Television shows come and go; some capture hearts to live on after they end and some fade away without a second thought. SyFy’s Defiance was a television show that captured the hearts and minds of its viewers in multiple novel ways. Defiance was released in 2013 as the first show to have an accompanying MMO video game. A viewer could watch on their television and then fight the fictional enemies in-game. Because of MMO’s intrinsic social interactions, it allowed audience members to connect with other fans. Additionally, and even more importantly, Defiance cast and crew were active participants in live-tweeting the episodes on Twitter. This social activity allowed a new and rare glimpse into the thoughts of the show’s crew and actors. The Defiance fandom, affectionately labeled as “Vo-fans” by the writers (based on the word, Votan, the term for the group of alien races that arrived on Earth), grew on Twitter in ways never experienced before. There was a bond that formed between fans as well as between fans with the cast/crew. Every week, Vo-fans gathered to see what ‘challenge’ the cast would come up with leading to the episode. The hilarious interactions broke down walls and made the experience of watching a television show more exciting than ever. Artistic fans would share their fantastic art to their beloved actors with almost instant gratification. The thrill of it all is something we will always cherish.
In its third season, Defiance was the network’s number one viewed show with over a million viewers on a Friday night. Within the next 10 days, that number would double as fans watched through DVR, On-Demand, and 3rd-party digital sites such as SyFy.com, Hulu, and iTunes. Its recent cancellation stunned fans around the world. Because of the overall high quality programming, as well as the aforementioned bond that was formed, the cancellation hurt fans tremendously. Defiance’s story was not yet complete. The futuristic world was set after an alien invasion and was only beginning to be told. The characters were only beginning to transform. Politics, cultural clashes, war, survival, murder, love and betrayal…Defiance was full of life and intrigue, cheers, tears, and shocking twists and turns.
As devoted Vo-fans, we implore Netflix to consider saving Defiance. We chose Netflix because it would allow worldwide exposure which is important during live-tweeting sessions. For instance, fans in the UK wouldn’t have to wait three months to watch the episodes with US viewers. Netflix would also allow more mature content, which would help obtain more viewers. Netflix would be in a unique position to drive further interaction between the game and the television series as well as cross-promote their streaming services to fans worldwide. Overall, we believe Netflix would be great place for Defiance to grow as a television show.
The fans below are not ready to let go. Please consider this petition to #BringBackDefiance.
Link : https://www.change.org/p/netflix-save-the-defiance-tv-show?recruiter=409445927&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
