Best Shows You Didn't Watch: Defying Gravity

Okay, "best" may be stretching it in this case, but for all my trepidation going into the series, Defying Gravity ended up defying (HA!) my expectations. Created by Shonda Rhimes, whom also created Gray's Anatomy, Defying Gravity follows a team of astronauts in the near-future (2052) on a grand tour of the solar system. The narration duties are handled by Maddox Donner (Ron Livingston, yes, the Office Space guy) an astronaut that 10 years prior had to leave his lover to die on the surface of Mars. He's haunted and damaged, which is pounded into your head.

In fact, each character is a walking cliche. There's the religious hispanic, the horny Russian incapable of lasting emotion, long range Indian tech support, the big goofy white guy and the stern, no-nonsense boss that's a little sinister. Besides Donner, the majority of screen time goes to Geologist Zoe Barnes (played by Laura Harris, might recognize her as Daisy Adair from Dead Like Me, or the hot, creepy photography teacher one of the most disturbing CSI episodes ever), see, Zoe and Maddox had a one night stand. Feel the sexual tension! It's not at all like Meredith and McDreamy's character arcs on Gray's Anatomy, no, not at all!

Okay, despite the cliche characters, the show actually grew on me. It's just so hokey, so dramatic, that I got sucked in. Stick with it, get it on DVD so you can see the unaired episodes (5 of them), which take the series in a new direction. They add some very classical sci-fi elements towards the end and get into some Battlestar-lite philosopy.

All in all, it's available through Netflix and while it starts slow, it gets better. For an overly dramatic network series, it gets better.

The Best Shows You Failed To Watch: Dollhouse

Debuting last January on FOX, Dollhouse was the latest show from Joss Whedon, the genius behind Firefly, Serenity, Buffy, Angel and Astonishing X-Men (issues 1-25, catch the motion comics off of Hulu!) I've tried a few times to properly write this and explain just what the Dollhouse is, since while it starts out simple it quickly gets much deeper. See, the Dollhouse is a business which sends out people that have been imprinted with buyer-specific personalities. As the perfect companion for the rich and famous, since Dolls would honestly, truly love back without ulterior motives.

The first few episodes of the series, thanks to the expected bungling of FOX management, stick to that bland premise of dolls being sent out on engagements without much of a larger picture. If you gave up on Dollhouse back when it aired the second, third or even fourth episode, I would not blame you.

You did however, rob yourself of what became an amazing sci-fi show. Netflix the series on DVD, watch it from disc one all the way through the second season to the final episode. Unlike Firefly, Whedon was given enough time to wrap up the story and tie it off with a neat little bow. Firefly alumni Summer Glau (River Tam) and Alan Tudyk (Wash, and Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball) make cameos as the series goes on. While I want to say more about this, I'm worried about mentioning spoilers. Just trust me on this, everyone that I have convinced to keep watching has ended up thanking me later, and make absolute certain to see episode 13 from season one. Unaired by FOX, episode 13 is the "Days of Future Past" for the Dollhouse universe, starring the Felicia Day. Oh, and that episode gets referred to during season 2. Watch Dollhouse. You missed it the first time, but thanks to the magic of seasons on DVD, you can fix that mistake.