Defying Gravity | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama Science fiction |
Created by | James D. Parriott |
Starring | |
Composer | Shawn Pierce |
Country of origin | United States Canada United Kingdom Germany |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Michael Edelstein James Parriott Brian Hamilton Michael Chechik [1] |
Producer | Ron French |
Production locations | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Cinematography | Stephen McNutt |
Production companies | Parriott/Edelstein Productions Omni Film Productions Fox Television Studios |
Original release | |
Network | ABC (USA) BBC Two & BBC HD (UK) CTV (CAN) ProSieben (Germany) |
Release | August 2 – October 23, 2009 |
Defying Gravity is a multi-nationally produced science fiction television series which first aired on August 2, 2009 on ABC and CTV and was canceled in October 2009. Set in the year 2052, the series follows eight astronauts [2] (four women and four men) from four countries on a six-year space mission through the Solar System, [3] during which they are monitored from Earth via a real-time communication system. [4] The series was pitched to networks as " Grey's Anatomy in space". [5] Thirteen episodes of the series were produced before it was cancelled, only eight of which were shown on ABC, though the full run was shown in other countries or online.
The program follows the adventures of eight astronauts on board the international spacecraft Antares, the next ambitious crewed space mission after the Mars landing. The lives of the astronauts are being constantly recorded and broadcast back to Earth both as part of an ongoing documentary and as part of mission monitoring. Despite a libido-suppressing device worn by each crew member, referred to as "HALO" for "Hormone Activated Libido Oppressors", romantic entanglements develop among some crew members. Further complicating their lives is a mysterious storage pod that contains something referred to as Beta, which is exerting an influence on their mission. [6]
The project was inspired by the BBC fictional documentary miniseries Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets , broadcast on BBC One in 2004. [10] The show was co-produced by the BBC, Fox Television Studios, and Omni Film Productions, in association with Canadian broadcasters CTV Television Network and SPACE, as well as German broadcaster ProSieben. [11]
Thirteen episodes were initially ordered, [12] and filming began on January 19, 2009, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, North America, lasting six months. CGI effects were handled by Stargate Studios, in collaboration with set designer Stephen Geaghan. [6]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | David Straiton | James D. Parriott | August 2, 2009 (ABC/CTV) | |
Four male and four female astronauts prepare for a six-year mission aboard the spaceship Antares. | |||||
2 | "Natural Selection" "Law of Natural Selection" | Peter Howitt | James D. Parriott | August 2, 2009 (ABC/CTV) | |
The Antares begins its mission to explore the planets in the Solar System. During flashback scenes from five years in the past, we learn that Steve is not able to swim and should have been disqualified from the Antares mission. However, his inclusion was a requirement set by Eve Weller. We also learn about Zoe's and Maddux's one-night stand. In the present, Zoe gets in the specially designed Venus suit to test it for leaks. A system error ejects her and the leak causes her to lose pressure in space. Steve's otherwise disgusting idea saves Zoe's life and gains him respect from others. | |||||
3 | "Threshold" | Peter Howitt | Sheri Elwood | August 9, 2009 (ABC/CTV) | |
A mysterious force aboard the Antares begins to have a profound effect on the astronauts' biological compositions and personality traits. | |||||
4 | "H2IK" "H2IK (Hell If I Know)" | Fred Gerber | Brett Conrad | August 16, 2009 (ABC/CTV) | |
An unknown malfunction sends the Antares into chaos as the ship's operating systems are thrown offline, causing the failure of vital systems such as power, gravity, and heating. | |||||
5 | "Rubicon" | Marcie Ulin | Meredith Lavender & Marcie Ulin | August 23, 2009 (ABC/CTV) | |
As the Antares approaches the point of no return, the crew must deal with the upcoming crossing of the critical boundary where return to Earth is no longer an option. | |||||
6 | "Bacon" [13] | Marcie Ulin | Meredith Lavender | August 28, 2009 (CTV) | |
Drawing closer to the orbit of Venus, some members of the Antares crew struggle with guilt and experience vivid repercussions of past actions, while a serious accident puts the life of a teammate in danger, uniting everyone in the desperate endeavor to save her. | |||||
7 | "Fear" | Jeff Woolnough | Chris Provenzano | September 4, 2009 (CTV) | |
It's Halloween aboard the Antares and the forces of darkness are revealed in more ways than one, as feverish hallucinations jeopardize the lives of the crew just as they are about to embark on a promotional event for which the whole world is waiting. | |||||
8 | "Love, Honor, Obey" [Schedule 1] | Fred Gerber | Susan Nirah Jaffee | September 11, 2009 (CTV) | |
An impending solar flare threatens the crew of the Antares with dangerous radiation, while the strange force in Pod 4 finally sends out a siren call that proves utterly irresistible. | |||||
9 | "Eve Ate the Apple" [Schedule 2] | Peter Howitt | Blythe Robe | September 18, 2009 (CTV) | |
The crew of the Antares learns about Pod 4 and the real reason for their mission to Venus. | |||||
10 | "Deja Vu" [Schedule 3] | Michael Rohl | Sheri Elwood | October 2, 2009 (SPACE) [14] | |
It's election day but the crew aboard the Antares is still processing the news about their real mission on Venus. | |||||
11 | "Solitary" | David Straiton | Meredith Lavender & Marcie Ulin | October 9, 2009 (SPACE) [15] | |
In the final hours before the landing on Venus, crew members of the Antares confront the loneliness and isolation of space. | |||||
12 | "Venus" | Sturla Gunnarsson | James D. Parriott | October 16, 2009 (SPACE) [16] | |
It's the day of the Venus landing, a historic and dangerous event likely to alter the lives of everyone involved. | |||||
13 | "Kiss" | Sturla Gunnarsson | James D. Parriott | October 23, 2009 (SPACE) [17] | |
After landing on the burning surface of Venus, Zoe walks toward a sound only she can hear, drawn by her destiny into almost certain destruction. |
On June 30, 2009, ABC announced that it had ordered the program for a summer 2009 broadcast in the United States. [5] [18] The show began on October 21, 2009 [19] on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom, [20] and has aired on both CTV and SPACE in Canada, [21] and is set to air on ProSieben in Germany. [5] All 13 episodes aired in November / December 2009 on Arena TV in Australia.
CTV moved the scheduled airing of the show from Sunday to Friday nights on August 26, 2009, and speculation began about the possibility of the show being canceled. [13] On September 14, 2009, online sources noted ABC's apparent cancellation of the series, with most having reported the eighth episode as the "series finale", while others reported it as the "season finale". [22] The show's publicist, Nicole Marostica, issued a statement on September 14, 2009 that ABC is not in fact canceling the show but that management is deciding on a time slot to air the remaining 5 episodes of season 1. [23]
CTV aired episode 9, Eve Ate the Apple on September 18, 2009, but did not have Defying Gravity on its schedule for the following week. The remaining four episodes were aired on SPACE, which is only available in Canada. On October 22, 2009, TV Squad reported that the sets for Defying Gravity had been destroyed and that the series had been canceled. [24] On October 29, 2009, creator James Parriott revealed to CliqueClack TV how the series would have continued, had the show gone past its first season. Parriott explained that he has the first three seasons plotted out in a show "bible", along with how it would ultimately end. [8] Also reported was that the remaining episodes that did not air in the U.S. would not be shown on television, but would appear later on Hulu and iTunes. The series was released to DVD on January 19, 2010. All online content regarding the show was removed from the ABC website as of November 18, 2009, and is no longer available on Hulu.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2010) |
Set details | Special features | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Country | United States, Canada | United Kingdom | Australia |
|
# episodes | 13 | 13 [26] | — | |
Aspect ratio | 1.78:1 | 1.85:1 [26] | — | |
Running time | 578 minutes | 538 minutes [26] | — | |
Audio | Dolby Digital 5.1 | — | — | |
Subtitles | English, Spanish, French | — | — | |
# of discs | 4 | 4 [26] | — | |
Region | 1 (NTSC) | 2 (PAL) [26] | — | |
Rating | Not Rated | 15 [26] | — | |
Release date | January 19, 2010 [25] | February 25, 2013 [26] [27] | — |
# | Episode | US air date | Rating | Share | Rating/share (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | Rank (week) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | August 2, 2009 | 2.4 | 4 | 1.1/3 | 3.83 | 21 |
2 | "Natural Selection" | August 2, 2009 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.0/3 | 3.56 | 21 |
3 | "Threshold" | August 9, 2009 | 1.8 | 3 | 1.0/2 | 2.81 | 28 |
4 | "H2IK" | August 16, 2009 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 2.59 | 34 |
5 | "Rubicon" | August 23, 2009 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 2.66 | 33 |
6 | "Bacon" | August 30, 2009 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.9/2 | 2.53 | 31 |
7 | "Fear" | September 6, 2009 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.6/2 | 2.16 | 29 |
8 | "Love, Honor, Obey" | September 13, 2009 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 2.53 | 39 |
# | Episode | Canadian air date | Viewers (million) | Rank (week) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 2 | "Pilot" "Natural Selection" | August 2, 2009 (CTV) | 0.783 [28] | 20 [28] |
3 | "Threshold" | August 9, 2009 (CTV) | — [29] | — [29] |
4 | "H2IK" | August 16, 2009 (CTV) | 0.573 [30] | 30 [30] |
5 | "Rubicon" | August 23, 2009 (CTV) | — [31] | — [31] |
6 | "Bacon" | August 28, 2009 (CTV) | — [32] | — [32] |
7 | "Fear" | September 4, 2009 (CTV) | — [33] | — [33] |
8 | "Love, Honor, Obey" | September 11, 2009 (CTV) | — [34] | — [34] |
9 | "Eve Ate the Apple" | September 18, 2009 (CTV) | — [35] | — [35] |
10 | "Deja Vu" | October 2, 2009 (Space) | — [36] | — [36] |
11 | "Solitary" | October 9, 2009 (Space) | — [37] | — [37] |
12 | "Venus" | October 16, 2009 (Space) | — [38] | — [38] |
13 | "Kiss" | October 23, 2009 (Space) | — [39] | — [39] |
# | Episode | UK air date | Audience share (%) | Viewers (million) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | October 21, 2009 [40] | 7.7 | 1.72 |
2 | "Law of Natural Selection" | October 21, 2009 [40] | 7.2 | 1.44 |
3 | "Threshold" | October 29, 2009 [40] | 3.5 | 0.79 |
4 | "H2IK (Hell If I Know)" | November 5, 2009 [40] | 3.3 | 0.76 |
5 | "Rubicon" | November 12, 2009 [40] | 2.8 | 0.67 |
6 | "Bacon" | November 14, 2009 [40] | — | — |
7 | "Fear" | November 21, 2009 [40] | — | — |
8 | "Love, Honor, Obey" | November 28, 2009 [40] | — | — |
9 | "Eve Ate the Apple" | December 12, 2009 [40] | — | — |
10 | "Deja Vu" | December 19, 2009 [40] | — | — |
11 | "Solitary" | December 20, 2009 [40] | — | — |
12 | "Venus" | December 21, 2009 [40] | — | — |
13 | "Kiss" | December 22, 2009 [40] | — | — |
Christina Cox is a Canadian film and television actress and stuntwoman.
Flashpoint is a Canadian police procedural television series created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern for CTV, CBS and Ion Television. The series starred Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, David Paetkau, Sergio Di Zio, and Enrico Colantoni. The series premiered on CTV in Canada on July 11, 2008. In the United States, the first three seasons and part of the fourth were aired on CBS from July 11, 2008, up until August 19, 2011. The show then aired on Ion Television starting on October 18, 2011, with the eighth episode of the fourth season. Internationally, the series was distributed by Alchemy Television and Tele München Group.
The third season of The O.C. commenced airing in the United States on September 8, 2005, concluded on May 18, 2006, and consisted of 25 episodes. The first ten episodes of season three aired Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the United States on Fox; however, from January 12, 2006, onwards, The O.C. was shifted to a later time of Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The fourth and final season of The O.C., an American teen drama television series, aired in the United States from November 2, 2006, to February 22, 2007, and consisted of 16 episodes. The O.C's final season aired Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET in the United States on Fox, a terrestrial television network. Fox tested a new timeslot by airing the second episode on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET against ABC's Lost and CBS's Criminal Minds. With Lost about to enter a three-month hiatus, Fox hoped that changing the timeslot for The O.C. would attract back viewers it had lost since the end of the previous season; however, the move was unsuccessful and the show returned to its Thursday timeslot.
The first season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2004, concluded May 22, 2005, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Mary Alice Young, a seemingly perfect housewife who commits suicide, fearing that a dark secret involving her, her husband, and their son would be exposed. At her wake, Mary Alice's four close friends and the main characters, Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, are introduced. All of them live in the suburb of Fairview on Wisteria Lane. Narrating the series from beyond the grave, Mary Alice describes how her friends try to discover the reason for her suicide while dealing with the problems of their own personal lives.
Hiccups is a Canadian television series created by Corner Gas star Brent Butt, who is also the writer, show runner, and executive producer of the program. The series was produced by Laura Lightbown and David Storey and airs on CTV and The Comedy Network. The pilot was shot in late March 2009 with the rest of the series to begin shooting in September 2009. The show premiered on CTV on March 1, 2010; the same night as Dan for Mayor, a series starring fellow Corner Gas alumnus Fred Ewanuick. Hiccups returned for a second season on May 30, 2011 at 8pm ET. CTV did not renew Hiccups and Dan for Mayor for a third season.
Dylan Taylor is a Canadian actor.
"Wheels" is the ninth episode of the American television series Glee. Written by series co-creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Paris Barclay, the episode premiered on the Fox network on November 11, 2009. "Wheels" sees the glee club hold a bake sale to raise money for a handicap accessible bus, so that club member Artie can travel with them to sectionals and Will challenges the students to experience life from a different point of view. Quinn struggles with the medical expenses incurred by her pregnancy, and Puck renews his offer to support her. Sue accepts a student with Down syndrome onto the cheerleading squad, and Kurt and Rachel compete for a solo performance.
The first season of the American television series NCIS: Los Angeles premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009, and concluded on May 25, 2010. It is the first spin-off series of NCIS. The series is set in Los Angeles, California, and follows the stories of the members of the Office of Special Projects, an undercover division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). The show and its characters were introduced during the sixth-season episodes of NCIS titled "Legend " and "Legend ". These episodes served as a backdoor pilot for the series.
The first season of the Canadian police drama Rookie Blue began airing on June 24, 2010 with a simultaneous premiere on Global in Canada and ABC in the U.S. On July 12, 2010, four days after the third episode was broadcast, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. The first season completed its run on September 9, 2010 with a double episode airing.
Combat Hospital is a medical drama television series, filmed in Toronto, that debuted on Global in Canada and ABC in the United States on June 21, 2011. Its final episode was broadcast on September 6, 2011. The series was known for a time by the working title The Hot Zone before reverting to its original title, Combat Hospital.
Saving Hope is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producers. Saving Hope aired on CTV for five seasons from June 7, 2012, to August 3, 2017, with the first season airing on NBC.
The third season of the Canadian police drama Rookie Blue starring Missy Peregrym, Ben Bass and Gregory Smith premiered on May 24, 2012 on Global in Canada.
Motive is a Canadian police procedural television series that aired for four seasons on CTV from February 3, 2013, to August 30, 2016. The series premiere had 1.23 million viewers, making it the number one Canadian series premiere of the 2012–13 season.