Welcome to the World of DEFIANCE

The ambitious new undertaking by Syfy – the sci-fi drama Defiance – will finally be making its TV debut this Monday, April 15 at 9 PM with a two-hour series premiere.

But back in July when the show was still in the planning process and early filming was taking place, the cast and creative minds behind the series – that will also be an MMO videogame (please don’t ask me about the video game, though, as I am less than a novice where that genre comes into play) – gathered for a panel at the San Diego Comic Con 2012 to talk about what will assuredly be a groundbreaking moment for Syfy and for television as we know it.

And, if the recent Syfy special “The Making of Defiance” (that has been airing over the course of this week) taught anyone who had the opportunity to check it out, it is that Defiance will be unlike anything anyone has seen on TV before. The series is part Star Wars, part Battlestar Galactica, part Game of Thrones with smatterings of Romeo & Juliet and Survivor all mixed into one giant melting pot of story-telling and multi-character development.

The general premise behind the series is this: It is set in the near future (of course!), where aliens collectively known as Votans (which consists of 7 different races of aliens – more on that shortly) have come to Earth seeking a new home after their star system is destroyed in a stellar collision. The Votans believed that Earth was uninhabited, but upon their arrival in 2013 discover that human are living on the planet; and they respond to the Votans with hostility and suspicion.

As you can imagine, war eventually breaks out on Earth – despite the intent of the Humans and Votans to negotiate a peaceful settlement over the course of ten years. For seven years, the warring sides virtually tear the planet apart, until – in 2030 – when an apocalyptic “Arkfall” event takes place.

The series itself will take place in the year 2046, revolving around the character of Joshua Nolan (Australian actor Grant Bowler, best known here in America for his work on True Blood and Ugly Betty as well as the made-for-TV movie Liz & Dick).

But the cast also includes an eclectic mix of established and new actors, including the following:

Julie Benz (Angel and Dexter) as Amanda Rosewater, the Mayor of Defiance (formerly known as St. Louis);
Tony Curran (Underworld: Evolution) as Datak Tarr (one of the aliens), who is chief advisor to Amanda;
Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13 and Ringer) as Stahma Tarr, Datak’s wife;
Stephanie Leonidas (The Bible mini-series) as Irisa Nyira, (one of the aliens), who is Nolan’s adopted daughter;
Mia Kirshner (The Vampire Diaries and The L Word) as Kenya Rosewater, Amanda’s sister and the proprietress of the Need/Want (a bar/brothel/gambling hall in Defiance);
Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile) as Rafe McCawley, the owner and operator of the largest mine in the territory;
Nicole Munoz (Defying Gravity) as Christie McCawley, Rafe’s daughter who is involved with Alak Tarr (one of the aliens), who is son to Datak and Stahma;
Jesse Rath (Aaron Stone) as the aforementioned Alak Tarr;
Justin Rain (Blackstone) as Quentin McCawley, Christie’s brother;
Trenna Keating (Combat Hospital) as Doc Yewll, who is one of the technologically advanced Votan race;
Dewshane Williams (Being Erica) as Tommy LaSalle, who is the deputy of Defiance; and,
Fionnula Flanagan (Four Brothers and The Others) as Nicolette “Nicky” Riordan, the ex-mayor and trusted mentor of Amanda.

As for the alien Votans, they consist of the following races:

Castithan – They appear very similar to humans, but are very pale, verging on albinism with pale white skin, white hair and pale yellow eyes. Their society is aristocratic and hierarchical. The Tarr family is part of this race.

Indogene – They are the most technologically advanced among the alien race (Doc is an Indogene). They have bright white skin and no visible hair follicles. Culturally, they tend to be technical geniuses, scientists and doctors.

Irathient – They are also a near-human race with an affinity for nature and are adept at tribal warfare. They have bronze skin interspersed with biologically occurring patterns of white marks. Irathients (like Irisa) do not like the Castithans (the Tarr family). They are an independent-minded society.

Liberata – They are shorter than humans, broad shouldered and thick-necked, with blockier facial features and long scruffy yellow hair. Their present day status is that of menial laborers and servants.

Sensoth – They are slightly larger and taller than humans, basically resembling a more humanoid orangutan. Their lifespan is about twice as long as any other Votan. They are patient, arboreal in nature and speak and act very slowly and deliberately.

Gulanee – They are an energy based race, but are a mystery to the rest of the Votan race. They are exceedingly rare on Earth and are often mistaken as simple “floating balls of energy”; but that is actually an “encapsulation suit” they must wear as they can only survive for a few hours outside of the suits.

Volge – They are a race of automatons, who stand over eight feet tall, covered in dense armor and possess integrated internal weapons. They are considered the “villain” race among the Votan.

It was made obvious during SDCC 2012 that the creative minds behind Defiance, which include Executive Producer Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Reaper and Caprica) and Senior Vice Presidents of Trion Worlds (the folks behind the MMO videogame) Nick Beliaeff and Rob Hill as well as Syfy President Mark Stern, have spent years on establishing the intricate layering of the series, putting a great deal of work and effort into making this world as believable as possible.

It should also be noted that linguistics expert David J. Peterson, who created the Dothraki language for the HBO series Game of Thrones, was brought into the fold of Defiance to create the various alien languages that will be featured in the series. And, fans of the music has been featured in shows like Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, Eureka and Caprica (just to name a few) will be pleased to know that composer Bear McCreary will be at the forefront of all the music featured in Defiance.

All in all – despite only seeing extended clips of this new show as well as the Syfy special – I can whole-heartedly get behind Defiance, waiting in anticipation for the two-hour series debut on Monday, April 15 at 9 PM.

Mark your calendars, folks, as this is going to be one hell of a ride!

NOTE: Thanks to Syfy for many of the gallery pictures and details.