Sci-Fi Drama Canceled Right Before A Major Twist Is Now Streaming Without Netflix
The list of sci-fi shows that were never able to finish their first season is disturbingly long, with some, such as Firefly, that never aired some of their best episodes. There’s one, though, that remains overlooked by almost everyone because it’s a different type of sci-fi, and it’s most accurately described as “Grey’s Anatomy in Space.” That’s not a knock against it, as Defying Gravity shares a creator with the hospital drama in Shonda Rhimes.
Those who watched it on ABC would be forgiven for thinking it was more drama than sci-fi, as it was canceled one episode before a wild plot twist.
The Lives Of Astronauts
Defying Gravity is set in 2052 but frequently flashes back five years earlier, to 2047, as it follows a team of astronauts onboard the Antares as they start a multi-year journey of the solar system, and then, in the flashbacks, how they were recruited and trained for the mission. The astronauts are constantly recorded and monitored by Mission Control, but that’s not the most disruptive part of their journey. Tucked away in storage is Beta, and that’s all they know about it, but somehow, the strange container is influencing their dreams, thoughts, and maybe even their emotions.
The Closest Network Television Got To Hard Sci-Fi
The mystery of Beta was enough to keep me watching as Defying Gravity ran on ABC, making me one of the dozens who bothered watching it. Every episode was heavy on relationship drama, as this is a Shonda Rhimes show, but mixed in was some surprisingly hard sci-fi for a network series, with the team having to deal with a solar flare, sudden system failures, and the psychological impact of crossing the “point of no return” on the way to Venus. Few shows have tackled the mental difficulty of living in space to this extent.
Space Soap Opera
Defying Gravity’s biggest star is Office Space’s Ron Livingston as the engineer, but there are other recognizable faces for fans of genre fare, including Malik Yoba (Alphas) and Laura Harris (Dead Like Me). The cast is naturally more drawn from soap operas than sci-fi epics, and that’s reflected in the melodramatics onboard the Antares, which, on the one hand, it’s great to see a sci-fi series show romance. On the other, they get across the wild hallucinations that dominate most episodes.
Canceled Before The Most Important Episode
The timing of Defying Gravity’s cancelation perfectly cut off the audience from learning the true nature of the astronaut’s mission around the galaxy. Right when the real sci-fi aspect of the show was going to kick in, which, yes, means aliens, it was yanked from the air. The hints of a greater universe and what’s out there, waiting for them, were confined to streaming services or, as I watched it, Netflix DVDs by mail.
All Episodes Available On Streaming
REVIEW SCORE
Firefly was never able to air “Heart of Gold,” but that wasn’t the mythology episode of the series. Defying Gravity starts to become a different show after Episode 9, “Eve Ate the Apple.” It’s still a very drama-heavy series, but at least, in the backend, it starts to do some fun things with sci-fi tropes, and I’ll admit, “Rubicon,” the “point of no return” episode, hits on themes and emotions I wish more shows would cover.
Thankfully, today, you can purchase the series, with every episode, through Video on Demand through Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, and Vudu.
