# Defying Gravity (on ABC) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960 "2009-08-01T04:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/41 "2009-08-04T20:17:53Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Also, a mutated bunny rabbit prowling the station for human flesh would be pretty dramatic and interesting, but they probably won’t go in that direction. There’s a herd of killer space-rabbits coming this way! ---
**Author:** ![Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc8723/32.png) [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Levolor_the_Blind)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/42 "2009-08-06T04:47:16Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I watched the show following the pilot on Hulu and they have Zoe get in a spacesuit that looks for all the world like a very deep sea diving suit. While they are strapping her into it they talk about the violent conditions on the surface of Venus and her suit is presumably built specifically to tolerate it and keep her alive. I just watched the second episode on Hulu as well and the whole Venus suit left me scratching my head. The suit was made to withstand crushing external pressure, so why were they testing it in a vacuum? Why were they testing it with a person inside? Why wasn’t it tested on Earth where they could fix it if something was wrong? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/43 "2009-08-06T05:06:31Z")
> [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](#): > > I just watched the second episode on Hulu as well and the whole Venus suit left me scratching my head. The suit was made to withstand crushing external pressure, so why were they testing it in a vacuum? Why were they testing it with a person inside? Why wasn’t it tested on Earth where they could fix it if something was wrong? If the suit had leaks, either a high pressure suit/low pressure atmosphere or high pressure atmosphere/low pressure suit would should the leaks. Since they have easy access to vacuum, it’s easier to test it the former way. Any drop in pressure inside the suit would indicate a leak that needed to be fixed. I’m sure it was tested on earth - I’d want to double check before stepping onto Venus. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/44 "2009-08-06T08:53:20Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > If the suit had leaks, either a high pressure suit/low pressure atmosphere or high pressure atmosphere/low pressure suit would should the leaks. Since they have easy access to vacuum, it’s easier to test it the former way. Any drop in pressure inside the suit would indicate a leak that needed to be fixed. [QUOTE=Futurama] Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Good Lord! That’s over 5000 atmospheres of pressure! Fry: How many atmospheres can the ship withstand? Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Well, it was built for space travel, so anywhere between zero and one. [/QUOTE] Testing the suit with a pressure difference of -1 atmosphere would be next to worthless when you’re planning on using it with a pressure difference of +100 atmospheres. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/45 "2009-08-06T12:24:59Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Was anyone else bothered by the whole “magnetic nanofibers drawing things to the floor”? Sure it might make it easier to move around, but shouldn’t their hair (especially the women’s) be floating? :smack: Unless [del]NASA[/del] ISO went to the trouble of making nanofiber hairspray. So anyone care to speculate on what “it” is? I was thinking maybe the “magnetic nanofibers” are in their diet as well. The fibers would permeate the entire body, including hair as it grows. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/46 "2009-08-06T14:28:18Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > I was thinking maybe the “magnetic nanofibers” are in their diet as well. The fibers would permeate the entire body, including hair as it grows. Then why were the captain & his wife floating when they stripped naked for sex? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/47 "2009-08-06T15:28:26Z")
They turned off the magnets in the observation deck? OK, my fiber diet theory is probably bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/48 "2009-08-06T15:56:48Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > I was thinking maybe the “magnetic nanofibers” are in their diet as well. The fibers would permeate the entire body, including hair as it grows. Apparently they put it in baseballs too. Actually a continuity error but one I expect they will make a lot (as it is a pain to make everything but them float). The main character brought a baseball on the ship with him and while recording a diary entry he is casually tossing the baseball in the air then catching it. It should have just zoomed off towards the ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/49 "2009-08-06T18:00:49Z")
Although it’s not clear, there was an establishing shot that suggested the crew quarters are in the spinning arms, which would presumably provide artificial gravity without the suit. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/50 "2009-08-06T22:02:53Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Testing the suit with a pressure difference of -1 atmosphere would be next to worthless when you’re planning on using it with a pressure difference of +100 atmospheres. Not that it makes much difference, but I think they were using a pressure difference of -5 atmospheres. The suit was pressurized to 5 atmospheres - which is why she got the bends when it depressurized. Also, if the suit leaks at -5 it will most definitely leak at +100, so the test might be justifiable that way as an initial test. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/51 "2009-08-06T23:18:05Z")
As someone interested in the idea of (plausible fictional) manned space travel, there are things about the project management that bug me. Why a tour? And why is that tool running things? You don’t leave 40% of your crew behind because of a storm–you wait it out & launch later. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/52 "2009-08-06T23:23:14Z")
I noticed that pretty much every scene that was worthless (with the amateurish soap opera people hitting on each other stuff) had desperate housewives style music playing for it, sort of an audio cue for you to go make a sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/53 "2009-08-07T16:12:21Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > As someone interested in the idea of (plausible fictional) manned space travel, there are things about the project management that bug me. Why a tour? Yeah, I think the tour is a foolish mission profile, although since it seems Beta had something to do with it, perhaps that can be forgiven once we find out what that is. > [@](#): > > And why is that tool running things? You don’t leave 40% of your crew behind because of a storm–you wait it out & launch later. It seems plain to me that the guy gave the launch order because he felt the lander couldn’t withstand the storm. So to him, it was a question of losing half the landing party, or all of them. Under NASA, that guy would never run a mission, not because he screwed the pooch, but because the astronauts and the flight directors are separate departments. But the ISO doesn’t necessarily have to run the way NASA runs. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/54 "2009-08-10T19:07:15Z")
I missed the pilot, but watched last night. Even setting aside the unrealistic constancy of crackling sexual tension (unrealistic in my experience–maybe it’s different for gorgeous people), I was bugged by a lot of stuff. I probably shouldn’t watch this show any more. I can understand from a saving-on-the-sfx-budget standpoint avoiding trying to depict zero-gee. But, when the ship clearly has rotating parts, why use a silly mix of full-gee and zero-gee? I guess it’s cleaner to CGI the vomit, but having people acting in full gravity emitting and then trying to catch floating emesis was weird. If they are on their way to Venus, they can’t see Jupiter’s moons with the naked eye. I guess that picture window is one reason not to be living under rotation, though. Sure is a roomy spacecraft. There’s more wasted volume in hallways and labs than on the original Starship Enterprise. At least they made the quarters cramped and closed with a simple curtain-thing, rather than having them live in interplanetary condos. Realtime video chat shouldn’t work. Actually, the writers are doing more than violating the laws of physics with that–they’re passing up a great opportunity for drama. There are a lot of tense situations one can imagine creating with the delays that actual speed-of-light communications would have. What sort of idiot doctor allows someone to vomit for days without suspecting something more serious than “gee-sickness”? Which shouldn’t be a problem with their gravity system, anyhow. Why is an image of a Martian sandstorm so scary? I infer that the commander had a bad time on Mars at some point, but his wife was also terrified by this vision. Hopefully, they’ll eventually explain that there’s something more going on than just a compelling feeling of being on Mars. If I were to watch more of this show. Which I should not do. Because it will make me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/55 "2009-08-11T14:56:52Z")
A lot of the stuff you’re talking about was addressed in the pilot, but here goes: The ship is primarily zero-gee. According to the pilot, they have some sort of nano-magentic fibers woven into their clothing and the deck is slightly magnetized, allowing them “walk” in zero-gee. Yeah, yeah, I know, but that’s what they said… No idea whether they could eyeball the moons from orbit or not. Yeah, the wasted space made me wonder too. Although at least they seem to give a nod to space issues since it seems like most of the labs and such are in passsageways. Well, they’re only 3-4 days away from Earth in this episode, so the lag wouldn’t much more than Earth-moon-ish. I can agree with the editorial decision to cut the lag. Now, if they simply refuse to acknowledge it when it’s much longer, that’ll be issue for me. Agreed about the doctor and his lack of concern (although he did mention at one point that he was pushing fluids). The Commander (Wells?) and Our Hero (Donner) were on a mission to Mars when the now Flight Director (who was in orbit at the time) ordered them to abandon two (female) crew mates because of a storm. There’s some indication that Donner was romantically involved with one of them (hence the “no dating astronauts” rule). Now, for my comments about this episode: 1. If you’re going to give us this cast, then I expect some nudity _every_ episode dammit. 2. They’re so concerned about sexual urges that they create the “halo” patch and chemically castrate the crew. Then during training, what do they do? Put them in a unisex locker/shower room! 3. Why was the German mad at the Geek when they discovered that the bitchy girl was really sick? I mean, we know that she asked for water and he refused, but how does the rest of the crew know? I’m gonna give another epi or two, but it seems unlikely I’ll stick with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/56 "2009-08-11T15:05:06Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > I mean, we know that she asked for water and he refused, but how does the rest of the crew know? I assume either he or she said something about it. I thought this episode better than the first two. It’s still not compelling enough that I’d watch it if there were a lot else on my plate, but there isn’t. Even the summer shows are starting to peter out now. And indeed, I thought this episode well constructed from a writerly standpoint – it both established the HALOs and that 1) they’re not 100% effective in controlling the libido, and 2) they’re 0% effective in controlling the emotions of attraction and romance. As I’ve said, I don’t mind the soapiness being a part of the show, and that part was well handled this ep. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/57 "2009-08-19T03:07:35Z")
There’s possibly a good show buried under here somewhere, but all the soap opera stuff is a huge turnoff. I like that they’re trying to at least explain implausible things - someone earlier in the thread commented that their hair acts like it’s reacting to gravity, and in this episode they introduced the explanation of magnetic hair spray. Implausible - but we need some way of explaining the (logistically necesary) effects of gravity, and it at least shows they’re thinking about it. But then there’s the Gray’s Anatomy stuff that’s not only a waste of time but actually insulting. Like when they lose lighting, and as Donner is running around trying to find the problem, the Russian chick tries to seduce him. HEY! We’re in a spaceship here - skirting the edge of survival in a very hostile environment, and we just had a mysterious electrical problem - this is something to be extremely concerned about, and you’re trying to distract the guy who’s trying to fix it. It’s so stupid and does nothing but detract from the show to the point where I’ll probably stop watching. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/58 "2009-08-25T10:42:19Z")
I, for one, am quite happy to see a hot Russian / German nymphomaniac on the show. It seems most (or all) of the knee-jerk nitpicks over the science was premature. I know there’s a strong temptation to point out problems, but you also have to allow for being able to actually produce the show. It’s clear they wanted to depict some zero-g but film it on Earth. They could either go the Star Trek / Firefly route and claim “artificial gravity” or go with the rotating arms / magnetic clothing & futuristic hairspray. I’m okay with this. The show has a decent level of real science, but they ignore some stuff that would prevent it from ever being made. The gripes over the use of volume is another example… the sets are constructed on Earth with more emphasis on looking good on film than being an accurate reproduction of the claustrophobic closets of our current space program. I agree with this choice. Did anyone notice the hatchways they walk through? Looks symmetric, like they could go through them upside-down or sideways. Was there a true violation of speed-of-light communications? They were pretty close to Earth for the first few episodes and there should not be much lag on Mars to communicate with the orbiter. If you’re going to nitpick, I think you have to allow others to nitpick your nitpicks. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/59 "2009-08-25T16:28:20Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > It seems most (or all) of the knee-jerk nitpicks over the science was premature. Well except for this episode. In this episode the filtration system is reporting itself as sub-nominal, right? And yet, it can’t be arsed to actually tell them WHAT’S WRONG! Instead they do some lame “visual” inspection looking for…what exactly? Finally, they discover that some of the water is too acidic and the sensor must be malfunctioning to have not reported it. But if the sensor isn’t reporting anything wrong, why is the system sub-nominal in the first damn place? Sloppy writing annoys me. With that said, I did like the mom backstory on Zoe. It starts to explain why she’s so fucked up. Also, my guess is that the doctor she called at the end is going to remove the embryo (intact) and either freeze it or give it to another woman. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960/60 "2009-08-27T03:37:00Z")
I don’t know if this was the intention of the writers, but there is a way the system as a whole can report sub-nominal, yet the individual sensors read nominal. Suppose each tube of water has a sensor, but one is malfunctioning. Now suppose the water from all the tubes flow into a main pipe, going past a system sensor. A more legitimate gripe might be that it didn’t seem to take Donner much time to do a pH reading. So, why not just pass your magical pH sensor around the room and be done much faster using a brute force solution? And of course the answer is the magic pH sensor is the only way the writers could keep up the scene timing with the dialog pace. Otherwise, it would be awkward to see Donner actually field strip the equipment so he can get a reading to get to the “aha!” moment. I think if you can get past these “annoyances” and supposed “sloppy writing”, you might enjoy the little winks and nods that ARE done right. Like the RFID-driven credit / business cards for doing financial transactions or dialing a phone. Or the little humorous details in the scene with Wassenfelder nearly drowning in the training pool. I’m giving the writers some slack, because the show is an enjoyable ride. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defying-gravity-on-abc/504960.md?page=4)