Defying Gravity Not Quite Cancelled

Airlock Alpha ^ | 09/15/09 | ALAN STANLEY BLAIR

[KevinDavis]

Fear not, followers of the Antares. ABC has not canceled "Defying Gravity." Not yet, anyway.

That news may not be as comforting as it was intended to be, though, as the summer science-fiction series has vanished from the ABC schedules after only eight episodes, leaving its viewers dangling by a thread at the prospect of discovering the truth about the Antares mission and the mysterious "Beta."

Set in the near future, "Defying Gravity" is considered a "Grey's Anatomy" in space with complex character backstories and intermingled relationships thrown into a life-or-death scenario. And, since its premiere on ABC, the show has taken a hammering in the ratings with the first episode pulling in a disappointing 2.4 million viewers.

[KevinDavis]

Good..

[KevinDavis]

A big thanks goes to Visualops for the Banner!!

[GoDuke]

But they’ve got the most coveted 10pm Sunday slot!

[buccaneer81]

Excellent. It gets better every episode.

[buccaneer81]

When you see it on Friday or Saturday, you’ll know it’s over.

[GoDuke]

I suppose it’s quite a challenge for the writers. They can’t flesh things out too much because if it’s a hit, (i.e. “Lost”) then they have to have a much bigger story arc. On the other hand, they have to give out enough to get the audience hooked. I think this one has potential but it needs time to grow.

[newfreep]

I've watched a couple of episodes ONLY because I'm a fan of Laura Harris who was a most gorgeous "reaper" on "Dead Like Me". Actually, quite stunning and a close look-a-like to my late wife.

Laura is on the left...

[buccaneer81]

Tons of poitential. ABC has done a poor job of promotion.

If ABC drops it, maybe Sci-Fi (I refuse to call it "syfy") will go in on it with the Brits and Canadians.

[KevinDavis]

SciFi pick it up... Are you fraking kidding me!!!

[buccaneer81]

I guess having Sc-Fi air BSG spoiled me. I began to think they were more than the “Anaconda Ate The Cheap Alien Big Fish” channel.

[Electric Graffiti]

It should never have gotten off the cutting room floor.....Talk about the wrong stuff. The only redeaming aspect on the one and half shows I watched was the set design. The writers and crew should be flushed out the air-lock.

Absolutely DREADFUL show.

[Two Kids' Dad]

Never heard of it. What is this “ABC” of which they speak?

[GoDuke]

“ABC has done a poor job of promotion.”
And that’s an understatement.

[SeeSharp]

I agree. It’s hard to make Science Fiction boring but this show does it.

[csvset]

But they’ve got the most coveted 10pm Sunday slot!

Looking for something to watch at 10 PM on Sundays?

Mad Men

[B-Chan]

Lest we forget: SciFi's original production Mansquito!

[buccaneer81]

Yikes. Thankfully, I missed that one.

Don't they realize they would do better if they took some time to air classic shows from the past 50 years? They used to do that 15 years ago. Now, they're a joke.

[kanawa]

http://watch.ctv.ca/#clip198813

[Tanniker Smith]

I'm glad to read that the BBC is involved with it. That should mean that we'll see more episodes.

...

On the other hand, it could mean that we might only get four episodes a year ...

[LiberConservative]

I don't know. Episode 8 sure had the makings of a series finale. I really liked Defying Gravity. Sure it was slow at times but it only piqued my interest in the characters and storyline. I liked all the characters and the direction the story was going ... except for Beta. The only real weak link was Beta. As far as I'm concerned I watched the series finale Sunday night. Aside: Ron Livingston should do more sci fi.