Saturday, January 23, 2010

Blog DVD Review: Defying Gravity - The Complete First Season

Welcome to another edition of blog DVD reviews. This week we take a look at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's Defying Gravity: The Complete First Season. Defying Gravity was the multi-nationally produced series that aired on ABC and CTV this past summer about 8 astronauts in the year 2052 on a six-year mission through the Solar System. See my blog DVD review of Defying Gravity: The Complete First Season:

Defying Gravity: The Complete First Season (Fox, $49.98) brings all 13 episodes, including the final five episodes that never aired in the U.S., of this multi-nationally produced series on DVD. The series has been said it was Grey's Anatomy in space with mythology like of LOST. An international team of four men and four women in 2052 undertake the most ambitious exploration in the history of mankind - a six-year, grand tour of the solar system. But space travel is a fool's game as passions rise, relationships blossom, and tensions mount as veteran astronaut Maddux Donner and his vivacious crew mates rocket toward their mysterious destiny, driven by a dark, otherworldly force to the very edge of the madness - and beyond. Defying Gravity stars Ron Livingston (Maddux), Malik Yoba (Ted), Laura Harris (Zoe), Eyal Podell (Mintz), Christina Cox (Jen), Florentine Lahme (Nadia), Paula Garcés (Paula), and Dylan Taylor (Steve) all on the Antares spaceship. Also starring are Ty Olsson (Rollie), Zahf Paroo (Ajay), Andrew Airlie (Goss), Karen LeBlanc (Eve), Maxim Roy (Claire) and Peter Howitt (Trevor).

All 13 episodes from season are here including the final five episodes that were never broadcast in the United States on ABC. In Canada, CTV/SPACE aired all 13, while in the United Kingdom only the first five episodes and the last two episodes aired. Due to low ratings everywhere, the show is canceled, but this DVD is still for some reason called "the complete first season." The show is good, but at times the show seems very slow and boring. Maybe because of the flashbacks? Anyway, the memorable episodes include "Pilot," where four male and four female astronauts prepare for a six-year mission aboard the spaceship Antares. In "H2IK," the Antares crew loses control over power, heat and gravity after a series of unexplained system failures and has to face its first major crisis. In the final episode aired in the U.S., "Love, Honor, Obey," the crew of the Antares is threatened by a close solar flare and in the meantime, the mysterious element in Pod 4 sends out a siren call no one can resist. In the first unaired episode, "Eve Ate the Apple," the crew finally learns about the hidden element in Pod 4 and the true nature of their mission when the Antares draws nearer to Venus. In "Venus," it's the day of the Venus landing, an historic and dangerous event likely to alter the lives of everyone involved. And finally in the finale, "Kiss," after landing on the burning surface of Venus, Zoe walks toward a sound only she can hear, drawn by her destiny into almost certain destruction.

Packaging has a nice case with a blue and white color scheme and six of the astronauts are on the cover: Ted, Nadia, Maddux, Zoe, Paula, and Jen -- all in their astronauts suits. A shot of the Antares spaceship is on the top. The back cover has information on the series & set and a list of special features and some episodic photos, along with a cast photo just about the entire gang. Inside the case are the discs of course. But first on the left panel, we have a disc-by-disc breakdown with episode titles and list of special features. We have a little holder that holds all four discs. The first plastic holder holds discs one and two, with disc one on the front side and disc two on the back side. Then there is another holder that does the same with discs three and four. It's like flipping pages on a book. Nice and easy and nothing overlaps and there is no disc on a panel itself. Good packaging choice by 20th Century Fox. On the right panel we see a shot of the moon, I believe, As for disc artwork, disc one has a shot of the Antares in space and holds episodes 1-3. Disc two has a shot of two hands with gloves that seem to be about to touch and holds episodes 4-7. Disc three has a shot of the headgear of a spacesuit ans holds episodes 8-11, in which the latter three of this disc are unaired episodes to us in the U.S. And finally disc four has a shot of an astronaut from his right side holding his headgear and has episodes 12-13 along with all the special features.

The menu screen has Play All, Episode Selection, Language Selection, and Extras. Extras is just on disc four. Language Selection says we can have English 5.1 audio (the only choice) but we do have a choice to turn on subtitles in English, French or Espanol. It should be called Subtitles or something, since we can't change the language in audio. Episode Selection menu has episode title along with a decent size synopsis of the episode. Nicely done. The main menu is in space and we see Earth in the background as the Antares spaceship is looking down on Earth. The theme music from the series is playing in the background on the main menu. Auto previews are playing before the menu comes on disc one only such as for the Family Guy and Stargate Universe DVDs.

There are about 12 chapter stops per episode. Yes, that is a ton! Maybe a little too much. The video and audio is superb, as it should be since it is a series that just aired this summer. The video is in widescreen and for those who watched it on ABC, will like it even more this way, if you don't get ABC HD! I'm not sure how CTV did it in Canada, but I'm sure it was in HD there, too. Each episode runs approx. between 42-44 minutes. Since it is a new series, I doubt anything is edited. There is no mention on the packaging of any music replacements either, and I didn't notice anything missing, as I did watch the 8 episodes that aired on ABC. Here are the runtimes for each episode:
Disc one
1. Pilot - 44:02
2. Natual Selection - 41:56
3. Threshold - 42:15

Disc two
4. H2IK - 43:03
5. Rubicon - 42:06
6. Bacon - 42:16
7. Fear - 42:09

Disc three
8. Love, Honor, Obey - 42:03
9. Eve Ate the Apple - 42:09 (unaired)
10. Deja Vu - 43:04 (unaired)
11. Solitary - 42:11 (unaired)

Disc four
12. Venus - 43:06
13. The Kiss- 41:43

Moving on to the extras, we have them all on disc four. The first one is the best one, a nice featurette running 10:32 called "Mission Accomplished: A Look at Defying Gravity." The producers and stars talk about the series, their characters, and the plot of the show. Interviewed are Jim Parriot (creator/executive producer), Michael Edelstein, Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Florentine Lahme, Paula Garces, Dylan Taylor, Christina Cox, Malik Yoba, Ty Olsson, Peter Howitt, Maxim Roy, Eyal Podell, Zahf Paroo, Karen LeBlanc, and Andrew Airlie. It's a good looking cast, isn't it? The next extra is "Photo Slide Show." It is split up into five categories as we get photos of Space Craft Design (0:55), Set Design (3:05), Costume & Prop Design (1:04), Production Graphics (1:47), and Promotional Photography (0:15). Then finally there are "Deleted Scenes." Every episode except one have deleted scenes. It goes by episode title. Pilot (7:48), Natural Selection (0:15), Threshold (1:15), H2IK (0:56), Rubicon (1:04), Bacon (1:49), Fear (0:38), Love Honor Obey (1:06), Deja Vu (1:52), Solitary (0:23), Venus (0:22), and Kiss (2:08). The finale (Kiss) has an alternate ending! So if you wanted to know, the only episodes that does not have deleted scenes is Eve Ate the Apple. Some just have one deleted scene, some have many.

I of course highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set, especially since it has five unaired episodes. And if you never have watched the show, I think you should pick it up and try it. It's only 13 episodes and the cast is very good looking. The series is canceled, but I really hope most of the cast goes on to other ABC series or pilots. I especially want to see Ron Livingston, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox, Laura Harris, and Paula Garces on other series! They all stood out on this show. Cox is stunning, isn't she? Perhaps she can go on Grey's Anatomy? I can totally see Livingston and Yoba on Grey's as well. Anyway, this show had a good concept but at times it felt strange and slow, which is too bad because the cast is excellent. Another problem was the constant use of flashbacks. It got confusing after a bit. I'm sure if it were given a chance of more than 13 episodes, it would have found itself. I still need to see the five unaired episodes in full, but from what I saw the last two episodes were very good. I like the nicknames the show used, too, like "Paula Puke." Pick the set up and you don't have to go on a six-year mission to do so!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(3.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Defying Gravity TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

  • Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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