Yeah, yeah, I know ... ABC's new summer tv series, Defying Gravity, seems awfully similar to Fox's Virtuality (and don't even start with me Mz. Christina Cox, cause I have watched your work ever since the Forever Knight series, and not afraid of your Tae Kwan Do!!! :P~~~) ... hell, it even rhymes. But it's less science fictiony and more like

Grey's Anatomy in Space

... hey, I didn't nickname it that way, it's what the creators pitched it as. My beloved Blood Ties heroine, Christina Cox, stars as one of 8 astronauts on a six-year adventure in outer space. But, they aren't trekking to a distant Galaxy, just heading to our local neighbor Venus.

The year is 2052, and a crew of hand-selected astronauts from 5 countries travels on a six-year mission to Venus, 4 men and 4 women. You'd think they were all matched up for a million mile high club, but sex appears to be discouraged. But, anyone watching the promo clips know that sex will run rampant, as well as the melodrama that is inevitable to relationships:

• Maddux Donner, Flight Engineer - Ron Livingston (The Time Traveler's Wife, Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, Timecop tv series, Campfire Tales)
• Zoe Barnes, Geologist - Laura Harris (Merlin and the Book of Beasts, Stargate: Atlantis, The Dead Zone tv series, Dead Like Me, Jake 2.0, The New Outer Limits, The Calling, Total Recall 2070, The Faculty, Habitat, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Sliders, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The X-Files tv series, Darkstalkers, M.A.N.T.I.S., Highlander: the Series, The Odyssey tv series, Stephen King's It mini-series)
• Jen Crane, Biologist - Cristina Cox (Stargate: Atlantis, Blood Ties, The Chronicles of Riddick, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, She Spies, Mutant X, Stargate SG-1, Dark Realm, Code Name: Eternity, Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, Code Name Phoenix, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, The New Outer Limits, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, First Wave, F/X: the Series, Forever Knight, and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and look for her in the upcoming season of everyone's fav serial killer, Dexter)
• Ted Shaw, Ship's Commander - Malik Yoba (Raines tv series, The Days tv series, The Twilight Zone)
• Paula Morales, Pilot and Documentary Producer - Paula Garcés (the most recent Knight Rider, and the upcoming Gitmo film)
• Evram Mintz, Medical Officer - Eyal Podell (LOST, Angel: The Series, Charmed, Deep Blue Sea)
• Steve Wassenfelder, Theoretical Physicist - Dylan Taylor (The Incredible Hulk, Aliens in America, Warriors of Terra)
• Nadia Schilling, Pilot - International Actress, Florentine Lehme (Impact mini-series)

While the new series obviously focuses on these eight space travelers, it doesn't stop with the Antares. No mission is ever quite complete without the folks back on Earth, and the trusted staff of Mission Control:

• Mike Goss, Mission Control Commander - Andrew Airlie (Sam's zombie daddy on the CW's Reaper, The Mrs. Clause, Storm Cell, The butterfly Effect 2, Eureka tv series, Supernatural, Neverwas, the 4400, The Dead Zone tv series, Fantastic Four, Da Vinci's Inquest, Stargate SG-1, The Days tv series, Tru Calling, Smallville, Final Destination 2, Earth: Final Conflict, Mysterious Ways, The New Outer Limits, First Wave, Viper, Total Recall 2070, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Doomsday Rock, Millenium tv series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, The X-Files, Two, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Odyssey, Nightmare Cafe, The Hidden Room)
• Eve Shaw, Scientist - Karen LeBlanc (ReGenesis tv series, Mutant X, Forever Knight)
• Ajay Sharma, Flight Engineer, grounded - Zahf Hajee (The Unquiet, 10.5: Apocalypse, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Battlestar Galatica: The Mini-Series, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, James Cameron's Dark Angel, Stagate SG-1)
• Rollie Crane, Mission Commander, grounded - Ty Olsson (Eureka, Impact mini-series, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, The Day the Earth Stood Still, the most recent Flash Gordon tv series, Second Sight, Fallen tv series, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Tru Calling, Elektra, Dead Like Me, Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital, The Chronicles of Riddick, Phenomenon 2, X-Men 2, Agent Cody Banks, Dreamcatcher, Taken mini-series, The New Outer Limits, Jeremiah, James Cameron's Dark Angel, Night Visions, Dean Koontz's Black River, Valentine, Mysterious Ways, Final Ascent, Harsh Realm tv series, Lake Placid, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, First Wave, Viper, The X-Files)
• Claire Dereux, Flight Surgeon - Maxim Roy (Infected, Wargames: The Dead Code, Stephen King's The Dead Zone series, Superstorm, ReGenesis, Forever Knight, and look for her in the upcoming horror flick - The Factory)
• Trevor Williams, BBC Journalist - Peter Howitt, who also directs some episodes (Sliding Doors, Highlander: The Series)

Behind what seems to be your average interplanetary voyage, there IS some science fiction mystery going on behind the scenes. And between that and a pretty sweet cast, or just my love for Earthly astronaut stories, makes Defying Gravity something I am looking forward to ... I have been accused of being a sucker for good melodrama (curse you, Samuel Walters!!!), but the Grey's Anatomy (which I have NEVER seen, nor will I EVER) portions I can do without.

The two-hour premiere of Defying Gravity airs tonight on ABC. For more info, visit the ABC website:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/defyinggravity/