I don't know if I'm a geek for liking "Defiance" (9 tonight, Syfy) or if I'm not enough of one to properly judge it. But I was entertained, and in the end, that's the point.
"Defiance" is the name of the city we call St. Louis. It's the town former Marine and wanderer Nolan (Grant Bowler) stumbles upon after he and his adopted daughter Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) escape some thieving biker aliens.
OK, let's explain the alien thing. Apparently, in the near future, seven alien races come to Earth, sparking 30 years of war. Inexplicably, all the humans weren't wiped out. The post-war Earth, now forever altered, features aliens and humans trying to build new civilizations and peacefully co-exist. It doesn't always go well.
Nolan, a hero in one of the great battles, has adopted Irisa, an Irathient, and they go along making money however they can, unless Nolan blows it on women or in some reckless way. When they get to Defiance, they're broke, so they've got to stay around awhile.
That puts them in the orbit of Amanda (Julie Benz), the new mayor of the mining town; Datak (Tony Curran), an alien mob boss and his manipulative wife Stahma (Jaime Murray); Rafe (Graham Greene), Datak's archenemy and the owner of the town's largest mine; and Kenya (Mia Kirshner), the town's madam.
"Mining town" and "madam" should give you a clue that "Defiance" is essentially a Western and that's not the only classic the show borrows from. Shakespeare gets some love in a few ways; for one, Rafe's daughter and Datak's son are secretly involved.
No, "Defiance" isn't original in terms of plot or character. Certainly, the conceit of aliens and humans trying to co-exist has been done before. The originality is supposed to come from the fact that it's both a TV show and an online game that are interconnected. What happens on the TV show causes a shift in the game. Of course, I won't be playing the game (and neither will most of you reading, I suspect) so that doesn't have anything to do with me.
What does matter is that the pilot of "Defiance" was fun; there's action, humor, story lines with potential. Bowler is a fine anti-hero, Curran and Murray, intriguing villains, and Benz works as the town's the heart and good soul.
Unlike it's plot, "Defiance" may not be building a whole new sci-fi world, but it does a good job refreshing some old themes.
My Cat From Hell (8pm, Animal Planet) - Two new episodes of this really pretty great cat show ring in Season 4. In the first episode, cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy (left) helps a cat that is hearing- and vision-impaired and lashing out at his owners and a new kitten. Then, it's a family whose cat and dog are fighting like, well, like cats and dogs. In episode two, Jackson helps two people whose cats are disliked by their significant others.
television, music and sports. Scheduled performers include Pitbull and Ke$ha.
Killing Lincoln (7pm, NGC) - The National Geographic Channel got such amazing ratings with last week's premiere of the "Killing Lincoln" movie, that they're replaying it tonight at 7, 9, 11 and 1am. Next week, NGC will launch their "Killing Lincoln" sister channel.
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The Good Witch's Charm (9pm, Hallmark) - In the fifth entry of this magic-infused film series, Cassie (Catherine Bell, left) becomes tabloid fodder after an interview snafu leaves many wondering if she's a witch. Meanwhile, Jake (Chris Potter) investigates a string of burglaries in town.
Set designers fall into that group you ignore when they're nominations for awards are announced during the Oscars. And yet, creating a strong visual world is everything in a film or TV show.
Celebrating the Music of Johnny Cash: We Walk the Line (8pm, UNC-TV) - A concert honoring Johnny Cash featuring performances by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Dunn, Lucinda Williams, Shooter Jennings and others.
My Cat From Hell (8pm, Animal Planet) - In tonight's season finale, a couple can't figure out how to get their cats to stop fighting. We also get to see the People's Choice Award for Golden Kitty winner from last week's first ever Internet Cat Video Festival in Minneapolis.