Defying Gravity

Our Review

Grey’s Anatomy in space — and that’s both the pitch and the problem. In 2052, eight astronauts (four men, four women) depart on a six-year grand tour of the solar system while flashbacks unravel their tangled romantic pasts and a mysterious entity called Beta pulls the mission’s strings from somewhere. The international crew, the onboard realism, and the gorgeous space sequences gave it more hard-SF cred than its soap bones deserved.

Ron Livingston’s Donner, haunted by two deaths on an earlier Mars mission, anchors the melodrama; Laura Harris’s Zoe carries the show’s big secret. The mythology (Beta, the Pod, the fractal objects) is intriguing and utterly unresolved — canceled after 13 of a planned 26 episodes, ending mid-mystery. What exists is a handsome, sincere space opera that wanted to be about the emotional cost of exploration and got killed before it could say what it meant.

Verdict: Watch it for the ambiance and the unfinished mystery. Bring your own closure.