Hello my fellow Defiance fans!
I am posting my Defiance panel/press room extravaganza from Comic-Con 2014. This is one of my favorite panels and one of my favorite shows on TV.
I am glad to see that the Syfy Channel is decided to keep this going for yet another season!
Something great to look forward to in 2015 (no official word on the exact premiere date). I always have fun in this panel because the cast is so much fun together and even better apart as I observed in the press room this year.
Our moderator this year was Aaron Sagers, host of a show on the Travel Channel called Paranormal Paparazzi and just an all-around Renaissance man. Aaron has a bit of experience having worked on practically every news station in the biz, chops are always a great thing to have.
One of the first questions that is asked of the panel is about the final destination of their character at the end of the season?
It is a hard question for the cast to answer because at that point we were only half way through and they didn’t want to give any spoilers away.
Of course Jaime Murray talks about Stahma continuing to exert herself “and see where that gets her”…vague enough but a perfect answer from Jaime and the fate of Stahma Tarr. Tony Curran with the wonderful Scottish brogue of his mentions that Datak may not be heading home sometime soon “you reap what you sow” and if memory serves Datak will be doing a lot of sowing in his time.
With Stephanie Leonidas she says that Irisa has gone to the dark side and to expect the unexpected, which is par for the course with Irisa. Expect “a few twists and turns along the way that might surprise people” she says of Irisa and her remaining journey this season, I would expect nothing less, Stephanie.
Julie Benz (who came out sporting her new brunette hair and looking gorgeous) lamented that Amanda Rosewater
does clean up her act, but alas there are folks around her that still don’t have her best interest at heart. Her character is one of my favorites because as seemingly perfect as she looks on the outside she has some deep flaws that make her a fascinating character.
Grant Bowler (Joshua Nolan), ever the gent and resident Aussie, again mockingly answers a question in his version of Scottish brogue. It was funny when he first did it last year and it still is. I know that it is all in good fun and Tony and Grant seem to have a fun time jabbing each other.
In the press room, which I am so happy I was able to be a part of, Grant gives one of the best answers I have ever heard about why he and Irisa have chosen each other as family. It was really wonderful to see hear him talk about it and the fact that he said he likes to tell the truth in his answers. You can definitely tell that he is very fond of Stephanie and does think of her as his daughter and I am sure the same goes for her.
What he said about choosing that person as family reminds me of one of my other favorite shows Fringe. Even though it is not on TV anymore (all of us Fringe fans are still mourning the loss), his description or rather reason for the choice reminds me of Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson)and Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and how they were “chosen” or their choices lead them to find each other. It is really beautiful and I still get emotional when I think about it. Sorry for the digression, but I just had to add that in.
It is always great to see the maestro behind the scenes, Kevin Murphy, included in the panel. He of course knows more than the cast and is as cautious about revealing too much. He was also a pleasure in the press room as well. One question that I was dying to ask was about one of the best characters (in my opinion) on the show, Doc Yewll played by the absolutely wonderful Trenna Keating, who apparently was only helping to read the actors for auditions.
It turns out that she was a blessing to the show, when all avenues where exhausted and Kevin Murphy had asked the studio time and time again to consider her in the role they finally relented. Thank the Defiance gods for that, she is just amazing, her wit and dead pan comments are what give the show its comic relief. Luckily her character isn’t just the comedy, she also does have some great moments of clarity and wisdom.
Kevin Murphy had alluded to things not being what they seem (Fringe, again) and “in Defiance what is actual is often not what is presented initi
ally”, which of course leaves us the fans stumped, but intrigued.
Julie Benz expounded on how she enjoyed playing the darkness of Amanda’s journey back from the throes of pain and suffering she was in. She did a wonderful job, it was difficult to watch, it was reminiscent of that amazing performance by Frank Sinatra in The Man with the Golden Arm. It is never easy for actors to go to those places, but it ends up being a catharsis, which is, I think always the intention.
The panel goes on to talk more about keeping the Earth Republic in Defiance and what the ultimate consequences of that will be. I am glad that we will get to see more of that in Season 3, I think it brings a very different view of the world that is eerily and ironically very reflective of our current times or where we may be headed.
Once the panel ended, I had the pleasure of being a part of the press room. I was so excited because this was my first Defiance press room one since I wasn’t able to go last year. Our first cast member to sit with us was Tony Curran. It is so refreshing to see the actors in a different environment than the panel. It is as if they can be a little more at ease with us writers. He talked about how when Datak and Stahma arrived in Defiance they were social climbers that achieved their goal of status, but have since fallen from grace, “I use the term grace lightly”, to quote Tony. He makes a good point about how he now has to start over and try to not only work his way back in society but back into his family.
Next we had the other Tarr, Alak played by the always fun Jesse Rath. He is so much more animated than Alak it can bit off putting at first. He has a great sense of humor which you don’t get to see with Alak. My question to him was that I felt that since the beginning of Season 2 his character has felt a little like Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in The Godfather. Where he is basically thrust into this life that he didn’t want but has to fulfill because he is who he is. Jesse had said that he and Kevin had talked about that and how there are parallels to that.
As I mentioned earlier, the best answer during the press room interviews was given by Grant Bowler about Nolan’s relationship to Irisa. It was just wonderful to hear him speak about the bond that they have as it almost being their religion. I guess we all strive to find relationships like that in our lives that when we see one on TV or film we can long for it if it is missing in our own lives.
The only member of the cast we didn’t get a chance to talk to was Stephanie Leonidas, much to the whole table’s dismay. She was one of the ones I really wanted to see.
Regardless, I had a really fun time at the panel and an even better time in the press room. I am so excited for Season 3 of Defiance and I am hoping that I will be able to participate again in the press room at next year’s Comic-con.
Well my fellow Defiance fans, thanks for reading and make sure to watch out for those hellbugs!
I hope you enjoyed my SDCC report from San Diego?
Thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. And thanks to Kenn for video embedding and formatting additional images for my report. I will be back in the near future a Key and Peele and a wrap up report on my wonderful adventures at San Diego Comic-Con 2014!
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Until next time,
Regards,
