History Series / DefyingGravity

''Defying Gravity'' is a SciFi TV show from 2009 set in 2052. In 2042 the US sent five astronauts to Mars including Maddux Donner and Ted Shaw. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Only three of the astronauts came back.]] Now, 10 years later, a mission is being mounted to go visit most (all?) of the planets in the solar system. We meet the people going on the mission just before the launch, and we follow them, and the ground control crew, while the mission is underway. The story of how the crew was chosen and trained is told in flashbacks to 5 years before the mission. And it seems not ''just'' the astronauts came back from Mars...

As far as science goes, it tries and mostly succeeds at being on the hard end of the [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness scale]], but the instant and crystal clear two way communication with Earth even as they get to Venus is a big drag on that.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Beta in spades.
* BollywoodNerd: Ajay.

* ClimateChange:
** In Episode 5, "Rubicon," characters remember when the Great Barrier Reef "used to be underwater," and regret that it is no longer underwater because of global warming. Problem: If there is global warming, ice caps melt and ocean levels RISE. The only way the ocean levels would have dropped enough to expose the Reef would be for the Earth to be in an ice age with extensive glaciation.
** They do mention later that Canaveral is underwater. Although it's still launching probes to Venus apparently.

* DeadpanSnarker: Wass.

* DuelingShows: With Virtuality.
* FakeVideoCameraView
* {{Fanservice}}: Loaded.

* {{Flashback}}: So far used in every episode, usually to 5 years ago.

* {{Hallucinations}}: And how!
* HalloweenEpisode: "Fear"
* HandsOnApproach: Donner teaching Zoe how to throw darts in episode 11.

* InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace

* {{Narrator}}: Donner.
* NewAgeRetroHippie: Zoe's mother.

* TheStoic: Donner and Shaw post-Mars.

* TarotMotifs

* {{UST}}: Zoe and Donner.

* ZeroGSpot: Done with the Cranes in the pilot.

Has nothing to do with the Theatre/{{Wicked}} song.

* GlobalWarming : On Episode 5, "Rubicon," characters remember when the Great Barrier Reef "used to be underwater," and regret that it is no longer underwater because of global warming. Problem: If there is global warming, ice caps melt and ocean levels RISE. The only way the ocean levels would have dropped enough to expose the Reef would be for the Earth to be in an ice age with extensive glaciation.
** They do mention later that Canaveral is underwater. Although it's still launching probes to Venus apparently.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Zoe doesn't, but gets punished with a hysterectomy due to complications anyway. Not to mention the phantom baby crying Beta makes her hear all the time now. Classy.
** Considering the original plan for the resolution of the plot, this trope is played straight.

* BadDreams: In episode 7 (Fear), most of the cast. Not actually dreams, but hallucinations, which serve the same effect of showing other sides to a bunch of fairly stoic characters.

Has nothing to do with the Theatre/{{Wicked}} [[Music/{{Defying Gravity}} song]].

* ArabIsraeliConflict: Part of Evram's backstory involved him serving as a combat medic in "The War," apparently a flareup of this.

Has nothing to do with the Theatre/{{Wicked}} song.

* RecycledInSpace: The show was promoted as '[[GreysAnatomy Grey's Anatomy]] in space'. The show's creator figured that scared off sci-fi fans. It certainly was inaccurate; very little sex actually happens, and the issue is dealt with a lot more seriously [[spoiler: especially when it resulted in an unplanned pregnancy and traumatic abortion]].

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Averted, as Paula is an ''extremely'' devout Catholic, Ajay is a Hindu, and Ted was raised Buddhist. Zoe's mother also has various New Age-y beliefs, which her daughter thinks are nonsense.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ABC knew they were going to buy the show. The creators knew they were going to buy the show. They still waited until ''three weeks'' before the launch, and barely advertised it. [[http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2009/10/29/how-defying-gravity-would-have-progressed-straight-from-the-creator/ To quote the creator]];
-->ABC, I think, in their own way, were trying to kill it.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: when Paula suddenly gets sick during a briefing, we get a shot of her puke flying across the room due to the zero-g.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: It apparently fell victim to ABC internal politics, but it had been planned out for 5 seasons, sketched out in an [[http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2009/10/29/how-defying-gravity-would-have-progressed-straight-from-the-creator/ interview with the showrunner]]. Among other things, Goss would side with them and be less of a dick after discovering a conspiracy on Earth whose objective was to [[spoiler: have the ship collect the objects, then blow them and it up so the objects wouldn't disrupt the power structure.]]

Defying Gravity is a SciFi TV show from 2009 set in 2052. In 2042 the US sent five astronauts to Mars including Maddux Donner and Ted Shaw. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Only three of the astronauts came back.]] Now, 10 years later, a mission is being mounted to go visit most (all?) of the planets in the solar system. We meet the people going on the mission just before the launch, and we follow them, and the ground control crew, while the mission is underway. The story of how the crew was chosen and trained is told in flashbacks to 5 years before the mission. And it seems not ''just'' the astronauts came back from Mars...

Notable in that it was co-developed by ABC, TheBBC, CTV and [=ProSieben=], meaning its country of origin is [[InternationalCoproduction The USA/Canada/The UK/Germany]].

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted. Zoe doesn't, but gets punished with a hysterectomy due to complications anyway. Not to mention the phantom baby crying Beta makes her hear all the time now. Classy.

** They do mention later that Canavral is underwater. Although it's still launching probes to Venus apparently.

* ArabIsraeliConflict: part of Evram's backstory involved him serving as a combat medic in "The War," apparently a flareup of this
* ArtificialGravity: The ship uses two forms; on the main deck it's magnetic Phlebotinum in their blood and clothes, but in the crew quarters it's caused by rotating arms creating centrifugal force.

* TheBet: whether or not any of the guys will be able to get it up while on HALO libido suppressors. [[spoiler: Ajay is able to manage it after one look at Nadia in her underwear]]

* BollywoodNerd: Ajay

* CrapsackWorld: Further seasons would have expanded to show that the Earth had become this. In the first season,this is mostly shown by having the major criticism of the Antares mission being that it's a waste of tax dollars that could be used to fix various world crises.
* DeadpanSnarker: Wass

* DuelingShows: with Virtuality

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Zoe doesn't, but gets punished with a hysterectomy anyway. Not to mention the phantom baby crying Beta makes her hear all the time now. Classy.

* GottaCatchThemAll: The hidden purpose of the mission, to [[spoiler: unite the Beta object with objects Alpha, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta]]

* HeroicBSOD: Evram has occasional PTSD flashbacks to his inability to save a Palestinian schoolgirl who was killed in an airstrike [[spoiler: that he called in]] when he was a combat medic

* LawOfInverseFertility: done to Zoe and Donner, the latter of whom [[ButICantBePregnant thought his vasectomy was still working.]]

* MyGreatestFailure: the Palestinian girl for Evram, leaving the astronauts on Mars for Donner and Ted, the abortion for Zoe.
* {{Narrator}}: Donner
* NewAgeRetroHippie: Zoe's mother
* OddFriendship: "Odd" does not even begin to describe the relationship between Wass and Paula
* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Averted, as Paula is an ''extremely'' devout Catholic, Ajay is a Hindu, and Ted was raised Buddhist. Zoe's mother is also has various New Age-y beliefs, which her daughter thinks are nonsense.
** Paula becomes an even more explicit aversion as the story goes along: [[spoiler: she believes Beta is the messenger of God]]

* RecycledInSpace: The show was promoted as '[[GreysAnatomy Grey's Anatomy]] in space'. The show's creator figured that scared off sci-fi fans. It certainly was inaccurate; very little sex actually happens, and the issue is dealt with a lot more seriously.

* SpySpeak: "[=H2IK=]" translates into "hell if I know." Donner is able to use it in order to signal Ajay to help him out with a piece of science he doesn't know; later on Ajay is able to communicate that he doesn't know what the problem is with Antares to Donner without Goss realizing it.

* SurvivalMantra: "six sick slick slim sycamore saplings"

* TrainingFromHell: done in "Love, Honor, Obey" (especially using ElectricTorture) to get the candidates to follow orders without asking lots of questions or when they disagree.
* {{UST}}: Zoe and Donner

Notable in that it was co-developed by ABC, TheBBC, CTV and [=ProSieben=], meaning its country of origin is The USA/Canada/The UK/Germany.

Defying Gravity is a SF TV show set in 2052. In 2042 the US sent five astronauts to Mars including Maddux Donner and Ted Shaw. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Only three of the astronauts came back.]] Now, 10 years later, a mission is being mounted to go visit most (all?) of the planets in the solar system. We meet the people going on the mission just before the launch, and we follow them, and the ground control crew, while the mission is underway. The story of how the crew was chosen and trained is told in flashbacks to 5 years before the mission. And it seems not ''just'' the astronauts came back from Mars...