One of the things that kills me anytime a show I love doesn’t get picked up for additional seasons — or is flat-out canceled mid-season — is dangling storylines. Being that I’m into sci-fi shows, enduring long story arcs is pretty commonplace. So, when word came that Defying Gravity was not only not getting a second season, but it wouldn’t be airing the final handful of episodes in the U.S., it was par for the course. But dammit, I wanted to know what was going to happen next!
Via powerful, mystical, magical items that I won’t reveal here, for fear the secret will fall into the wrong hands, I was able to watch the final episodes of the first and only season of Defying Gravity. Ivey’s already written about them, the final episode having aired on Canada’s CTV and SPACE channels last weekend. Unlike another sci-fi show that was cut short soon — the U.S. version of Life on Mars — Defying Gravity wasn’t allowed to wrap up its story. In fact, even if it had the time to prepare for it, there’s just no way it could wrap everything up in one season. The season only got better in the latter episodes, which makes the show being gone all the more disappointing.
Still, I had to know how the show was meant to end. If there was truly no hope that the show would get picked up somewhere else, I had to jump at a chance to find out what was going to happen next. So, I went straight to the source and contacted the show’s creator, James Parriott, to get a reading from the next book from the Defying Gravity bible. And, lordy, did he read.
First of all, let’s get the basics out of the way. Parriott confirmed to me that the actors have all been released and the sets have been destroyed, so the show is “pretty much dead” — no real hope now of seeing the show get the CPR it needs to continue on into another season or a wrap-up movie.
So, why did the show not do better in the first place, if it’s as good as I say? As Parriott explained, the show wasn’t officially picked up by ABC until a mere three weeks before the first episode aired, virtually giving them no time to market the show properly. By that time, all ad space they needed for the show to get the awareness it needed was spoken for.
Getting back to what I said about a show “bible,” Parriott said that in order to sell the show, he had to have the show worked out, and he does indeed have a bible for it. In fact, he has the first three years of the show all worked out, along with how it would ultimately end. Because Parriott has what he said is “a tremendous respect for science fiction and its fans,” he didn’t want to string viewers along too long without anything significant to reveal, which is why Beta was revealed in episode nine and not somewhere in season two; he wasn’t about to leave us with “a big hole in the ground” at the finale. Lost fans know what he’s talking about.
Speaking of Lost, here’s a fun bit he had to say about the show and how it relates to how he went into putting Defying Gravity together:
“I love the show [Lost], and Damon [Lindelof] and Carlton [Cuse]. I did a lot with Grey’s Anatomy during the first couple of years of Grey’s, and that first year of Grey’s was the first year of Lost, and I did a lot of dinners with ABC buyers with those two guys and Shonda Rhimes from Grey’s. Carlton is a really bright and funny guy, and he gets up, and the first question out of the foreign buyers’ mouths is ‘where’s it going to go? Do you know where it’s going to go?’, and he said ‘I haven’t a clue.’ And then he sits down across from me at the dinner table, and I remember saying ‘Damon, come on, that’s bullshit, right? I mean, you know where it’s going to go.’ And he says, ‘Jim, I haven’t a clue. I’m four episodes out; that’s all I know.’
“And I just thought to myself, y’know, that’s really dangerous. And then when I got into doing this show, I said I don’t want to do that; I don’t want to be in that position. First of all, I’d have ulcers if I did that, which would just be crazy, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. So I went in pretty much knowing where it was going to go.”
I’ve often said that having the “Grey’s Anatomy” tag on this show really hurt it. Sci-fi fans ran for the hills when they saw it was going to be Grey’s-in-space, so it never took off. So, I asked Parriott about that.
“First of all, ABC literally bought the show three weeks before it aired. ABC, I think, in their own way, were trying to kill it. They had been planning to buy the show all summer long, so they had us on a hook. But they wouldn’t commit, wouldn’t commit, wouldn’t commit. While they weren’t committing, they were cutting trailers and were preparing to launch, but they weren’t telling anybody. And then they finally committed three weeks before launch.”
Essentially, the only people who saw the promos were the 1.5 million viewers through ABC’s summer schedule.
“[Having the Grey’s Anatomy tag] probably hurt the show ultimately. But in terms of trying to sell the show, as sort of a quick pitch … for the buyers, it had to be ‘look, it’s a show in space, but it’s not a space show. This is a space show that’s going to attract women.’ That seemed to be the easiest thing to do. In fact, I don’t think we ever really coined the phrase that it’s Grey’s in space; someone had just said that and we said ‘OK.'”
So why wasn’t the show pitched instead to Syfy? Couldn’t the show have shined there and gotten the attention it needed and deserved? “You know, it could have. But we were always trying to create a network show and not a cable show. So if you go out and just say “we’re sci-fi,” the networks sort of balk at that. They want to know it’s bigger and the potential audience is broader than a sci-fi audience. However, when it became clear that ABC wasn’t going to give us a big summer launch and not be promoted as well as we wanted, I was encouraging the studio not to sell it and go to Syfy. And in fact they did go to them, but they did it too late and after we already aired two episodes. I said, ‘would you guys buy this if we pulled it from ABC and give it to you for free on rerun and buy us into a second season?’ But then you’ve already aired and you’re taking the wind out of Syfy’s sails, because they can’t promote it as ‘their’ show. And Mark Stern [Syfy Exec VP of Original Content] was very interested in it, but once it aired on ABC you lose your caché. And you’re done. But we could have survived on Syfy and done many seasons.
If it had been an ABC developed show, believe me, we would have been promoted and been put into a better time slot.”
Now, let’s get into the answers to some of the unanswered questions from the show. First of all, Parriott won’t yet reveal to me the ending of the show, as he’s still holding onto hopes that something will come out of left field and cause it to be revived again, in one for or another. If, in six months, the show doesn’t see the light of day again, then we may get our answer. (UPDATE: Here are the answers.)
Let’s go over the characters Parriott and I discussed:
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Oct 29, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Way to go Keith. Thanks for getting this for us!
I am glad to know that I would have been right about “parts growing back in space”. I guessed Donner and Nadia’s parts growing back but forgot Zoe had a hysterectomy. That would have been amazing to see play out. Babies in space! The implications are incredible!
I was wrong about the bunny! I thought it was a pre-cursor to Jen implanting herself with Rollie’s stored sperm.
To Mr. Parriott: Thank you for dealing with faith in a responsible way. Believers are just as fallible and prone to misbehave as anyone else, but the reliance on faith to get through tough times is essential. It was nice that no one trampled on Paula’s faith.The budding relationship between Paula and Wass was lovely.
Thanks also for taking the time to treat us Sci-Fi fans to answers. We have a long memory. Best of luck to you.
I loved this article. I thought the show was fantastic and really going somewhere, then it was pulled off the air due to poor scheduling and cultivating by ABC. I haven’t been able to catch the additional episodes even though they are on the internet, but will soon. Regardless, it was nice to have some sort of closure on characters and the direction of the story.
I am slightly confused, however, about Eve. If I recall correctly, her flashes are of seeing two children (presumably her children) covered in red dust and fragments as though they are physically on Mars (or were on Mars). Is that true, or am I mistaken? If I’m not mistaken, did Mr. Parriott mention anything about that in relation to hear going to Mars? I always found it strangely odd for her to have that flash, especially when she and Ted already have a son.
Besides the showing being intriguing, I think what I’m going to miss most is learning the backstory of these characters. How Jen ended up with Rollie instead of Ted, and subsequently, how Ted ended up with Eve. We already got hints of each of those things, but I wanted to see it. I wanted to see how the team currently on Antares continued to bond as a group in training. I love backstory – and we were getting glimpses of it in every episode.
Oh well, I hope we get to see a full reveal next Spring, whether it’s in the form of a second season of Defying Gravity or another article post like this one.
Thanks for doing this!
Krizia, great catch. Come to think of it, she had both sets of visions, though the ones Keith and James are speaking of are the ones when she’s sitting in the chair. I wonder who the kids are (and what happens to her and Ted’s child when she leaves for Mars?)
Were they not the family members lost in a natural disaster? Did I imagine that? ;)
Thanks for bringing us a great interview and a bit of closure on yet another an amazing, yet cancelled, show. It just pains me to hear that a really well thought out drama got screwed up by ABC’s indecision.
And my thanks to Mr. Parriott for creating such a complex, multilayered drama that wasn’t afraid to make the audience think and ask questions.
I get so tired of shows that feel the need to spoon-feed the audience with lame plot lines.
Thank you for posting this. I was an avid fan of the show. Once it stopped playing on ABC, I knew something strange happened. I only once saw a commercial for the show and that’s how I started watching it.
I was craving more out of the show. Answers mostly. These hold me over for now, but I am dying for the series to re-appear on Sy-Fy or in a book series! Please, Mr. Parriott, make it happen!
I’m so glad you did this Keith. You had the connections to get it done – awesome report! I looked everywhere online for a way to contact him. I was going to try – I had to know. Now I do. And it would have been amazing. I was kind of right about Nadia (I thought she had a sex change), and loved the concept of God/Universe, etc., because it really came through as written.
Now I’m kind of sad again. :-(
Since you have an in with the creator, can you ask him about possibly writing up DG as a novel series? I would love to see this play out, and since Parriot has a huge following in novels, I bet it would be worth his time for either him or one of his co-writers to write the series.
“Getting back to what I said about a show “bible,” Parriott said that in order to sell the show, he had to have the show worked out, and he does indeed have a bible for it.”
You here that Mr. Moore? BSG could have used a bible!
Also if Manny Coto reads this… I want answers to Odyssey 5 dammit! The show isn’t coming back! It’s never going to be remade I want answers to why the planet blew up!!!!!!
Thanks so much for getting this information to us. I hope Mr Parriott can get this story in a book or a mini series or movie. Its a grest show, one of the best I’ve ever seen. He’s a good man for answering all your questions and I pray he has success and the next six months are fruitful. How can we help him? Is there a way we can contact him and let him know how we felt about his wonderful creative mind and the pleasure of seeing Defying Gravity?
Thank you, thank you! I’m still raving mad that Defying Gravity didn’t get picked up! It’s the best show I’ve seen in a long time and I fell in love with the cast as a whole and I’m sorely disappointed it didn’t get the chance it deserved.
It is really nice to see what would have happened had this wonderful show continued, especially since I love the characters and the storylines and really wanted to see their evolvement continued.
Here’s to hoping there’s some great extras on the DVD, I can’t wait to get it!
thank u!!!! and thanks James!
still hold a little hope that the show’d come back to us..
thanks to the creator for sharing his work !! i hope he still does sci fi in the future on another network!
im a big sci fi fan from france and here we dont have any show like that made :/
Looking forward for the bluray !
I really hope the creator still goes for a sci fi show for his next project, maybe on syfy this time!
thanks for the ride :p
I would still like to see SyFy pick this up and rub it in ABC’s collective noses. I can see the headline- “Cable network television proves again that it can be smarter than the Alphabet.”
Thanks for the article, but in no way does it provide me the satisfaction that I had while viewing DG.
Interesting; I’d guessed at one or two of those things, but quite a few of them would’ve been genuinely surprising A bit disappointed that he didn’t have any planned direction for Wass, though; the guy was a perfect fan avatar within the show, making the jokes that everyone things of while watching, and pointing out the obvious that most main characters simply ignore. The fear of touching thing and PDD would’ve been a bit too much; couldn’t the guy be funny and smart, and have something else strange going on? Or couldn’t he simply have been the one normal person on the ship?
Ah, well. Show was fun while it lasted. Still, I’m with many others in that I’d like to see Syfy give ABC the finger. Then they can do a behind-the-scenes special about bringing it back and call it Defying ABC.
I second the notion for a novel to finish the story, if the show doesn’t get picked up by another channel.
I don’t know why stations even bother putting sci-fi shows on thier lineups they rarely get the chance that they deserve.
Great article. I hope the show gets the renewal it deserves.
First I want to thank the author of this article and Mr. Parriott for allowing me to get my Defying Gravity fix… ’cause I’m addicted. I’ve loved speculating about the what ifs of the show. I’m so glad to get the real deal here, and I truly hope to see all these explanations come out in future episodes (if the show gets picked up by SyFy or someone else)!
I made a connection between the 7 objects and 7 day creation story in the Christian Bible (counting the day of rest after the six days of creation). I was even wondering if there was a day by day connection based on how far away from the sun each object was (3rd from the sun was on earth and the 3rd day of creation had dry land called earth and plants both created… and Beta affected the tomato plants).
It could have been something interesting for Paula to notice and meditate about, and it sounds like my theory could have had some merit (with the objects being speculatively considered God).
And I love that a random thought about Nadia ended up being right too! I thought she might be becoming a man!
I can’t wait to buy the series on BD so I can see all the episodes, namely Beta and Gamma, in true HD quality (as I’m one of the privileged US citizens that got shafted by ABC not airing the final 5 episodes).
Wow. I’m glad all you people liked this show. It sure needed someone to love it.
I’m afraid I dumped it after I couldn’t sit through the first 3 eps (I did try), and everything I saw in this interview tells me I did the right thing.
Still, if everyone liked and disliked the same things, this would be a very dull world.
Thanks, Mr Parrott, for providing some answers to some of the great questions your excellent series raised. I also put in a vote for a novel (or series of novels) to finisht the story. Not the best of worlds, but I’d go along for the ride. Again, many thanks to the cast and crew for 13 great episodes!
Wow!! Thanks a lot.. I would love to see the bible printed and would strongly support it. Or even have it placed in the DVD or something.
Neat to know about Jenn.
*POST AUTHOR*
I got an update on some of your questions from James:
Novel? Probably not. I honestly don’t think it would find a publisher.
The internet provides you many ways to self publish novels and show bibles. There are sites that will only print copies as the orders are entered so there is no additional cost to the author for books that don’t sell…. just saying. :P
Thank you Keith for getting us this information!
Well, I must admit that I rather stumbled over Defying Gravity on TV and wasn’t really took by it at first. Once I found it on the net (no worries, very legally on the Space channel’s website) and watched all of the episodes back from the start, I then expected my weekly dose of DG… until it ended up going nowhere. (not you fault Mr. Parriot, I know!)
While I appreciate Keith’s effort for sure, my warmest thanks goes to Mr. Parriot for having taken the time to chat with Keith and to spread this little sweetener on that sour ending. You can’t be showing more affection for your fans than in this way. I hope too it gets pick-up elsewhere, even at the cost of rebuilding the set.
It takes real courage and faith to get yourself into making a scifi television show these days. When you’re not allready cancelled, for sure they’re talking about cancelling the next one anyhow.
I was still really hoping some network would save the show…
Failing that, I wondered about a movie, but if the actors and sets are gone…
It really does seem that ABC wanted to kill the show. What a waste. I certainly won’t start watching V. Why get interested?
If nothing should come around, would Parriott perhaps considering the rest of the story as a (series of?) novels? The characters could be fleshed out more. Perhaps one book per planned season?
Just want to say a HUGE thanks for sharing this information. Love the televison show, and am completely heartbroken that it won’t be finished. At least this has answered some of the more pressing questions that were left after the last episode! And I have bookmarked your page – I will be checking back in the spring for the final update!
And to any rogue networks out there that might be considering picking up this series, you have my promise that I will watch every single episode, even if Mr. Parriot reveals the rest of the storyline! Oh, and you’ll have my lifetime loyalty as a viewer, too. ;)
I really got into this series. It is such a bummer that ABC bought it in the first place, pretty much knowing that they would not keep it going. What a bunch of tools! I am the same as Jean, no way am I watching V just to get the old ABC shaft.
Thanks Mr Parriott for taking the time to give us some answers. It is a great series and I’m hoping something comes out of left field too and it can continue. It was a wonderful adventure that should continue.
IIRC, RDM referenced the show bible all the time in his Podcasts.
Parriot is a bit to blame in this. When he saw that ABC was hesitating so much, he should have realized that ABC wasn’t really interested in the show and gone to SYFY instead.
Again we got suckered into loving a show just to get it cancelled in our faces.
I really, realy, loved this show. It only got better with each episode. It could have ended up ranking it up there in my all-time list, but ABC being the piece of c#@p that they are ruined that for us all. Rarely do I get emotional about a TV show, but this one did it for me in episode 13. That being said I also hold out hope that this will resuface in the future. GREAT SHOW!.
Thank you so, soooooo much for getting this and sharing. I am very sad to see this show go. I’m one of those Scifi *and* GREY’S fans who thought this show had a wonderful tone and Ron Livingston was fantastic.
Tell Pariott to write a book, or have some Sifi authour write it. It will sell!
thanks 1000 times from a german fan of this show!!!! really! 1000 times and more for the answers and the plot! i realy hope that it will go on. even a book would be nice. i would buy it!!!
Please pass along to Mr. Parriott my thanks for providing this gem. Maybe if he is made aware that there are many loyal fans who want this show back, he could re-focus his effort to see if there is a home for DG.
Great article. We needed closure if it doesn’t return and this may be the medicine we need.
Great Show, very disappointed to hear of it canelling. Looking forward (hopefully) to see it where it belongs, on the SyFy Channel!!!
Oh, some resolution! Thank you! And this: “But we could have survived on Syfy and done many seasons.” This makes me sad.
I want Beta to produce a miracle and find a way to continue the series in some form. I will buy it Beta! I will sacrifice a bunny, no problem!
I love this show it was the best thing since Star wars itself I was a kid again in space it was the mosr real show i had ever seen I hate ABC for the way they crushed this in Canada we has started geting together to watch this show was going to take off it was going to have its own religon of sorts I could see it hapening as episode 8 came out it was starting to roll and by the final episode here we all wear hooked it was on our space channel and they are still areing it in Re run there is that much demand for it , ABC what can I say you suck!!!
Well, it’s too bad it got cancelled. I didn’t like the show at first but I got sucked in eventually. Seriously though, Nadia a hermaphrodite? Seems silly to me.
Defying Gravity has a large fan base, that would love nothing better than to see this story unfold, preferably as a television series, but if not, at least in written form. I, for one, appreciate the posting of this interview, which gives us an insight of how these things come to be (or not to be). You only have to read the message board on abc for this show to understand yhe frustration of the viewers are with their politics…
Thanks so much for the interview and getting us answers to some questions we thought would never be answered. That being said can’t we come together internationally and and focus on bringing attention to this great show, and maybe garnering the interest of someone who can make it possible for this show to continue. This show reaches people on so many levels and is very inspiring. It is a shame that it was not promoted properly.
I had to Google the character names to know who they were. That’s how badly this show was written.
That’s not nessisarily true. There are obviously many well written shows like Dr. Who (which my friend loves which the only reason why I even know the name of the show) that if I wanted to know anything about it I would have to Google. So just because you don’t know the names of the characters doesn’t mean that the show was bad or badly written.
I’m not a sci-fi fan but I really got hooked on Defying Gravity. I think the cast and the creative writing is what really drew me in. It’s a show where you use your brain, not like one of those horrible reality shows. The science in the show could actually be possible in 40 years. I have a 4 yr chem degree so maybe thats partly why a show like this appeals to me. And, I can’t say enough about the cast. They were just awesome together! My favorite is Eyal Podell, smart and sexy as Dr Evram Mintz. Too bad ABC doesn’t have the foresight to see this show could have been a hit if marketed properely, (it still could be advertised!!).
Thank you for posting this interview! It has been one of the greatest shows on TV today! And I hope you won’t be able to reveal any more details next spring about DG other than show is in production again!!!!
It’s a great story, beautiful idea, sophisticated writing, good actors – it should be continued, this world is not without smart and astute producers, some of them should see it!
it really makes it hard to even try and get into a new show when shows that are as fantastic as DG are cancelled. Can it not be brought back via another network or possibly even SyFy…though they have a knack for jacking thing up after getting their hands on it.
It’s not at all fair to blame the series’ failure on Mr. Parriott. Read any screenwriter’s blog and you get a keen sense of how difficult and rollercoaster the entire process of getting a concept made into a reality can be.
As to the guy sniping at the writing, it’s always sad to see a developmentally challenged individual try and fail to grasp the simplest of concepts.
*sigh* Thanks for some of the answers to the unanswerable questions.
I have to say I am extremely disappointed by ABC’s handling of this series and saddened that they destroyed the sets. I also don’t understand the reasoning behind Syfy’s reasoning on not picking it up because they can’t claim it as ‘A SyFy Original’ .. who cares? Truthfully, everytime they and Disney (who is also obsessive about saying every other show they put up is an “ORIGINAL”) I laugh! Does anyone other than the producers care if it was created by an employee or contractor instead of being a bought program from some other station? I sure as heck don’t. I watch what I want to watch because it’s good and I like it. Not because it’s an ‘original’ to that Station.
I liked Defying Gravity. I would have followed it to any station and from all indications from the 1st season .. I’d have been a loyal watcher for the whole “Grand Tour of the Galaxy”!
Any chance of getting a Book Series out of this, since the various broadcasting companies are being dense. I’d love to add this to my collection of favorite book series!
Thank you for this interview. I hope that there can be more seasons. There is a huge following for this show. I would give up all other shows for this ONE. It reaches people on so many levels and is very inspiring. It is a shame that it was not promoted. I really hope we can see it on screen….but if not, I hope a book is made. It would do well. I already preordered season one on Amazon.
loved the show! hate that it stopped.
if beta and gamma allow the show to continue, it will… lol
ahah this was a great show …. I got hooked one night and spent it awake watching the first 8 shows online …. then I scrounged everywhere trying to find the later parts … I finally found them online and watched them all in one night.
Such a shame you didnt get a second series. Mind if I borrow the bible to read ?? =D
It honestly got better with each show. Hope something pans out.
Here is a question Seeing as it probably won’t be coming back as a show and I agree that that is downright horrible, Will there be a book series for us crazy Sci fi fans that got really hooked and are just dying for the story to continue?
I personally would love there to be a book series and I for one would snatch it up the day it was released.
The network execs are so out of touch. I don’t think there’s a single SciFi channel (I refuse to call it by the new name) viewer out there who would give a rat’s posterior that two eps had already aired on ABC. There’s no “caché” to worry about. Just give us decent Sci Fi (and please, don’t cram all the shows we’re likely to be watching together on the same nights. Currently, all my shows are on Monday and Friday, and it wreaks havoc with scheduling the TiVo).
I have to agree with the person who said “we don’t give a rat’s ass if a couple episodes were seen on ABC”
I watch SciFi all the time and would LOVE to see this show on that channel.
This is one of the best made for TV scifi show’s I’ve ever seen. The cast is GREAT. The plot is GREAT. I absolutely love it. I WANT TO SEE MORE!
Rick, I agree. I didn’t even learn that the show existed until ep 4. If it had been on Skiffy (SciFi) I’d have at least seen ads for it. And I would have kept watching.
I say we still email the crap out of Skiffy and see if they’ll pick it up. Afterall, one of their “babies” SG1 spent lots of time on Showtime before they picked it up. So, to me, the “it’s all a rerun” excuse is pathetic.
My current shows are now all on BBCA. The rest have all been killed off. I too hate it when they don’t give resolution.
There has to be a way to make the execs know about our wants , I found with this show if it grabed you it grabed hard and that was because of the cast they wear all so real and alive, the plot was belivable and yet had some magic in it. If I was some bilionare I would buy what was left and make it again put it on Syfy and let it go. I was so in love with this show I hate to think its gone , I guerentee I will be watching the 1 season at least once a year just to keep it alive in me ,
It’s amazing that Parriott revealing the premise of the whole series in episode 9 (!) was not stringing viewers along. There was about 30 minutes of plot advancement in 9 episodes. In some of those episodes almost nothing happened but people looking scared at each other while they thought back about their past.
Any word about a possible DVD release of the series?
https://www.amazon.com/Defying-Gravity-Complete-First-Season/dp/B002USF1UO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257308957&sr=1-5
Its very sad that the show ended. I finished wathing Dead like me-and wondered why Laura Harris wasnt in the last episode Life after dead-So I checked her out on IMDB and seen the Defying gravity series-thats the source I got to know about the series – its pitty that ABC didnt give more ads about it. Great show and would be more great…
I’m so disappointed to hear this show is probably done for. It is the best show I’ve seen in a really long time. I was hooked from the first episode and waited all week for it to come on and literally dreamed about it after each episode. The character development is fantastic, the plot is intriguing and the acting was so natural and yet somehow vivid and vital. I want it back so very badly. I’m lucky enough to be in Canada so I got to see the full season 1 but there deserve to be more. Network executives – don’t let this one go. It has a lot more life in it than 99% of the shows on air right now.
I’ll support whatever efforts there are to bring this show back. It was intelligent and improving as the episodes continued. I would pay a private subscription fee just to see it online – forget about network or cable TV! Episode 13 was exciting and leaves so much undone.
Hmmm.
I watched all the episodes (which was hard to do because they are not all just right there on Hulu) so I suppose there was *something* there that kept me coming back. But man I am ever hard pressed to say what that may have been. I suspect that under that thick woolen blanket of sappy dialog, unbelievable interpersonal dynamics, fake science, and the incessant flashbacks that moved the story forward by 2.3 seconds per episode… under all that there was a half decent story just dying to come out (and reading this summary tells me that there was).
But holy cow was that series slow, repetitive, and poorly put together. They beat you over the head with everything and then, for no reason I can fathom, they do it again. Zoe and Donner. I get it. Really I do. The first 30 or so flashbacks where they sort of dance around each other basically sets up their dynamic. I get it. I’m sick of seeing it repeat time and time again with no changes. So really, no need for another 50 flashbacks on the same subject. Oh wait… here they come anyway.
And it was the same with every other flashback as well. I appreciate character development, but there has to actually be, you know, development. This show went about it so slowly that there was very little development per episode. It doesn’t surprise me that it was canceled.
By comparison, Lost manages to do a lot of character development very quickly. Very rarely on that episode is a character featured where we do not learn something significant and new about them. That isn’t to say that Lost is a paragon of excellent character studies, but it does move at a clip that makes the mystery seem like it is about to be revealed in the next episode (it never happens, but you keep coming back for the little bits they do throw you – and for the revelations on the characters). This show was very stingy with that kind of candy. On the flip side, the writing and the character development they did have was fake enough that the pacing was offputting (if you are going to move this slow, the characters had better be *extremely* good… on par with some of HBO’s shows… here they were just syrupy melodrama).
Ultimately the whole thing is sad, because the original BBC version was awesome!
All that and yet still I eventually watched all the episodes and finally wound up here. Huh. Now THERE’S a mystery.
I just have to say it: WHAT A WASTE OF A GOOD SCRIPT AND GOOD ACTING!! Really, is it that difficult to keep good shows alive nowadays? What’s the point of all this axing? They keep the trashy shows in order to lower our IQ’s to that of babbling monkeys and make us more manageable? Is that it? Gush, they’re even getting me to act paranoic!
ARGH! sorry but all this did for me is to want to actually see it!!!! :( i wish that SyFy would just take the AMAZING show get rid of their egos and start where the show ended. if they show season one and then advertise is CORRECTLY they would make sssooo much money. it really was one of the best shows i have even seen, original, thought out and provoked emotions at all the right parts. i will miss what i could have seen.
Thanks for the insight in to the DG time line.
I just finished watching the lot and I have to say that I really loved it. OK, so the flashbacks were a tad irritating sometimes but the potential of that script is huge, the acting was on the whole, excellent as was the casting.
Such a shame media execs would rather force-feed us tripe like ‘ugly betty’ et al, over a show like this.
9/10 – will buy the DVD.
You would think that they might actually put on shows (and promote them properly) that were of the scifi genre, but other than V, they seem to just throw ‘em ought there without warning and then say – oops, no ratings, cancelled. This had such great potential, and I was so ticked it was cancelled (that, along with Eli Stone). Damn them!
Hope the show can still come back…
I absolutely LOVED this show. I could not wait from week to week to watch it. I loved how there were flashbacks, cause it fits it all together, and lets you get to know the characters. I loved all the characters and feel like it had soooo much potential. I really enjoyed reading this interview…but would rather see it play out on screen then read about it. I’m a female in my twenties.I have never been hooked on your typical syfy show….but i’m obsessed with this one. i know a lot of women (and men) who love this show and are devoted followers. I dont care what channel it ends up on and if i have to pay to see it…i just want to see it. i really hope Mr Parriott doesn’t give up.
I really hope if the series doesn’t get finished (or really even if it does–I loved reading Stargate as a book!) Mr. Parriott hires a good ghost writer and turns Defying Gravity into a book/series. I loved this show! I was so very sad when it ended–and so very happy to have this interview to tie up a few of the loose ends.
I saw all 13 episodes on Space in Canada – such a shame that we don’t get more!
Godsdamnit. Every time I get into a series, it gets canned. Nothing I’ve liked in the last few years has stuck around. Just like Firefly, damnit.
Real shame the show is cancelled. Just watched through ep 4, and my wife is hooked. B5 and BSG passed her by completely but she actively looks forward to this show. Think ABC/ Scifi have missed the wider demographic it draws in.
I was very sorry to hear of this cancellation. I was into the show and looking forward to it every week.
It’s a shame intelligent TV gets cancelled. This is a remarkable show with great potential.The focus on the space program is something we need to see and do in this country now. I hope someones sees the light and keeps this on TV.
THANK YOU! Thank you so much for following up and giving us avid viewers some sense of completion. I was devastated (yes I have a life) when I read the article about the sets being torn down. Up to then I had held out hope! I ended up consoling myself, that in real life a mission of this kind could have come to a ‘devastating end’, and we would have never known the rest of the story in that case either. So this article is comforting in a sense. Its to bad that others didn’t get it, all the more confirming just how ‘ahead of its peers’ it was. Perhaps, even though we now know the spoilers, the rest will at least be written into books. But either way, I’m a lot more at ease with its ending because of this article. Like others I do hope that one day it will be revived, but often for me if it doesn’t have the original actors, I may not get re-hooked.
I guess the only thing we are allowed to watch are shows about doctors, cops, vampires, dysfunctional suburban families and reality shows. Why didn’t a lesser channel like ION take up the show. Oh well. I’ll admit it wasn’t my favorite show of all time, but It was definitely my favorite show this year.
This smells like Firefly all over again, perhaps we all buy the DVDS like crazy, we will then get a movie to finalize the storyline. Excellent interview, thanks!
Would have been interesting to watch all that what creator told about, except the bunny, if even sharon with walker get a second chance to live on mars why do you have to kill the poor bunny? (((
Really, why do channels show such stupid series like remake of Melrose Place and beverly hills with such a low audience and keep cancelling the shows with huge fan crowd like firefly, defying gravity and so on… what are they thinking?!
Thinking about the cancellation of the show – in “Defying Gravity” terms – this was the “Mars Mission”, which had come to an early and unfortunate demise – so we’ll probably have to wait 15 years for the show to be revived which would be the equivalent of the timing of the “Antares Mission”.
Please, do a follow up and reveal as much as possible about the story. I was looking for answers and closure after the cancellation and now I’m even more intrigued than before :'(
Anyway, thanks for trying and revealing at least some interesting plot lines, even if some of them were “obvious” and the “final true” is not explained … yet ;)
I just read this on eztv and want to say thanks for taking the time to give us some closure.
Really appreciated ;-)
Greetings from Norway
Thanks for a small bit of closure for this show. I was somewhat surprised to hear it had been canceled, but was lucky enough to catch the last few episodes on the net.
While I watched Defying Gravity, I can’t say it was the greatest piece of television and the viewing numbers proved that. Numbers that low can happen on cable or the secondary networks, but ABC on a Sunday without competition?
Most of the reviewers voiced the same concern as the casual viewers, the show depended too much on flashbacks and the story dragged. What they did in 13 episodes could have easily been done in 6. If the creator planned to spend an entire season on Mars, how many people would have watched it?
Did you watch the other 4 episodes??? they were the best of the show. A whole season on mars?? come on, I see a whole 10 season on ER in ER and still a great show as this ;) I think the show had indeed great potential and sorrily for them no much ads and promotion plus that time slut?? it was death before even aired. Defying Gravity was a deep show and it give a lot to think about HUMANITY as we know it…
I remember Battlestar galactica when scifi let skyone to keep aired and then they put it back on USA. Indeed it was a bad choice for Defying Gravity to go to ABC, they should had gone to SyFy after seen such a delay from ABC. TV is getting worst and we get full of crap with realities show because maybe the majority in the world could not bare their own live so they have to watch crapiest stuff that their ownselves
Yes, thanks so much for taking the time to try and get some answers. Seems like a good lesson in what not to do: not letting the show evolve with input from development, fandom and the ratings was a mistake in the end. I’d love to see this property reincarnated as a series of films tho. It had a lot of potential, just these days you cannot stretch for suspense in scifi or most dramas; roll out faster the overall storyline while keeping the faith that the story will become larger than the writer hoped or ever imagined.
I’d really like them to make a nice thick novel of this story, now that the series itself is canned.
Do cancelled shows ever do that?
OMG Yes! They should totally continue it in some form or another.
I think it’d be really awesome if they go the comic book or graphic novel way. Joss Whedon did it for Buffy and even Firefly/Serenity, I can totally see it for Defying Gravity.
I’m so glad someone finally has a clue and was able to fill us in on what the rest of the show would have been!!! I hate investing my time and energy into a show and get so attached to the characters and seeing where the story will go only to have it cut short and never know where it was meant to go. THANK YOU!!! I wish every show would answer those questions when they end too soon!
I am one of the lucky ones to have seen all 13 episodes. I have to say, I missed this series when it aired live, and only heard about it last week, after it was already cancelled.
I prompty tacked down the show on the net (those not on Hulu), and on Hulu and watched them all. What a show!
This was by far one of the best written, acted, and directed shows this season! I am very very saddened that it got cancelled, and am angry at ABC’s handling of the entire matter. I wish it had made it to SyFy where it could have thrived like StarGate or the four seasons of Farscape.
Mr. Pariott, bravo for this awesome show, sorry it did not work out. Please try to get it picked up again by SyFy or another cable company, the fans *will* come with better marketing.
– A fan
It was a terrible show — since when do women have the need or the time to apply makeup and color their roots in outer space? A show like this would be better had it paid attention to realism as opposed to hair & makeup.
Riddled with plot holes, without an ounce of believability, hopefully something worthwhile will replace it.
How about bringing back Firefly ;)
To respond to the hair and makeup comment- who freaking cares? I think you’ll find that, given their druthers, all people, male or female, give a damn about their appearance and would take care of themselves, including the desperate souls living on the fringes of society in shows like Firefly. The astronauts on Antares are not living in squalor on a space ship held together by chewing gum and baling wire. This is an enormous ship costing trillions of dollars and expected to be in flight without outside support for seven years. Unless they are all going to shave their heads, they are going to have hair and have to care for it, so don’t discount normal human vanity in that regard. Don’t preach about realism when you obviously don’t put any thought into it.
Man, it’s people like you who give science fiction in any form a bad name, because you annoy normal, sane people with endless nitpicking about hard science and plausibility from your own limited perspective instead of putting yourself into the character’s shoes within the context of their society. Good science fiction is all about character development, not gadgets and theories (Ask Bradbury, Heinlein, Robinson, Ellison, etc). Let’s face it: Star Trek (the original series) had some really crappy science and special effects, yet it endures because of the characters. In another vein, multiple adaptations of the works of Phillip K. Dick have been made (Blade Runner, Paycheck, Minority Report, Total Recall, among others) despite the wacked-out science ideas he had because the characters themselves had something interesting about them. If you want perfect science and a perfect society, write your own damn series. I think you will find the task a little bit more daunting than the minor nitpicking you (and others) engage in, which, by the way, doesn’t constitute a real critique of any work, just armchair quarterbacking.
BTW, loved the show. Liked the direction it would have taken. It just goes to further show how small-minded and Ritalin-addled most network execs are because they can’t have the vision to see a good show needs time to build a following. I also think marketing execs don’t know how to market anything anymore. If there was a reality show about the second-coming of Christ which would culminate at the end of the season with Christ’s new identity revealed, they wouldn’t know how to promote it, resulting in it being cancelled before the season was half over, in favor of new episodes of America’s Funniest Crotch Kicks and Head Injuries.
Plain & Simple: it was terrible SciFi — the viewers have spoken by not watching it…
I am so tired of stupid tv, I’m tired of being hooked by smart shows only to have them be prematurely canceled (Intelligence on CBC in Canada) & I am so peeved at the way in which ABC sank this one. Thank you Mr. Parriott for sharing some of what future seasons of Defying Gravity would have looked like, and I will hold out hope that some one, some time will pick it up again.
I have seen all the shows – and it’s such a pity reading this as the character descriptions are very meaty. It moved too slowly in terms of character development. I described it to as a friend as ‘almost OK’ and as a long time lover of SF I wanted more, more angst, more action, more of everything. It just needed to move apace. It felt like it was cleaned up and although there was some drama I needed more. Donner’s voiceover at the beginning and end of each show drove me mad, it’s all too tidy! SF is great at examining the big questions. It feels like the back story and the bible of the show were more fascinating than what we saw on screen.
It’s another case of very short sighted networks I’m afraid. I live and watch tv in the UK and we are really suffering with all the tv series that are cancelled just as we start to see them.
BBC2 is currently showing Defying Gravity in the UK and simulcast in glorious HD simulcast on BBC HD.
Everyone I know that has been watching the show said they really liked it and found it’s mix of mystery, sci-fi, characters and their relationships to be a refreshing change to all the other shows on-air.
I haven’t the heart to tell them that the show has been canned.
As others have said though, thanks very much for providing us with some closure to the shows short life. I only hope that someone else picks up the show to prove ABC to be morons (but having heard that the sets have all now been destroyed it does all sound kind of final!).
Here’s hoping…
Cheers all!
Awesome! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Now if you could find out what happened after:
John Conner landed in the future?
Nimrod’s fellow creatures came on land after the tsunami?
Did Dr. Molly Caffrey’s threshold plan ever work or did the aliens infect the management at the network and get the show canceled?
Then, I could finally sleep at night…
Perhaps this is a job for the Doctor, being a time lord and all.
Personally I would be in favor a change to copyright laws that would send unfinished work into the public domain. That way at least someone could finish the damn storyline… or perhaps a class action lawsuit for mental anguish?
Unfortunately, it is never a surprise to me when good shows get canned. Even the best SciFi shows never get the big numbers that an ER, Dallas or Desperate Housewives can. But I never met a stupid person that liked SciFi, which is more than I can say for the more popular shows…
Really disapointed in ABC… This was a great show with great potential. Because we all need more Dancing with the Stars…
Just finished watching the series…really gutted that there won’t be anymore! :( Seems like everyone who watched it really liked it, and it was down to lack of advertising.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m from the UK, and nobody I’ve spoken to has seen it advertised on the BBC – I just stumbled into it, and then got fed up of waiting every week, so just watched online! The lack of advertising seems to be international though.
So as fans, is there anything we could do to bring this back? I feel like with all of our social networking technology that these days we have a much better chance of getting something re-commisioned if we, the fans, really put our minds to it! If ABC are unwilling to commission series 2, what about international funding? The stations in Canada and the BBC for example?
The facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140245160141) suggested posting tomatoes or ketchup to the ABC offices a la episode 9! I think that has the potential to be a really cool viral campaign!
As usual, idiots are the ones that get complete TV shows. Add to Defying Gravity, other great cancelled shows like Dark Skies, Journeyman and Jericho among many other great shows, made for the intelligent individual.
Yes, ABC should be held responsible for causing distress to people like us who get hooked to a great show and are later dropped without any consideration whatsoever.
Thank you thank you thank you for this!!!!
ABC totally missed the boat on this show, I was really enjoying it. Canceling it was incredibly rude and jarring. Dramatus interruptus. This interview helps.
Great to see Ron Livingston!
I think this show could be re-written quite nicely as a radio-play series, perhaps with a bit more pace and slightly less cheese.
BBC Radio 4 in the UK have a Sci-Fi slot and this would fit in perfectly.
I’m so glad I stumbled onto your page. Real sad they cancelled the show. You gave me most of the answers I needed. And you’re right about the last unaired episodes. Hope this show comes back somehow.
Maybe they’ll put out some books, like The 4400 did? It was nice to get more of the characters and stories that way.
This really was one of the only new tv series that I have enjoyed in ages and I’m really sad that it’s been cancelled. Why does everything always have to be instant gratification for stupid people? I loved the fact that this was a slow burner and you needed to concentrate on what was happening, especially in the first few episodes. Yet more evidence that the world is populated by morons…
This show had all of the potential to be as big as Lost or even Greys’s for ABC, and they made a mess of it……. I am so disappointed with that network. I hope that after this final season of Lost, I will be able to cut my ties because Defying Gravity was so much more exciting and interesting then V, and easier to follow then Flash Forward. Big Mistake ABC!
Glad to see the direction revealed that it would have taken. I’m sure they would have made something of it, but reading it like this.. it doesn’t sound too interesting. Seeing how buyers are interested in where a show is going, I can imagine they weren’t that impressed either.
A sex change as part of an alien’s agenda? Come on… A bunny fucking up the ship? Oh please… But worst of all: saying you’re not stringing viewers along, referring to the indeed horrible storyline of Lost as what you do not want to create, but then admit you were never going to reveal what the aliens were? What their intentions are? That is what keeps viewers watching, imho, because we’re going somewhere. When I first heard there were several objects, I though: oh great, one for each planned season,they’re going to drag this out, and apparently, that was exactly the intention. Not my cup of tea.
Defying Gravity has been a real treat.
As mentioned by the creator the series was intended to attract women audience. well, in this case he was right on the mark, my wife is not a big SciFi fan, as i am, but she loved the show and we both are disappointed with it being cancelled.
We both wish and prey for its return.
In addition it would be an honor to thank you for your revelations made in this interview, excellent reporting.
Regards from Israel.
Thank you so much!! Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a great show like this canned while horrible reality and drama shows which require low intelligence to appreciate it continue season after season…
Keith,
In six months, if you do get Parriott to divulge the entire story behind “Defying Gravity”, maybe pitch to him writing it into a series of novels? I know I would be first in line at Barnes & Noble if that were to happen!
i watched episode 13. so will it be season 2 ?? or not :(
Like so many others, thanks for bringing some closure to this series. I hope there is a final installment but better yet I hope some Network exec gives this show a second chance. I thought the first couple of episodes, while intriguing, were just “ehh.” I could have done without the emo music and some of the Grey’s Anatomy dialogue, but the characters were well rounded and the story line captured my imagination. What kills me was how much better this series got after Ep. 5. I watched the remaining unaired shows online and I have to say it was some of the best TV I’ve seen in a while (recognizing I’m partial to Sci Fi). I would have loved to have seen this play out over three seasons. Based on the last couple of episodes it was becoming clear that retrieval of the Beta episodes was a “test” of some kind for mankind. The reward for passing the test? Who knows? First contact? Interstellar travel? An evolutionary leap? I guess we’ll never really know.
I just watched the hole series and loved it. Fair enough it did take a little while to get into but I was glued to the screen once I got into it. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that we might just get a chance to at least see a final series to at least tie all the loose ends up ;-)
Hey, even Star Trek tanked after the first pilot. This series has guts. It needs to go on in some other way. Syfy needs to pick this up like it did with Stargate. Perhaps a production company could at least make a series of movies out of it a-la Lord of the Rings – one for each planet visited.
I’ve just finished watching the season. It’s going out on the BBC at the moment, but one episode a week is just too slow, so had to find the episodes elsewhere!
I’m disappointed it’s ended, but glad to get some idea of what might have laid ahead. Just a shame it’s not going to happen. If the sets were still around I’d have had some hope, but it really isn’t looking good.
A book would be interesting.
Thank you very much for passing on this information. I have been fortunate enough to have seen all 13 episodes and have recorded them. Defying Gravity, in my opinion is the best T.V. show to come out since FireFly.
I to hope that a network will take on season two. If not, I am looking forward to finding out the remaining details in six months.
Cheers!
I watched all the episodes and was glued to the screen from start to finish. This is the best show i have seen in years!!!! realy disappointed the show has ended! fingers crossed a network wants season 2…..
Thanks for the synopsis. I was so disappointed to hear that it wasn’t picked up after season 1. There have been a few good seasons that had that happen as of late: Surface, Jericho, and now Defying Gravity. When will network america realize that there is an audience out there that can do more than swill beer, and munch on pizza while they watch horrendous reality TV and let their brain turn to mush. Honestly if I had the money, I’d pick up the series and the other two to boot. Keep us updated!
I am here all the way from London (UK) defying gravity should have been given a chance to run. CSI las vegas recieved alot of BS in the first few months of airing but CBS excs stood firm and its 2009 and they are on season 10. I am not a SCi fi fan but defying gravity captured my imagination to the fullest.
TV excs should ask or set up peer groups to find out how viewers feel before pulling plugs on some shows. Hopefully Defying gravity will be back in future may be with CBS
Thanks for this. DG was far, far and away the best new show of the year. A tragedy ABC f**ked it all up…
I really liked this show, I hope another network picks it up. I don’t understand why ABC cancels good shows and leaves idiotic ones running. I guess they’re just completely out of touch.
Great show, only half way through here in UK on BBC2. Can’t believe they culled it, a real pity …
Message from the Netherlands. Thanks for all the information! I hope it gets picked up by another network. If so, i am definitely going to watch it!
It’s pretty painful watching the series on the BBC all the while knowing that there will never be a resolution. I pretty much don’t watch tv, i don’t have one and only sample the odd thing online. Maybe that’s why I loved this series and tv hated it.
Aw man. Write it into a book.
I have seen the entire series and its an utter shame of ABC to kill this very promising series…
big money does it again. Actors, set-builders, crew, catering all work hard to make something out of the box, and what does the money crazed company? it kills it because it lacks the guts to really support quality television. furthermore, it then sells the series on all over Europe, after which millions of European fans are left with an empty feeling because the greed of the US conglomerate of BAD TV broke even.
I wish HBO would have taken the series.
Its a gem, and its indeed not the shallow shit we normally get out of the states.
H.J.Vrielink
Art Director
the Netherlands
I am terribly (horribly) disappointed that this show was axed. I barely watch any tv at all, but to me Defying Gravity was a true gem compared to all of the mindless, simpering crap that the mainstream seems to adore.
This awesome classic sci-fi series MUST continue ! Cannot understand the ABC or whatever bad decision. Defying Gravity cannot follow steps of Firefly and Jericho … :-(
M.Novotny
Czech Republic
Arhhh…. THANK YOU so much for getting that info!! (i honestly would have gone mad had i not had at least some kind of ‘closure’!) i have just watched the last episode (13) and have got really hooked on the show…i’m SO annoyed it’s been cancelled. But what the hey. If you ever get in contact with James Parriot or cast again please let him/them know that so many people really liked the programme and i’m totally gutted it’s been axed. Boo!!
Now that I read this info I’m craving even more for the other seasons. I hope someone produce them.
Cheers from Brazil.
Daniel M. Basso
I just finish episode 13, and can’t take my mind off the plot. I figure I must google it a bit harder to know more about defying gravity. And I’m so glad i did that! Thank you sooo much!!
Yet, it’s truly disappointed knowing that the shooting set and crew were really in past tense. Still, fingers corssed for defying gravity to be brought into spotlight again!!!
ai, are we being testes here as well as what “beta” did to the crew on Antares:(
Miracles are needed here!!
Yeah, I’m very disappointed with ABC because they have done things like this with sever show I like.. Eli, for example. They don’t give some shows a fair chance.
I’m afraid they are doing the same with “V”, by only airing 4 episodes and then none for a couple of months. How do you build momentum and an audience that way. Then they will say they did not get enough viewers and can it. That seems to almost be a trend with ABC.
BTW, I agree that Defying Gravity is an excellent show. Saw all 13 episodes and it got a whole lot better during the second half. It’s a shame it will not be continuing.
Show producers make more than enough to cover the cost of everything that goes into a show and so money is almost always not a factor in cancelling a show.
Viewing figures are the only thing that studios care about these days with them all trying to out-do each other with their results.
Until studios go back to the old MGM days of ‘Arts Gratis Artis’ (Art for art’s sake) we will go on having to suffer shows being cancelled like Defying Gravity.
One last thing I have to say on the matter is that there is a growing culture of people viewing shows via downloaded copies (I mean recoreded and uploaded for others rather than streamed from a brooadcaster’s website) which naturally don’t count towards viewing figures.
Some viewers who do watch downloaded copies of shows have the ability to have watched the original broadcast and so that too is skewing the figures as members of what would otherwise be a genuine audience don’t get counted.
This is a very good series. It has its spin. Not like some idiot reality shows. It is quite sad that a good show is canceled.
Just watched all of the episodes and yet again another excellent, intelligent, show appears tohave been cancelled prematurely. I only hope that this can be revived by another medium (a book?) to give the fans a sense of closure.
This has been the absolute best show I’ve seen lately. So sad to hear it’s already getting the axe. If these episodes were books, I’d buy them all. Thanks for wrapping up a few of the loose ends for us.
This was the best show in a long time! Can’t believe it got cancelled! So wish they could bring it back just for one more season!
I am so sorry that this show has been canceled. The writing, acting, and production were truly excellent. If only it had been billed as a scifi show, it might have acquired a large enough following to justify keeping it on the air.
I will miss this one for sure!
I’m gutted. Just watched ‘The Kiss’…I didnt know the show had been cancelled! So many unanswered questions!
…Oh, and I TOTALLY didn’t get that Nadia was a hermaphrodite!
I have just started getting into the show on BBC 2.
It has not been heavily advertised over here which is a shame as its been turning out to be one of the best shows around.
Hopefully someone will take note and have a re-think.
this show definitely never got a chance. i remember seeing the first episode by chance as i was surfing through the channel listing on Sunday night looking for something to watch and noticed a new Sci-Fi show was about to begin in like 2 minutes, i had never heard of it before and quite frankly, have no memory of ever seeing any commercials for it during it’s run. it’s funny reading the comparisons in this article to LOST & Grey’s Anatomy because when i watched the pilot and first couple of episodes i kept thinking to myself that it was like “LOST-meets-Grey’s-in-space”. and not in a bad way i liked the structure of the show. sad to learn it won’t be coming back, i had kinda figured after no more new eps have been on but didn’t know for sure until just now reading this article after i googled it looking for answers.
This was one of the best shows to come out for a while; too bad it didn’t get the hype it deserved. I hope this gets revived in a few years or something.
Just started watching the show in the U.K and loved it. It’s a litle bit more adult than other sci fi show’s, no one is running around with alien guns shooting the galaxy up or saving complete planets from destruction with a ball of string and chewing gum. T.V companies should be made to sign a contract allowing shows to complete their run. If they are cancelled early a heavy fine should be imposed, I’m sure they would want their pound of flesh if reversed and it might stop them just stopping shows without giving the fans a decent ending. Hopefully it will be another family guy thing, if enough people raise their voices maybe in their wisdom they will bring it back. Fingers crossed.
Isnt it just typical ! The minute a really really good Sci-Fi series comes out it gets dropped. Defying Gravity was and is one of the best new series to be made since Star Trek, so I want to know what idiot decided to can it. Mr. Parriott should think about turning this into a novel instead if it doesnt get picked up by any of the networks for further programming. I would certainly read it.
I ran across this wonderful article on EZTV and am very sad to hear that Defying Gravity is over. Like others of you I found it by accident one evening part way into the first 2 episodes while flipping through the channels. I was hooked and it immediately became one of my regular shows. Even my wife liked it. I’m very disappointed its been canceled and would gladly have paid $5 an episode to watch it. Good Scifi with adult plots and a minimum of violence is very hard to find.
sad to see this go, i was really getting into it but for some reason the BBC has stopped showing it half way through, i see that there are more to be aired. DONT CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO FUND YOU, thank you BBC
Having watched all the aired episodes, and really wanting to like the show. I do love a bit of Sci-fi and theres never enough of it around.
“One reason I didn’t have hallucinations for him was because I didn’t have any for him worked out yet!”
Ive got a new name for Defying gravity. Defying Answers. Or better yet “They-thought they-could-get-away-without-anything-actually-happening-and-string-the-viewer-along forever-with-no-hint-of-plot-whatsoever”
Its ‘lost’ in space, no pun intended. It was fine in Lost for the first two-three seasons or so, but that wained a bit in following seasons when it was sortof realised thats the best your going to get out of lost. Thats the problem when the only constant is give one answer but ask two more questions at the same time.
“Beta and the other “fractal objects” — “I was never going to define what they were.”
A nice little cryptic comment to end on that will always sound far better on paper than what it wouldve been eventually realised as in the show.
“The state of the world — the planet Earth itself — would have been revealed.”
Been watching this on the BBC.. well BBCI Found it while browsing the HD content.Now we have an axed show …
They could have at least put all the remaining shows on BBCI
However .. The complete series has been aired. Its a pain to watch them all but its doable thanks to the net.
Google watch defying gravity online. It gets better in the latter episodes! Shame I had to put up with poor quality after starting the show in HD grrrrrr
Absolutely one of the BETTER shows on TV for quite some time. It is a real shame this is cancelled.
Acting was top notch, sets, storyline, just about everything was Grade “A” material.
One can hope there is a series 2, if not, then I beg and hope there is a book or the likes to complete the story.
Loved the sshow and can’t believe its been so poorly promoted… come on BBC, you pick it up and do it yourselves!
My boyfriend and I got so hooked on Defying Gravity. Even when it had its eye-rolling moments (and seriously, they telegraphed nearly every plot movement so early you could narrate the show in advance), we couldn’t stop watching. They did a really nice job with the effects and the ship in particular. We were sick to see it end with episode 13. Thanks so much for this interview with Parriot and the juicy info!
As an avid reader, I’d welcome a book… But it’s not the same. The actors were doing such a great job: shameful, really, that a few peabrained people get to decide what the rest of us watch…
For those who want to give a little message to ABC about how good this show is, go buy episodes on iTunes. Prove that you were willing to put $ into the show. I realize it won’t bring the show back, but maybe ABC will give something like this more time the next time around.
I just hate that the execs are so quick to cancel shows they’ve already paid for to put on some airhead shows – reality tv etc… “Seinfeld” was an absolute bomb the first year it was on and it was almost canceled… look where it ended up.
Put your $ where your fingers are and buy some episodes on iTunes! I DID
The constant use of flashbacks was extremely annoying, and took away a lot from the show in my opinion.
Stargate SG-1 started on Showtime and migrated to SciFi. (I refuse to use the lame new name.) I think Defying Gravity would have done well there as a transplant. Oh well.
I have been mesmerised by this series on UK television and am gutted to discover it has been cancelled.
Why do US TV stations do this and to be the poor US audiences left dangling halfway thru a series must be maddening?
I loved the gentle nature of the narration, the great chemistry between Donner and Zoe, and the mystery of Beta, as well as the interesting ideas thrown up about longterm space travel. It’s intelligently scripted and acted, has comedy and pathos, and it’s great not to see stereotypes so prevalent in other series.
I like Canadian-made things as they bring elements to the table which many US series do not.
Wow… what a phenomenal series. I felt like I was on the mission with them. With so much bad sci-fi out there it’s amazing that a show like this did not continue. Real shame.
Is there no way we can convince ABC or someone else to bring the show back? This show is (was) too good!
Yes, I think European channels should get involved. Why only ask for USA’s help?
looks like it is still showing on the BBC. next episode airing this saturday 12th december!!!
It was interesting despite all its faults:
1) pop-science – come venus has 90% earth gravity, it would require a Saturn rocket to get them off ground.
– Magnetic hairspray would get into systems with disastrous results even if everything was meant to be shielded.
-There are fractals found everywhere in nature – its not some special insight – hell the NS ran an article in 2007 saying the universe is fractal. I expect this is where:
“Is everything everything? Are we just another manifestation of some incomprehensibly beautiful, ever-changing meta-pattern of space-time?” comes from
2) candy company having trillions $ to blow on advertising.
3) Astronauts with more problems than Dr’s of Grey’s anatomy. Christ everyone is “screwing” everyone on this show: the psch. eval. must have the bar set on the ground.
4) 50 years in the future you’d think we’d be more technologically advanced in terms of computers.
5) Not to mention Nadia. Even if she was born a hemaphrodite consider this: she is clearly attracted to men hence why she is attracted to Donner. Otherwise she would be a butch (i want to be a man) lesbian or butch (i want to be a man)full stop; rather than an attractive feminine looking nymphomaniac.
Seriously this thing where she should choose to be a man or a woman is mute because your sexuality isn’t determined by your physical sex or social conditioning now is it. Plus she was 11 when they had to make the choice, which was old enough for her to decide or at least have an idea. Was she really guilty that she made the wrong choice?
In essence I thought this was either an attempt to be controversial or a poor attempt of addressing sexuality via the “nature vs nurture” argument; which would have dragged in the religious Catholic nutjob that was Paula Morales, and “god” was I sick of her and her in your face religion by episode 13.
One can’t get too caught up with details of the science. Hence the name fiction. Hey star trek is based on the premise that earth existed as a global nation at peace with no more wars, famine, etc..etc. Oh ok..that belong in the category of social science. Fine but could that happen in future? As for the computers, would we really be significantly be more advanced that we were. If morse’s law holds true in 40 yrs, we’d probably have a computer so powerful that it would 2^20 more powerful that what it is today. True or not, if a syfy writer makes such assumption, the computer power would be too much out of the realm of imagination making it impossible to believe. There are things that I already find difficult to accept. Irrespective of how powerful of a computer, there is no way earth and the spaceship can communicate without any lag time. Its simple math really. Speed of light is 18 million km/minute. Venus is 38 million km away. That means it takes light about 2 minute (i.e., 38/18) to travel from earth to venus. Dont forget you got to double that for round trip. Ever got a call on the phone where no one answered? How many “hello”‘s did you repeat before you got fedup and hung up? Dont tell me they solve this problem and got the communication to travel faster than speed of light. If so, why couldnt’t they solve it for the mission, heh? They dont need six years. Darn it. meybe Parriot should have given them warp drive capability, that way the whole mission would be done in one or two season. Maybe then the dumasses in ABC would have picked it up. In any case, one cant analyse this too much or the show becomes too caught up in details. I accept DG for its flaws simply because the “religious/philosophy/alien/superbeing” stint of the show really caught my fancy. So much so I am holding hope for some heavy object to accidentally fall on the head of some tv network VP and knock some sensory network in place. Maybe then, this show will get the much needed miracle on 46th street. But alas…that is yet another fiction.
Really??? Why can’t you just enjoy the show!! Why dissect it??
defying gravity is cool bring it back you bum holes
I hope they find funding to do Season 2 & 3 while they still have the actors available! This series should set the tone for entertainment in a sane modern society.
(instead most American TV reminds me of the social behavior of some animals when they are smelling each others rear ends.)
to some of the comments, as for getting off of Venus, I don’t think a 10% reduction in gravity is insignificant. Add to that the fast pace of material sciences, and in 50 years I find it easily conceivable that we would both have materials light enough, and a fuel with a high enough energy density to escape Venus’s gravity well with the vessel they used.
to the comment about Paula Morales.. the religous lobby is one of the most powerful social forces in US politics today. it’s a real issue that any show about our expansion into space would be failing if it did not address. living in a intellectual bubble and pretending you can ignore that, is a dramatically losing strategy. The whole reason the conservative movement is so powerful today is the very attempt at trying to move on from the issue and pretend it doesn’t exist, leaving them the only truly organized movement, winning by default.
oh yea… Jen fracked up. she may not be able to see the object, but she sure as heck could of studied the tomato plants the object made to grow in the fractal patterns.
She’s a biologist after all. and that’s biology related to the object is it not?
It is a sad day this was one of my all time favorites and it usualy takes me a season or two to get involved I was hooked by episode 10 I was in it for the long haul and all I could think was there was 6 planets so that meant at least 6 years of enjoyment and maby one more to wrap it up when it was canseled I felt so betrayed by ABC CTV , I will never get into another network series untill I see a season 2 promo ,
Ive been watching this show in the UK and im up to episode 9, its been entertainig enough and it looks like its just going to get better. Its really annoying when these shows get dropped when other shite like big brother get 9 bloody seasons, these tv execs hav got it wrong… Arseholes!!!
Well, I’m up to episode 11 now – getting better with every show. Sure wish this went beyond season1! having a hard time finding the shows to watch with decent resolution and speed.
Wish they were on iTunes – I’d buy them
Heard about the show, and somehow, could get it here in France. DVD coming in January 2010 ??? Sure I buy it ! And I will offer it too to my good friends !
This show (and story itself) deserves future. If you don’t know it, please believe me. Sci-fi fan or not, you will enjoy it, despite it rather slow first episodes. Worth the patience, for sure.
Thank you, James Parriott : you are someone I call an Author.
Yet another series with wonderful promise that has let down the viewers by lacking the vision of finale substance.
Due to the series being cancelled after the first set of shows, it begs to question the better…
1. Watch years of slow development, and show becoming old hat.
2. Lose the series and miss out on a wonderful end plot.
3. Remember the end may always be left open for revisit.
Undoubtedly is better to watch single full length feature programmes than “To be continued….” because I nearly always miss the ending part.
This show is so frustrating. However I find myself checking bbc to find out what time its going to be on this week! Every week a different time slot! I am determind to see something actually happen, I will see a planet!!! (surely these should be the real heroes).
Isn’t space fascinating enough, do we have to have all these emotionally immature, stubborn characters, what can’t they share their visions more openly? So you can hear a baby crying, so you shagged donner, oh get over it, you wouldn’t send any of these idiots into space.
Are any of them actually interested in the solar system? Once every two episodes one of them actually looks out the spacecraft’s window!
Anyway I will get to see venus on monday night (at last!!) I am hoping that they will realise that this is what the earth could be like after runaway global warming, but thats probably way to much to expect from americans, especially the show’s religious nutjob who in 2052 still votes republican! Far easier to have some extra terrestrail mumbo jumbo storyline.
But I continue to watch, because I like the idea of space travel, the bbc mini series this was inspired by was much better, fact is far more interesting than fiction.
And now I hear that the show has been cut. After all my ranting, I am disappointed, I would have stubbornly followed it, just for the planets, and just ignored all the nausiating ‘5 years earlier’ fluff.
If the networks actually thought about it they would have realised that the (advertising)space between the planets doubles everytime as you travel outwards. The price of an ad during the jupiter show in about 2 years time could have been astronomical, lesser fees for the billion or so objects in the asteroid belt, and all those moons out there around saturn, as yet to be discovered, each one just waiting for sponsorship.
Probably it was a good idea it was axed. I’ll just stick the the nasa website and my imagination, far more satisfying.
Excellent show – something that made you think!!!
Never going to be a success then!
Watched last episodes last night (even stayed awake instead of Sky+) needed more which is why I just came looking for series 2.
Typical! another decent scifi series bites the dust. I should be thankful that i got to see all 13 episodes (whenever the snooker wasn’t on, and the bbcs infuriating knack of moving the days). Why do half-decent shows get cancelled and complete and utter mindless dross fills up the tv schedules. I am completely fed up with reality tv shows, soaps and the like. I want to be entertained! If i have to suspend belief on “science” so what….thats half the fun of watching this sort of programme. Defying Gravity should have been given longer to get into its stride. Its only flaw, as i saw it, was taking too many episodes building character backgrounds.
Amazing that ABC cancelled this show right before the pivotal “Eve Ate the Apple” which sets everything up. In a way the show was ponderously slow, and ya know, I was all “Flashbacked out” from LOST. But I *knew* these characters. You’re right, the show got better with each episode.
Thanks for snagging this interview. I like how Journeyman and Life on Mars were rather wrapped up. I always wondered about John Doe, and yes will admit to wanting to know about Kyle XY. And, I wonder what happened to the *real* ending of Battlestar Galactica–the ending that ties up the loose ends and foreshadowing and issues that were dangled out in front of me for years. People love that Jericho came back for a short second run–I think they should have left well enough alone, because that second run reeked (it didn’t help that they lost some of their best actors). I’m sorry, that’s one where I just stopped caring.
Too bad about Defying Gravity. Seems like the planets weren’t quite lined up for us this time.
Shame this series was cancelled. The new V series is a flop, SGU sucks. For all the whining over the soundtrack and dramatic monologues, Defying Gravity was best in its class.
With Sci-Fi you almost always have to let it run for some time before it catches on.
It must be me.
I tired very quickly of the ‘5 years earlier’ bits. The constant diving about between times fractured the plot too much for me.
When I first saw the adverts for grey’s anatomy, I thought that it was beautiful people standing round looking morose. Didn';t watch it. Calling DG grey’s in space put me off, but I gave it a shot.
Donner, your taste in women is rubbish. The blonde airhead should have been allowed out of the airlock.
Towards the end, I was making use of the ff button on the remote, a lot of the (in)action just got boring.
All that said, I would have liked to see if it improved in S2.
I’ve been watching (and getting strangely “hooked” on) this show in the U.K., where we at least get to see the full 13 episodes. The final 2 are “back to back” tonight at the peak time of midnight on BBC2 – hardly surprising that the ratings have dropped!! The timings, before tonight, have also been all over the place and you have had to scour the TV mags to even find out when the transmission time is! Our friends on the other side of the pond must have been absolutely gutted to have had the show pulled part way through the run. Bet that wouldn’t have happened to Big Brother, or other “reality” shows.
Fully agree with the earlier comments, that Star Trek and MASH might not have lasted if the same insanity had prevailed when those shows were first shown.
This show had real potential and was progressing very nicely. The characters had started to show their individual stresses and weaknesses and the concept of how their lives might have been different, had alternative decisions been made, was intriguing.
The bosses should have had the patience to let the show fully develop before taking any decision to pull the plug. Altho unlikely I still hope that the series may be picked up by another network in the future – even tho the cast and sets have been “dismantled”.
Maybe a bit too cerebral for a majority American audience?
VERY, VERY frustrating!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll miss it.
Thank you Keith for asking these questions and thank you James for answering.
This replaces a bit the lack of respect of ABC for unolugging this with no wrap up. I hope, and would bet, that SyFy will take this for a ride later on. Good luck!
I’m glad they canceled it. The show’s horrible. Science is altogether non-existent in this supposed “science” fiction series. The religion junk is a real turn-off. A good moral lesson is that there is no such thing as fate.
Greetings,
I’ve just seen the last two of the 13 episodes in the UK … both aired after midnight. :wink:
This was a great series with some clever elements to the plot and it is very sad to read of its demise at the end of the first series. At least we got to see all 13 episodes here in the UK whereas in the US, you have been dumped well and truly in the pond! Sorry about that poor joke :)
Anyway … I don’t like beating about the bush … so SHAME on you ABC.
Now … is somebody with some muscle going to resurrect the series? or do you want a Braveheart2 to invade :smiles:
Anyway, I have an idea. :)
I was criticising this show earlier but I just saw the last two episodes and got hooked and I knew it had been cancelled! I should have left it. Now I’m feeling empty and restless, I want to travel further. Gonna watch the bbc ‘journey to the planets’ to come down from it.
watched the last two on the Beeb in a mood of inceasing frustration. How can a program as intelligent as this be cancelled?? Is TV now just about the lowest common denominator?? (Oh yes it is……..).
I agree Philip. Are there any e-petitions we could sign? Is there some way to communicate effectively with ABC?
There is a facebook group called Save Defying Gravity that has over 1000 members. It seems to be setup around convincing ABC to ‘do something’ which doesn’t make sense to me. Sure ABC’s scheduling and lack of promotion may have put the nail in the coffin, but unless ABC are holding the unused rights to future series (and surely, if so, they’d be happy to release these rights), it seems more useful to persuade SciFi or another channel to get behind the show and produce another series?
Personally I’d be happy for the remaining ideas to be released as a book.
This was a great drama that also happened to be a Sci-Fi. It is such a shame it did not get good scheduling and promo – here in the UK or it appears in the US. I hope Mr Parriot does not lose heart, and writes another cracking drama. For me, this first series was head and shoulders above ‘Lost’ and had better characters and an idea of where it was going. I hope we get another series, but wont hold my breath.
DF rules.
ABC sucks.
Thank God for Sky+, and not having to battle BBC scheduling.
Lets make the 2nd seasoon ourselves. I’ve got £50 – who else is in…..?
^ I mean: DG rules.
Please please let this drivel die. The idea of it drifting on for 5 or 6 years, eventually wandering about the digital channels like a lost soul (pun intended) makes my skin crawl. Whatever happened to the MINI series? Does everything now have to be a surreal goalpost-shifting Twin Peaks clone (Flashforward and Being Erica also spring to mind)?
Real Shame this has been cancelled, followed it in the UK with the DVR just finding it and recording it no matter when it was scheduled – gutted.
Would be great to follow it as a book or min-series, the BBC shoud get some balls and find a bigger backer and go for series 2, my £50 is in as well
With you all the way (apart from the £50)! I stayed up to watch the episodes as I don’t own a DVR. Difficult to see how the original feel could be recaptured with actors released and sets destroyed, but here’s hoping!
Sat here having just watched episode 13, i said to my wife “I bet thy cancel this”, When she asked why i thought that , stated that it would be because “the ratings would be poor”.
Again “why?” i said “It’s because it’s an intelligently written and well thought out series that will require the average American to think about, therefore it’ll be cancelled”
When i checked…
When will the people that commission these things have the courage to go the distance?
I love America. My wife loves America, we would live there if possible. But COME ON PEOPLE! when are shows that shovel out the same trite plot lines with minimal intelligence and poor dialogue going to end?
I guessed the bad guy in harpers island in the first episode. Got his ‘dad’ by the third-.
America is home of the moon landings, breaking sound barriers, among other innumerable achievements. But it’s also home to the most myopic ideas of what is good tv and what is popular.
A real pity.
Yeah, I am another person who has exactly the same feelings as all these other folk. I nice emotional, thought provoking show that you end up waiting, wishing and needing the next episode of. The way that the BBC messed around with the scheduling of it so that if you didnt go looking you wouldnt find it says it all. They probably just followed ABC like sheep.
A crying shame there wont be another series, lets face it, all these posts came from people GOOGLING “defying gravity” trying to find when the next series was due to be aired.
I feel robbed. Fingers crossed, like a pheonix, a fractal pheonix, someone will fund another series or 5 so there can be some kind of conclusion………
I’m a UK viewer, it’s just finished its run here on BBC2 / BBC HD – and I’m gutted it’s been cancelled!!! Excellent premise, a bit of a slow-burner at first, but the final four episodes were brilliantly executed. I’ll miss it. Shame on you, ABC, for depriving us of a well-produced show!
Thanks to you, though, for this post.
Merry Christmas :)
Another disappointed UK viewer here. Stayed up to watch it last night and then watched it again on iPlayer. I guessed it was doomed after a few episodes, far to intelligent to survive. The US does produce some good shows but DAMN does it cancel a lot before they’ve given them the chance to find an audience. This one deserved better promotion and a second season.
If Parrriott feels the urge to write a book telling the rest of the story I’ll be first in line to buy a copy :-)
I,d like to know when the BBC knew the show had been cancelled. Seeing as reports of the sets being destroyed, was a day after the first airing on the BBC. I,m gonna feel robbed if I find out the BEEB aired a show it knew to be dead in the water. They could of at least told us, seeing as we own the BBC.
Its such a shame, its been the only show on iplayer I sort out this autumn.
Yep, just watched the last episode and I am very disappointed to read that there never will be a season 2!! Please at least write a book, I’ll buy it!
As other writers I’m sad that show has been cancelled. Yes took a few episodes to get going but became addictive! Wish, wish, wish it was being continued. :’-(
I had all but despaired of seeing the sort of stuff I like to watch (intelligent, thought-provoking, believable…) when I stumbled across this show on BBC2 here in UK. I have watched every episode several times and I loved every second of it. If the writers can’t resurrect the show (a British version, perhaps?) then they really must write a novel to tell us what happened next! (or maybe 6 novels – one for each Object). I have my theories about Beta – I’d love to know if they were correct!
I have just finished watching the last episode of Defying Gravity and I think it was one of the greatest things to be on television this year. It is a great shame that noone could keep faith enough to preserve the sets and crew together until at least the airing of the last episode. The converse of “It was a slow build” is of course, “It just got better.” It seems that too many people have an inbuilt trigger to not think too deeply about the future of the species. I’m sure that US audience ratings for global warming programs don’t get media heart rates rising either. This was good television, with a thought provoking backdrop. The issues remain. Some day, we may be all asked to fund this kind of thing. The world needs the book. Write it and they will come ..
Like all the other posts, I’m disappointed there will be no more Defying Gravity unless we’re very lucky.
The indecision by ABC and the air time on BBC both meant series 1 was fighting a loosing battle. If we (fans) shout loud enough though who knows what may happen.
I too am very disappointed and enjoyed the final episode enough last night to try searching out more answers today on the internet.
I hope that someone can send these postive messages back to Mr Parriott to show that it was well received by some and if he considered writing the next series as novels there would be a market for them.
Well done to the actors too, it was one of the best programmes I have seen for a while.
I am sooooo glad I am not the only person that feels this way. For me it was fantastic, a show that finally kept us thinking and wasnt about sex or drugs! Woohoo. I really hope the novels are done, I would definately be lining up for them! Please Please Please get the message to James Parriott if you can! x
This was an amazing series. Very dissappointed to see it cancelled so quickly but pretty much par for the course – and of course I should have checked before starting to watch (that it hadn’t already been cancelled).
At least we got to see the end of the 1st season, unlike My Own Worst Enemy – cancelled half way through, and unlike John Doe there was no immediate critical unexplained hook for the next sseason…
Another UK viewer who has just watched the last episode. I can’t help but echo pretty much of what has been said above. Intelligent, adult science fiction that is well written, well acted and looked fabulous on BBC HD. Of course, it was doomed from the start as it made you think!
Well done to Mr Parriott for bringing it to us in the first instance and good luck with what comes next.
Merry xmas to all.
And I am yet another disappointed UK viewer who could have enjoyed seeing this excellent show develop. It did cross my mind that the show had some grown-up views to express about God and science; that sort of thing is not always well received in the USA (there will be no further films from Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy despite the huge success of the first). Ah well; back to Lost and Flash Forward (and Paradox??!!?)
Gutted
A show with depth, characterisation and good back story…
Oh well just goes to show how TV belongs to the great unwashed.
Roll on “next top xxx”, I’m a celebrity (but have no work…) and the rest.
Merry Christmas.
What a fantastic series it could only have got better still !!!!TV companys wake this show was mint good acting great filming great film qyality …..What a shame !!!!
Mick Uk
It was neither one thing or the other, not Greys or Voyage to the planets. The ABC handling of it is nothing new; Chilton did it in 1954 with Journey into Space spending too much time on earth, and his revised version was much tighter, even though the early story was great on paper. I watched DG back to back 1-9 and honestly if they had compressed them into 1 to 3/4, and added the 11-13 then it would have made a cracking half season. The last 3 had the right mix and pace (and thank God some real action)to get us hooked. I am sure Space Sky BBc could do it, but not on that actors budget. Perhaps Beta could mutute them! I too would love to see a DVD movie
i’m 17, not to old not to young, but i was gutted to see that theres not going to be a second season of DG. Just shows that a wide variety of people watch thks show. It needed a chance, as it was the only thing i looked foward to watching, and when the BBC changed scheduling a bit i was furious as i would miss bits. GOD DAM YOU!!!
Just got to add my voice to all those gutted that DG not getting a 2nd and more season. With the success of Moon I thought that maybe the commissioners of this kind of show would appreciate intelligent sci-fi instead of the noisy mess that currently passes for it (Yes, I do mean Star Trek – OMG that sucked!)
Whay cant the SciFi channel pick up a 2nd series it would surely be a hit?
Can’t agree more with above comments!!!! Have thoroughly enjoyed this and think it is well written and an extremely nice change from what is becoming very mundane reality tv and repeats! PLEASE can someone make season 2????!!! I want to know what happens!
I agree with all the comments. An excellent, intelligent series that deserved better but suffered from its first few episodes that were a tad too slow, too focused on the set up, hard to get into for casual viewers because of the time jumps between training and mission and absence of the big plot element that transformed the series two thirds through.
I stuck with it unaware of what was coming and so saw the massive jump it made into a gripping series (as well as already beautifully written and differently paced prpogramme which was enough to keep my attention. But I guess by then too many had given up because the opening few episodes asked a lot of the viewer that sadly these days too few people seem willing to give. That is treat a TV series like a great novel rather than a trashy celen magazine.
Shame that a dedicated channel like Sci Fi (or whatever it is called these days) cannot see the cult audience this would get if they were to pick up and run with it. It is already far better than most other things they show and deserves a place somewhere on TV if TV is to have a future for a thinking, intelligent audience.
But a book if all else fails – yes, please.
Another disappointed UK viewer. I thought this series was brilliant, I agree with above comments that another channel should pick it up! The show had me truly gripped, and if the series came out as books I would DEFINITELY buy them.
Having been on the lookout for some decent Sci Fi, I stumbled upon this at the start and instantly took a liking to it. I found that the slow build-up actually brought with it a lot of anticipation, as it explained a fair amount of the backdrop and even the (potentially dubious) science. I accepted the gravity issue it was in the name of the show! The visuals were great and the story, along with character interactions were interesting. I enjoyed the flashbacks, as they tied into the episodes, giving a greater understanding of the plot.
It is a shame that a show which takes time to build up a strong foundation and that requires a viewer to think a little has recieved such a bad reception. It is a slight on both the public and the broadcasters in my opinion.
The biggest blame however lies with ABC and the lack of promotion. This show was never destined to have great viewing figures but it was never given a chance to be noticed. If there was enough excitement to start, I think more people would have stuck with the opening episodes, even if they found them slow going.
Here’s to hoping that somehow a second series is made, or at least a book is written coving the story. At least I enjoyed watching whis far.
Wouldn’t you just love to get a hold of some of these TV Executives and bash their heads together. Why leave people wanting answers like this. I really do hope this show gets a second chance. If not, a book or series of books please Mr Parriott. I have to know the outcome one way or another.
I found watching Defying Gravity to be a very moving experience.
It gradually involved me with the interplay between a very engaging set of characters and slowly (perhaps a bit too slowly to hold the interest of some audience members..) exposed a mystery hidden beneath the events which revealed itself to be inspiring and uplifting as well as challenging, both for the characters and the audience.
Just as the characters were pushed beyond their limits, we as the audience were awakened to new insights into the meaning and beauty of life lying just below the surface through the stimulation of our emotions and imagination.
Let us also go beyond our limits by not seeing this only as a promise unfulfilled, but rather as a lovely dream from which we were awakened early, leaving us inspired by it’s sweet memory and allowing it’s magic to unfold within our own hearts and play out it’s promise through the challenges in our own lives which call for us to be courageous, passionate and loving.
Another UK viewer gutted that this series has been canned.
But we do need to get a hold of the bible!
It amazes me how the US networks can produce so many programs with little substance that are picked up again for multiple seasons, but can’t seem to do the same with a well constructed interesting series like Defying Gravity (Yes I know it’s a Canadian CTV production). Are the poor ABC ratings due to an American audience who expect programmes to have easy storylines that aren’t to deep and don’t lose there interest?. I think it is brilliant and am gutted that a season 2 is not being made as there are so amny unanswered questions. Such a shame!
The main problem with Defying Gravity is that it did not seem to know what it wanted to be.
Surprisingly enough, having human beings with lots of `relationship’ problems does not enhance the program, it detracts from what it is all about. The only thing that mattered was what the aliens were about, we know what human beings are about and the stories sidetracked from what was important.
The training schedules were overblown and did not add to the storyline. We know that astronauts go through a heavy training programme, a few brief sections to outline the problems would have been more than enough, maybe the first episode, extended if necessary, would have been enough. End of episode 1 should have seen them well on the way. The part where the astronauts were changed at the last minute was ridiculous, after all, the `mcguffin’ as Hitchcock would have put it, would have ensured that the right 8 for the job were already in place, it would not have had to change things over.
Zoe’s abortion may have had some comment to it, but the whole long drawn out saga to find out the importance of it in episode 13 was too long. Drama should `bite’ should be alive, should grip right from the very beginning. If it doesn’t, its going to fail.
The whole show should have been considered as a one series event, 13 episodes could have got us round the universe. We should have landed on Venus by the beginning of 4, got them back, loaded the `alien’ and been on our way to the next planet.
Too long, too drawn out, too much trivia. What was the point of the chap running the girl down if the powers that be are going to get him back to the shop, all right, I know he confessed later, but the point is it again side tracked from what should have been the main drama.
A good one series drama is more than sufficient to deal with it and, if it had been done properly, then DVD sales would have been OK. But it took too long to go anywhere and I for one will not be getting it. Mind you, I’ve got DVDs going back to the original Quatermass of the 1950’s through Fred Hoyle’s A for Andromeda (Original 1960’s version), whole chunks of Star Trek and BSG, also, a library of over a thousand SF books.
There are whole chunks of SF that would have made better drama but I feel the writers were suffering from the Greed disease of Hubris when they thought this series up. Instead of padding they should have been cutting, getting rid of everything that was extranneous to the story and concentrating on the aliens. We needed to know about them right from the beginning so that the viewers could be focussed on what `could happen’ instead of waiting to see if `anything could happen’. Don’t drag it out.
I’ve dragged this comment out enough.
Cheers
John Orr
Goodness me sounds like you have an attention span of about 10 mins and if nothing blows up or something gets a bit emotional then you’ve turned over to something like erm motor racing. hmm maybe you aught to stick to that and let us ppl who love sci-fi how ever ridiculous it is and lets face it it is enjoy what little of it there is..
How very depressing, but not surprising.
The show made the critical error of examining the relationship between science and religion, not a good move in the States. Any programme that has any comment to make on our society is quickly scheduled out of oblivion. Look what happened to Battletar Galactica – it was amazing that it made it to four seasons, even that was a close-run thing.
Pre-promotion in the US and UK was abysmal, I found out about the show purely by accident and have i-player so could watch at my leisure.
ABC deliberately killed the show in the crib in my opinion. BBC’s scheduling was a disgrace – I pay exactly the same licence fee as people who watch Strictly and all those dreadful cookery reality shows.
Hopefully they’ll do a book to see the story through to its conclusion.
I feel like giving up on TV, its all bread and circuses for idiots now.
Thats exactly why I do not pay my license fee because of the mind numbing dribble the BBC is intent on showing. like yourself I found this sci-fi on the I-player…
What I liked about this series was it showed humankind actually doing something posiive: Exploring the galaxy, alien life forms, courage, a higher purpose…
But after reading this article, the idea that this series would just act out different ways of testing the crew in increasingly mean ways by increasingly sanctimonious alien entities, just doesn’t sound like entertainment.
The ‘second chances’ concept is interesting but seriously: Changing a person’s sex in middle age, against their will?? Isolating someone from all friendship and then making them kill their pet bunny??
I’m quite glad we won’t see some of this played out on screen.
I’m really hoping the Defying Gravity will return, its one of the few programmes that I looked forward to watching each week – the others being ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Merlin’ the first season of ‘Heroes’- and not many others.
I preferred it to Lost as although i liked the first season of lost, the rest of it was suddenly too dragged out….
Defying Gravity has intelligence, intrigue, and more.
The actors are excellent, the storylines a little challenging, with the storyline expanding with each episode-
in the UK, it was on late, though not a problem with those with bbciplayer, at 11.15 at night, not everyone can stay up for. it reminded me a little of bbc programs like doctor who though, in the way that the characters are not perfect and flawless, like in some amerian show, many or all are flawed, and the program does challenge and address deep issues….like religion, ethics, etc.
I’m not happy that is was described as ‘entertaining to women too’, as if sci fi is a mens only attraction – the amount of female fans david tennant has as the doctor in doctor who shows that both females and males like sci fi. it was good though that it had such strong female leading roles, as well as mens roles. but to read that it was ‘for women too’ would have put me off a bit!
I wonder if many people were put off by the abortion thing, i wasn’t keen on it, especially the hysterectomy, but the show doesn’t really judge one way or another on this, besides, issues like that was more ‘true to life’ if we can say that about a sci fi show (of course we can!). Nadia annoyed me too, but hey, that’s life, and again, it made the program more challenging to watch, while providing questions of relationships, and attitudes towards intimate relationships.
I’m glad there was a kinda happy ending at least in ‘kiss’, despite zoe and maddox both making wrong decisions, and bad at communicating to each other -couldn’t help wishing them to get together, and to see Maddox’s face at the end, all protective, and loving, was a real good acting moment……
I’d be really interested in reading a book of the rest of the story (though would miss the excellent actors etc from the tv series), to find more about the mystrey of Beta – are the humans putting together aliens who will destroy them, or help them? are they illusions? are they…..? who is that person that nadia keeps seeing? it looks like her dressed as a bloke? what will maddox and zoe be like now after so much has been revealed? well, theres plenty of open questions along the way………..
Loved watching this on the BBC. What a shame the series has been cancelled. I think it was a real grower… maybe the universe will somehow bring it back for its second series…
One annoying thing: beta is pronounced bee – tah. Why can’t you Americans pronounce the t as a t and not a d!!! For at least the first 6 episodes I thought it was called bader :-)
I was really getting into this show, watched it through BBC iPlayer due to the late slots. Yes it did start slow but I thought this had real potential, the last episode has certainly left me wanting to see another series. Hope it does somehow rise from the ashes!!
What a crying shame. Most enjoyable sci fi show for years. Good storylines and intrigue. Where was it all going? Couldn’t wait to find out. Now looks like never will!
Brilliant Show.
Watching in India (Internet rocks as usual)
Shame to know its off air. Great potential. Watched all 13 episodes practically in a day.
Thanks for the revelations.
Would love to see more.
SciFi would not pick it up because of the lost caché after they aired a couple of episodes on ABC?
That makes no sense at all. First of all SciFi has all kinds of crappy shows (How much caché does Ghost Hunters have?) and exclusive movies that look and sound like they were failed film student projects, and second of all wasn’t it ABC that picked up BSG after SciFi aired the whole series? Or are you implying that SciFi is classier than ABC?
The fact is that having a couple of episodes aired on ABC would have been a couple of hours of free advertising for the show if it moved to Scifi.
I’ve just finished watching the entire season 1 in Britain and I am intensely annoyed at the fact it’s cancelled. However, finding out what happens to the characters is reassuring; though I hope they’ll produce season 2 for the BBC.
-Cheers
What a fantastic series. One of the few shows around that I couldn’t wait to watch (albeit on i-player due to its late-night slot). Such a shame that it’s been cancelled. How can there be so much crap around and a really good series like this cancelled.
I cannot believe that such an inventive and well constructed si-fi series has been cancelled mid story. this is typical of major TV network where quality programming that appeals to a relatively small audience has to make way for the generalised crap that apparently draws in a mass market. I am extremely dissapointed and would be happy to join any action aimed at getting this discission reversed.
Really gutted this show has been cancelled, i and a fair few people i know were really into it.
If there is no chance of it being picked up.. please write a book or something.
I would love to know how it all ends and im sure a lot of people agree.
I also agree with Plastic Man… i dont understand how people are more interested in crap like the X-Factor and Celebrity get my out of here etc. People dont seem to have much of an imagination anymore.
I cant think of anything better than a good sci fi.. and Defying Gravity deffinantly was one.
I only watch 5 or 6 programes a week and don’t care if I miss those but I got into Defying Gravity.
The ever changing time slot didn’t help the viewing figures, I bet more people would have got into it if the time slot had remained the same as when it started.
I don’t think the BBC should have aired the show at all if they knew that series 2 was unlikely, I feel like I have wasted my time watching. Would the BBC show Strictly come dancing upto the quarter finals then say sorry we are not making any more?
I’m fed up, I thought it was a one season show, if I had known what I know now I wouldn’t have watched it.
Please someone find a way to finish the story!
Just finished watching the last episode on the BBC. It depresses me no end that a show which is intelligent, challenging, constantly interesting and thought provoking such as this gets cut and the US networks instead decide to produce dumbed down, no brains clones of a million shows that have gone before.
Seems to me that the future of sci fi on TV is getting shakier by the day. Its sad to see the apparent demise of a genre i love.
I cannot believe this show was cancelled. It was one of the best I have seen in ages. Intelligent and engaging unlike most of the rubbish doing the rounds. How can shows like Lie to me, NCIS LA and many others get multiple seasons when they are so crap? It wasn’t perfect but still hugely entertaning. I hope somehow it is revived by someone with a shred of talent for spotting a good thing.
Gutted its been cancelled, reminds me of Invasion getting cancelled which I also really liked….there should definitely be a book to give us all a definite ending!
Just wondered if a book would be published in the near future so I can find out what happens.. It would be nice to have something positive to conclude the story now the TV series has been shelved…this show had the possibility of becoming a classic such a shame it’s not continuing.. very disappointed. Good luck to all the actors and of course the writer.. don’t give up on it.
XX
I too am very sad that this show has ended. What a truely superb tv show. :-( Boo hoo.
Myself and my wife just happened upon the first episode shown on BBC2 and were hooked from then on.
I believe that had it been advertised properly and shown at a decent time it would have attracted much bigger audiences.
The intelligent plot line and character development were a refreshing change from most of the rubbish calling itself science fiction which is usually shown on TV.
This show really deserves another chance!
Had soooo much potential, great charactors depth of knowledge and good research. Get the book done whilst it’s still fresh in the memory you will shift a few thousand copies.
Those of us that haven’t had our brains turned to mush by reality TV. Will be able to use the visuals supplied by session one, to build our own mini series from the prose in your book.
It’s not surprising how much sci fi becomes science fact !
really great start,but the bbc didnt help by screenig this late and changing times, days,seemingly at random,i really hope if it doesn’t continue on the screen we can get the book and find out how everything plays out,
Have to say I really enjoyed it and, though I agree it was slow in the first few episodes, I quite enjoyed the pace overall.
The question this poses for me is how feasible joint funding of programmes is with one giant partner able to cancel despite other partners not yet having aired it.
I guess the lack of promotion at the BBC was due in part to the foreknowledge that it was likely to be cancelled and this will have affected the schedules – perhaps someone could enlighten me?
In summary, good to hear how the series would have progressed, sad to see it die before the first episode aired in the UK and good luck putting together multi-broadcaster projects with ABC or any other behemoth.
Having just finished watching the first series of this show, and finding out that it is not being continued, i feel like other commentators that it seems odd for a series to be picked up by the bbc when the risk of not having further series was so pronounced.
I enjoyed the premise, and the many themes, explored in the show, but i do feel that it took too long to expand on any particular idea. This is not a personal view, but a comment on the lack of patience of television viewers in general. I am happy to wait for a conclusion/revelation if i feel that the story as a whole is going somewhere, and for this show i did feel that, having read the plans for the programme, there was potential for growth beyond the scenes we had been shown.
Obviously all filming for the first series was finished before the show was not renewed as, unlike another cancelled american show i enjoyed (studio 60 on the sunset strip), there was no acceptable conclusion on which the show finished. Has televisoon become the death of ideas?
What a shame! Watched thae last episode last night/this morning. At the end I was waiting for the announcement of when the next series would show. Nothing! Then I found out it’s not happening.
In an age when a lot of TV is inane nonsense I despair when an intelligent and thought provoking product gets canned without notice, and angers me when the BBC show the thing (presumambly) knowing it’s fate.
Lets have more good TV like this.
Utterly fascinated by the plot, vision, graphics and especially the extraordinary acting in this series.
As stated, and appears to be common knowledge among TV viewers, there is nothing but utter trash on every channel at every time of day and night…and it is because of the broadcasting companies around the world.
Sci-Fi, ABC, the rest of the list…all are responsible for producing crap and allowing what could become the greatest show on all of television from even making it through the gate. I’m not saying that Defying Gravity would become THE show to watch in any nation, but it wasn’t even given the chance to…much like the many series we have loved and lost to the imaginationless corporations and especially the list of series that never even make it as far as Defying Gravity did.
I do not watch TV since it is all garbage now. I read forums and go by word-of-mouth and suggestions from friends on what shows to consider watching. After once again being drawn into and let down by yet another series…I am done with television shows for good now.
Watching the first season of Heroes was the most influential time in my life related to a TV show, second would be this first season of Defying Gravity, and third would have been the first season of Lost. Noticing a trend here? Heroes and Lost were destroyed starting in their second seasons by the broadcasting corporations and I have no interest in even looking at any further seasons because of this. I’ll watch the first seasons, again, if I ever feel the need to get into a good series because it will remind me of the inevitable; the first season of a show will be intelligent, imaginative, thought provoking, challenging, emotional, and driven by the unknown and in search of truth.
Perhaps we are saved by the cancellation of Defying Gravity in that we will not see the destruction of something we hold dear that has left a great impression upon us…maybe we should be thankful that there will not be another season to tarnish the beauty and freedom of the human imagination in the first season…
I will develop the story in my own mind from here on…using my own imagination and creativity to see the story to an end. It is infinitely better than having absolute garbage be fed to me by a money hungry corporation that could not possibly have any care for what GOOD television is…just what will occupy ignorant minds long enough to make a sale.
Goodbye TV. I will not miss you.
I only knew this show existed 2 weeks ago, had not heard anything about it before and I’m a big Sci Fi fan.
I’m normally more Action Sci fi, some of my favourites are Stargate, Star Trek, Heros, Eureka. But this show i was really hooked on and have seen them all in the last two weeks.
I would say it the best series I’ve ever watched, not a lot of action but the characters were so life like, the story believable like in real life.
I can’t believe the best show I’ve seen i just find out about by accident then find out its already cancelled.
How can such a good show be cancelled.
I’m really cranky this can happen, a great show slip through the cracks because no one seems to know it existed.
Is there any way we can petition ABC or the SYFY channel to pick this back up again. I am from Australia and I am sick of seeing good quality interesting production getting the raw deal. I loved this whole series and it was the highlight of my viewing week.
I swore when my whole family was devastated to find out The Lost Room was only a pilot that I wouldn’t stand idly by anymore when good TV wasn’t given a chance to grow.
I WANT A PETITION!!!!!!!!!
Lets all inundate SYFY and ABC with emails to demand its return.
Really sorry to see this show cancelled and agree with others that a book would be worth publishing. I live in England and as is normal in this country the BBC made no effort to make this work. They broadcasted “Defying Gravity” very late at night in midweek then switched to Saturday night before missing a week and then broadcast the last four episodes in Christmas week.Mayby they knew early on that there would be no more to follow series one but this series deserved better.Perhaps if they had billed it as “Celebrities Defying Gravity” then it would have been given the time slot and viewing figures it deserved!
As for the show itself, I thought it was great entertainment. It matters not whether or not its totally realistic. Thats for the likes of “Apollo 13″ to deal with. What matters is the feel and pace of the story,casting and of course the visuals. “Defying Gravity” scored high in all these areas. I particularly liked the way past and present were woven together, something that usually irritates me but it worked very well here. The sets were excellent and I particularly liked the modern day mission control.The ladies were all beautiful too! With a large mixed sex crew who had worked together for several years I believe it would have been normal for relationships to develop so I don’t think that this side of things was overdone.I will miss this show very much. It became a must see programme for me which is rare these days.
Loved Defying Gravity and I’m gutted that it has been dropped. It was beautifully constructed and visually effective. I’ll miss it. Hope someone sorts out a book soon!?
So sad this show won’t see a second season. It was excellent! An intriguing story line with an amazing cast. Such a shame so many great shows never see beyond a first season. Do people *really* want to see shows like “Wipeout” and “Cheaters”? Seriously.
Agree with Gary’s comments as I too live in the UK. Without Sky+ (PVR) series record I might have missed out on what turned out to be a great series becaise of teh BBC hiding it in the schedule catacombes. It seemed as the viewing figures declined they just gave up on it and I hadn’t known any of the forum chatter – you could just see it in the scheduling.
I could spend time decrying the state of television and the way that a US show must deliver an audience PDQ or it gets dropped and to that extent I think the show may be its own worst enemy – by going for ABC rather than SciFi it had to up it’s game and it didn’t deliver soon enough for the audience.
I for one am glad that I stuck with it and watching the last 5 episodes back to back last night was teh best pay off I’ve got from a TV show in a long while. Guys, I’ll miss you.
Hi all
As an ex-pat BBC viewer in Belgium I also really enjoyed Defying Gravity – but agree with the comments re moving schedules etc. It was really hard work to get to watch the whole series even with a PVR. The BBC iplayer doesn’t work o/s the UK.
However I can also see where it went wrong – Episode 2 – it was an episode that should have built on the great opening but almost nothing happens in it. This lost (halved) the audience for Episode 3 and beyond, which is something that the non-commercial BBC could live with (just) but is a sure-fire killer for the commercial US companies – especially in a recession.
Nevertheless I reckon the programme will defy gravity and make it back on the (big?) screen at some point. Sure hope so!
Agree with all the above, especially Celebrity Defying Gravity!!!
What a great series, which was so watchable. Unlike Lost which “lost” our interest very quickly Defying Gravity kept us hooked. We simply can’t believe it has been stopped…
Come on TV people, someone must pick this up and finish the story. Just raise the money by dropping some of the rubbish you keep showing…
So disappointed to find the show canceled, will definitely buy the book if there is one. Never worse then when a quality story line gets cut off just when it seems to be gathering steam. I loved it while it lasted.
Just finished watching thios show in one go. Absolutely Brilliant very dissapointed to hear its been cancelled and seriously disappointed in the BBC for them not saying that there is no more. More Brilliant sci-fi ruined by American Network Television Executives not having a clue about good television only pandering to the Lowest Common Denominator with more and more reality television. Television is supposed to suppose to entertain and educate people!
I really liked this show; although it had a lot to thank Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrik for, it was still one of the most original pieces of American TV out there… that’s not on cable at any rate. Still, while we lost Firefly and Terminator to the execs, I say while there’s Futurama there’s hope. I agree with Gary though: the BBC is running through a phase where pretty much everything has to involve people dancing or singing or even (please no) dancing AND singing. God bless HBO and SciFi…
Loved this series too and agree with all comments so far. BBC2 at 9pm on a Thursday was a good slot for a sci-fi series – then shunted to late on Saturday and no information about cancellation. I’ll be looking for the book as well. my favourite comment from the series? “The tomatoes have gone fractal”!
Amazing show from top to bottom. Also, such great music was used in each episode. I am very sad to hear that it will not be completed. Thank goodness I ran across BBC torrents and got to finish the season.
Finally watched the last four episodes. So sad that this show was cut, quirky, original, well produced. There is so little decent TV, yet apparently endless resources for the crap that now fills our screens. Yet the show seems to have been deliberately killed by scheduling decisions. One wonders what goes on in the minds of the people that manage the networks? It must have been even more heart breaking for those involved in the show. Think I’ll give up watching TV.
Just watched the last 2 episodes and can only agree that ABC and the BBC have made an absolute Boo Boo !! The storyline had really developed and the interweaving between past and future ensured we didn’t get the feeling of being trapped on the ship. The possibilities with the storyline were endless !! I’m feeling withdrawl symptoms already !!!! Help !!!!!!!
I don’t usually get hooked on TV series programs but i’m well and truly taken by Defying Gravity. Have ordered DVD on line and i pray it gets a rebirth or at least a book released, preferably both.
For goodness sake bring it back !
Thought this series was great, i’m from the uk but live in belgium so had a real job on my hands tracking down the episodes as they kept moving on the bbc then finally getting to see the final few on the iplayer while back in the UK.
Realt shame it got cancelled would love to see more, or maybe this would translate even better as a book series?
as i was watching ( with difficulty but my little tv box did a great job of finding them and the Iplayer found the missing one ) i realised theres no way they can do all the missions in 13 episodes so i’m gutted ABC are such cretins and astounded a show as well produced could have no future.
however i also remember another great si-fi that had this spark of reality in it’s concept and not lazer beams and green ailens all over the place that was also axed, Above and Beyond.
another sad episode for brilliant tv
I thought it was a brilliant series and i’m gutted it got cancelled. Cheers for chasing up some of the potential future plot lines. If it came out in book form id definately buy it!! Well back to boring repetitive tv it is then :S
If the show suffered from the same bizarre scheduling in the US as it has done in the UK then no wonder the ratings were poor and the show got can cancelled.
Talk about setting something up to fail.
A real shame – it was a quality show that deserved much more. How frustrating.
I don’t suppose the SciFi channel could come to the rescue?
I just posted but want to say more.
Bring it back i sick of all the other crap on TV, most of it is absolute mindless crap. Some of us have brains and need something to think about and enjoy that.
Sci fi has Stargate Universe which has some similarities, a ship with ppl trapped on it, it trying to be real life in comparison to previous Stargate shows. But it is no where as good as this show in achieving that in one season. The only reason its still going is all the old Stargate fans waiting to see if it will get better more action etc. if it didn’t have that it would have no ratings, it doesn’t come close to how good defying gravity was.
Sci fi should drop all this other useless non sci fi crap they have and get Defying Gravity, a show with Sci Fi, good acting, mystery and good real life stuff in it that people want these days.
Why didn’t it go better i have no idea, my guess seems to be no one knew about it until it was too late.
it says my first comment was posted but i can’t see it, i can see my 2nd comment.
I only found out this show existed two weeks ago, it s the best show I’ve ever seen, i could stop watching.
So i just find the best show ever, then find its already cancelled.
How can such a good show be cancelled, is everyone in the states hooked on reality junk shows, scripted reality isn’t life like, they are shows for people who have no real imagination.
i feel lke flying to the States just to help this show come back on again..
Their isn’t anything as good as this in a long time.
I’m reading all these comments and feel like I may be the only yank here. I agree with all the above comments. I am so tired of seeing the same old formulaic claptrap just to fill the dwindling coffers of a dying medium. I look to the future of the internet being the dominant media and pray that the likes of Joss Whedon or some yet unknown genius can work it out that we have the ability to enjoy the kind of quality story telling that this show had. I dare say that we all got hooked with the show not only for the scifi story arc, but the developing characters. I will miss the show, look forward to any further info on the show, and maybe, just maybe have that miracle Paula was talking about in the show, and see this story in one form or another resurrected. Lets get this new decade started right!
Hi Folks
I happened across Defying Gravity by accident, flipping through the chanels and was immediately hooked. What a superb programme, just left hanging in the air. So I googled to see if I could find what had happened and when it would recommence. Really bad news to find this site and learn no follow up series. Well, sometimes something special comes along and is made more special by briefly burning brightly and then nothing. Only good news is they burned the Star Treck sets lots of times but it grew again from the ashes!
I have just watched the final episode on BBC, only to find that there are to be no more seasons. I found it really gripping and I want to know what happens next to all the characters. I live in hope that the ‘powers that be’ relent and produce more. Compared to all the other ‘reality’ dross on TV these days, Defying Gravity was brilliant. Please bring it back!!!
this was the first show both my partner and myself have been completely hooked on.
neither of us are really scify fans, but we LOVED IT.
its such a shame its been axed and the story is just been left dangling.
it truely was the first show we finsh watching one week and couldnt wait to see what happen the next week and counted down to the next tuesday (australian airing)
i think if the put it on main stream tv here it would really take off. as it was only aired on subscription tv.
i have never been gutted about a show finishing before but i truely am this time – so many loose ends have been left hanging and there is so many places the story lines could have gone. it really could have been a great success in our eyes and apparently we’re not the only ones
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BRING IT BACK
echo the sentiments of all who watched and loved this show – unlike some that kept moving forwards in odd ways to string out successes but ultimatly lost people – this show moved forward calmly but relentlessly (like the journey through space). Awesome! Bring it back someone, is this our test of faith? Who knows but bring it back!!
We are devastated – just watched the stunning finale of series 1 – what a superb storyline/premise – this is television entertainment at its very best. In absolute disbelief that something this good could be cut when we have to suffer garbage like “Nurse Jackie” and “Wife Swap USA”!
TO THOSE WITH THE POWER – RECONSIDER – BRING IT BACK – REINVEST. WE NEED THIS…
My son has told me before that sci fi fans get a very raw deal, with excellent shows cancelled at the drop of a hat but I still didn’t believe that Defying Gravity (which BBC picked up and has just finished its run in the UK)had been dropped. I don’t understand this at all. Everyone I know loved it. Everyone should make a huge fuss! Get a petition going. Are sci fi fans worth less than any other group of watchers? Shame on the companies who treat fans like this!
Thanks for the info here at least.
When I found out the show had been cancelled, I just thought “what the heck?!??” This show is so much better than tons of shows on syfy, they should pick it up! Not only do so many people love it, the people at syfy should realize that its excellent science fiction, no matter how many people are watching it!! I think it would do great on that channel, and am hoping and waiting for the day that they pick it up.
What would have happened with Paula?
I really miss this show and hope that it can be brought back.
I am not a sci-fi fan in general but was totally loving Defying Gravity. I hope that they manage to continue with future seasons somehow.
I absolutely loved the show and was gutted to hear it had been cancelled just when it had got going.
TV programmers have no idea
I love sci-fi and Defying Gravity is great, it defies logic that it was canceled, I have spoken to so many people about it, even some who don’t like sci-fi and they all love it. It sounds like certain jobs should be canceled for causing this series cancellation and then BRING BACK DEFYING GRAVITY PLZ !
I’ve only just found out that it’s been canned, it’s an outrage!!! Like many of you I’m not a sci fi nut and also like many of you I watched this week after week with my good lady, we were both hooked, and she’s still asking me “why was it cancelled?!” as I write this.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so gutted to hear of a show being cancelled. It’s the first time I’ve EVER felt so strongly as to write on a blog.
Is there anything to be done? Even getting those episodes already made but not aired to air (or DVD?) would be a start. It’s simply gutting!
Best bloody show that the BBCs had on for ages and that’s that.
great show. bring it back!
The axing of this show is an absolute outrage, little men in high places who think they know what the public wants make crazy decisions.
Bring it back I say – the best sci fi show I have seen in ages
I will happily buy the remaining episodes if they appear on DVD
You’ve got to be kidding. Who are the complete lunatics who cancelled this show. I am into sci fi and was totally hooked by this one. Please bring it back. I’m so sick of great scifi being cancelled at the drop of a hat. Shows like Farscape and Firefly and now defying gravity. There is so much crap on tv, please stop taking the best from us, Lillith.
Im absolutely with Lillith here. Theres tons of dross on TV, and Im fed up of intelligent shows being cancelled. All that seems to be aired is reality TV shows. I would really liked to have known where else this was intending to head with its story lines. But I guess just like Fire fly, we will never know.
Echo everyones comments – really confused why this show was canned, was very worth watching – my wife and I where avid fans,
I am totally frustrated that this intriguing show has been cancelled
gutted can’t believe there not gonna show no more it was just getting to the action the next season you could tell would be much better
I agree with all the sentiments above, but if no new series are forthcoming – then please, Mr Parriott, finish the story in a novel or trilogy, many of us will buy – it could become a best seller. The characters and storyline are just to strong to be lost.
He *is* a writer, and the show’s mostly written, he should turn it into a book (or three) I know I’d buy it.
After a couple of weeks my wife and I where hooked on the show. It was enjoyable with work required by the viewer in unravelling what you thought was going to happen in next weeks episode. was really disapointed the end came as it did on bbc tv in uk. wish someone would pick up the show and run with it. in years to come it could well have become a cult tv show. Now Im left with nothing and a whole lot of questions with no answers. tipical americans (abc) short sighted.British tv usually gives something time to establish.
My wife and I loved this show and she is not a SciFi fan at all. I wish something could be done to have the show finished.
This is one of the best shows that I have ever seen . . . it had so much more going for it than all of the shows it is being compared to. I managed to get the final episodes of Season 1 in the US by buying a pirate disk from Canada. This show was just getting going and would have eventually pulled a bigger and more loyal audience than Lost.
Let’s hope someone has the guts to pick it back up.
Most enjoyable and thought provoking drama series I’ve watched for a very long time. At least the BBC did show the whole series here in the UK. What a disappointment there will be no more.
Such a shame that they have cancelled this show. My boyfriend has been trying to convince me of the virtues of Sci-fi for years, without success, until Defying Gravity. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, the characters were really starting to develop and there were so many unanswered questions!
I really liked this show and as Lost and Fringe shows, SciFi, CAN make it on primetime given half a chance. In my wide circle of friends most had never heard of it but when I told them about it, they saw it and got totally hooked like I did. This really sucks. This could have been another Lost for ABC. Stupid twits.
I’ve just spend the past few weeks watching this and cannot believe that only now I have found out it has been axed! After missing the last few programmes I was going to buy the DVD but why bother now? Why is it all the best things go down the pan?!! Rome was another good series that was dropped.
gutted!
I have just finished watching the last programme “Kiss” courtesy of the BBC iPlayer, as I missed the last 2 programmes due to changes in scheduling. The best sci-fi drama I have seen in years. It is sad that ABC have such BAD influence over the industry. Sounds like James Parriott had a strong intelligent and thought-provoking storyline to follow for subsequent sries. Thank you for 13 enjoyable programmes. Maybe Paula Morales can work a “miracle” for us fans??
This was one of the best shows i’ve seen in ages. I think it took a long time to kick off and had already been doomed by the people in power before it had a chance to impress. It could have been magic. This is terrible it’s like Firefly all over again! How can we keep getting reality tv dross when there’s artists out there writing stuff like this (and firefly and deadwood) and other great artistic stories tahr get axed. I’m all for a petition, someone mentioned it earlier. I did a review for the magazine I write for here https://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/ if anyone is interested in reading it too.
Long live great tv!!! Bring back DG!!!!
Just finished watching Defying Gravity on BBC 2 in the UK and my husband and I loved it (and I hate most tv shows including Sci-Fi). Bring it back!!
Ah… well, that clenches that. Amorphous mysterious thing which is a key plot item but which is never defined, and has basically no point? Boring. I tried to like it as it was obviously well produced and acted… but the story didn’t seem to go much of anywhere. Looks like it never planned to.
My husband and I watched Defying Gravity until it finished around new year on BBC HD. We loved it as it was a change to have a really good program on and not a load of rubbish. We had hoped there would be a lot more as we couldn’t wait to see each next episode and don’t have much TV to look forward to now. I hope they change their mind and continue.
I LOVED Defying Gravity, I must have watched each episode at least twice on iPlayer. However, I had a nasty feeling that something wasn’t right when BBC2 kept mucking about with the schedule. It reminded me of their antics with Space Above and Beyond a decade or so ago. I thought the interplay between the DG characters was fabulous and the inter-weaving of timelines was really innovative. There’s still so many questions though – so much unfulfilled potential.
It’s just so sad that we get endless series of meaningless scifi fluff like Fringe and Warehouse 13 (is that what it’s called? it’s just another X-files rip-off anyway) but the really intelligent scifi series don’t survive. I mean if you want to cancel a show cancel FlashForward – after a promising start it quickly became pants and I gave up watching.
Come on networks, cable, anybody – give James Parriott some cash and let the man work his magic. Second series please, or a film, hell even a graphic novel would be better than having to watch Giant Shark versus Mega Octopus again. I mean come on, if there’s money for those movies on SciFi …
Defying gravity, what a fantastic series. Absolutely mortified that its no longer on our screens on BBC2 or, in fact, anywhere. I used to look forward to watching this story and how it was unfolding, especially when one of the characters couldn’t see Beta. I was totally hooked and dismayed when they started messing around with its day and times, basically didn’t stand a chance did it!!!!Bring it back i say and i lets all carry on enjoying this entertaning and different show. Hoorah to Mr Patriott
I feel a Facebook group coming on!!! BRING BACK DEFYING GRAVITY!
Click the name to visit the page!!!
I loved Defying Gravity, found it on Arena TV (Foxtel Australia) just by reading the tv schedule, vibing on the name of the show and being curious about where the story could go. Actually I recorded it for my tech/ design interested boyfriend, who I thought would like it because it was set in space and the characters aspired to science. I’m amused to hear about the Greys in Space because it’s what actually made us both enjoy the series. I liked it and so did he. For a bit of context, I loved Deadwood, I think Carnivale is interesting- but haven’t spent the time on it (I reference it because it touches on similiar questions of miracle/ what science can explain, to make us think about the future legacy in our world). For broader context we’re into Mad Men (like the rest of the world) and very much loved Studio 60 (both titles I mention because they come from exciting brilliant writers, just like Parriott who do connect with audiences with innovative storytelling, but it seems Networks et al, seem to keep failing the very genius that brings the stories to them – HBO didn’t believe it, and Studio 60 became a matter of life immitating art…
We came to these titles, well before they made it to Australian TV and we’re happy to see that when our programmers here gave them a go (MadMen, Deadwood, Carnivale) they found an audience, meanwhile the local video stores are happy as can be. What would some good planning in early committment and schedule promotion do for the tv that put the money up in the first place???
I think Defying Gravity is fascinating material and very well treated.
I really appreciate James Parriott revealing the character arcs and the insider story as to what happenned at ABC (US).
If it was able to be revived by SciFi or some other network, it wouldn’t matter that we know what the character challenges are, the joy of tv drama is the reveal and the bigger meanings. (something quite central to the Beta idea being explored here).
Anyway – someone should tell SciFi that people really respect a wrong being made right. Wouldn’t the BBC and CTV be interested in following up on all their original instincts – which is, this was the right show to commission.
I’m sad that we didn’t get the full 13 episodes here in the UK.
I also suspect that we won’t get a DVD release over here either.
I watch very little television these days because the quality is so poor, and I discovered this series late on iPlayer (The BBC’s Video On Demand service) and was absolutely hooked.
Petitions and asking nicely aren’t going to get a second series. TV stations don’t do things out of duty. Not even the BBC can be totally self indulgent. DVD sales are the only thing that will get the show back on the air.
If the DVD sells like hot cakes then it’s more likely that another series will be considered.
Television is a business and the business men respond to revenue streams.
That’s how family guy got back on the air.
I do sincerely wish everyone the best of luck in getting this marvellous, thoughtful and entertaining series re-comissioned.
I’ll keep an eye out for the series on DVD here.
If it isn’t going to be back on tv, how about writing a book? or a few books? This is a great story and it would be fascinating to read what was supposed to happen. Don’t let the story die, it deserves to get out. It was too well done. Books please!
I have the same point of view of Maegan, if the TV business and the audience itself is not able to support a series a little out of the ordinary, it could be continued in book (or any other text) format. At least we could have access to the whole story and not left only with that empty feeling we usually are.
Great series.
I watched the whole season in 3 Days (I hurt my foot and there was not really much else to do) and boy was it boring. Don’t get me wrong, it had its moments but you could wrap the whole first season up in 3 episodes. There was really too little interesting stuff going on.
Yes, a good show draws three dimensional characters. But you can clearly overdo it. And: the admittedly well described characters are boring and behaving unrealistically. E.g. who would risk his life (radiation poisoning is a gooey way to die and you get taught how that goes in astronaut school) for a baby bunny? Maybe some deeply disturbed people would do that and go Lassie all the way. But would such a disturbed personality really have made it through this tough and thorough selection process (that we get bored with as well)? So why torture us literally with so many hours of characterization and then make them do absurd things that no 5 year long trained astronaut would ever do. That is plain bad storytelling. No member of such a select group could survive the screening or would be so needy or would violate protocol so severely. Was I a member of the crew, this behavior would have scared me shitless, space being dangerous and all.
Equally inconsistent if less important is the gravity thing. If you come up with all this nano yada to explain how gravity is taken care for it would have needed to be done right.
If the clothes would be attracted to magnetic forces they’d look funny (kinda stretched). If it was just the undies arms would float around all the time, boobs would not flatten down, facial expression would be different (more puffy). Of course you cannot do this on set.
But on a 6 year mission you would introduce real gravity anyhow because you would not have any bones left in your body had you spent all the work time in zero G.
So we had but an occasional floating tomato and some jets of vomato for the fun of it.
As for the object that would not be described beyond being badly animated CGI. Again bad storytelling to leave the holy grail essentially uncharacterized. We had to endure an abortion pill, a war induced PTSS, an almost child abuse but when it comes to the purpose of the entire enterprise we get squat.
So religion has to jump in and do the Faith – with the capital F – stunt again and painstakingly again. Beats really making something entertaining up, I guess.
We had a cheesy sci and a distracted fi. So it was not so much a scify but more cheedi or maybe chescidify?
This show reminds me of Earth 2 where we got bored with an unending chain of side tracks and scify settler romance. But they got the science worked out a little better.
But I liked the low-tech approach.
I agree with criticisms – bad storytelling. I feel like I wasted my time watching – no completed character arcs, no elucidation of where mystery being came from, what it wanted, why it did anything or how it made people do things, no explanation of what happened on Mars.
I suspect it would turn out to be origin of humans on earth – weak version of intelligent design, God or similar – ultimately completely unsatisfying – if the BBC knew what the non-ending was going to be why did they bother to show it at all?
Quite simple. It was probably good timing. Also the cast was quite OK. So if you are good at selling and present your show to a mildly interested TV network clerk who maybe owed a friend a favor, your’re in. Everything is connected. But I really admire the guys loving the show. My attention span simply dropped after 4 hours.
Cheers
I went through the DVDs in two evenings this week (no sign of Blu Ray on the market now or in the future though) after getting hooked on this show over the summer on Hulu. Then ABC shifted the program around and I missed the last episodes broadcast, so I’m REALLY glad they have the additional episodes that were created but not aired on American TV. This was a great show with a lot of potential and a beautiful undercurrent of humanity running through it. Solid acting and writing made this program just one of those shows that will always be remembered by fans, and a mere footnote in TV history to others. I’d love to see this whole thing play out, but I know it’s never going to happen. It’s always the great shows that disappear without a trace from the tube, and idiot reality shows that stay on air. Just goes to prove that the American Public needs a refresher course in what good television used to be.
the plot spread too thin and the frequent jump back and forth between past and present smashs the continuity of the whole plot. And what is the point of collecting the 7 objects? The plot doesn’t say it well.
Since the sets are all destroyed, how about a Defying Gravity the video game for the x360 and PS3?
Some of the comments here, such as eddie’s, show one reason shows like this do not survive…pea-brains cannot handle anything more than Jack Bower, Sponge Bob and rigged amateur “talent” contests.
BTW, I never even heard of this show until I saw the DVD commercial a couple days ago. So, my existence as a fan comes a bit late. :(
Fantastic series.
I would have continued to watch.
As sombody also said, this was treated like Earth 2 another series that died before its time.
I had heard about DG at about epi. #3 and caught up on Hulu. Been a scifi fan for well over 40 years and read TONS of stuff.
This was a GREAT story and I’m very bumbed that it died on the vine. I liked to whole story line, loved the casting choices and, let’s face it, for a TV series, the effects and sets were outstanding.
I for one do indeed still hope that DG finds a new home and a rebirth. With the proper marketing it should be a no brainer to be a popular show.
I also agree with someone else here on the boards, if, it never comes back, it would still make a killer book, and I’d buy it in a second.
This was very satisfying. Just wish I could have the same for Surface & Charlie Jade. Oh, & yes, network execs suk. Amazed Lost got to finish….
Lost was a hunk of junk… complete nonsense. For the pseudo-intellectual it may have appeared artistic. One can only hand so much mystery and plot reversals before they want to be sick.
Defying Gravity used story-telling that has stood the test of time. Those that found it “boring” might as well bugger off and listen to Britney Spears and leave their mass-market taste buds on the shelf. The point is that this show does require a little patience and always leaves you wanting more. If you like an open book then true story-telling evidently isn’t for you.
How can I download or read the rest of this article? I don’t understand PHP and have nothing that will open it.
Thanks! I have to at least find out what happens. I’d like to hear that Mr. Parriott is making the entire story a novel!
Ok, so this article was written back in October of last year… is there any more information on this? Is CPR being conducted on this amazing show to bring it back to another season? Any book deals? Perhaps a movie or two (with the same cast of course)?
Defying Gravity was the best television show ever, hands down. I can’t stand all the stupid “reality” TV shows that most networks have now. I especially hate how it seems like there are 20 separate TV shows that are all about the same thing, solving crimes and murders or whatever. I get sick of it. Those shows plus all the ones about hospitals.
Defying Gravity was written, directed, and produced really well. Shame on ABC and every other network out there that canceled the show. The ratings were “low” (come on, an average of 2.84 million viewers every night is a low rating?) because it wasn’t advertised as well as it should have been. Plus, it would air on SUNDAY at 9 pm! That has to be the worst time slot to put a new show in. I stumbled across a quick TV ad for it about 3 days before the pilot and was very intrigued, but of course I would be being that I am a huge Scifi fan. Besides that though, I think if ABC had aired the entire series, they would have been surprised to see the ratings go up. It ended on episode 8, if I recall correctly. The following episode “Eve ate the Apple” was pretty amazing, with the whole story about how the object was found and there being 6 others out there in the solar system. Really an amazing plot. And the last episodes were awesome too.
So if anyone knows anything, like maybe the author of this article, give us an update, PLEASE! I would be satisfied if Defying Gravity ended up as several books, but would really like to see at least a second season with actual closure in the plot instead of leaving us all hanging there pulling our hair out wondering what will happen next.
I loved Defying Gravity. Its so sad that it was canceled. I really hope somebody picks it up before its too late. As for the reveals, thanks so much to the writer for doing this…it answered so many questions of mine but, now its got me wanting to see more!
I also loved the show. My husband and I really looked forward to it every week. We are sci fi fans and I did wonder why is wasn’t showing on Sci fi channel, where I felt it belonged. Such a shame it gets cancelled just when it’s getting really interesting.
I loved the show. I didn’t get to see it when it was on originally (didn’t really know about it) and was able to grab all 13 episodes off the net. The quality of the production was awesome. I liked the characters and even though the show moved slowly the first 3-4 episodes, I was able to follow it and get more interested with each episode.
I absolutely hate the TV networks anymore. Everything for these monster moneygrubbers has to be instant gratification. If a show isn’t popular within the first couple of episodes, they axe it because it doesn’t have viewership. Honestly, I watch 75% of my shows via DVR because there are too many on at the same time. But, the networks don’t account for that so many shows that have huge followings don’t get their fair share in the rankings. What a true pity. I doubt the networks will ever learn. Truly sad. If only DG had been brought out on SciFi channel, I think it would have done great!
SCREW THE NETWORKS!!!
Just watched the 5 un-aired “Defying Gravity” segments via iTunes purchase — what a pity this is gone — Sci Fi at it’s best — IMO the last few years have been wierd with the Sci Fi genre on TV — Starting back with Firefly and ending with this — 2 great shows come and go with great angst — too bad DG was given the short stick — the last few episodes are great — it might have made it despite the lack of support from the network — lets hope a movie can be made that will take us through the story board — Serenity was better than a hanging chad — Hopefully DG won’t get Butchered — at least there will continue to be Butcher books — and then to close this rant on the injustice of Sci Fi programing — how about the grab for money by the people behind the name change at Sy Fy — they said basically it wasn’t for nerds anymore — oh well — Nerd Out !!!!
Looked and looked all winter for the final episodes of season 1, bought the DVD and found the show was really taking off just as it ends. Tell Sifi not to worry. If they were do pick up where ABC dropped the ball we would all follow. Excellent show, lets get on with it!
Knew something was up when two episodes in BBC2 started changeing the times and days this was aired. But I was still devestated to hear it had been cancelled as it’s the best thing thats been on tele for a long time. It shows how good it was as when catching up on the episodes I’d taped I ended up watching all last four episodes off the belt as I couldn’t tear myself away. It’s a shame such an excellent show wasn’t given a fair chance when there’s so much crap on (you all know what I mean) that they drag on and on. Lets just hope that some one can bring it back, or even James Parriot to bring out the rest in the form of a book!! As I’m dieing to know what happens next.
we (my family and i) just finished watching the rest of season 1 on DVD, and i CANNOT thank you enough for publishing this very revealing interview with james parriott.
defying gravity is/was an amazing show. it was fun and exciting on so many levels, and its so depressing to see yet another awesome genre show get the ax because of bad decision making from a lame network. i wish this show would make a come back somehow, there is so much going on and such opportunities for further seasons!
i want to know more about beta and the other artifacts. i want to know what happens between ted and eve, rollie and jen, and donner and zoe. i want to see how donner would react to nadia turning into a man! i love the chemistry between paula and wass…
i could go on and on! what an awesome show, i am sooo sad to see it done. but again, i am so very thankful for this article that has at least answered some major questions.
Loved the show. Never knew it was on ABC.. I found it on the web and started watching it..I ranks up there with Stargate! Screw ABC, take it to SyFy it belongs there anyways. This should have been a number one show. It was awesome! I couldn’t agree more with the poster above me (rad sugar rose), the interview was perfect.
Absolutely loved the show, recorded the series and finished the last 3 episodes yesterday. Watched the entire thing with my girlfriend who is seriously not into sci fi on any level but absolutley loved the show to the extent that she not me searched for any reference to a second series only to find out to our great disappointment that it had been cancelled. Just shows what could have been with better promotion. The wide audience could have been reached easily. Actually gutted that the ideas listed above will never be followed through.
Any chance Pariott will release the screen plays for the remaining plot as a book. I would buy it in a second.
Really liked this show – and I very much appreciate your sharing some wrap up with us. I hope there is another way to fund shows in the future as the networks are too painful to deal with. I found myself doing that same as commenter H Mercer above, got the last 5 episodes on DVD and couldn’t stop until I finished all of them. Also agree that if no one else will pick this up as a series, I would greatly enjoy reading the rest of the story.
I loved this show from the very opening sequence and am still so mad that it was cancelled! Now that I finally got to watch the last few episodes of season 1 on DVD, I’m even madder because it was an excellent, intriguing show that had just the right mix of mystery, sci-fi, and romance. The actors were well-chosen and did an excellent job with these characters! I would love to see it continued – somewhere, anywhere! I just hate that we don’t get a resolution to this story – I want more Defying Gravity!!
I liked the show very much. I like science fiction and I like Grey’s anatomy (at least the first couple of seasons). I hope we’ll get to see more! Thanks for revealing all that information about future episodes.
I just loved the show, from the first episode on TV…to the final one on DVD. I have never purchased a TV program on DVD before, But I had to have it, I had to know how it finished it’s first season.
If season two ran only on DVD, I would buy that one also.
It was an excellent show, from the cast and crew to the sets and music…..oh and let’s not forget the plot!!
My lady friend love it too! We are both saddened by it’s demise. I wish ABC could feel our pain. Once the series “Lost” is done, I will never watch ABC again. To the Writers, Directors, and Financial Backers of this fine show…please bring it back! If I have to donate money to make it happen, I will!
See you all at Major Toms!
RMN