Syfy’s Defiance (Mondays, 9/8C) continues 2013’s run of exciting and excellent summer television programming. It’s an ambitious series that shares a world with a Massively Multi-player Online game, with events in each impacting the other. It’s also a crackerjack piece of multi-layered entertainment on its own.
Defiance is the name of a town – walled city, actually – that is built on top of the ruins of what was once St. Louis. The only visible reminder of the old city is the worn arch that was its most famous landmark (though you can still find ruins underground).
The town is named for the soldiers who brought an end to a war between Terran armies and those of several alien races, collectively known as the Votan – by deciding to disobey orders and just not fight anymore. The planet has been terraformed to support several other alien races and Defiance is a kind of Switzerland/Casablanca where most these races live together.
In the premiere we meet Jeb Nolan (Grant Bowler, True Blood, Liz & Dick) and his adopted daughter, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas, MirrorMask, Whitechapel), an Irathient as they look for salvage from a crashed alien ship that they hope will finance a trip to Antarctica which is said to be a paradise.
They find something worth a lot of money but are interrupted by Spirit Riders (a kind of Mad Max-ish motorcycle gang composed of Irathients) and things go sideways. In their escape, Irisa is injured and just when things seem to be getting even worse, a group of humans rescue them and they find themselves in Defiance – a town surrounded by a stasis field (a high-tech version of a walled city).
There we meet the town’s new mayor, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz, Angel, Dexter), the owner of the local bar/bordello, Kenya (Mia Kirshner, The L Word, The Vampire Diaries) and a couple of feuding families: The McCawleys – father Rafe (Graham Greene, Wolf Lake, Being Erica), sons Luke and Quentin, and daughter Christa (Nicole Munoz, Defying Gravity) – and the Castithan Tarr family – father Datak (Tony Curran, The Pillars of the Earth, Doctor Who), mother Stahma (Jaime Murray, Dexter, Warehouse 13) and son Alak (Jesse Rath, Aaron Stone, Mudpit). There’s also a crusty doctor from the Bones McCoy school of medicine, Doc Yewell (Trenna Keating, corner Gas, Combat Hospital), an Indigene; the former mayor, Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan) and the mayor’s aide, Ben (Douglas Nyback), another Indigene who’s worked for both Micky and Amanda.
It’s a large cast and it needs to be. Defiance has the scope of a Babylon 5 – there are lots of threads and lots of potential for more. A few of the more important are the Romeo and Juliet-like relationship between Christie and Alak; the murder of Luke McCawley; what appears to be a conspiracy to destroy the town, and the unexpected link that connects Nolan to the town.
The premiere is carefully staged – we don’t reach the town until we’ve gotten to know Nolan and Irisa a bit (their relationship is a bit like the con man and his daughter in Paper Moon, only with guns, knives and Johnny Cash). Once we’re in Defiance, momentum picks up (and it’s not exactly been slow to that point) and we learn of the bad blood between the Tarrs and McCawleys; see the good doctor in action (patching up a recalcitrant Irisa); visit the bordello and generally get to know the key players in the series – as well as some intriguing minor characters.
The cast is super, the writing gives them something to work with, and even the unpolished version of the premiere that I saw looks great. Upon some reflection, and multiple viewings, I have to say that Defiance – the town and the series – is definitely worth exploring. Along with Da Vinci’s Demons, Hannibal and Bates Motel, it is one of the shows that suggests the best new shows of 2013-14 are its summer shows.
Defiance is a show that Syfy should be very proud of. The three eps included in the press kit are superb and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Final Grade: A+
Syfy’s Defiance (Mondays, 9/8C) continues 2013’s run of exciting and excellent summer television programming. It’s an ambitious series that shares a world with a Massively Multi-player Online game, with events in each impacting the other. It’s also a crackerjack piece of multi-layered entertainment on its own.
Defiance is the name of a town – walled city, actually – that is built on top of the ruins of what was once St. Louis. The only visible reminder of the old city is the worn arch that was its most famous landmark (though you can still find ruins underground).
The town is named for the soldiers who brought an end to a war between Terran armies and those of several alien races, collectively known as the Votan – by deciding to disobey orders and just not fight anymore. The planet has been terraformed to support several other alien races and Defiance is a kind of Switzerland/Casablanca where most these races live together.
In the premiere we meet Jeb Nolan (Grant Bowler, True Blood, Liz & Dick) and his adopted daughter, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas, MirrorMask, Whitechapel), an Irathient as they look for salvage from a crashed alien ship that they hope will finance a trip to Antarctica which is said to be a paradise.
They find something worth a lot of money but are interrupted by Spirit Riders (a kind of Mad Max-ish motorcycle gang composed of Irathients) and things go sideways. In their escape, Irisa is injured and just when things seem to be getting even worse, a group of humans rescue them and they find themselves in Defiance – a town surrounded by a stasis field (a high-tech version of a walled city).
There we meet the town’s new mayor, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz, Angel, Dexter), the owner of the local bar/bordello, Kenya (Mia Kirshner, The L Word, The Vampire Diaries) and a couple of feuding families: The McCawleys – father Rafe (Graham Greene, Wolf Lake, Being Erica), sons Luke and Quentin, and daughter Christa (Nicole Munoz, Defying Gravity) – and the Castithan Tarr family – father Datak (Tony Curran, The Pillars of the Earth, Doctor Who), mother Stahma (Jaime Murray, Dexter, Warehouse 13) and son Alak (Jesse Rath, Aaron Stone, Mudpit). There’s also a crusty doctor from the Bones McCoy school of medicine, Doc Yewell (Trenna Keating, corner Gas, Combat Hospital), an Indigene; the former mayor, Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan) and the mayor’s aide, Ben (Douglas Nyback), another Indigene who’s worked for both Micky and Amanda.
It’s a large cast and it needs to be. Defiance has the scope of a Babylon 5 – there are lots of threads and lots of potential for more. A few of the more important are the Romeo and Juliet-like relationship between Christie and Alak; the murder of Luke McCawley; what appears to be a conspiracy to destroy the town, and the unexpected link that connects Nolan to the town.
The premiere is carefully staged – we don’t reach the town until we’ve gotten to know Nolan and Irisa a bit (their relationship is a bit like the con man and his daughter in Paper Moon, only with guns, knives and Johnny Cash). Once we’re in Defiance, momentum picks up (and it’s not exactly been slow to that point) and we learn of the bad blood between the Tarrs and McCawleys; see the good doctor in action (patching up a recalcitrant Irisa); visit the bordello and generally get to know the key players in the series – as well as some intriguing minor characters.
The cast is super, the writing gives them something to work with, and even the unpolished version of the premiere that I saw looks great. Upon some reflection, and multiple viewings, I have to say that Defiance – the town and the series – is definitely worth exploring. Along with Da Vinci’s Demons, Hannibal and Bates Motel, it is one of the shows that suggests the best new shows of 2013-14 are its summer shows.
Defiance is a show that Syfy should be very proud of. The three eps included in the press kit are superb and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Final Grade: A+
Syfy’s Defiance (Mondays, 9/8C) continues 2013’s run of exciting and excellent summer television programming. It’s an ambitious series that shares a world with a Massively Multi-player Online game, with events in each impacting the other. It’s also a crackerjack piece of multi-layered entertainment on its own.
Defiance is the name of a town – walled city, actually – that is built on top of the ruins of what was once St. Louis. The only visible reminder of the old city is the worn arch that was its most famous landmark (though you can still find ruins underground).
The town is named for the soldiers who brought an end to a war between Terran armies and those of several alien races, collectively known as the Votan – by deciding to disobey orders and just not fight anymore. The planet has been terraformed to support several other alien races and Defiance is a kind of Switzerland/Casablanca where most these races live together.
In the premiere we meet Jeb Nolan (Grant Bowler, True Blood, Liz & Dick) and his adopted daughter, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas, MirrorMask, Whitechapel), an Irathient as they look for salvage from a crashed alien ship that they hope will finance a trip to Antarctica which is said to be a paradise.
They find something worth a lot of money but are interrupted by Spirit Riders (a kind of Mad Max-ish motorcycle gang composed of Irathients) and things go sideways. In their escape, Irisa is injured and just when things seem to be getting even worse, a group of humans rescue them and they find themselves in Defiance – a town surrounded by a stasis field (a high-tech version of a walled city).
There we meet the town’s new mayor, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz, Angel, Dexter), the owner of the local bar/bordello, Kenya (Mia Kirshner, The L Word, The Vampire Diaries) and a couple of feuding families: The McCawleys – father Rafe (Graham Greene, Wolf Lake, Being Erica), sons Luke and Quentin, and daughter Christa (Nicole Munoz, Defying Gravity) – and the Castithan Tarr family – father Datak (Tony Curran, The Pillars of the Earth, Doctor Who), mother Stahma (Jaime Murray, Dexter, Warehouse 13) and son Alak (Jesse Rath, Aaron Stone, Mudpit). There’s also a crusty doctor from the Bones McCoy school of medicine, Doc Yewell (Trenna Keating, corner Gas, Combat Hospital), an Indigene; the former mayor, Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan) and the mayor’s aide, Ben (Douglas Nyback), another Indigene who’s worked for both Micky and Amanda.
It’s a large cast and it needs to be. Defiance has the scope of a Babylon 5 – there are lots of threads and lots of potential for more. A few of the more important are the Romeo and Juliet-like relationship between Christie and Alak; the murder of Luke McCawley; what appears to be a conspiracy to destroy the town, and the unexpected link that connects Nolan to the town.
The premiere is carefully staged – we don’t reach the town until we’ve gotten to know Nolan and Irisa a bit (their relationship is a bit like the con man and his daughter in Paper Moon, only with guns, knives and Johnny Cash). Once we’re in Defiance, momentum picks up (and it’s not exactly been slow to that point) and we learn of the bad blood between the Tarrs and McCawleys; see the good doctor in action (patching up a recalcitrant Irisa); visit the bordello and generally get to know the key players in the series – as well as some intriguing minor characters.
The cast is super, the writing gives them something to work with, and even the unpolished version of the premiere that I saw looks great. Upon some reflection, and multiple viewings, I have to say that Defiance – the town and the series – is definitely worth exploring. Along with Da Vinci’s Demons, Hannibal and Bates Motel, it is one of the shows that suggests the best new shows of 2013-14 are its summer shows.
Defiance is a show that Syfy should be very proud of. The three eps included in the press kit are superb and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Final Grade: A+