SciFiChick.com was able to talk at length during an exclusive interview with Eyal Podell about his role on the new show Defying Gravity. The two-hour premier airs on ABC this Sunday night, August 2nd at 9/8c.
What can you tell us about your character Dr. Evram Mintz?
I’m the onboard medical officer and psychiatrist. So if anyone has any medical needs that might arise as we rocket through the solar system, I get to take care of them. And more importantly the psychiatrist that will come into play a lot more when you consider the fact that four men and four women are stuck in a tin can hurtling through space. And any of the discoveries that we may make or encounter, may shake our world view or what we think of our presence in the universe. That, or just loneliness or isolation and potential insanity, all of that. I’m the guy that’s going to be making sure everyone’s of sound mind and body.
On ABC.com, the synopsis mentions that there will be hook-ups on the show. Does your character have a love interest?
My love interest is in mission control.
And I want to mention that the synopsis from ABC is a little misleading. And I only want to mention this because I know that you have sci-fi readers that may be turned-off by this whole “Grey’s Anatomy in Space” and the clips of zero-g sex. Sure there will be romance, sex scenes, zero-g or earth based, but that’s only one component of the show.
The show isn’t going to be about having sex in space every week. Of course, when it comes to sex, a lot of people get their sex education on tv and we are always mindful of this when filming sex scenes to make them as realistic as possible. That doesn’t mean we show everything explicitly. There is probably much more to sex than what we can show. For instance, sex toys such as a fifi bag and other kinds are not part of the show. Also, the plot involves two timelines that affect the sex element of the show. But let me be a little clearer — the present day being the year 2052, when we’ve launched and our mission is underway. Eight of us are on a space ship and four others are back at mission control. And the other the other half takes place in the year 2047, and that starts with all of us meeting up and the astronaut training and selection program begins. So if there are any hook-ups and relationship drama, it generally takes place in the flash-backs.
The nice thing about how the show is structured is that the complexities and the back stories obviously make for more tension on the ship, since we’ve had past experiences with each other. But once we’re up there, we’re under a very strict mission and we’re going to be as professional as we can. And we don’t want to jeopardize the mission in any way.
I’d say the show is a lot more Lost than it is Grey’s Anatomy. Not nearly as much on-call room sex as you’d imagine. But there is always the possibility of it, and the lingering tension. What would X-Files have been without the tension between Mulder and Scully. Know what I mean?
Speaking of the clips, there seems to be a big mystery behind the mission. Can speak to any of that?