Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discussion

[sojourner]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

The baby-wailing has got to be toned down... Along with the choices of music at some points which made me cringe and drive home the "Grey's in Space!" thoughts I had from the beginning.

OMG the music needs to go. I feel like I'm watching some cheesy MTV reality show. Not some sort of cerebral Space Opera.

Anybody else trying to nit pick the science. The hair is one thing. If the clothes are electro magnetic, what about the hair. Shouldn't the hair stand up??

And what about food. Did they have enough food for 6 years? Also FTL communications. How did they figure that out?

Also anybody here an astronomer. Did the path they take make the most sense? I remember in High school Physics the teacher said that space travel will be using a lot of the gravitational force to "fling" space ships from one planet to another.

Also is six years enough time to cover the solar system?

It's a big ship, plenty of room for food stores, plus we haven't seen the entire thing from inside. A green house may be in one of the centrifugal pods.

FTL communications? They were still close enough to earth for real time communications in the first 2 episodes. We'll have to see more to find out if they understand time lag.

The route they flashed up only works if they are not really concerned with gravity assist. you can only take straight courses like that (and they were straight if you discount the u-turns at the planets) if you have a very fast drive system.

I am also hoping that route they flashed up was simplified to not show multiple orbits of the planets they are visiting, otherwise they are only going to be at each one for a couple of hours at most.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I never even noticed that they do that.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

You know, while watching the first hour I realized that the TV ratings logo acts as something of a spoiler. Since there was no D, I knew AJ wasn't going to die.

? I don't think we have that around here.

It's the ratings logo that appears in the upper corner, i.e. TV MA is mature audiences. And then below that they have S for sex, V for violence, D for death, etc. For both episodes, the only letter was S.

D = Suggestive Dialog

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

L is Language. D is dialogue? Isn't that redundant? I just assumed it meant death since 24 has it every week.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I heard an interview Friday with Ron Livingston where he mentioned around episode 5 or 6 we'll know more about the secret that is apparently running the show. I kind of have my doubts the show will last, I'd like to think non scifi fans would watch something about astronauts in 2052 but doubt it.

I do like the design of the ship & the effects aren't too bad. It be nice to get a little more info on what the world is like in this future, we already heard about abortion. I'm gonna keep watching.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

Well whatever "Beta" is can undo vasectomies without surgery.

 

[Kelso]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

It's the ratings logo that appears in the upper corner, i.e. TV MA is mature audiences. And then below that they have S for sex, V for violence, D for death, etc. For both episodes, the only letter was S.

Well, yes, obviously.

But what does RACHE mean?

 

[S. Gomez]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

We'll have to see more to find out if they understand time lag.

I thought I heard something between Capcom and one of the astronauts (might have been Rollie and his wife) about a time delay in communications. I couldn't tell if they were talking about the present or in the future. This was a different thing than the TV broadcast where the flight controller wanted to edit out the porn reference, but I could be confusing the two.

 

[Kelso]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I enjoyed it... at least enough to turn in next week. Though, it isn't nearly as interesting or well-cast as Virtuality.

 

[Grant]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I like how they showed the German girl as abrasive and arrogant.

It takes a lot of guts to tweak the nose of an ethnic group like that.

Oh and sluty. Yes very brave.




But honey,I'm only a man, HE'S Popo Bawa!!!"

 

[Noname Given]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

L is Language. D is dialogue? Isn't that redundant? I just assumed it meant death since 24 has it every week.

L= Language = 'bad words'
D = Descriptive (aka sexually explicit) Dialogue

 

[TGTheodore]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I gave both hours an Above Average.

Very interesting ideas and questions are raised. What exactly is "Beta"?

BETA is HAL's illegitimate son ...

--- or daughter.

--Ted

 

[23skidoo]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

L is Language. D is dialogue? Isn't that redundant? I just assumed it meant death since 24 has it every week.

L= Language = 'bad words'
D = Descriptive (aka sexually explicit) Dialogue

So basically the D in the rating for Defying Gravity was applied to every other word that came out of the German girl's mouth, and more than a few from Laura Harris, too! The L would be someone saying stuff like "bastard" and "son-of-a-bitch" (which on US network TV is generally as strong as they can get).

I'm surprised after, what - 10 years?, that people still don't understand what the ratings mean.

My two cents is I thought it was a great show. It seems American audiences would rather watch crap like Big Brother and reruns of Cold Case than Merlin and this show, though. Fortunately, Merlin's a big enough hit in the UK that it doesn't matter what happens on NBC, and Defying Gravity likewise -- I hope -- doesn't rely on the US ratings to survive either. If DG is a big enough hit overseas, hopefully it'll survive to be picked up by Syfy or BBC America...

Cheers

Alex

 

[Chris_Johnston]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

Defying Gravity is based on a BBC mockumentary from 2004.
Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets (2004) (TV)
Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets - Wikipedia

It's available on DVD in the US under the title Voyage to the Planets and Beyond
http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Planets-Beyond-David-Suchet/dp/B0007Z0O04

You can watch it on YouTube in two ways:

With the original narration by David "Poirot" Suchet:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=187E9566574018D7

And the "American-ized" version, re-edited and with a different narrator:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=10B3D855C77AC142

The Antares in Defying Gravity is almost exactly the same design as the Pegasus in Voyage to the Planets, except with the engines at the opposite end, a second centrifuge section, and no solar arrays.

YouTube - Voyage to the planets: Building Pegasus 1
YouTube - Voyage to the planets: Building Pegasus 2

I liked that they tipped their hat to the original with this line right after launch...
"First step on Antares' voyage to the planets!"

FYI: Stephen McNutt, the cinematographer for Virtuality and BSG, also did this show.

So many cool little details I liked that are hard to describe, but the easiest one is how the hatches slide out and away on tracks shaped exactly like the ones on the ISS!

 

[Spider]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I voted poor. This show is crap. Oh well, I won't be voting on this anymore because I won't be watching any more of this. So all yall that like it won't have to put up with my negative views after this.

 

[Chris_Johnston]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

Oh well, I won't be voting on this anymore because I won't be watching any more of this.

Just as well, since you only get one vote, huh?

 

[Witterquick]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

How was the ratings? I abandoned the show after the first hour. I meant to watch the 2nd episode later but now realised that I can't be bothered anymore.

 

[Chris_Johnston]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

Just watched both episodes a second time, and I loved 'em even better!

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

I missed the episodes on Sunday on caught them online today. It's a pretty good show.

 

[stj]

Re: Defying Gravity: "Pilot" & "Natural Selection" 8/2 Grading/Discuss

Starship Troopers couldn't get away with the coed locker rooms and it was OTT.

And the woman was hallucinating a baby crying. The idea that she could be afflicted with hallucinations and nobody would even notice anything wrong, even if they didn't realize she was having a psychotic break, requires more credulity than accepting a spaceship.

As for that matter does the sudden decision by a supposedly sane person to go for a walk in space. The way the hero talked him down was totally contrived and unbelievable.