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?
I can’t talk too much about it, but I will say that that’s the major component of the show. Much more so than the purported hook ups. It’s going to be one of those things that makes audiences really interested.
You know, we’ve been traveling into space for over 40 years now. And it’s pretty much all what this is about – it’s a search for life, the mysteries of the universe. And this mission is no different.
The crew is going specifically to Venus to look for life?
Venus is a destination… it’s our first stop. We’re going to Venus, then, I believe, to Mercury. Then, we sling-shot around the sun, and stop at Mars, continue out to Europa (a Jupiter moon), then to Io, and then one other planet.
One thing that is different with this show is that your crew of 8 is stuck on this ship in space. So having other actors and guest stars come on is kind of difficult. Unless you are talking with someone on Earth, is that correct?
Correct, but that is what’s so interesting about that whole flash-back component. I’d say the story takes place equally between past and present. Much like Lost does, where you’re limited to who’s on the island. But then, you have the flash-backs to every character’s previous life, the events and experiences that shaped who they are. And when we see them engaging on the island, or when we see our characters engaging on the ship, we know how they’re programmed based on what we’ve seen them do in the past.
How many episodes have you made so far?
We shot all 13 episodes and finished up in June, up in Vancouver. Had a great time, a great cast. Actually, the crew that we used were all from Battlestar Galactica. So they were all sci-fi vets. Great team, great crew. And I think a lot of the crew, when we screened the pilot, were all very impressed.
So are you a science fiction fan yourself?
I feel like sci-fi is such a broad term. Where it used to be just Star Trek and Star Wars, now it’s anything with time travel, quantum physics, space-time continuums, or aliens. It’s just such a broad spectrum, I think I’d have to say “Yes.” Because I think that there’s movies and TV shows within each of those that I love. I love Lost. I thought the new Star Trek was great. I think I’m just a fan of TV and film in general. If you tell me a good story, I don’t care what genre it falls under.
So the show is a bit futuristic in that the year is 2052, do you get any cool gadgets? Is it a little bit more hi-tech than what we have now?
I don’t think it’s that far fetched. We definitely have some gadgets. We’ve taken nano-technology to the next phase. It’s almost a paperless world. We have personal communicators, much like our iPhones today. But smaller and able to much more than just make phone calls and personal daily planner and game player. Some of the plasma displays, holograms that we have. Some of the medical technology has changed a little bit.
To get back to your character again. I read that he’s a bit of a drinker. Does that pass along to your relationships with your crewmates?
Back on Earth, we all frequent the ISO‘s (International Space Organization) local watering hole, which is called Major Tom’s. So, I’m a staple there. I have my usual bar stool. And I’m sure everybody knows about that. But it hasn’t, so far, encumbered me in any way. I’m still definitely under control, and in space I don’t have any alcohol. So, that presents its own problems. Obviously.
What was the atmosphere like on the set?
It was awesome. Only a few of the actors were Vancouver residents at the time. The rest of us were from New York, L.A., Toronto, and Montreal. So were all living in this new city, getting to know each other. And it was very much like camp. We all became really fast friends, because you’re in this foreign territory. And you’re forced to get to know one another and integrate. The producers were great. The crew was tremendous, because they all knew each other really well from their Battlestar Galactica days. It was a really easy-going group of people. Everybody had a lot of fun. I think we were all excited every time a new script came out, to read it to see what was going to unravel – with the mystery, with the characters, with the romance. It was a perfect experience.
I also read that there are five countries represented on the ship. What are those?
Our pilot is a German, Nadia Shiling. My character is representing Israel, but I think I’m more American-Israeli rather than an Israeli-American. For an example, on my character audition tape it was with an Israeli accent. But then we scrapped it. We have Ajay Sharma representing India. We have a few members representing the United States and a few members representing Canada.
Thanks for your time! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Absolutely. I would just like to remind viewers that the show is more Lost than Grey’s Anatomy. You can’t blame the networks for trying to link it to a show that’s so popular. But that being said, we know how loyal sci-fi fans are. We know that they are very intelligent viewers. They pay attention. They track nuances, details in the storylines, continuity, and mythology. And I think for all those reasons the show is going to be really interesting for that fan group. And I hope they give the show a chance, because I think they’ll really enjoy it.
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Extended preview clip of Defying Gravity: