some fav things about defiance (2013), rewatching it for the first time in 13 years after having first watched it when i was 13, and having looked up zero external opinions on this show or behind-the-scenes discussion or detail, so this is just straight off the dome:
tragic doomed yuri (obvi)
dedication to prosthetics and full-body makeup that must have eaten so much of the budget. half the characters are in alien drag for half the show's screentime. i imagine shoot days must have been LOOOOONG bc nobody wants to get everyone into hair and makeup AGAINNNοΏΌ
intense wig quality whiplash. i'll see a seamless lace-front in one shot and then the next shot will be a dozen party city wigs just slapped atop the heads of a gaggle of background children
the widespread use of colored contact lenses is TERRIFYING
main character nolan is such a clear han solo analog that a background character had to make an overly-extensive direct reference to it in season 2
amazing balance of post-alien-invasion dystopia while still being able to believably retain and manufacture everyday items like makeup and new clothes and 2010s earth technology and cars (though they're inexplicably "rollers" now)
absolutely full-send on multiple conlangs. 30% of the show is subtitled conlang dialogue and i challenge showrunners to commit so ardently to such an audience attention demand in 2026, on top of serious actors passionately committing to serious and aggressive dialogue while speaking alien gibberish
related to the above, everyone (including humans) is evidently fluent in all alien languages. everyone learned 3+ alien languages fluently in the past 30-odd years since colonization? you know what. sure. i admire the dedication suggested by the unquestioned ubiquity of fluency in all characters
consistently initially explaining worldbuilding concepts using their official full names or phrasings, then referring to each concept entirely with unexplained in-universe slang terms the next episode onwards. and as the audience you just have to figure out what the slang is referencing as quickly as possible or else be confused
while not at all perfect, a certain impressive-for-the-time avoidance of correlated clumps of earthly cultural markers and stereotypes in any one alien race (ala the na'vi in avatar): the malfoy-esque all-white aliens operate in a brutal caste society that is very sexist and yet simultaneously very sexually expressive to a near-incestuous degree; one alien race seems to be the scientifically-obsessed "grays" alien stereotype, but their characters' personality archetypes are emphasized to a near-looney-tunes degree of dry humor and melodramatic emotion; the most presentation-iffy alien race, which is portrayed as barbaric and overly spiritual, are all redheads and dress somewhere between grunge-hippie and steampunk, especially including those cunty little black steampunk sunglasses
liberated autonomous sex workers? like idk my opinions on the general morality of brothels irl but this was surprisingly mature in its surrounding dialogue and framing
one of the main plotlines is an alien analog of the challenges of trans-racial adoption that both directly addresses the strong potential of harm and conflict therein while leaving room for the possibility of a genuinely heartwarming relationship between an adoptive father and his rebellious teenage daughter
soundtrack is all wonderful covers of popular music, such as i think come as you are by nirvana? i miss when shows did that. it reminds me of attaching christina perri lyric videos to chapters of my original science fiction stories on wattpad during these years
also i first watched this show during the exact same time period as i first watched hannibal. unique level of curses upon me as a young teen
in s1, one central teenage boy alien is a scene kid. this does not match his culture or anyone else in the show, so we must assume scene kid style survived in this alien apocalypse enough to infect some aliens through cultural exchange in 2046. his appearance becomes less scene with costume changes later on but it was beautiful while it lasted... yes!!! alien teens should be scene kids!!! yes!!!!!!!!
