1.3 The Devil in the Dark This was generally good until they all went underground for the ‘bug hunt’, where it all became heavily dictated by Syfy budget constraints. The bugs themselves seemed inspired by those in Starship Troopers, and the CGI of them wasn’t poor, what we saw of them. Except their ultimate demise was cut short, and so was an early action sequence with them and Datak Tarr. Where I got a distinct moment of deja vu was when Joshua Nolan declared that if the Hell bugs got loose they’d kill everyone in Defiance, marking the now third time that the entire population has been put at risk in as many stories. He also talked about hyperbaric charges, which entirely ignores the fact that once these were detonated there would be no oxygen to breath in the mine seeing as they were without breathing apparatus. But these are minor complaints, as at least the story was kept interesting throughout. The other issue here is that we’re only three episodes in, and those writing it have entirely forgotten what happened in the pilot story. In that, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) gave a speech where she said she’d only been the Mayor for three weeks, and in this one she’s reminded that she’d up for re-election soon. Err…so how long do they get to be Mayor, about a month? That’s sloppy considering how few episodes we’ve had, and doesn’t bode well for other ‘facts’ we’ve been presented with. At the end we’re given a little ballad to avoid anyone having to write cheesy dialogue over the thematic message about children and parents, and how the latter must step away at some point for their children’s good. Read Billy’s review of the previous episode, Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
