Defiance Reporter – MMO Reporter

This week, Chris and Ben share their thoughts on the morally ambiguous Votan traditions in Defiance's Episode 2. And has the game been hacked? Listen to find out more! Listen now: DRAMA IN DEFIANCE EPISODE 2 Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go RECAP This week, we follow Nolan and Rafe McCawley down into old St. Louis chasing after a felon, while Irisa and Tommy have to cope with a particularly cruel Castithan tradition.   Thoughts and Observations Ben I am pleased that this show took a step back from all the action of the first episode to focus on character building and how the people of Defiance really cope with each other. There are some major conflicts in this episode, the greatest being the barbaric Castithan soul (Fesho)cleansing ritual being performed on Elah Bandik. Irisa seems the most affected by the situation and we see a hint of scarring around her wrist, implying a similar treatment in the past. Irisa didn’t have much screen time and even through all her facial prosthetics, Stephanie Leonidias is having no difficulty invoking emotion this episode. We can see her barely contained fury as she watches the cleansing of Bandik. Can Rafe McCawley be this blind to his family needs? Pushing his way daughter away because he is a Xenophobe, raising Luke up as the good son who could do no wrong because he is dead. What of Quentin? If Rafe is not careful, he will end up alone and miserable. Is Datak really all bark and no bite? We see his passion flare in the bathroom scene about his position in society, wanting to relieve himself on those in a lower liro than him. He ignores his wife’s advice (rare) and kills Elah Bandik, immediately rendering what he said last episode about doing this for his son as hypocritical. Ex-mayor Nicki explained to Amanda that Castithans cling to their past but they have no past. It blew up with their planet. She sets up an interesting philosophy. IS their past gone, obliterated with their homeworld 5000 years ago? Or is that reason to cling harder to their traditions and beliefs? Also, is Amanda just naive to think that Defiance can rise above the individual races and become one people? Nicki’s defensive responses to Mr. Birch’s statement about being too close to the people of Defiance. She is trying very firmly to defend her decision to destroy the town. Almost like she is trying to convince herself that it’s the right thing to do, which usually points to no. “Chow Down” Brown McCawley? Really? Who didn’t see Elah getting killed anyway at the end? Something worth noting about the way he was killed though. On the Defiance website under charge blades, we can see that “Dead bodies left in the street with their throat slit are a calling card of the Castithan mafia – a clear warning for anyone foolish enough to cross them.” (http://www.defiance.com/en/series/world-of-2046/technology/charge-blades) Chris If St. Louis folded over itself, why is the arch still up? I really like to continuing storyline. Doesn’t feel like it’s dragging, and while there are other stories, it permeates the show nicely. Favorite scenes Ben Cliche and expected, I know, but the scene where the first “artifact” Jeb picks up is “The War of the Worlds.” It still made me grin. While it made me a bit uncomfortable, the bathroom scene really helped to establish how alien these Castithans are from us. Some families gather in a room to have family discussions, be it the kitchen, or around a barbecue pit, etc. They like to bathe. When Nolan squats in front of a defiant, yet hiding Irisa to tell her that she did the right thing even if it was against his wishes. Goes back to establishing that father/daughter bond they have. Also noticed two things, while Tommy made the mistake of touching Irisa, Nolan squats at arms length away from her to have their moment. Shows how much he knows Irisa.

It's Armistice Day! Come celebrate with Ben and Chris as they discuss the premiere of Defiance and how to celebrate in the Bay area. Listen now: DRAMA IN DEFIANCE EPISODE 1 Pilot RECAP After having watch them drive off towards the East in the game, we open the show with Nolan and Irisa coming out the other side of the storm divide, chasing after an arkfall that ends badly for them. After being robbed, shot, chased, and hunted, Irisa and Nolan are rescued by a local Sheriff and brought into the town of Defiance. Once injuries are seen to, Nolan seeks to make some fast cash in order to purchase a new roller and some supplies to head back out on their travels. Nolan soon finds himself involved in the towns troubles and the murder he is investigating quickly escalates to having to defend the town from an annihilation. Initial Thoughts?     Ben What the heck were all those reviewers talking about?! This show exceeded my expectations and I am DYING to watch all 12 episodes now! There’s a rich history and mythos to delve into There are plenty of interesting characters playing more than just a passing role Yes the roles are all standard fare and lack a bit of creativity, but does that have to be a negative? Who DOESN’T like a good-natured scoundrel? Seems to me that from the people I talk to about the show, half say its “meh”, or a Firefly clone (we do have our Mal Reynolds and River Tam but thats it), while the other half think it was fantastic. So far ratings are great, with this being the highest watched premiere since Eureka in 2006. I did try to look up the numbers on the BSG premiere but so far those numbers are eluding me.     Chris The show was awesome, and my wife and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the characters were stereotyped enough that they familiar, but the main characters all have their own “quirks”. Battle scenes were fun Lots of layers to notice on repeated viewings. NOT a firefly clone! Favorite scenes?     Ben Of course the duet in the beginning, establishing the well worn in relationship between our human and Irathient leads you get the sense that Irisa is more human than Irathient the scene with Nolan and Mayor Rosewater, Amanda’s look of shock when Nolan tells her that Irisa is his daughter Nolan’s look of befuddlement when Amanda takes away his single malt and Amanda’s solution for Nolan to earn script WITHOUT his weapon and Tommy and Irisa at the Lawkeeper’s office its an interesting duality placed together in one scene. The cold, calculating, and deadly Irathient against the cheerfully optimistic and almost out of place Deputy Barney Fife Tommy comes off as still very young and green behind the ears. Its hard to picture him with a hard life during the Pale Wars. No one in town really thinks Tommy has the experience or the balls to be the next Sheriff.     Chris Irisa sketching Alek. TOLD YA! Noted Things of Interest     Ben In the opening sequence, Irisa is explaining that she dreamed of Earth the way it was in Nolan’s past and we were treated to a flashback to Nolan in a field in St. Louis. Are these two elements of this scene (Irisa’s voiceover and the flashback) one and the same or separate? Is what we’re seeing what Irisa was dreaming about? If so, WHY is she dreaming about something she’s never seen before? Later we see the preview of next weeks episode and it mentions that Irisa is having visions... Amanda referred to Irisa as pureblood.  Are there already a generation of human-votan hybrids? The McCawley’s housekeeper, Birdie. That was a FEMALE Liberata, with no other distinguishing features other than her Alto voice. Also seems that Indogene males have a different, larger skull shape than the females, but I've only based that off of the appearance of the LONE Indogene female in this episode.

This week, Chris and Ben recap the show in anticipation of the 2 hour premiere and discuss the work of Musical Composer Bear McCreary. Listen now: DRAMA IN DEFIANCE Quick Summary of the Show Premise Present day arks appear in orbit around the planet. These aliens come not to attack but to find a new home. Things go terribly wrong and war breaks out until there is a cataclysmic event that changes earth. Now humans and votans are struggling to live together.   Votan Races Castithans -”Supermodels of the Votan races” Pale and beautiful. Have a dying aristocracy in place. Irathients - “feral race, tend to be wild” Orange skinned with the white facial marks. Indogene - “technical geniuses” these are the textured white, tall, and thin aliens with no hair Sensoth - “who look like wookies” Liberata - “serving class” Look like alien dwarves. Gulanee - a race of energy beings Volge - Race of Automatons. Seen frequently in the trailer There are plenty of mentions of an EIGHT race believed to have perished with the Votanis system. No further details are available and will probably be a tool for further plot development with the show/game. Major Players Joshua Nolan and Irisa - our wandering, odd-couple ark hunters just looking out for one another while looking for their payday and ticket to paradise (Antarctica) Datak, Stahma, and Alak Tarr - a wealthy and dangerous family with roots in underground enterprises Rafe, Luke, Quentin, and Christie McCawley - Defiance’s richest and well respected family with secrets of their own. Amanda and Kenya Rosewater - Amanda is the new, wet behind the ears, mayor of Defiance, and her sister is the proprietor of the Need/Want, the local social hub. Tommy Lasalle - Lawkeeper of Defiance looking for a fresh start from his shady past.   Take a minute and watch the first 14 minutes of Defiance on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/445503   Making of Defiance Special on Syfy This was basically all the “Making of..” snippets on the Defiance media page and youtube page stitched together to make a half hour special for TV The coolest bit was the futuristic Dodge Charger commercial Electronic Stability Control... Stainless steel bumper cage... Petrohol-fueled Afterburners... The All NEW 2046 Dodge Charger If you’re still interested in watching this, you can watch the whole thing on Syfy.com. http://www.syfy.com/videos/Homepage/vid:2638012   Digital Trends - SyFy’s game-infused ‘Defiance’ TV series falls short of its revolutionary potential [Ryan Fleming] http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/defiance-the-tv-show-review/ Defiance has the potential to forever change the way television and video games entwine. Rather than spinning a successful TV show into a half-baked video game – or vice versa – the story of the Defiance universe plays out in parallel in both a video game and a TV series Yet for all the originality in its premise, Defiance still gives off the inescapable sense that you’ve seen it all before. Defiance draws originality from its setting: an Earth unlike any we’ve seen before. The characters all fall into easily understandable archetypes, from the roguish yet courageous hero, to the warrior woman with a tough shell covering a gentle soul, to the do-gooder mayor. Science-fiction fans will recognize all the tropes. The cliche writing dulls an otherwise sharp ensemble of actors. There is a lot of story waiting to be told. Only four hours of the show have been released so far (the two-hour pilot and the two episodes proceeding it), but there haven’t been any stories as compelling as the setting. Strip away the aliens and weird mismatch of technology and you could place the show in the Wild West without missing a beat. Yet despite the wasted potential, the show is entertaining.

Chris and Ben talk about the latest news as Defiance launches in game form and nears it's TV Premiere! Listen now: DRAMA IN DEFIANCE Crime and Punishment Last episode we focused on the conflict between two wealthy family men seeking more power over their town. Today lets step over the line and meet the true power and authority of Defiance. Chris - Tommy Lasalle (Dewshane Williams) “The only way to move forward in this new world is to accept, to love, and to come together in order to be strong and rise above this chaos.” Tommy comes from a shady and painful upbringing. He’s the bad kid turned good cop. According to the Making of Featurette video on Tommy, he and Irisa are polar opposites, but I think that really, Tommy sees his past self in Irisa.. a scavenger and survivor. Tommy is a people person (probably due to his unfettered optimism) who knows how to charm the people of Defiance due to the simple fact that he’s a regular. Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) “Its not about what we’ve lost, its about what we’re creating.. and this town is worth fighting for.” //this is a small character trailer for Amanda that shows more her coming into power and fighting to earn the respect of the town populace. Amanda comes from a past similar to most who survived the Pale Wars. Her parents were killed, leaving her to shoulder the responsibility of raising her sister. Amanda is idealistic, much like Ara Shondu is in-game. She believes that humans and Votans can live in peace. //to see how we handle “living in harmony,” one should play through the Tranquil Surface sidequests and listen to the recordings. Amanda does have to deal with her sister Kenya (played by Mia Kirshner) and the fact that she is the proprietress for the Need/Want, a bar/hangout/gambling establishment/brothel that Amanda hardly approves of. Similarities between Julie Benz’s character and Mary McDonnell’s Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica are immediately apparent. Both assumed power reluctantly and out of necessity. //Neither were voted into office. Both take their positions of authority with the utmost seriousness and highest regard for their constituents And I have no doubt they both fight for what they believe in or feel is right. Show Predictions Ben [recap] Alak and Christie get married and Quentin dies [new] Nolan will have relations and maybe feelings for Kenya, but will get spurned and fall for Amanda. Chris [recap] Alak and Christie’s relationship will be put in jeopardy by Irisa. [new] We will be introduced to a character flaw in Amanda that could later cost her job. I’m guessing she’s done something illegal in her past.... OFF THE SET Kevin Murphy Talks Syfy's TV Series/Transmedia Project 'Defiance,' Mythology Coordinators and the Second Season That's Already in the Works “[Kevin Murphy]..shared the news with us that he's already working on a second season of the show.” Will Syfy’s Defiance Game/Show Hybrid Deliver?

Chris and Ben delve into the different relationships we're seeing in Defiance and all the tips you absolutely must hear before launch. Listen now: INTRODUCTION Greetings Arkhunters! Introducing hosts by name, then a short recap of the last epis...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Defiance Reporter! We hope you're as excited as we are for the launch of this trans-media experience. In this episode meet the hosts, learn some lore and enjoy the show! Listen now:   EPISODE 1 - Introducing t...