How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the creator

[jefferiestubes8]

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.

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.

I agree and think we it could have worked for a number of seasons just not on network American TV. Cable TV yes.

“There was horrific stuff we didn’t show that happened on Mars. Sharon and Walker had actually lived a couple of weeks in the habitat on the planet. Half of season three would probably have taken place on Mars or in orbit around Mars, but we hadn’t worked out fully what exactly they were going to find on Mars. But we did talk in the writers’ room about possibly having the two still alive when they arrived.”

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.

That would be May 2010...

October 29, 2009). "How Defying Gravity would have progressed, straight from the creator"

read on for more at the link.


From what Parriott said:

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.

Just last week I saw this in Variety:

The networks are increasingly warming up to projects that come in the door much more fully formed than in the traditional process by which writers pitch concepts to network buyers and hope to land a script order. Spec pilot sales are becoming more commonplace, as are projects that are pitched out detailed over 13-episode arcs with the goal of securing more than just a pilot order.

"You're automatically going to get more attention when you come in with a package or a (completed) script," says a lit agent who guided a scribe client through a non-traditional sale this year.

 

[spinnerlys]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

I thought about the six month time span too, but thought it was already over. Hmm. Strange though, it was a nice little show with some deficits, but the premise was intriguing, so I still want to know, what was planned. I hope Parriot didn't forget what he wanted to do and does it, but I guess we still have to wait a while. Maybe they make a TV movie or so.

We'll hopefully see something in the near future.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

sets

Maybe they make a TV movie or so.

This project is dead.
from the article:

Parriott confirmed to me that the actors have all been released and the sets have been destroyed,

Those sets were a lot of money. A TV movie would not have the budget to make them again (especially that nice).

 

[Hyperspace05]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

This show wouldn't have survived long, even on SyFy.

It just wasn't compelling enough... The 'current' stuff in space was interesting, but the flashback all stank. It tried to be a 'Lost' in that aspect, but it failed miserably even at that. And they just streeeeetched out things... I mean, did we really have to wait 10+ episodes to find out if the blonde astronaut had an abortion or not? Really??? Crap like that could have been handled in a few lines in the pilot, and then have the characters react to it and handle it afterwards as adult beings.

If they had accelerated the plot a bit and skipped the flashbacks, it could have been a very interesting show.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

If they had accelerated the plot a bit and skipped the flashbacks, it could have been a very interesting show.

It only took them 12 episodes to get to Venus. For a 10-year mission aross the solar system I think that was pretty good.

 

[Treker]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

I was really getting into this until I realised I was watching a dead show.

Now that I know they only really had a limited amount of episodes it really does seem like the did all the storyline stretching for nothing.

What's in Pod 4!!! OMG LOL!!!!!!!

The flashback stuff really did stink. Also any real scifi fan knows you can't have a realtime chat through space without a subspace transciever that exists in the trek universe.

The graphics and sets were amazing. Seeing the Antares orbiting Venus was a great sight.

Really felt like the actors were too old. 3 women in their late 30s just really lacked sex appeal and I think the show tried to fake it which just really felt forced. They weren't sexy, simple as that.

Paula was nice and the only shining light.

I think Virtuality was much better as they would obviously rely on the virtual world rather than flashbacks to make up for the monotony on a tin can floating slowly through space.

This really was a good show for a sci-fi fan but they missed the mark in too many areas and all the flashy graphics and amazing sets in the world can't make up for that.

Sending a pack of 39yo women into space for a 10 year flight = fail.

Big promise, poor excecution.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

'Defying Gravity' casting

any real scifi fan knows you can't have a realtime chat through space without a subspace transciever that exists in the trek universe

Agreed.
I did like the one sided conversation letter read as narration done as Dr. Heywood Floyd's messages to his wife (even though a lot of people did not) in "2010: The Year We Make Contact". there were no replies from his wife but the verbal letters were strictly plot devices for exposition in the film. The Soviet Alexei Leonov ship was near the Jovian system and in Jupiter's orbit at the time.

Really felt like the actors were too old. 3 women in their late 30s just really lacked sex appeal and I think the show tried to fake it

Sending a pack of 39yo women into space for a 10 year flight = fail.

in 2009
Laura Harris age 33 playing Zoe Barnes
Christina Cox age 38 playing Jen Crane
Maxim Roy age 37 playing Claire Dereux
Karen LeBlanc age unavailable playing Eve Weller-Shaw
Florentine Lahme age 35 playing Nadia Schilling
Paula Garcés age 35 playing Paula Morales

Sure they probably shot in 2008 and those ages were a year earlier but yes they were cast for the intended audience the show was obviously marketed towards. I wonder how the casting would have turned out if it were on CW... (all under age 24...)

 

[Trent Roman]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

It just wasn't compelling enough... The 'current' stuff in space was interesting, but the flashback all stank. It tried to be a 'Lost' in that aspect, but it failed miserably even at that. And they just streeeeetched out things... I mean, did we really have to wait 10+ episodes to find out if the blonde astronaut had an abortion or not? Really??? Crap like that could have been handled in a few lines in the pilot, and then have the characters react to it and handle it afterwards as adult beings.

It always amuses me that shows billed as 'mature' generally involve adults behaving like infants.

This show was dead-on-arrival; it tried to straddle two genres that don't generally see much overlap, and never managed to make itself appealing enough to either faction to tolerate the 'foreign' genre. I tried watching for the first few shows--if for no other reason that there was, as largely still is, precious little sci-fi on--and gave up when entire episodes would go by in which nothing happened, or the plot advances by increments one would need a microscope to measure, instead languishing on entirely boring characters and their petty irrelevancies. The best thing I take away from this show was the format, unfurling the story (albeit at glacial speed) half in two related timeframes. It's an interesting device I've thought about much since, and think other shows with better subject matter could make work. (Imagine V, for instance, taking place half when they arrive, and half during their occupation... or a zombie series that splits its time between the origin of the outbreak and the 'present-day' struggle for survival in a zombie-ridden wasteland).

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

I couldn't tolerate the soapy doctor-show nonsense that they imported from Grey's Anatomy and that ilk. If I want to watch soapy doctor-show nonsense, I've already got plenty of options.

The only reason to import that garbage from another genre is if they're chasing that audience. Hey, here's a thought, try chasing the woefully under-served space opera show audience!

 

[Treker]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Anybody think the spacecraft was a ripoff from the movie Sunshine?

 

[Pauln6]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

I rather enjoyed the show. Pace was a bit slow but it held my interest and I wouldn't touch a doctor soap opera with a barge pole. Just like Odyssey 5 another intriguing show bites the dust! Boo.

 

[Tomato]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

I think the board here got it spot on, on whey Defying Gravity failed. But Christina Cox, did look hot

 

[3D Master]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Defying Gravity was seriously bad, and an insult to intelligence everywhere. Those people didn't act like scientists, they acted like religious fanatics.

The moment they want on how great the object was, and how mysterious and good, while it was busy trying to kill them off, this show died for me.

What Zoe went to do and "the test she had to pass" was depicted as good, when in fact it was irrational and on the objects' part, evil. If the only way to get it, is for everyone to act like irrational morons, and you act rational only for a moment it kills you off, it's something that promotes ignorance and irrationality, anti-science; in short: evil. At that moment I turned the show off, I didn't even waste my time finishing the rest of the episode.

What Jennifer's reaction to an empty alcove should have been is: "You're all hallucinating. Because there is nothing in there."

All: "What?"

Jen: "It's empty. There's nothing there, watch." Walks over and waves hands through alcove. "See, empty, nothing, nada, zilch. Whatever is screwing with your heads, it ain't in here. It seems I'm the only one who is immune."

A proper reaction to those objects and what they are doing, would be to ignore them, lock them away, under several miles of lead, and learn how they work, and how to force them to your will, how to deflect it's capabilities, and then go get them by overpowering them. And just in case they become more actively hostile, have the nukes and the firing solution ready to nuke them into a oblivion.

 

[Scout101]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Now that I know they only really had a limited amount of episodes it really does seem like the did all the storyline stretching for nothing.

Yup, for a show that didn't have a huge pull at the beginning, or more episodes locked in, they dicked around way too much. Can do that if you're a hit, not so much if you're struggling.

The flashback stuff really did stink.

Didn't think it was that bad. And realistically, without FTL drives, it takes a long time to get anywhere, and it's unrealistic to think that there are things happening constantly on a small ship, so filling the time with backstory, training for the mission, etc seemed fine to me.

Also any real scifi fan knows you can't have a realtime chat through space without a subspace transciever that exists in the trek universe.

Any physics fan knows you probably can't travel faster than light, either, but we make allowances for dramatic effect when watching tv. Watching a conversation with 3 day delays in it wouldn't exactly speed up a show that was already too slowly paced.

Really felt like the actors were too old. 3 women in their late 30s just really lacked sex appeal and I think the show tried to fake it which just really felt forced. They weren't sexy, simple as that.

Thought they were alright. You complained about realism, but not all that realistic that you're going to crew a spaceship with supermodels. Mid-30s would probably be a MINIMUM age for any crewmembers, as well. Not like they launched this thing on a whim, it would have taken YEARS to train for it, maybe a decade for something this complicated and involved, especially since they were shown to be partially involved in developing the ship. If they started straight out of school (advanced degrees, or military training, so think mid-20s at least), then mid 30s would be about right. Finishing the 10 year mission by early/mid 40s, also about right for peak performance given the training requirements.

Paula was nice and the only shining light.

Thought she was among the more obnoxious characters. The guys from the previous Mars trip were the only two that looked like they might have even survived the first day of basic training for this, though. The big guy had no chance (although the alien picked him specifically when he should have flunked out), and the girls were completely nuts.

I think Virtuality was much better as they would obviously rely on the virtual world rather than flashbacks to make up for the monotony on a tin can floating slowly through space.

Agree that that would have been a much more interesting show, and at least it had a CATCH that made you want to watch more, rather than being so flat.

Sending a pack of 39yo women into space for a 10 year flight = fail.

Probably about the only thing they had right, they don't send tweens into space. In reality, they'd have a decent chance at being OLDER than that.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

The flashback stuff really did stink.

Didn't think it was that bad. And realistically, without FTL drives, it takes a long time to get anywhere, and it's unrealistic to think that there are things happening constantly on a small ship, so filling the time with backstory, training for the mission, etc seemed fine to me.

I agree. The way it just cut to flashback was a little jarring as you don't always know if you are in present or past. Only sometimes they would say "5 years ago" or something as a title card.
This was a show without FTL. A show that attempted to use a realistic science future in just so many years from now...

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Their single biggest mistake was putting it on a network. What led them to believe it would survive there? I'm also wondering why Syfy didn't want to pick it up after it was sold to ABC. They've picked up shows from other networks before.

 

[Deckerd]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Was it discussed much here? It sort of slipped by without comment in the UK, so I assumed it wasn't much cop.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

^ It got a number of threads including weekly episode thread and then a final thread for the remaining episodes that didn't air in the U.S. I'm guessing it didn't get much hype in the UK because it was already dead by the time it aired there.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Was it discussed much here? It sort of slipped by without comment in the UK, so I assumed it wasn't much cop.

I quite liked it. I think the "Grey's Anatomy meets Lost, in space" label it got killed a lot of people's interest though. Then the relationship aspect to it turned off a lot of people who even tuned in, but by the end it was getting fairly decent.

 

[Vestboy]

Re: How 'Defying Gravity' would have progressed, straight from the cre

Yeah, I think the promotion of it as "Grey's Astronomy", instead of bringing in fans of both types of shows, they alienated both sides.

I personally found it rather intriguing, with a lot of potential. Flawed, certainly, but not unwatchably so.