Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Defiance: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

New Earth. New rules. So why does everything feel so familiar?

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown October 23, 2013

It's more than possible television fans and gamers twenty years from now will look back on Defiance as a transmedia experiment decades ahead of its time. If, that is, Defiance is even remembered twenty years from now. With a story that spans an ongoing SyFy series, a multi-platform MMORPG, and future interconnected TV seasons and next-gen videogames presumably to come, there's no denying the saga's breadth, its creators' ambition or the ever-expanding mythos' potential. Unfortunately, such grand scope, scale and aspirations will all be for naught if the series can't find a way to escape its own generic trappings. Defiance is a mashup of so many instantly familiar science fiction movies and shows that very little of it feels original, much less inspired. And it's more than an inability to strike Galactica gold. Despite the first season's notably character-driven scripts and intriguing 21st century melting pot milieu, despite its densely realized post-visitation Earth and compelling neo-terrestrial conflicts, the series' first thirteen episodes are paint-by-numbers sci-fi, complete with thin, watery social commentary and a limited dramatic palette.

In the year 2046, it’s a new Earth with new rules. Over thirty years have passed since various alien races -- collectively called the Votans -- arrived on Earth, and the landscape is completely altered, terraformed nearly beyond recognition. To the town of Defiance, sitting atop what used to be St. Louis, comes mysterious drifter-turned-lawkeeper Joshua Nolan (Grant Bowler) and his charge, and Irathient warriornamed Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas). As they settle into a town overseen by Mayor Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) and filled with residents like the powerful Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene), enterprising lounge owner Kenya (Mia Kirshner) and ambitious Castithan couple Datak and Stahma Tarrs (Tony Curran and Jaime Murray), events begin to unfold that threaten the fragile peace the border town has fought to uphold for so long.

Why the short but sweet official synopsis? If you have the misfortune of asking a diehard Defiance fan for a briefing on the series, get comfortable. I ran into an old friend several months ago who just so happened to be hopelessly addicted to the show and its Xbox 360 tie-in. At the time, I knew Season One was on my upcoming review docket but hadn't had a chance to sample an episode, much less the entire thirteen-episode hurrah. What's the harm in asking? I thought. For twenty grueling minutes, I found out. He hardly took a breath, and still wasn't finished when I cut him off. His overview of the history, race relations and geopolitical conflicts of alien-terraformed Earth circa 2046 was overwhelming to say the least, and more complex than my pre-show mind was able to track without proper context. It didn't help that we were standing in the middle of a funeral home viewing. He would get excited, his voice growing louder and louder; I would nervously smile at any nearby griever who glanced our way wondering what in God's name we were talking about next to the flower arrangements. But I digress.

On the one hand, Defiance offers both a hyper-detailed apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic backstory, with a rich, captivating world torn by war, startling transformation, and engrossing change; the sort of tangled but intricate backstory the peoples of sci-fi geekdom find impossible to resist, no matter how flawed its delivery. There's so much expositional information crammed into any given episode that just keeping pace is initially -- I'd argue ultimately -- a chore. And that's a good thing, right? Farscape, BSG, Firefly and other beloved shows had bottomless (sometimes infamously convoluted) mythologies, and they excelled. (Not necessarily in ratings but in constitution.) Right? Not so fast. Brace for "on the other hand". On the other hand, no series with this inexhaustible a mythos should suffer from such at-times underdeveloped scripts, stocky dialogue and rickety story mechanics. World-building was clearly priority number one in the Defiance writer's room. And two. And three through five, making it clear just how much simultaneously developing a functional videogame sister-world came to bear on the production of the series. Everything beyond the meticulously constructed Earth of 2046 and its lore is decidedly hit or miss, and sometimes only elevated by the show's capable cast and fully competent production design.

That's not to suggest Defiance runs on fumes for the duration of its first season. As new Earth and its new rules sink in, the series finds its footing, handily besting the likes of Falling Skies, Revolution and other lesser End of Days episodic sagas. It isn't essential TV, or even great TV for that matter, but it isn't hard to see the appeal. Gamers will get the most of the experience, of course, with a whole other aspect of 2046 to explore via Ark Hunter action on PSN and XBL; to the point that television viewers may walk away from an episode or two with the distinct sense that pieces of the puzzle they're attempting to put together are missing. It's a testament to the showrunners' grasp on the relationship between series and game, though, that each one can be enjoyed without the other. Will Defiance gamers get more out of each episode? Absolutely. But not because they're privy to secrets or granted exclusive access to revelations not available elsewhere. Only because their exploration of the world is deeper and at their whim, not because trampling through the videogame is somehow an imperative.

Whether Defiance continues to improve over the course of subsequent seasons remains to be seen, but there's enough here -- enough groundwork, social and political intrigue, plot webbing and, above all, possibilities -- to give the showrunners and cast plenty to work with in coming years. If the writers set themselves to crafting episodes that pass for more than high- quality videogame cutscenes, the series could easily meet or surpass its lofty ambitions. Until then, Season One will have to do. You could certainly do a lot worse, particularly on SyFy.

Defiance: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's no mistaking Defiance for a big budget sci-fi extravaganza. Shot on a relative shoestring, the series isn't backed by HBO millions, approaching both its production design and semi-decent visual effects with frugal care. Even so, the show's computer-generated vistas, large sets, makeup and costumes look quite good in high definition; more so via Universal's 1080p video presentation than they did during Season One's HD broadcast. With thirteen episodes spread across three BD-50 discs, the encode doesn't exhibit any sign of significant macroblocking, banding, aliasing or ringing, other than the occasional blip or eyesore inherent to the series' modestly budgeted CG effects. Color and contrast are strong as well, with convincing skintones (insofar as the stark lighting of the newly terraformed planet allow), nicely saturated primaries and wholly satisfying black levels. Detail also impresses, with crisp edges and revealing fine textures. All told, fans and newcomers will be most pleased with the results.

Defiance: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't disappoint either. LFE output isn't exactly aggressive but it is assertive, lending weight and power to the series' future tech, alien hardware, weapon discharges, and more explosive encounters. The rear speakers are just as engaging, with notably effective directionality, smooth cross-channel pans and enough immersive know-how to make our visit to 2046 an absorbing experience. Dialogue and dynamics are on point too. Voices are clear and naturally grounded in the mix, prioritization rarely falters and Bear McCreary's score rounds out the soundscape beautifully. In fact, the only shortcoming worth mentioning -- budgetary constraints are apparent, even when it comes to the show's sound design -- doesn't really have anything to do with the mix. It's a solid lossless experience, and there isn't much of anything to complain about.

Defiance: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Defiance (HD, 11 minutes): An overview of the production and the series' development.
• Defiance: A Transmedia Revolution (HD, 7 minutes): The videogame and its ties to the show.
• Behind the Scenes with Jesse Rath (HD, 7 minutes): A day in the life of an actor on set.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 11 minutes): Deleted scenes are available for five episodes.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3 minutes): The cast and crew share a few laughs.

Defiance: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a transmedia experiment, Defiance may very well be years ahead of its time. As a sci-fi series, though, it's stuck squarely in the past, taking its cues from the genre greats of recent television past. It has its moments, and gains nice momentum by season's end, but suffers from too many fundamental flaws to give it an enthusiastic recommendation. There's potential. Let's leave it at that. Universal's Blu-ray release is better, if that is you look past its anemic supplemental package. Fortunately, a strong AV presentation makes Season One that much easier to digest and the series that much easier to enjoy.