Defying Gravity vs. Virtuality

Earlier this summer, Fox aired a movie/pilot named Virtuality created by Ronald D. Moore, the master behind the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. That show has a very stark resemblance in some regards to Defying Gravity. Now I'm not going to claim that one show copied from the other, but I would like to point out some similarities and differences.

Both shows involve long term space travel, but the goal in Virtuality is to find an inhabitable world outside our solar system. In Defying Gravity, they are on a preset course around the universe. It seems more in reach, but nonetheless challenging for all.

First of all, the reality show. The Virtuality reality show is shown in a Real World/Surreal Life/Big Brother sort of way. There are hidden cameras and quality cameras used to record the person speaking to the audience. It's much more surreal in the fact that it's a fucking space mission, but it's also a show for huge profit with a huge audience. The Defying Gravity show is more toned down, less intrusive, more instructional. It's not about showboating or revealing the despair of the travelers. In this regard, I think Defying Gravity did a better job.

The characters of each crew has both men and women, but where Defying Gravity has the usual cliches, Virtuality has a very broad base of characters. There are unusual people and personalities in Virtuality. I know they;re not really astronaut material, but neither are those in Defying Gravity, so the hell with it. If you're not going to portray realism, go all out and be crazy.

The "scifi elements" are very different. There is almost no discussion of science in Defying Gravity, and we don't know the propulsion or the sustainability. All we know is that they have the capability to go around the solar system within 6 years and stay alive. Virtuality explains the oxygen production and how they will get out of the solar system.

The way each show deals with the long term nothingness is very interesting. Defying Gravity deals with it in a way that shows a disturbing lack of creativeness from the creators. Essentially, the astronauts will have to spend 6 years with the same people doing god knows what. They are specifically given "Halo" patches that decrease libido, but what are they supposed to do? If someone offered me the chance to spend 6 years doing research on a cramped ship I'd decline in a heart beat. I don't dream about the stars and I certainly wouldn't want to come back to Earth with 6-years passed by. Virtuality takes a page from Ron Moore's other new show Caprica with the virtual reality. The astronauts put the devices on and they can enter any scenario of their choice. This leads to some wild experiences and insight into the character.

Both shows have a twist with a little mystery behind it. The Defying Gravity ship Antares has something on board that controls people. The Virtuality ship Phaeton has a virus or something on board that is hurting people in the virtual world, even raping a member. In the end, the captain kills himself, but "downloads" himself into the virtual world.

The human reactions to the journey are different and odd. In Defying Gravity, the astronauts seem fine, upbeat, and even indifferent even though they will engage in a journey with probably dire consequences. Virtuality takes a much deeper tone reflecting on the real psychological impact on how people would react to long term space flight bolstered by weird virt modules.

Review - Virtuality Pilot

I'll call it a pilot and not a movie, because simply put, it is not a movie. It is a 2-hour first episode that leads the show into a certain direction, so for Fox to call this a "movie" is shameful.

TBH I was quite surprised by how good the show was. My expectations weren't very high having read the premise and thinking that it was pretty ridiculous, which it still it (I'll go into that later). I, like many others watched because Ronald D. Moore, the man behind Battlestar Galactica reimagined, wrote part of it.

Before any positive comments, I really have to get something off my chest: the premise. Basically a ship with 13 people are traveling into deep space to find life. Apparently the journey is a $200 billion project funded by a corporation (or conglomeration) called the Consortium (I'm sure they are all upstanding citizens). So these geniuses with the money decide, "Hey, let's make a reality show out of this," and a la Real World/Surreal Life, we have a reality show in space. But wait, these aren't your normal sex-crazed coeds, these are your average are sex-crazed scientists.

Apparently there is something called the go/ no go point (it sounds so lame is squirmed every time it was mentioned) at Neptune where they will either slingshot around Neptune or continue going.No this isn't even the most ridiculous part yet. Their propulsion system past Neptune is...nuclear warheads!!!! They actually have 182 on board and detonate them behind them to move forward. Yes, so silly and unrealistic. Wait a second...there's more? In fact, a few months into their journey, scientists on Earth discover that within 50 years, the world will be uninhabitable (convenient), so the fate of humanity rests in their hands and the ability to find a suitable planet. Since this is the case, the reality show must go on, and 5 billion people keep watching. Take that American Idol!

Now that that's out of the way, the show has a nice tone to it when it isn't delving into the ludicrous reality show interviews that have become all too famous. Each member has a virtual reality module that allows them to enter anything at will. From the beginning, we know there is a serious glitch where this one creepy virtual guy does crazy stuff. Later on, he even rapes one the members (slightly shocking), and the question is brought up whether the rape was real or not, etc...

The characters and their relationships are really weird, but diverse. There's a happily married couple, an unhappily married couple, a gay couple, and an affair. Good luck sifting though all that. Oh yeah, there's also a guy in a wheelchair, and a guy with Parkinson's. Sure seems like a great 13 people to put together in a ship.

I will now discuss the twist in the end, so if you haven't watched the pilot yet, please don't read any further. The captain of the ship dies when he gets trapped in the airlock and freezes (I always though the person boiled due to pressure vs volume). Anyways, he's dead right? We see him in the virtual world (a Civil War battle) and he talks to the person wearing the module like he knows her. So he's dead in real-life, but alive in the virtual world. WTF? Well the show ends like that and we will probably never know.

Score: 8.5/10

The ratings are in, an Virtuality tanked. I'm 99% sure we won't see this in the fall or at midseason. I'm disappointed, but not as much as the Firefly cancellation. Props to Ron Moore for another good job.