DEFIANCE game and TV show - sink or swim?

[Bluce Ree]

I agree.

Also, you misspelled "reel". So much for the Canadian educational system.

Goddammit! Stupid auto correct!

Seriously though, I can get into scifi shows and movies that have a law enforcement and/or western style to them, but the actual science has to be at the forefront; it has to be integral to the story. For instance, I remember reading a story way back in high school by I think Issac Asimov (Rac will probably know which story and author I mean) that was a straight forward murder mystery replete with a well worn "gum shoe". What makes it a scifi story though is the fact that on this world (Solara I think) the people are so deathly afraid of physical contact that they isolate themselves and only meet other humans thru holographic programs. The detective has to figure out how the murder victim got his head bashed in when there was no one around to physically commit the crime (and no, it wasn't done by robot). Even a holographic visitor to this guy's home couldn't physically pick something up and bludgeon him with it. So there you have the mystery genre wrapped up with the scifi genre (at least I think so, others may differ).

At any rate, I assume you folks know what I'm driving at here. And also, when I said "Solara" I wasn't talking about a George Cloony movie. Just FYI.

I feel just as let down by Continuum. The only thing keeping me watching that show is its use of Stargate alumni. Otherwise, it has virtually NO sci-fi except for when the chick uses her tech suit or the odd episode where something time-related happens in the last 30 seconds of the show.

 

[shavedape]

Goddammit! Stupid auto correct!



I feel just as let down by Continuum. The only thing keeping me watching that show is its use of Stargate alumni. Otherwise, it has virtually NO sci-fi except for when the chick uses her tech suit or the odd episode where something time-related happens in the last 30 seconds of the show.

Some could argue that technically it's scifi based as the premise of time travel is scifi and it impacts the entire story, blah blah blah. But I get where you're going and agree with you. Just using a piece of futuristic technology in the pilot is not enough to keep a show scifi based.

 

[Overmind One]

So much of the new sci fi is ruined by its premise. Terra Nova was ruined by using time travel to create the premise, and it failed because it was implausible and because it degraded into a typical family values drama/soap complete with angsty characters and the mysterious alienated son who wants revenge. That was also Primeval's premise, except that the mysterious angry person was Cutter's wife. Primeval new world fixed the ability to produce the show in Canada, but it failed by not FULLY connecting with Primeval. They disregarded everything done in Primeval except Connor from the original ARC (sorta like they way they are using Spock Prime in nuTrek). LAME. Falling Skies comes off like Father Knows Best in an apocalyptic future (is that show still on?). Sanctuary was fine until they tried to make its scope global in the show. The more contained premise with the Sanctuary and its crew being small and localized, became global and only part of a larger network which made it no longer special.

Having said all of that, this show is ruined from the start with its premise. I am not willing to suspend belief enough to accept that rogue terraformers changed earth's landscape and destroyed all the cities, or that in 30 years time the society has regressed to one mirroring the wild west of 1890. I am not willing to accept an alien who wears a wallet with a chain attached, and who has a teen son who loves obscure tunes from the 1970s. This show needs BACKSTORY. Without it, they are asking the audience to just guess why everything is so convoluted.

 

[Bluce Ree]

So much of the new sci fi is ruined by its premise. Terra Nova was ruined by using time travel to create the premise, and it failed because it was implausible and because it degraded into a typical family values drama/soap complete with angsty characters and the mysterious alienated son who wants revenge. That was also Primeval's premise, except that the mysterious angry person was Cutter's wife. Primeval new world fixed the ability to produce the show in Canada, but it failed by not FULLY connecting with Primeval. They disregarded everything done in Primeval except Connor from the original ARC (sorta like they way they are using Spock Prime in nuTrek). LAME. Falling Skies comes off like Father Knows Best in an apocalyptic future (is that show still on?). Sanctuary was fine until they tried to make its scope global in the show. The more contained premise with the Sanctuary and its crew being small and localized, became global and only part of a larger network which made it no longer special.

Having said all of that, this show is ruined from the start with its premise. I am not willing to suspend belief enough to accept that rogue terraformers changed earth's landscape and destroyed all the cities, or that in 30 years time the society has regressed to one mirroring the wild west of 1890. I am not willing to accept an alien who wears a wallet with a chain attached, and who has a teen son who loves obscure tunes from the 1970s. This show needs BACKSTORY. Without it, they are asking the audience to just guess why everything is so convoluted.

At least Terra Nova was based on a premise of derivative timelines, where traveling to the past would create a new, distinct timeline rather than alter the original, which is more than I can say about the Abrams version of Trek. Defiance is just stupid.

 

[Joelist]

Overmind, I thought you liked Falling Skies which is still very much on - it's set to premiere in just a couple of weeks.

 

[Jim of WVa]

I agree.

Also, you misspelled "reel". So much for the Canadian educational system.

Seriously though, I can get into scifi shows and movies that have a law enforcement and/or western style to them, but the actual science has to be at the forefront; it has to be integral to the story. For instance, I remember reading a story way back in high school by I think Issac Asimov (Rac will probably know which story and author I mean) that was a straight forward murder mystery replete with a well worn "gum shoe". What makes it a scifi story though is the fact that on this world (Solara I think) the people are so deathly afraid of physical contact that they isolate themselves and only meet other humans thru holographic programs. The detective has to figure out how the murder victim got his head bashed in when there was no one around to physically commit the crime (and no, it wasn't done by robot). Even a holographic visitor to this guy's home couldn't physically pick something up and bludgeon him with it. So there you have the mystery genre wrapped up with the scifi genre (at least I think so, others may differ).

At any rate, I assume you folks know what I'm driving at here. And also, when I said "Solara" I wasn't talking about a George Cloony movie. Just FYI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Sun

 

[Tripler]

I saw someone walking around the set yesterday and he shewed me away lol . Hmmmm . I will check again today .

Hey Overmind ? Do you have GateFan Tee shirt's ? Maybe I can get in if filming is taking place if I represent the forum . Maybe they'll let me in if I can state that our forum watches the show . Of course if they check out the forum I may be tossed out on my head

 

[shavedape]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Sun

Yeah that's the one. Thanks

I though that the word "naked" might be in the title but I kept coming up with Naked Lunch and I knew it wasn't that. And the world they're on is Solaria. Close, oh so close for my memory, which is amazing considering how many brain cells I was burning through back in high school.

Rereading the description reminds me just how scifi this story is even though it's also a murder mystery. It's fascinating to see the way that scifi informed all sorts of different genre stories all the way up through the various Star Trek TV series. The sad thing is that the use of scifi (and the ethical questions it raises) suddenly disappeared from our viewing choices over the last decade. It is now used as set decorating for tired melodramas; it's window dressing, always in the background and is only pulled out on occasion to remind us that these shows are ostensibly scifi based.
--- merged: May 22, 2013 at 7:05 AM ---

I saw someone walking around the set yesterday and he shewed me away lol . Hmmmm . I will check again today .

Hey Overmind ? Do you have GateFan Tee shirt's ? Maybe I can get in if filming is taking place if I represent the forum . Maybe they'll let me in if I can state that our forum watches the show . Of course if they check out the forum I may be tossed out on my head

Be sure to wear a disguise.

 

[Overmind One]

I saw someone walking around the set yesterday and he shewed me away lol . Hmmmm . I will check again today .

Hey Overmind ? Do you have GateFan Tee shirt's ? Maybe I can get in if filming is taking place if I represent the forum . Maybe they'll let me in if I can state that our forum watches the show . Of course if they check out the forum I may be tossed out on my head

I can send you one. Or, I can gift it to you.

 

[Jim of WVa]

Yeah that's the one. Thanks

I though that the word "naked" might be in the title but I kept coming up with Naked Lunch and I knew it wasn't that. And the world they're on is Solaria. Close, oh so close for my memory, which is amazing considering how many brain cells I was burning through back in high school.

Rereading the description reminds me just how scifi this story is even though it's also a murder mystery. It's fascinating to see the way that scifi informed all sorts of different genre stories all the way up through the various Star Trek TV series. The sad thing is that the use of scifi (and the ethical questions it raises) suddenly disappeared from our viewing choices over the last decade. It is now used as set decorating for tired melodramas; it's window dressing, always in the background and is only pulled out on occasion to remind us that these shows are ostensibly scifi based.
--- merged: May 22, 2013 at 7:05 AM ---


Be sure to wear a disguise.

Thank you, for discussing one of my favorite Asimov novels.

 

[shavedape]

Thank you, for discussing one of my favorite Asimov novels.

I started getting into Asimov's Foundation series back around the same time but was too busy to plow thru all the books then. Been meaning to pick it up again. He's a good writer.

 

[YJ02]

So much of the new sci fi is ruined by its premise. Terra Nova was ruined by using time travel to create the premise, and it failed because it was implausible and because it degraded into a typical family values drama/soap complete with angsty characters and the mysterious alienated son who wants revenge. That was also Primeval's premise, except that the mysterious angry person was Cutter's wife. Primeval new world fixed the ability to produce the show in Canada, but it failed by not FULLY connecting with Primeval. They disregarded everything done in Primeval except Connor from the original ARC (sorta like they way they are using Spock Prime in nuTrek). LAME. Falling Skies comes off like Father Knows Best in an apocalyptic future (is that show still on?). Sanctuary was fine until they tried to make its scope global in the show. The more contained premise with the Sanctuary and its crew being small and localized, became global and only part of a larger network which made it no longer special.

Having said all of that, this show is ruined from the start with its premise. I am not willing to suspend belief enough to accept that rogue terraformers changed earth's landscape and destroyed all the cities, or that in 30 years time the society has regressed to one mirroring the wild west of 1890. I am not willing to accept an alien who wears a wallet with a chain attached, and who has a teen son who loves obscure tunes from the 1970s. This show needs BACKSTORY. Without it, they are asking the audience to just guess why everything is so convoluted.

What!!!! Songs from the 70's were sometimes good-obscure or not--what song was it?

 

[Overmind One]

What!!!! Songs from the 70's were sometimes good-obscure or not--what song was it?

Excellent song..."Ride Captain Ride". But this song is classic even now, and in that episode they were playing it on vinyl!

 

[shavedape]

Excellent song..."Ride Captain Ride". But this song is classic even now, and in that episode they were playing it on vinyl!

That's because the future is filled with alien hipsters.

 

[YJ02]

Excellent song..."Ride Captain Ride". But this song is classic even now, and in that episode they were playing it on vinyl!

And yet again--where the hell are they getting the vinyl lp's? Oh, in that mine they are so secret about...

 

[Gatefan1976]

And yet again--where the hell are they getting the vinyl lp's? Oh, in that mine they are so secret about...

From the coach that came into town for the mail run and trade....................

 

[YJ02]

From the coach that came into town for the mail run and trade....................

See, dammit-I miss one episode and I am totally out of the loop!

 

[Bluce Ree]

See, dammit-I miss one episode and I am totally out of the loop!

I missed nearly every episode and I'm still IN the loop. That's how simple-minded, predictable and remedial this show is.

 

[YJ02]

I missed nearly every episode and I'm still IN the loop. That's how simple-minded, predictable and remedial this show is.

yes, of course I was being sarcastic

 

[Bluce Ree]

yes, of course I was being sarcastic

Speaking of which, I tried catching the marathon yesterday, which played every single episode to date. All I remember is tuning in, closing my eyes for a sec and then it was 9:45pm.