Lower Decks

Waterloo reviewed the first two episodes of ABC’s Defying Gravity last week and was quite positive in his comments. The third episode aired last night and I have to say that I can’t stand the way the show focuses so heavily on soap opera. Much of last night’s episode involved the astronauts-in-training (in the past) being given special “HALO” patches that supposedly suppress sexual urges. Before long, a group of women have bet a group of men that they can’t overcome the patch and get it up.

Maybe that’s what prospective astronauts would really do, I don’t know. I do know that the episode didn’t need to waste twenty minutes introducing the patches, setting up the competition and carrying out the competition.

I’m much more interested in the main story line that takes place aboard the Antares (in the present) involving the mysterious Beta that may or may not be an alien from Venus. Unfortunately, last night’s episode didn’t move forward nearly enough for my liking. We’re getting glimpses of what could be a very interesting tale. But the soap opera elements of Defying Gravity overshadow everything. I’ve seen the show compared to both Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, two other ABC shows I watch and enjoy. The comparisons to both are more or less valid: the flashbacks and mysteries of Lost coupled with the sex and drama of Grey’s Anatomy.

The way I see it, Defying Gravity would work much better if it chose one of these shows to emulate rather than attempting to merge the two. Either make it a straight soap opera in space or a serious, complicated drama in space. I am interested in learning more about Beta and why “it” is changing the DNA of those aboard the Antares (and at least one person back on Earth). More importantly, I’d like to know why the ISO is going along with Beta’s demands.

I can’t see Defying Gravity running longer than its initial 13 episodes. Which means it will probably end on a cliffhanger given that it is supposed to take the Antares six years to get to Venus. Would the show have worked better as a self-contained miniseries? Maybe. But again, if it insisted on straddling Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, even a miniseries with a definitive end wouldn’t have been all that much better than what we’re seeing.