There are so many reasons I should like the new ABC space drama Defying Gravity: a show about a group of astronauts that go on a dangerous mission to Venus.  Now I'm a huge fan of anything space related.  I sat through Mission to Mars for Christ's sake.  I also have a real appreciation for two of the actresses on board for the show. Plus there are enough suspicious side stories to put a little thrill into the sci-fi status of the program. 

So why did I still feel a little guarded while watching this?

This guy:

See he worked for me as the loser in Office Space that was so incredibly self involved he just decided that he didn't have to work some shitty ass job just to make it through like the rest of us.  I was a little put off by his self entitlement, but it made for one awesome movie about sticking it to the man.  

But now I have this embedded dislike of the actor.  It's incredibly stupid, I'm aware, but the idiocy of the feeling doesn't make it any less real.

Plus it doesn't help that his character is EXTREMELY typical.  He's an astronaut, with emotional baggage, trying to redeem himself.  His character seems to have all the answers and a rocky relationship with his alcoholic father to boot.  He's practically the text book definition for the 'flawed protagonist' and that makes him incredibly boring to me.

Something else I'm not so happy about is that this is his love interest:

Why do the self centered loser guys always get the hot chick that would have a much brighter future with a dude who actually had a personality?

Laura Harris plays the blond beauty pictured above and she's probably one of the most overlooked actresses in Hollywood.  I first noticed her when she played a mischievous grim reaper with a slight addiction to blowing very famous men.  Playing Daisy on Dead Like Me put Harris through her paces for sure.  One minute she'd be completely flippant, and the next she'd look away and make you wonder just what kind of pain the poor thing had experienced before she kicked the bucket.

You'd think my appreciation of Laura would negate my hatred of Livingston, but not so much.  He's got a whole lot of screen time.

Luckily there are a few more reasons to overlook his annoying presence:

Christina Cox has been in countless one shot tv appearances as well as the feature film Better than Chocolate AND failed lesbian cop drama Nikki and Nora.  And before you accuse me of on only liking her because she's hot and I've watched her kiss girls let me go ahead and put your accusations to rest...

You're right.

Then there's her: 

She looks a little different on the show than she does in this picture, but Florentine Lahme plays a sexually upfront German chick.  It definitely helps with the visual experience.

Then there's this sexy number: 

Paula Garces plays one of the most likeable characters on the ship.  Sadly she needs a bit more screen time.

Now, I promise I'm not just being a man hating dyke here.  There are also a couple of male characters on the show that I really dig.

Like this dude:

Within the first episode he moons mission control and tries to hack the ships computer so he can watch porn.  Dylan Taylor plays a quirky theoretical physicist  and my kinda guy.

Then there's this guy:

Andrew Airlie plays the obvious bad guy and it's nice to have a clear cut picture of who you're supposed to hate.

Now, I've never been the kind of girl to give up after only one episode of something I really want to watch.  Seriously I did make it all the way through Dollhouse.  So I'm not gonna be ditching Defying Gravity anytime soon.  The plot is interesting, the acting is decent, and I'm a big fan of chicks in space suits.  Only time will tell if that Office Space jerk gets to me.

Of course it could always be cancelled.  Networks have been great about cancelling good shows in the last few years.

Anyway, give it a watch if you like outer space and hot girls.