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Season 1 – Defying Gravity

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Defying Gravity Aug 2009 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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48% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
An international crew of eight astronauts -- four men and four women -- sets off on a mysterious, six-year mission covering billions of miles aboard a ship called the Antares. Inspired by the fictional docudrama "Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets," the show tells the story of both the astronauts as they explore Venus and the other planets in the solar system, and their supportive and dedicated ground crew. Episodes alternate between the present, on the current mission, and flashbacks to earlier years when the final eight were still in the grueling selection and training process.
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Defying Gravity — Season 1

Defying Gravity — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Defying Gravity aims for the stars with its lavish production values, but the series' uneasy mixture of science-fiction mystery and soporific romance sends it crashing back down to Earth.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Starr New York Post 10/28/2020
It's all weird enough to merit a return visit. Go to Full Review Michael Hogan Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/28/2020
Sadly, Defying Gravity's considerable pitfall and the reason, clearly, for the American rejection is that it was ponderously paced. Go to Full Review Emily St. James AV Club 10/28/2020
C
The show wants to be both a science fiction head-trip and a workplace soap, but the blend is too uneasy to be sustainable. Also, there's an incredibly clumsy discussion of abortion politics. Go to Full Review Meredith Woerner io9.com 10/28/2020
Defying Gravity is trying too hard to be everything and needs to commit to something, to give the show an identity. Go to Full Review Adam Sweeting The Arts Desk 10/28/2020
Most problematic of all is that Gravity can't decide whether it's flat-out sci-fi like Star Trek, or something more discursive and philosophical, like Solaris. Go to Full Review Genevieve Valentine Reactor 10/28/2020
Takes soap opera into space with all the fervor of a network that didn't realize it was going where many have gone before. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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05/29/2021 I found it intriguing. Loved the combination of sci-fy, adventure and romance. Typically my husband and I watch different programming but we were able to watch this together. We watched the whole series in one setting until wee hours in the morning because we had to know the outcome. I enjoyed each character and appreciated the diversity of the cast. See more 05/26/2020 Maybe it is just me but I love cerebral stories although the beginning was slow to pick up. I still wanted more also it was put smack dab in the middle of the writers strike to I don' t think ABC gave it a true chance I get it money is money time is time. I just think had it been allowed to finish season one the value would have been seen. Their are many of us who tried to save the show,personally I hate a story not fully finished. See more 12/23/2019 It is an absolute crime that this was cancelled. See more 11/02/2019 I thought the "Defying Gravity" TV series was awesome! I bought the DVD set with all 13 episodes, so I got to see episodes 12 and 13, at the end. After landing on scorching Venus, Astronaut Zoe managed to retrieve the alien artifact, and make it back to the Lander, even as her pressurized EVA suit seals were failing. But she managed to make it back into the Lander, and they took off from Venus, and returned to their orbiting ship, Antares. I am glad I watched this TV series. The main astronaut program, exploration plot, and non-linear storytelling, with all the flashback scenes, were well-done. The telegenic cast was great to watch, the ship designs and interiors were excellent, and the relationships were fun to see unfold. I can only surmise that the show was quite expensive to produce the 13 episodes, and unless it became a big "TV ad-selling" phenomenon, the TV series wasn't going to get any further budget to do more episodes. I am happy that I bought the DVD set! Highest possible recommendations! See more 04/11/2019 I was really getting drawn into this when it got canned. There's a good mix here, Love interests, mysterious signals, flashbacks that help support the story as it evolves. Reading the Critics review I can only feel that they reviewed it after it got canned See more Read all reviews
Defying Gravity — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Ron Livingston

Maddux Donner

Laura Harris

Zoe Barnes

Malik Yoba

Commander Ted Shaw

Christina Cox

Jen Crane

Florentine Lahme

Nadia Schilling

Paula Garcés

Paula Morales

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Aug 2, 2009 Pilot The crew of the Antares begins its mission, embarking on a six-year journey to explore Venus and the other planets in the solar system. Details Episode 2 Aired Aug 2, 2009 Natural Selection Crew members learn to adjust to life aboard the ship and face a life-threatening crisis. Details Episode 3 Aired Aug 9, 2009 Threshold Personal and professional relationships intensify, both aboard ship and on the ground, as the unseen power behind the mission begins to cause psychological and cellular transformations in the astronauts. Details Episode 4 Aired Aug 16, 2009 H21K The crew faces its first major crisis when a series of system failures plunges everything into chaos, as power, heat and gravity-control are lost. Details Episode 5 Aired Aug 23, 2009 Rubicon The ship crosses a critical boundary, at which point returning home is no longer an option, and each member of the crew must come to terms with that fact. Details Episode 6 Aired Aug 30, 2009 Bacon Some crew members struggle with guilt; a serious accident puts a crew member's life in danger. Details Episode 7 Aired Sep 6, 2009 Fear Hallucinations put crew members' lives in danger just as they are about to start a promotional event. Details Episode 8 Aired Sep 13, 2009 Love, Honor, Obey An impending solar flare puts the crew in danger; the strange force in Pod 4 sends out an irresistible siren call. Details Episode 9 Aired Sep 18, 2009 Eve Ate the Apple A haunting song draws the crew to storage Pod 4; Goss reveals the true nature of the mission. Details Episode 10 Aired Mar 13, 2010 Déjà Vu Events have changed the focus of the mission for the Antares crew. Details Episode 11 Aired Mar 20, 2010 Solitary The crew members deal with loneliness and isolation before they land on Venus. Details Episode 12 Aired Mar 27, 2010 Venus On the day of the Venus landing, everyone's lives may change forever. Details Episode 13 Aired Apr 3, 2010 Kiss After landing on Venus, Zoe walks toward a sound only she can hear. Details

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Defying Gravity — Season 1

Defying Gravity Defying Gravity Defying Gravity Defying Gravity View more photos

Season Info

Director
Peter Howitt, Marcie Ulin, Fred Gerber, Jeff Woolnough, David Straiton
Executive Producer
James D. Parriott, Michael Edelstein
Screenwriter
James D. Parriott, Marcie Ulin, Susan Nirah Jaffee, Sheri Elwood, Chris Provenzano, Brett Conrad, Meredith Lavender
Network
ABC
Rating
TV-14 (D|S|L)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Aug 2, 2009