Well, after being inundated with ads for it on YouTube all day I gave into temptation and checked out SyFy‘s latest show Defiance. SyFy hasn’t really had anything that’s impressed me since Farscape but as I’m always on the lookout for good Science Fiction on television I always dare hope.

Regrettably Defiance will not be the one for me. The pilot was inoffensive enough that I’ll be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and see how it is once it gets it pace going having gotten the baggage of exposition over with in the pilot, but I have my doubts.

What they promised was an epic story of a community recovering from the ravages of an alien “invasion” and the integration of  the seven alien races into human civilization. What we got felt like a cross between Eureka and Deadwood with just about every cliche you can think of… New Lawman with a past… An idealistic but naive and extremely green Mayor.. a cantankerous town Doctor… a hooker with a heart of gold…  and oh yeah there’s a conspiracy in the back ground driving the story… the list goes on.

The look of the show is all over the place. Half the time it’s inspired suggesting an interesting future society the rest of the time they’re going for a recycled Mad Max feel. It’s like they trying to have the best of both worlds and end contradicting themselves constantly.

Another little thing, perhaps I am being overly PC, but this had to be the most noticeably vanilla show I’ve seen in a long time. Seriously besides Graham Greene and one of the deputies there were more aliens than non whites.

Anyway here’s hoping what could be an interesting premise rise from this mediocre start and become something good.