Monday was the two hour premiere of "Defiance" on the SyFy channel. I at first was confused but after checking Wikipedia it made much more sense. The episode opens in 2046. A series of conflicts called the "Pale Wars" occurred between humans and the Votan. "Votan" is the collective name for all aliens. There are actually 7 separate species (see below).
Before the wars, many aliens were in hyper sleep in their ships orbiting the planet. The ships began plummeting to earth in an event known as "Arkfall"-- thus killing the aliens aboard and releasing terraforming technology. The technology was intended to be used on a limited basis to repopulate the area with Votan species. Instead mutants were created and the planet was almost destroyed.
We first meet Irisa (an Irathient) and her adopted human father Joshua. They're nomads traveling the country in their "roller" and scavenging fallen spaceships for valuables. After an encounter with some baddies, they're rescued and taken to Defiance (present day St Louis, hence the arc). A bunch of different species live in the town with varying levels of collegiality. We meet a mayor (Amanda), a brothel owner who is the mayor's sister (Kenya), a doctor (Doc Yewell), a sorta mob boss (Datak Tarr) and his wife (Stahma Tarr), some miners (Rafe McCawley the mine owner and others), teenagers in love (a Tarr boy and a McCawle girl), etc.
Someone is killed (Luke McCawley). Someone is accused (Alek Tarr). We then find out the real killer is the mayor's assistant and that the Volge arrive at nightfall to kill everyone. Why, you say? We do not know. Everyone bans together to fight the Volge. Joshua and Irisa leave but Joshua says he has to go back to help. He gives them the spherical weapon he salvaged from the spaceship. The battle ensues.
The Volge are getting the upper hand when Irisa rides in with a motorcycle gang and the tables are turned. The town is saved (thanks to that spherical nuclear weapon thingy) and Joshua becomes the new law keeper. He 's sweet on the mayor. That's why he's really hanging around. And in the last scene, we find out the ex- major sent the Volge to destroy the town (because there's something hidden in it). Cue suspenseful music.
Votan species as described at Wikipedia:
- Castithan- The Castithan appear very similar to humans. Their coloration is very pale, however, verging on albinism, with pale white skin, white hair, and pale yellow eyes. The Castithan society is aristocratic and hierarchical, and the other Votan races view them as arrogant. The Castithans used to have a patriarchal, rigidly segregated society on their home planet based on castes. The Tarr family are Castithans.
- Irathient- A near-human race with an affinity for nature and adept at tribal warfare, described as almost feral marauders. Their coloration is more similar to humans than the pale Castithans, with bronze skin interspersed with biologically occurring patterns of white marks. However, the proportions of their facial features are slightly different from humans (and the human-like Castithans), with a wider bridge of the nose arcing towards the eyes. Their hair is usually a bright warm color, and they have oversized, brightly-colored irises. While aggressive and tribal, the Irathients also have a great respect for nature and are a deeply spiritual people.
- Indogene- The most technologically advanced Votan race. They have bright white skin and no visible hair follicles. Their heads are hairless and smooth; their external ears don't really protrude, smoothly merging with the rest of the head. They have hexagonal shaped irises, and their skin is covered in faint hexagon-shaped scales; even their written language is based on hexagon shapes. As the most scientifically advanced Votan race, they have been upgraded with numerous genetic and cybernetic implants (which are often not externally visible). Culturally, they tend to be technical geniuses, scientists, and doctors.
- Liberata- The Liberata are shorter than humans, broad shouldered and thick-necked, with blockier facial features and long scruffy green-yellow hair. They are described as a servant-class race. Their language includes a high frequency of slang terms. The Liberata were once economically very powerful in the Votan star system, but their own avarice led to the ecological and social collapse of their society. Present-day Liberata humbly consider their present-day status as menial laborers and servants as deserved atonement resulting from the mistakes of their ancestors.
- Sensoth- Slightly larger and taller than humans, they basically resemble a more humanoid orangutan. Their bodies are covered in reddish-brown fur, except on their faces, which have grayish skin. Their jaws protrude further forward than on humans. The Sensoth have a lifespan about twice as long as any other Votan race, often living as long as two centuries. Sensoths can be fiercely loyal to their Castithan "employers", almost to the point of gullibility. They enjoy the company of Earth domestic animals, one Sensoth owning a dog as his companion.
- Gulanee- An energy based race, they are a mystery to everyone else, including the other Votans. The other Votans weren't even aware of their existence until fairly recently, when the Indogenes sent out an expedition to the gas giant planet Gula to look for the mineral gulanite to power the Ark fleet. Gulanee are so rare that others often assume that they are simply floating balls of energy. Instead, they wear carefully crafted "encapsulation suits" which are difficult to build and maintain. Gulanee will die if they spend more than a few hours outside of their suits.[6]
- Volge- A race of automatons, disliked by all of the other Votan races, and the closest thing to a straightforward "villain" race. They stand over eight feet tall, are covered in dense armor, and possess integrated internal weapons. No one knows who smuggled the Volge onto the Arks, or why, and their reappearance during the Pale Wars was a surprise to the other Votans. After the Pale wars ended they retreated to underground caverns, and continue to be hostile to humans and other Votans alike.[7]
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