'Defiance' finally arrives tonight

Courtesy Syfy
It’s finally here! Tax Day? No, the premiere of Defiance! After more than a year of build up, tonight at 9 p.m. ET, Syfy unveils its cross-platform post-apocalyptic world of aliens with a two-hour event.

Set 33 years in the future, in an Earth town called Defiance (once known as St. Louis), the show looks like it has a rootin’ tootin’ Wild West feel to it. It stars Grant Bowler as Joshua Nolan, a former soldier and lawman of the town, and Julie Benz Defiance mayor Amanda Rosewater. The seven species of aliens, collectively known as Votans, are seeking refuge here since their solar system was destroyed. Let the fun and action begin!

Attempts to fuse the TV series and the video game (which launched April 2, and shares the same world but not same characters, and are not dependent on one another) have been five years in the making, but will it work? Reviews of the game are mixed but how will critics receive the series?

According to The New York Times, "...the show’s fictional world, in which humans struggle to coexist with seven alien races, is satisfyingly coherent and the stories are relatively crisp and well shaped. What Defiance lacks, though, is any shred of originality, or any of the conceptual audacity that could keep you involved in Battlestar Galactica or Stargate Universe despite their ticky-tackiness." Meanwhile, says the Boston Herald, "Some of the CGI and prosthetics work here is fascinating. Other bits — such as a creature that looks like Chewbacca crossed with Ronald McDonald — are distracting."

But really, it is less about what media outlets think of the show, and what die-hard sci-fi fans think -- and if they'll tune in.

For the network's part, Syfy clearly has a lot of confidence in the show since the second season is already in production, according to hints dropped by Executive Producer, Kevin Murphy, which is awfully brazen considering the show hasn’t even aired yet!

Will you be heading to Defiance tonight? We want to hear your reactions. And if you do find yourself digging this new version of Earth, and want to learn more about it, you should tweet to @DefianceWorld between 7-8 p.m. ET to have your questions about the show answered in the alien language Irathient.

UPDATE: The Twitter Q&A has been canceled due to the tragic events in Boston.

-Larissa Mrykalo