In the scifi drama series Defying Gravity we follow a team of eight astronauts (four men, four women) as they explore our solar system aboard the ship The Antares, on a six year mission. Closely monitored by Mission Control back on Earth it soon becomes obvious that some unseen force is directing them in strange ways. Maddux Donner is ships engineer, Evram Mintz is the doctor, Jen Crane the biologist, Nadia Schilling is the pilot, Zoe Barnes is a geologist, Ted Shaw is the commander of the ship, Steve Wassenfelder is physicist and Paula Morales is the lander pilot.
Played pretty straight, like an updated version of the BBC’s Moonbase 3, Defying Gravity probably suffered from its pan-country financing and the idea about the constant filming of the crew for a documentary series back on Earth seems designed purely to cater for the reality TV fan, it builds nicely though and once it becomes obvious that something is going to happen when the ships lands on Venus the tension mounts quite a bit.
Three seasons were planned but it was not to be.
production details
USA – Canada – UK – Germany | BBC-ABC-CTV | 13×50 minutes | Broadcast 2 August – 23 October 2009
Creator: James Parriott
Producers: Ron French, Sheri Elwood
cast
RON LIVINGSTON as Maddux Donner
LAURA HARRIS as Zoe Barnes
CHRISTINA COX as Jen Crane
MALIK YOBA as Ted Shaw
FLORENTINE LAHME as Nadia Sschilling
EYAL PODELL as Evram Mintz
PAULA GARCES as Paula Morales
DYLAN TAYLOR as Steve Wassenfinder
KAREN LEBLANC as Eve Weller-Shaw
ANDREW AIRLIE as Mike Goss
