So far so good, Defiance season 2 ratings

[Ruinne]

It's science fiction - it should have grand themes. A solar system has been destroyed, a world has been invaded, billions have died. But you want small stories about small people?

And where are the volge?

Scifi, as a rule, attracts about seven viewers and three of those are televisions that were left on by accident. The grand themes only work when the writers haven't suffered a head injury. The formula doesn't work, the people are watching ANYTHING else. If they would focus on compartmentalised plots new people could get into a show without experiencing three hours of WAT during and after the first episode they watch. Especially with the lagging pace of Defiance, when the whole 46 minutes is devoted to terrible dialogue and melodrama that's meant to build up to some grand event in nine episodes that not a soul will bother to watch.

Defiance is a soap opera as it stands, just like the soap opera that was Battlestar (Notice the was). Soaps haven't worked in prime time since Dallas. Soaps survive on the "bored housewife" demographic, those soaps are on but they aren't being watched, "bored housewives" are busy and the TV is background noise. In the evening people actually watch, they sit down and watch. Defiance the soap opera just doesn't stand up to that. Even with all of the sex they're trying to throw in to titillate the teenagers.

[Kyosji]

Depends on any contracts they have with the company. If they have a signed deal for, say, 3 seasons because of its involvement with the game and having SyFys name on it, they have to continue or risk a hefty fine. Ratings are only half the reasons a show gets cancelled, sometimes crappy shows stay up longer because they had a really well worded contract with a signature.

[MadDogTremor]

It's SyFy.......

Meaning ratings really don't matter. Look at Eureka for example. How many seasons did that drag on with low ratings? Too many.

But with so many people trying to predict and worrying about additional Defiance seasons.....only shows there is a hardcore fanbase for the show that will support it no matter how long it drags on. IF SyFy does it right, Defiance could be another Eureka or Haven.

[Kyosji]

Not sure about your Eureka example. I heard that the ratings were actually getting better by the time they cancelled. I've watched the series 4 times in the last 3 years. Great series.

[DrTogobban]

. Like a sci-fi version of Bonanza.

Complete with Graham Greene!*

*Donnie Darko reference.

[DrTogobban]

Defiance could be another Eureka or Haven.

I don't recall - did Eureka have a conclusive ending, or just a cancellation?

I know Haven's shooting 2 endings this season, one if they're not renewed, and one if they are. They feel they owe it to the fans to not leave things hanging. If/when Defiance gets to that point, hopefully they will do the same.

[MadDogTremor]

Not sure about your Eureka example. I heard that the ratings were actually getting better by the time they cancelled. I've watched the series 4 times in the last 3 years. Great series.

Thinking more along the lines of mid-series Eureka. The point when the ratings were shaky and SyFy kept bouncing the show to different nights, trying to find its base.

[Kyosji]

I don't recall - did Eureka have a conclusive ending, or just a cancellation?

I know Haven's shooting 2 endings this season, one if they're not renewed, and one if they are. They feel they owe it to the fans to not leave things hanging. If/when Defiance gets to that point, hopefully they will do the same.

Sort of. If you don't mind the spoiler, I'll tell you.

[DrTogobban]

Sort of. If you don't mind the spoiler, I'll tell you.

No need - and others may not want a spoiler anyway. I think I remember it ending on a big cliffhanger but I can't recall the specifics. It's unfortunate when a show, even if it's not the greatest, leaves things too open and unresolved. I think there should be some sort of obligation in the contracts to produce some sort of final episode/movie if it hasn't been renewed or uncancelled X years after the last episode as a service to the fans, so we don't end up with unresolved stories.

I'm citing uhh... Odyssey 5, Invasion, that other invasion series about water, Siberia, hell, there's dozens more I can't think of.

Trouble is, if a show's doing poorly enough to not warrant a renewal, I can't see anyone accepting that as a contractual obligation. Guess that's why there's been some success with kickstarter shows/movies.

[Festival]

I'm enjoying S2 a fair bit more than S1 (which I also liked). No, there's not as much action, but the screenwriting's better and the already very good acting has gotten better, as their characters are developed further. Like some others, I'm a bit "meh" about the Irisa/Kaziri meta-plot,* but the other running subplots are compelling. The two main new-for-S2 characters introduced are spot-on.

*Part of my ambivalence about that story line is that I can't stand Irisa. Kudos to Stephanie Leonidas for a terrific portrayal: she's playing an annoying teenager..and nails it. Annoys the living shtako out of me. =P