One of the things that first attracted me to the genre of science fiction is the enormous diversity it holds. It encompasses everything from horrible monsters from strange world to technology twisted to evil purposes. Sci-Fi runs the gamut with pure fantasy and entertainment one end of the spectrum to deep probing commentary on the human condition on the other. Although this is one of the most popular genres it is fairly rare for it to work as the basis of a television series. It seems that it either makes it big like ‘X-Files’ or the networks mishandle it and success comes only after cancellation as was the case with ‘star Trek’ and more recently, ‘Firefly’. Thankfully the networks still keep trying to achieve another success even if it means adding yet another name to the growing list of brilliant but cancelled series. With only a single season worth of episodes ‘Defying Gravity’ never really had a chance to find its voice or audience and there was too little to declare it brilliant but it did have a lot of potential. It appears that the series has been summarily canceled so this DVD may represent all there will be of this show. The series endeavored to put a new spin on the classic space opera but ultimately was too ambitious blending standard astronaut faire while pandering to some of the puerile interests of the television audience. This was by design as note by the concept statement for the series demonstrated; ‘Grey’s Anatomy in space’. The series was about an international collaboration in a long manned space mission. In a touch of irony the production of the series was a partnership between the Canadian and American. Broadcasting Networks (CTV and ABC) while only six episodes were actually broadcast the DVD does contain all 13 that were filmed as the entire first season which is distributed by Fox. The series didn’t really caught on in the all important ratings and unlike some shows couldn’t manage the online viewship that has provided reprieves for other series in a similar situation. Fox has stepped up to the plate with DVD sets like this give fans the episodes the missed out on so this set will be as good as it gets. Please note that in some markets the networks did air the remaining episodes.

The series was created by James D. Parriott who has acclimated significant experience in offbeat series. Besides writing a number of episodes for ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ he has authored teleplays for several Sci-Fi and fantasy shows like ‘Forever Knight’ and cult classics ‘Misfits of Science’ and Voyages’. This does represent an interesting background for a project like this splitting his time between highly marketable popular aeries and ones more focused on a novel premise with a skewed view of life. This series starts off with a well proven premise; a six year mission through the solar system by the Antares. The ship is manned by a multination crew and the mission is partially funded by lucrative corporate sponsorships. I did watch the series during its initial run but found one problem that impeded my ability to rapidly get into the story. A modicum of soap opera is acceptable in any series. It is a well established format for telling a prolonged story. Unfortunately the fun of the Science fiction was overwhelmed by the frequently salacious interrelationships between most of the main characters. the irony is one of the mission parameters is the use of something called HALO, "Hormone Activated Libido Oppressors’ to eliminate any distracting hanky pankey between the four male and four female crew members. Unfortunately you need a database to keep track of all the past and present bed hopping that is going on in that ship. They did start infusing a story line concerning a mysterious item in one of the cargo holds. This item has a deleterious and increasingly dark affect on the crew. Rather than pursuing this thread too much time is spent on the complicated relations. If only the series was given a clear cut direction instead of bouncing back and forth between romantic melodrama and Sci-Fi the series might have had a chance to establish itself. Another choice of format that held a lot of potential is the split in main setting; on board the ship sand earth-side in mission control. This affords the writers the opportunity to create parallel story lines that can intersect forging a commonality between those on Earth and their counterpoints in space. Exposition for many of the circumstances and situations are presented in something that has become a staple for shows, especially from ABC; the flashback. There are glimpses of things that happened during the initial training and the important crew selection. If you get the feeling of walking into the middle of a story you would be correct. One of the defining plot lines is an ill fated manned mission to Mars where things went terribly wrong resulting in leaving crew members behind. Maddux Donner (Ron Livingston) is the current mission’s chef engineer whose lover died on Mars. He currently has a casual sexual relationship with the pilot Nadia Schilling (Florentine Lahme) as well as a complicated flirtation with Zoe Barnes (Laura Harris), the geological mission specialist. Adding to the connection between ship and ground control is Jen Crane (Christina Cox), biologist who is married to the flight director Mike Goss (Andrew Airlie). One of the mission objectives is to produce a televised documentary of life on board the Antares. In charge of this is Lander pilot Paula Morales (Paula Garcés) who receives an injury that almost prevents her from performing her piloting duties. With some much energy devoted to sex it is amazing the crew found enough time to point the craft in the right general direction. Aside from that the series held potential to become a taut psychological thriller but it seems we will never know for sure.