ABC’s new outer-space drama debuted on Sunday night. Will Defying Gravity be allowed to complete its mission or, like so many shows before it, be lost in space?
Defying Gravity follows the adventures of eight international astronauts as they fly a spaceship named Antares. On a top-secret mission, their lives are being recorded and telecast on Earth as part of a documentary. Despite the fact that the crewmembers wear libido-suppressing devices, there are plenty of romantic entanglements.
The show features the talents of Andrew Airlie, Christina Cox, Paula Garces, Laura Harris, Peter Howitt, Florentine Lahme, Karen LeBlanc, Ron Livingston, Ty Olsson, Zahf Paroo, Eyal Podell, Maxim Roy, Dylan Taylor, and Malik Yoba.
The sci-fi drama’s storyline is strangely similar to the failed pilot for Virtuality that aired a month ago. Defying Gravity is a Canadian series that’s co-produced by CTV, Omni Film Productions Limited, and Fox Television Studios. Filming has been completed on all 13 episodes of season one and Defying Gravity is currently airing in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.
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The show has been pitched as “Grey’s Anatomy in space” but unfortunately it hasn’t attracted the same level of viewership for ABC. Defying Gravity debuted on Sunday with a pair of episodes and was outperformed by competition of predominately repeats. The first hour attracted merely 3.83 million viewers and only a 1.1/3 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. The second hour dropped to 3.56 million while the demo numbers stayed the same.
Defying Gravity moves to its regular timeslot of 10pm this Sunday night. Based on these numbers and the expected drop in ratings for the show’s second night, it’s very doubtful that ABC will continue to air the series for very long.
One has to wonder if ABC really expected the series to last very long anyway. As of now, the network has only scheduled some of the 13 episodes. By the time that Brothers & Sisters returns for its fourth season, at most only nine episodes of Defying Gravity will have aired.
Whether ABC intends to move the show to a new night (normally Saturday but there’s college football coming) or pull it altogether remains to be seen. Either way, with numbers like these, it’s inconceivable that the show will be coming back for another year on ABC.
What do you think? Should the show have a future or should ABC just pull the plug and cancel it already?
Image courtesy ABC.
Amazing show, with the potential of keeping a high level of intelligent entertainment for multiple seasons. As for the flashback issues- we have thirteen (including ground crew) dynamic personalities interacting after 5 years of intense training. How else is a show going to provide insight on the growth of their relationships? If you prefer a simpler format, I suggest you watch reruns of “Three’s Company” and “Growing Pains”. If ABC is too chicken to stay the course with this series, I suggest they move it to one of their affiliate networks (Family, for instance).
Just from a cursory glance at the comments already here, it seems I am one of the few that actually likes the flashbacks and was glad to see some of the story prior to the mission launch. Also, I found the dialog, while not spectacular, was certainly serviceable in moving the plot forward, while keeping me interested in what was happening.
Not surprisingly then, I would like to see this show continue on so it has a chance to develop a following. I have enjoyed the episodes so far, and am looking forward to seeing how the characters develop.
All I can say is I actually love the show, and will be sad when it’s canceled. Reminds me of Firefly (if not as brilliant a show, but little recently has been) good show never given the time it needed to take off.
Funny, I like the flashbacks and the characters and they mystery in pod 4.
Nothing good gets a chance to develop a following – Not when america
prefers shows like wipeout, the bachelor etc. Can’t we have one show
that is creative and fun?
I absolutely hate the dialogue. All the sexual and sex related jokes seem to oversaturate the dialogue. I can’t stand a couple of the characters, especially that “fire-blooded latina” (per Gov. Arnold) and that smelly face blonde. Rob Livingston is always a cool guy. The rest, I feel nothing from them, so they better get developed. Also, don’t try to explain the science fiction stuff. Enough with the flashbacks and voice-overs.
OMG!!!!!!!!LOL!!!!111yes!!! keep it!!I’m already shipping five different couples!!!! all het, of course!!!!!!
omg!!!!!!!!robert spattison forever!!!!!!!11111
I think it should be given a chance — also note 70% said do not cancel
I also think it will get cancelled, but I believe it needs to give us a bit more time to get to know and care about the characters. There is competent, if not awe inspiring, acting. The flashbacks are distracting and somehow seem to slow the movement down. I hope in the next few episodes it gets a little less dream-like and that the characters get out there and DO something. I don’t wish its cancellation but the writing is in the stars…..
This show is probably going to get cancelled, and it deserves it. Science fiction is supposed to be intelligent about it’s physics, especially when it takes place on a spaceship. The explanation of how people stick to the ground in a weightless environment was pathetic. It didn’t have to be explained at all. Galactica went 4 seasons without a shred of technological explanation and nobody cared. DG’s writers dare make up reasons when they clearly aren’t familiar with physics or are unwilling to stick to their own principles and force the viewer to question the science behind the show. When… Read more »
The flashbacks are poorly integrated on this show. I remember watching Highlander and Forever Knight and loving the flashbacks in those shows. In both of those shows, the flashbacks added considerably to the story line. But in Defying Gravity, the flashbacks are a major distraction; not adding anything that couldn’t be related through dialog or current action.
I’ve always been a big sci fi fan, but I barely got through episode 3 of this show without falling asleep.
I think it is beyond the ability of the average TV drone to understand. That said I loved it, warts and all.
Sci-fi doesn’t have a chance on network television unless its campy. Even the Sc-Fi turend Sy-fy cahnnel tries to reinvent its brand.. an it had Battlestar Galactica which was the best show on television suffer from underexposure and limited viewership.
Unless its reality shows or the like, intelligent sci-fi orientated shows will continue to be deliberately buried in poor timeslots until the internet site backed by advertising provides a permanent home for it
in the years to come.
not bad. I enjoyed it too.
other than Ron Livingston’s character being a bit overplayed in the beginning (punching out the flight director?) There is a lot of potential. it gives ample room for stories. I’d like to see how the first season plays out.
I do feel that this mysterious ‘Pod 4’ is going to turn out to be a bit stupid, to be honest.. But what do I know.. I liked Virtuality..
ABC will probably chicken out & pull it. too bad..
It was very difficult to watch Christina Cox act like a valley girl and spend so much time on topics that consume teenage girls. She is suppose to be a scientist and age beyond all that stuff. The dialogue was forced in places to move the story. What the hell was BETA…. They dropped it like a bomb. Too much VO. Just let the characters speak. I found the flashbacks distracting. The basics are still there to build a good series. I say, go back to fundamentals and get some good writers. I’d be happy to do it myself.
We watched it on HULU because there was a techinical problem with the station when it premiered and it didn’t air. So maybe other people turned it off for the same reason. It’s certainly better fare than its competition. TV is just so dismal, this was refreshingly different with good actors. I’d be more impressed tho if it was really about space travel and not some supernatural “it.”
The “it” is making it look like just another stupid TV monster movie.