"Defiance on SyFy.. thoughts?" Topic

Ok, so I just watched the Defiance pilot..

NO SPOILERS…

Meh..

I like the "idea", I like the backstory, I even like the red head alien.. but the main guy, not so much. For some reason he reminds me of Cisco in Season one of Deep Space 9. Like he is just reading lines. For SYFY it was ok, but honestly I expected better from Rockne O'Bannon.

Hopefully it will pick up…

So far it seems a bit formulaic. I would have liked more "backstory" about the alien invasion and wars. Perhaps it will be forthcoming. Not at all interested in the game tie-in that is being touted. I shall continue to watch.

I'll keep watching, hope it gets better.

It is pretty prdictable so far.
I knew who was behind the whole thing well before the end where they show you.

With all the different alien types it reminds me of when Babylon 5 started and it was a bit confusing remembering which aliens were which. Eventually I caught on. That's what I'm hoping for here too.

Not bad for SyFy. I think it has some promise. Makes a bit more sense now that I've looked at the website which has some backstory.

I'll stay with it unless/until it goes into the ditch.

Liked Borealis better.

Is it better than that SyFy Flash Gordon remake from a few years ago?

not bad there are some holes in the whole beg bomb winning the battle at the end (the over presser would have killed every one in the pass) (the people running away on the floor of the pass did not have time to get away) etc etc…

I'll give it a chance, but at this point don't hold out much hope.

Not bad. The start reminded me of Firefly, and further in it reminded me of Babylon 5. I agree that it was formulaic and therefore predictable (though the final scene did surprise me), but if subsequent episodes give us more of the back story regarding the invasion and develop the characters some more, I'll stick around.

Did you all miss the 40 post thread about the show here?

TMP link

Points I'd add to my initial comments:

* TV sci fi almost always consists of a collection of what people insist on calling 'tropes' these days. If you like 'em, they are 'conventions'. If you don't, they are 'cliches'.

* Shows that don't have enough of these much-desired tropes get cancelled quickly.

* Most SF shows get cancelled anyway, because SF cognoscenti refuse to like them, and everyone else wants another Celebrity Ghost Rehab Dancing show instead.

* I've been trying to think of battle scenes that don't stink. Not many. Zulu, Band of Brothers, first ten minutes of 'Private Ryan'. This week 'Vikings' has Northumbrians in cardboard armour falling off their horses, demanding to be killed.

* TMP readers fall over themselves to be unimpressed.

* Firefly wasn't nearly as good as people think it was.

There you go -- :)

"* Firefly wasn't nearly as good as people think it was."

True, it was actually better.

Syfy (this is how I spell it now) as a genre is never going to be as popular as mainstream shows like crime/medical/legal dramas and sitcoms which comprise 90 percent of non-reality TV today. Once in a while, Syfy may make a splash if they're creative and include elements from other genres (e.g., 'Lost,' 'Heroes' and 'Revolution') but they eventually lose momentum. And shows like 'Star Trek' just don't get the rating numbers they used to.

Is Syfy dead in today's oversaturated, DVR-oriented, and Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming viewing climate? Perhaps not, but it's becoming one of greatly diminished expectations, especially since production costs of Syfy tend to be high.

Ok nothing new or original (hooker with a heart of gold, please been done so many times) Wise ass doctor uggg. red heads kinda cute for an alien.

Watched approximately 20 minutes of the show. Gave up. Changed the channel to a 30 Rock episode instead.

Not great, but not terrible.

Certainly better than any other Sci Fi that SyFy has tried to do in recent years.

Worth giving a chance, might become better.
-Kle.

Its no Babylon 5 but I like the back story. The main character is ok, but I kept thinking of other actors who would have been better playing him than the actor they have.

Saw the premiere episode the other night (Mostly thanks to one of my circle doing the FX and programming for the website), and my impressions -

Can't say too much about the male lead, Grant Bowler, as he's a fellow kiwi and I've worked as an extra on shows he's been in. He was damn good as Cooter the werewolf in Tru Blood, so I have hopes for his character.

The 'tropes' actually got subverted a couple of times in this – A very Shakespearean moment or two went off of the normal path and one has even lead to making a character with some real depth.

The battle sequence was a little simplistic but it worked well enough.

I am told the final moments were you learn of the "plot" behind everything was filmed last of all so as not to allow anyone involved to give it away; It wasn't a *huge* reveal, nevertheless it's an interesting development and I can see some subtle work being done scriptwise here.

Then again, first episode. Hard to think of many shows that have gripped me from Hour One, apart from B5, Fringe and Firefly.