the end.

pixelburp

Second episode was strong enough, even if things are still a little rough around the edges. These 2nd episodes can be tricky enough as its easy to drop the ball & let the pace / tension grind to a sudden halt. Happily things kept going apace, expanding just enough on the pilot to keep things moving; although I hope they don't tease out the ex-mayor's grand plot for too long - those sorts of things get tiresome pretty quickly.

Biggest weak point is still the Romeo & Juliet knock-off. Teen-romances in American TV are nearly universally awful, and this is no exception.

Oh and while I think the appearance of Irisa and her race works - they look just different enough to be convincingly alien - the Castithan simply look like humans wearing pancake makeup. It's very distracting

FreudianSlippers

For copyright purposes these big, alien, hairy things are not wookies; isn't that right?

"Whhhhhhhhhughhhh! I mean... Growl!"

AlmightyCushion

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

For copyright purposes these big, alien, hairy things are not wookies; isn't that right?

"Whhhhhhhhhughhhh! I mean... Growl!"

Yeah, they're uggies.

expectationlost

1st ep,so that big robot army has no air power?

and if minnipolous is buried and the rest mostly wrecked how the hell did that arch stay up

pixelburp

expectationlost wrote: »

1st ep,so that big robot army has no air power?

and if minnipolous is buried and the rest mostly wrecked how the hell did that arch stay up

St. Louis! And it's not the original arc; it's a new one, (being) built by the residents of Defiance. I think the mayor's office is the top of a skyscraper, poking out of the ground that covered the city, to give some idea of the altitude.

pixelburp

Another strong episode, although I tend to bristle a little whenever earthy-mysticism creeps into my Sci-Fi. It's very easy to stray into the realms of contrived silliness when people talk of visions and "the one", so hope it doesn't become a major strand in the show.

I haven't played the associated game, but I'm guessing those hellbugs are quite prominent in it; they seem quite ... 'gamey'

sky23

pixelburp wrote: »

Another strong episode, although I tend to bristle a little whenever earthy-mysticism creeps into my Sci-Fi. It's very easy to stray into the realms of contrived silliness when people talk of visions and "the one", so hope it doesn't become a major strand in the show.

exactly my thoughts. lets hope they keep that to a minimum

pixelburp wrote: »

I haven't played the associated game, but I'm guessing those hellbugs are quite prominent in it; they seem quite ... 'gamey'

you certainly bump into them now and again :P

Headshot

I hated that vision stuff, hopefully we wont be seeing that again

silverharp

Quick question, are they being vague about the background to the whole story for reason or have I missed a whole episode? or am I just supposed to google it?

pixelburp

silverharp wrote: »

Quick question, are they being vague about the background to the whole story for reason or have I missed a whole episode? or am I just supposed to google it?

Yes & no; there were a couple of passing remarks in the first episode, but generally there have been no detailed explanations or infodumps where the narrative stopped & we got a potted history of the arrival of all the aliens.

Basically, the Arcs arrived in orbit with the aliens looking for a new home, war broke out, then an eventual truce but the Arcs had lost power and started plummeting to earth & have been over a period of years; the material scattered from these crashes is the cause for the earth being so alien.

I think there's more detailed background information to be gleaned from the game, but I run a mile from MMOs so haven't gone near any of it.

expectationlost

pixelburp wrote: »

the material scattered from these crashes is the cause for the earth being so alien.

wasn't it terra forming