Defiance - Current Episode Discussion

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Anyone catch the premiere episode? I thought it was pretty good. Syfy has been promoting the hell out of the show and it looks like they did a good job with it. The acting is good, the musical score was great, the landscapes where very eye catching.. However a couple parts seemed a little predictable, the cg was good, but it was a bit off with a couple vehicles and I wish the battle at the end lasted a bit longer. I was surprised to see an army like that coming to destroy the city. But I'm glad it has some action. After playing the game for a while, I was starting to wonder where all the danger was in series. Seeing as no army came to help them, it looks like Defiance is a completely stand alone town with no allies or affiliation with any larger nation. i think this show has quite a bit of potential.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

I watched it out of spite due to the freaking viral commercial campaign (gah, all those commercials were annoying the hell out of me). Honestly I don't know what to think yet. It's better then I thought it'd be (and I was expecting it to be utter crap mind you). It has a lot of potential, I'll give it that. Don't know if I like the cliche fighting between the two major financial contributors to Defiance but it did add a little bit of intrigue to the episode. I'm honestly going to keep watching it now because I like Nolan and Irisa, they made the episode for me with their banter and Irisa's penchant for holding knives to people's throats.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

There is a mayor and 2 ruling families. I hope they do something interesting with it because its been done plenty of times before. And their kids hooking up is too Romeo and Juliet like for my tastes. I do like the weapons in this, like the energy knives. I wonder what that shield would have done against that army. They said, "without that shield Defiance won't stand a chance" but at the same time, those guys were climbing walls easily. Aside from the shield forcing them to climb up the mountainous terrain, they could have taken out the town in shear numbers. Maybe the shield could have been used offensively some how.

 

Nolan and Irisa definitely make this into a show. They could have probably made the show just about them traveling to different locations instead of settling down in Defiance.

 

btw, did you notice how they canceled Eureka, which is about a sheriff in a town filled with scientist and technology and shortly after made Defiance, which if Nolan accepts the lawkeeper job, will be about a sheriff in a town filled with aliens and technology? Seems like an odd coincidence.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

What a coincidence. Lets just hope, if Defiance lives up to it's hype, they don't go and cancel it like they did with all their other successful shows (like Eureka).

 

The weapons are quite nice. I'm extremely interested in the Cold Fire weapons. I honestly hope they go into more depth about them at some point because those weapons can do some serious damage.

 

I honestly don't think the shield would of done more then probably slow the Volge down. If you noticed before the control tower was destroyed it was quite a ways above the shield so one shot from that walking artillery/tank thingy would of taken it out easily, even if it could of been used offensively. I just found it funny that Nolan just happened to have gotten his hands on something that would basically save the day in the end at the beginning of the episode. Coincidence? I honestly do wish they'd of made Defiance about they're travels but then it wouldn't be called Defiance would it?

 

Also you notice how Nolan just happened to be one of the "Defiant few". Good lord the coincidences in this show.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Yep... I hope more episodes don't follow the standard Eureka episode pattern. As in.. "Carter / Nolan finds an object or learns a piece of information in the first 15 minutes of the episode that he then uses in the last 15 minutes of the episode in a creative way to save the day."

 

I look forward to watching more episodes just to find out more details about the story and history they are creating. The Pale Wars, the Volge, Cold Fire Weapons, what happened with the Votans system that caused them to build arks, etc..

 

Hmm... after looking at the official site, it appears that most of that is answered.. maybe instead of a regular series where they explain everything or give everything an origin story, they might just be assuming everyone knows the established canon off their website. That definitely seems different. I wish most movies would do that. Everyone knows who Superman is, skip remaking origin movies and just make a new movie with new interesting things. Maybe thats what Syfy is doing with Defiance. Assume everyone read the stuff, its established and get into interesting adventures... but theres so much on the website, all of it could have been used to make some amazing episodes or maybe they're saving it for possible prequel material.

 

http://www.defiance.com/en/series/world-of-2046/technology/charge-blades

 

http://www.defiance.com/en/series/world-of-2046/technology/cold-fire

 

The hell bugs remind me of the Dune Sandworms.. the sandworms produced spice and these hellbugs produce fuel:

 

http://www.defiance.com/en/series/world-of-2046/aliens/hellbugs

 

I'm looking forward to seeing some hellbugs in the series, in the game the larger ones are real bastards to kill.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

They most likely assumed that everyone would play the game and do the research on the back story before the show aired, they're not the first ones to do this and most likely won't be the last. I'm pretty sure they'll be bringing up some of this stuff as the series progresses or at least the stuff the pertains to why Earth as it is now (like the Pale Wars and the events that led up to them). Or they'll go the route you mentioned and use it as prequel material for a new series, TV special, or a movie (I mean they made a tie in game, it's only a matter of time till they make a movie).

 

Going by my understanding of what I read on the site I'm pretty sure we'll see plenty of Hellbugs as the series progresses (especially considering Defiance is on it's own with no connections to the Earth Republic or the Votanis Collective, so I'm sure they do need to get whatever fuel they don't trade for on their own). They're basically everywhere and one of the major dangers in the badlands, then again how often do you fight them in the game? That might be a good way to judge how often they'll appear in the show (pending on how often the main characters actually go outside of Defiance).

[Kite 3,263]

Not watched it yet, 

Was not a fan of its marketing campaign, and it sounds too sci-fi that syfy might drop it is a month or so...

 

might wait a few ep's then watch back 2 back

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Going by my understanding of what I read on the site I'm pretty sure we'll see plenty of Hellbugs as the series progresses (especially considering Defiance is on it's own with no connections to the Earth Republic or the Votanis Collective, so I'm sure they do need to get whatever fuel they don't trade for on their own). They're basically everywhere and one of the major dangers in the badlands, then again how often do you fight them in the game? That might be a good way to judge how often they'll appear in the show (pending on how often the main characters actually go outside of Defiance).

 

In the game you see the hellbug skitterlings (almost the size of a human on the ground) all over the place. Whenever you think you're alone they usually show up randomly burrowing from underground. The skitterlings are weak tho.. a couple bullets and they're dead. They look a bit like crab creatures unless they have their mouths open..

 

 

The only time I've seen larger hellbugs, like the hellbug archers (human size hellbugs with wings and they fly), or the regular hellbugs (at least human size and are bastards that spit gunk at you to hold you in place while they kill you), are at arkfalls. From my understanding, the arkfalls more or less summon enemies and especially hellbugs to the area. I'm guessing the stuff the hellbugs like to eat are in the arkfalls. Which surprised me in the first episode of the series. After Nolan and Irisa came across that first arkfall I was expecting hellbugs to show up. But no hellbugs... so wth... I've only played about 10 hours of the game, about 4 in beta and 6 in game so I don't have much to go on yet.. but I have seen 2 arkfalls. The first was an episode mission and I actually ran into Nolan and Irisa when I was playing the game with my brother. We all fought off a crap load of hellbugs and claimed some loot.. the second arkfall was completely unexpected.. we were in an area when a chunk of ark came falling out of the sky and landed close to us. Players in the area started converging on it and before I knew it about 15 or so of us was fighting off hellbugs and other enemies trying to claim it. The larger the hellbugs the more dangerous they are.

 

Not watched it yet, 

Was not a fan of its marketing campaign, and it sounds too sci-fi that syfy might drop it is a month or so...

 

might wait a few ep's then watch back 2 back

 

I doubt Syfy will drop it anytime soon considering season 2 was greenlight before the first ep of season 1 even aired.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Considering the amount of money they invested into a game and the show I highly doubt it'll get cancelled for quite awhile yet, especially considering the premier had 2.7 million viewers (the best a SyFy show has done since 2006 (when Eureka debuted)). I give it at least 3 seasons before they start talking about shelving it (and that's only if the game starts loosing players and the show loses a considerable amount of viewers). Give it a shot Kite, like I said I watched it out of spite because of the marketing campaign and actually ended up somewhat enjoying it. It's no Sanctuary (which I'm still pissed about) but it's better then most of the other crap on the network.

 

I'm assuming Hellbug spawning for Arkfalls is just for the game to make the Arkfall more challenging and to make it feel like you deserve the loot you receive. I'm suspecting they cut that out of the show or at least didn't want to have it on the first Arkfall (I mean Nolan and Irisa were by themselves and if one of the bigger Hellbugs came about I'm pretty sure they'd of had a hard time putting it down. Add on top of that the Spirit Riders and that would of probably been the end of the show). Who knows but I'm quite sure they'll be part of the show at some point, either as part of the next Arkfall or as the next big threat to attack Defiance. We can only wait and see.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Whats interesting about the game is that the city Defiance is not in it. I'm not certain if the game takes place on another continent or what.. but like how it was mentioned in the series, "the defiant few" and the "battle of defiance" was a major milestone in the wars, and even tho the city isn't in the game, the name still has meaning.

 

http://defiance.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Defiance

 

Trion and Syfy have an agreement for cross promoting their products, but from what I read, if either the series fails or the game fails, the other property can easily continue on. So even if the show only gets 3 seasons, as long as the game is still popular, they'll keep it going.

 

The arkfalls are very different in the game compared to that first one in the show. In the show, it was a large structure that they walked into and explored. In the game the ark pieces are significantly smaller, no exploring.. basically kill all enemies before a countdown reaches zero. Then the ark chunks usually have a power fluctuation and explode. I can understand doing that in the game tho. They have to clear out the ark material because other quests take place in those same locations, and explorable pieces of ships doesn't seem plausible with the amount of ppl there. Instead, as you kill the enemies off, the loot is being dropped on the ground for you to get, or the loot is appearing right next to the ark material.

 

I played a bit more today and participated in a major arkfall. There were at least 20 of us there fighting off against a hellion. This isn't my video but it looked like this:

 

 

Now, to bring this back to the show.. I'll be very interested to see some of these hellbugs show up.. especially these hellions. However, after experiencing these monsters in the game, I have no idea how in the hell that shield could have prevented hellbugs from destroying the city of Defiance. These things burrow and/of fly everywhere. I don't see how an energy wall could stop these things at all.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Considering one of the achievements/trophies for the game is to cross the Golden Gate Bridge I'm pretty sure the game takes place in the US and around the San Fransisco area (or whats left of it, the timeline states that Los Angeles is now an archipeligo so who knows how much of California is left).

 

That actually doesn't look to bad. I had heard mixed things about the game but from that video it actually looks kind of fun. A co-worker/friend and I were discussing picking it up and playing it together on PC but with my internet problems it'd be a waste for me. Fricken bug looks hella tough to kill, I can understand the need for a group of more then 20 people to take something that big down.

 

Heh, I'm pretty sure Defiance would be wiped off the map if a Hellion attacked or if any other stages besides a skitterling attacked. I mean if they didn't have that terrasphere of Nolan's the Volge would of taken them out (even with the energy shield).

[Kite 3,263]

I watched the 1st episode, Though i really liked it, I couldnt help but think of Eureka

 

Father daughter combo on the run (daughter has an attitude problem), strol'ed into a new / unusual city, gets arrested, somehow saves the day, becomes the town sheriff and will solves everyone's problems

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Defiance has definitely taken a lot of ideas off Eureka. I hope it doesn't follow the same episode structure tho. Considering that Syfy canceled Eureka, it would only make sense that they don't copy the series or they'll only be setting the show up for failure. I figure as long as Defiance maintains at least 1.5 million viewers per episode it will last at least 4 seasons. I base that off of Battlestar Galactica's production costs and viewers.

 

I hope some more of the in game weapons show up in the series. I've been seeing people using these mortar and infector weapons and I am impressed:

 

[Kite 3,263]

I really enjoyed the show, I just hope it isnt the same format that every episode he solves everyones problems,

or if it is, I hope it is more gritty and darker, 

Like tracking a organ harvester or murderer (but please not the typical solve a murder a week)

As well as war flash backs, 

There is a lot of potential,

I read up on the background of the show, how earth got fubar'ed

ill put it as spoilers in case you dont want to know

 

all the alien races star system was about to end, so the went on a mass exodus to earth thinking it was un populated, took them hundreds of years (used stasis)

when arriving they discovered Earth was populated and a small party began negotaions for land, there ambassador was assassinated, war started, 15 years later, a treaty, for some unknown reason, the stasis ships in orbit explose releasing huge amount of teraforming substances (designed to be used over a lg period of time)

fubared the world, making parts un inhabitable and mutating many creaters

 

with that as a background, I really hope they explore it, and dont make it run of the mill sheriff / cop  show with a sci fi setting, 

I can already see the typical dynamic of relaxed hero getting together with the uptight mayor

Edited April 20, 2013 by Kite

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I thought it was a good second episode. Old St. Louis was quite a sight. I like how they explained a small bit of the terra forming that happened in the area. It does look like Defiance will be its own show.. this episode was definitely nothing like a standard Eureka format and I'm very glad for that.

 

The next episode is all about hellbugs!

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

While the episode was okay I think it fell short of the first (then again the first was the premier so it had to be big). Old St. Louis was pretty cool and it was nice they explained how it happened. I liked the exchange between Nolan and Rafe (was pretty funny about his father). If Irisa keeps getting herself in trouble it ought to get more interesting. I don't know what it is but she is currently my favorite character of this show (plus I'd really like to know more about what happened to her in the past).

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I like Irisa. Mostly because shes a woman that wants to fight and I love an action series. This last episode might have been to establish the location of old St. Louis, nuclear reactors, etc.. Maybe something major will happen with that location and they needed to make its presence known early in the season. Btw, do you have any idea what they are actually mining in the mine? Are they mining some fuel source? Or do you think they are mining out the old resources from the old city? Theres obviously tons and tons of steel and metal from the old buildings.

 

The preview for the next ep is on youtube:

 

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

They're harvesting Gulanite, from the website:

 

"Gulanite is a valuable ore that was originally found on one of the planets of the Votanis System. The extreme pressure at the center of the gas giant Gula compressed a number of elements into diamond-like crystals – gulanite. When Arkfall sent the wreckage of the alien fleet crashing to Earth, large quantities of gulanite were embedded into the planet’s crust.

 

Gulanite has become a staple in the new frontier, since everyone has a use for it. The Votanis Collective needs it to power their “Votech” while human nations like the Earth Republic have created new hybrid engines that also use this more efficient fuel source. Frontier settlers can strike it rich if they discover a large vein of the stuff, or if they stumble upon a particularly lucrative arkfall. But refining gulanite requires advanced Votan technology, forcing mining towns to trade their raw ore for processed fuel.

 

Gulanite can be processed into a variety of powerful, clean-burning fuels, including the ubiquitous petrohol – a staple fuel for rollers and runners. Some of these methods require extremely advanced technology, while others give off enough pollution to offset the benefits of the resulting clean-burning product. Gulanite is a bright blue crystal, which gives off a soft glow. Gulanite caverns are instantly recognizable, and are known for their beauty."

 

That's what made Rafe rich and a major contributor to the city. What I gathered from the talk Rafe and Nolan had the old city is extremely dangerous and no one goes down there (don't know if it's due to Hellbugs or what). They might go down there for Gulanite but I doubt they go for anything else (I mean there really is no use for nuclear material anymore so the reactor is out of question though I'm sure they do get some of their building material from down there).

 

Next episode looks good, especially since we get to see these much talked about Hellbugs. Don't know if I like this direction for Irisa though with these "visions", but we'll have to wait and see exactly where they're going to take this.

[Pchan 5,162]

Whether it's a good series or not, I hope it works out because I hear that it's also a game that goes hand-in-hand with the ongoing series that's aired. That sort of interaction is great and if this works/ makes money, it'll open doors to other series and hope they grab something good in the process. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

The game is fun GG, but I doubt you'd enjoy playing it. I remember watching you play Battlefield 3 for 10 minutes.. Shooter games don't seem too good for you.

 

"Gulanite is a bright blue crystal, which gives off a soft glow. Gulanite caverns are instantly recognizable, and are known for their beauty."

 

Ahh! That was probably a gulanite crystal they used to power up that machine at the arkfall they came across in episode 1.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Gah, now I want to watch GG play a shooter. I'm sure it full of entertainment.

 

Heh, I didn't even make the connection but I'm pretty sure that was a Gulanite crystal Nolan had. Makes sense since it gave power to that terra-spire so they could get the terrasphere out of it.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I was not really impressed with this episode. I was hoping for more hellbug action, but instead over half the episode was Irisa's visions and sweaty naked men.

 

The hellbugs looked good tho.. but I'm wanting this show to get some more action and pick up the pace a bit.

 

Gah, now I want to watch GG play a shooter. I'm sure it full of entertainment.

 

Heh, I didn't even make the connection but I'm pretty sure that was a Gulanite crystal Nolan had. Makes sense since it gave power to that terra-spire so they could get the terrasphere out of it.

 

GG playing a shooter was horrible. Within 15 minutes he went about 1-20. His one kill was because some guy's controller's battery must have died because he stopped abruptly and stood there as a target while GG unloaded 3 clips on the guy until a couple bullets finally killed him. And 10 minutes of his 15 minute gameplay was him staring into the sky while being stuck behind some barricade. The barricade was destroyed when he was exploded by a tank round.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

wtf are you doing Bear Mc Creary? the last 2 songs at the end of the last two episodes were SHITTY!

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I doubt Syfy will drop it anytime soon considering season 2 was greenlight before the first ep of season 1 even aired.

 

Well I guess I was wrong. I read somewhere that season 2 was already set back before the first episode aired.. Maybe it was, I'm not certain, but season 2 was officially renewed a couple days ago:

 

http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/syfys-defiance-renewed-for-second-season/

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

That's a good thing, I'm starting to like the show more and more but would love if they picked up the pace a bit more and started going into what Rafe's son found in the mines because it's starting to bug me (because I really want to know).

 

Last nights episode was pretty good with Irisa revealing her past but was not really expecting what happened at the end of the episode.