If you haven’t watched Defiance yet and you have an itch to get into a new sci-fi series this one’s for you. In fact you can pick up season one next Tuesday when it comes out on Blu-ray. Defiance is about a bold new Earth that exists in both TV show and video game form. On the NYCC panel we shared the room with the show’s exec producer Michael Nankin, and show stars; Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Jaime Murray, and Stephanie Leonidas. This was a really entertaining panel as all of the guests were having a good time and really playing off each other well. Q&A was actually good, sometimes I find it annoying but when it actually gets some answers that fans want to hear out of the mouths of the creators and actors it can be a lot of fun. In fact, do you remember the giant blue guy that Nolan fought in season one? Well the “Bioman” will have a background that will be explored in season 2! Thanks question guy! The other great thing about this universe is that even though the show is the real story, fans/gamers can play as a new character in the Defiance universe and create their own destiny, even crossing paths with familiar faces from the show!
In fact, star Grant Bowler, who plays Nolan, has the game for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and admits that he plays the game all the time. I am not a big fan of MMORPGs and I’m not sure if I will give this one a shot while it’s still relevant. Bowler tells the audience that the show is basically in their hands and the NOW is the time to be actively passionate about Defiance and do what you can to help, social network the hell outta it! In terms of what to expects from season 2, Bowler told the audience that season one was more “macro”, concentrating on the world and the town of Defiance. This coming season the concentration will be on the characters that inhabit Defiance, especially our established characters who have been “left only with their flaws”.
The beautiful Julie Benz was on the panel as well, I was happy when she was cast in the role as the newly appointed Mayor Amanda Rosewater. Coming off of shows like Buffy, Dexter, and No Ordinary Family, Benz has established herself as an actress who can take on a variety of roles and I like her portrayal as Mayor. Benz told the audience that the reason she decided to do Defiance was because of her appeal in the script and the character of Amanda Rosewater. Rosewater wasn’t a “mother/wife victim”, an aspect that really drew her to the role. “Acting in a sci-fi series, and playing in that universe allows women to play complicated, damaged, and strong as men without drawing attention.” Benz says, “The genre allows women to just be.” Benz also gave the audience a little insight into where Amanda is in season two, comparing season one to her being like Snow White, and Season 2 like Sucker Punch, that should be interesting. And speaking of strong characters, Jaime Murray who is another Dexter alumni, plays Stahma Tarr who is a Castithan. In the first season her husband Datak Tarr is pushing for control of Defiance, and walks the line of villain the entire first season. Stahma is controlled due to her beliefs and culture, so season one is her journey to break away from tradition and try something new and forbidden. Murray tells the audience about the makeup process and that it takes about 2 hours to apply her make up, something that Benz can’t believe because it takes her that long! She jokingly says it’s because “she’s old”. Stephanie Leonidas who plays Irisa on the show also has to go through a process to get her makeup done, but still not much longer that Benz, they joke. Murray adds that in season two each character “will have their own journey, yet each one of them is flawed”. Check out this sneak peek at season 2!
So what lies ahead for Defiance in Season 2 and beyond? The show’s Executive Producer and Director, Michael Nankin, who also worked on Battlestar Galactica, says that they have only written up to the end of the upcoming season two and that there are “landmarks” in the game that they would like to aim for in seasons 3 and 4. The show will return in June of 2014, and that may seem like a long time, until you pick up the game of course. I haven’t really decided if I’m going to give it a shot or not, any of you Towelites out there have an opinion on it? Like I said before I recommend that you give this show a shot if you like character driven sci-fi shows and a TV show that takes its world seriously, even going as far as creating new languages for it. I’m just saying.
Stay tooned 😛
~CynicNerd
