I'll add to your fine list that Rafe used to be a photographer before giving up in despair post-Arkfall. It's not always brought to the fore, but it's interesting shading: he's the character with the clearest memory of what the world used to be like, and despite his massive success in the new world, he's uncomfortable…

Huh, that's weird, hadn't heard about Falling Skies until now. Would you recommend it? Looks like the AV Club reviews are pretty mixed, but I don't necessarily take the AV Club as gospel. May the Lord strike me down.

The only webisodes detail how Nolan and Irisa wound up together, bookended by scenes from Nolan's search for Irisa between seasons one and two.

You're right, beyond the knowledge that there was a recent war, it's only in the supplemental materials rather than the show itself that you get an idea of how deeply anti-Votan sentiment runs in some humans (and vice versa). Daigo's crazy snake cult apparently believed the Devouring Mother would eliminate all humans…

It seems like they omitted anything, cover or original, that wasn't by Bear McCreary and Friends. Off the top of my head, I can think of that "Come as You Are" cover, a French jazz tune, and the Cure's "Lovesong." Must be a rights thing. Eh, I already have Disintegration.

Alright, I've spoken with the Elders, and they've authorized me to throw in Sarah, and as a bonus we'll take a Bush of the gentiles' choosing and dunk him in a mikveh on live TV.

It's past time for a new Racial Draft. In my capacity as representative of the Jewish people, I am prepared to offer Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as part of a Gene Simmons trade package.

Hey man, 4 in the morning is just about my favorite time of day. Live the dream.

Science fiction fan that I am, I too have spent a lot of time browsing Wikipedia's various speculative science info-dumps (although, man, some of them are a bit of a mess). Anyway, I hear you, but while the idea that bacteria may have been seeded throughout the cosmos by comets doesn't necessarily strain credulity,…

I, uh…have a friend who has them. They're out there. I mean, uh, so I hear. I also hear that if you grew up watching Star Wars on VHS until the tape started smoking, the only difference you'll notice between your happy memories and the Despecialized Editions is that your memories aren't in tasty, crisp HD.

Yeah, the problem with the love that dare not speak its name (whatever that happens to be in any given culture) is that it…rarely speaks its name. So to get a glimpse of non-normative sexuality in the Old West, you'd either need to stumble on the journal of someone who confesses to engaging in it or knowing about it,…

It's not that at all. They're Blu-Ray quality if you find the ISOs instead of the AVI version. The only time the editing is noticeable is when a scene in the Blu-Ray release was so heavily altered as to be unsalvageable, or was completely invented, and requires splicing in LaserDisc footage. Not much anyone can do…

coughcoughHarmy'sDespecializedEditionscoughcough

Did you catch the scene at the end of the first episode which seemed to echo Fallout so blatantly I have to assume it was an intentional homage? Slow pan over a restaurant in a converted rail car with sign written in vintage mid-century ad copy font, all while the Ink Spots played?

Yeah, I guess it's pretty sweet…let me finally get my melee Pursuit, anyway…

I came across these behind-the-scenes featurettes on the Defiance site, which are a pretty good little lore-dump if you can get past the innumerable typos and grammatical errors (yes, I have a lore problem - I pay extra attention to scenes in Game of Thrones in Valyrian so I can figure out how the language works, and…

They're saying, "Meow, people. Meow. Shit be good on this fine day."

On your recommendation, I gave the soundtrack a listen. You're right, that is some good shit (although weirdly incomplete). Who knew Bear McCreary's brother was such a gifted vocal chameleon? I'm digging "Terraform My Heart," which sounds very much like an Irathient Prince, which is a pretty neat concept.

You're right, if you look at the map it's the last stop for civilization before the Storm Divide (which apparently isn't completely unsettled, there are still a few major American cities plus what seem to be two Votan cities in former Nebraska and Texas).

I don't think actors generally put up their own money unless it's a pet project (an even then, if you're on Spacey level, you can probably find someone somewhere who will give you full financing to make a YouTube recipe for mashed potatoes). He probably had some creative input, developing his character or ideas for…