Redshirts Always Die
Fansided

3 underappreciated sci-fi shows canceled too soon

By Chad Porto

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Actors Grant Bowler (L) and Julie Benz speak onstage at the "Defiance" panel discussion during the Syfy portion of the 2013 Winter TCA Tour- Day 4 at the Langham Hotel on January 7, 2013 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Actors Grant Bowler (L) and Julie Benz speak onstage at the "Defiance" panel discussion during the Syfy portion of the 2013 Winter TCA Tour- Day 4 at the Langham Hotel on January 7, 2013 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 10: (L-R) Cast of “Defiance” Stephanie Leonidas, Mia Kirshner, Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Tony Curran and Jaime Murray attend Syfy 2013 Upfront at Silver Screen Studios at Chelsea Piers on April 10, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 10: (L-R) Cast of “Defiance” Stephanie Leonidas, Mia Kirshner, Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Tony Curran and Jaime Murray attend Syfy 2013 Upfront at Silver Screen Studios at Chelsea Piers on April 10, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images) /

Defiance (SyFy)

This is the one show you can’t really come at the network for. Airing on SyFy, Defiance lasted three seasons and was arguably the biggest original piece of property ever created by SyFy. The series didn’t just launch to massive hype but also premiered alongside a massively multiplayer online third-person shooter called Defiance. The game invited fans and non-fans of the show alike to join the gaming world as it developed alongside the television series.

The series featured an event that saw aliens land on Earth in masse and attempts to terraform the planet to their specific needs, resulting in a war that nearly destroyed everyone and everything. Eventually, treaties are signed and settlements begin to be rebuilt in the dust of the war.

The series starred Grant Bowler as Joshua Nolan, an outlaw of sorts who fought in the war. He adopted a young alien girl by the name of Irisa, whom he raises as his own daughter. The two spent most of the series running from their respective pasts while trying to settle into the new outpost of Defiance, built on the remnants of old St. Louis.

Julie Benz and Tony Curran also star.

The series blends science fiction, space travel, and western motifs into one visually stunning series, and a complete universe of interconnecting characters, alien species and fantastic twists along the way.

Despite the series being canceled by SyFy in 2015, the video game series based off the show continues on in its sequel series, Defiance 2050.

Home/Television