Defiance is the much anticipated Sci-Fi series from the Syfy
channel developed by Rockne S. O’Bannon, Kevin Murphy and Michael Taylor. As
well as a TV series there is also a cross platform MMO game tie-in. It
premiered in the US on April 15 2013 and in a number of international markets
later that week.
PLOT
The series is set in the near future,
where aliens known collectively as Votans have come to Earth seeking a new home
after their solar system was destroyed. However, when they reached Earth, they
discovered despite a prolonged negotiation with the government on Earth, they
were not welcome. Rather than turn away, they began a war with the humans as
they are determined to make Earth their new home. During the war, the Votans
drop terraformers on the planet and transform the surface of the planet;
scorching the earth, opening chasms in the ground and covering the surface of
the planet in dust and debris. After decades of war, a ceasefire is declared
when both sides realise they must focus on survival on this new almost alien
planet.
WHY I CHECKED THIS OUT
First off the hype for
this show has been slowly gathering for more than a year so long in fact I
thought it would be a series starting last year. I can remember way back when
it was just that new show that starred Julie Benz now it is so much more, it is
the new Hail Mary Sci-Fi programme hoping to actually get past its first
season.
Then consider the
cross platform game (which I have yet to play, not having managed to get into
the beta) and you have a HUGE marketing plan which I sincerely hope doesn’t go
pear-shaped on us in the first season.
WHAT I THOUGHT
Defiance had so much
to live up to with the hype but after the 2 hour premiere well I can’t say it
has delivered 2 episodes in but it certainly has not let itself down. The show
instantly manages to convey that feeling of epic that this is a whole new world
that we the viewers instantly want to know all we can about and the info dump
at the beginning is just enough without going overboard.
I am not sure if I
would say that the show has echoes of Firefly or not but it has the aesthetic
of most Sci-Fi shows set in the near future after a disaster. From what I have
seen of the lore (the background if you will) I see a richly detailed world
including a language or two which sounds great. For the Sci-Fi fans we have
cool weapons (look at those knives) lots of new slang terms and more than
multiple alien races each with their own significantly different cultures by
the look of things.
The storytelling
itself is tight and interesting which it could well be argued is to be expected
in a two hour premiere but I can point you to a few examples where Sci-Fi shows
have tried to start big and failed. I get the feeling that the next few
episodes will continue on at this high level and hopefully get even better
after all a lot of the fun of true Sci-Fi shows it finding out about the people
who inhabit this brave new world.
One of the reasons
that I like Science Fiction is the central cast actually matters, look back at
Babylon 5 and you know it isn’t just about Sheridan and Battlestar Galactica
isn’t just about the Adamas. The same is true with Defiance being about the
various factions who live in Defiance so you don’t have to be a fan of one or
another or like me you might be a fan of them all.
If I have not peaked
your interest yet in Defiance I don’t know what will. Defiance is a very ambitious
project with its game tie-ins especially on a network that doesn’t have a great
track record of standing by its more ambitious shows. Don’t me wrong the show
is worth watching and striving to do something that real fans of Sci-Fi have
been without for far too long, the question is whether or not the network is
going to blink if ratings aren’t record breaking.
