A Call to the SFR Troops

I want to go on a little pro-Defying Gravity campaign. Defying Gravity is a Science Fiction Romance series that had a two hour debut on ABC last Sunday night, to a dismal 3.5 million viewers and a few pan reviews. I was especially dismayed by a scoffing review from a Tor columnists. If SF and SFR writers and readers don't support their own genre-related fair, who else is going to?

Personally, I liked the show, and I liked it much better after watching it a second time. Yes, the show had some questionable SF elements. But what SF story--movie, TV, book or otherwise--hasn't?

This show, like SFR, is as much about the characters and their relationships as it is the hardware. And it has some very promising characters with intriguing backstories (including the MC who had to leave two crew members behind on Mars in an earlier mission), a space opera setting and a big mystery, plus as icing on the cake, the grandness of space itself as a backdrop. But let's face it, like Firefly, and most of the good SF before it, Defying Gravity is in jeopardy of being canceled before it even has a chance to develop a fan base. It needs to attract a lot more viewers (and better reviews).

OK, fellow SFR Brigade...this would be a good time to support your cause.

If you missed the debut, here's a summary from Airlock Alpha to get you up to speed.

Defying Gravity is on Sunday nights on ABC. Watch it, and if you like it, talk about it on your blogs, websites and talk to your friends who may also be interested. Let's not let Defying Gravity fall to the same fate as Firefly--bad network decisions and the predetermined failure of innovative SF shows.

Besides, if fans don't support more ground-breaking original series, they're going to get exactly what they deserve--more mindless reality shows.

Are you with me now? :)