I'm the Bucketeer!

Have I mentioned what a huge fan of Defying Gravity I am?

If you've missed my frequent lamenting and bemoaning the demise of this great SFR TV series, lucky you (yes, I said SFR--it definitely had a compelling, if unusual, romance involved). Suffice it to say it was another network fumble of the first order (curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal, ABC!) much like another SF series that millions still mourn--Firefly.

But Defying Gravity still has a loyal and dedicated fan base who intermittently comb the internet for anything DG-related. Yup, I'm one of those. And no longer just a mere fan now, mind you. I'm the Bucketeer.

What the heck is a Bucketeer? Oh, I'm so glad you asked. :)

The main characters of this series are two astronauts--Zoe Barnes (Laura Harris) and Maddux Donner (Ron Livingston). They meet during training. He's already an astronaut, one of the survivors of an earlier mission to Mars who had to make a tragic decision to leave two comrades behind (of course, there's more to that story). And she's a geologist, a young hopeful among hundreds with her whole future riding on being one of those selected for the Antares expedition, "a grand tour of the solar system." There's instant attraction between them. And when Zoe vehemently, and a little too loudly, denies her attraction to Donner to a peer during the first day of training, she's selected to be the first "volunteer" on the centrifuge.

The result isn't pretty.

And Zoe's reward for her humiliating reaction to the headspinning, multiple G experience? A little bucket on a chain. Given to her by Donner. Who explains that it's a status symbol to be worn by the first lucky trainee to upchuck in the line of duty. But, alas, after all her training, Zoe doesn't make the cut for the mission.

Fast forward five years. The newly selected crew of the Antares--including Zoe, who was selected for the crew after all (more to that story, too)--are celebrating at their favorite watering hole in Houston, Major Tom's. Donner--who was not selected--comes to congratulate the crew. From across the room, Zoe waves and holds up the Bucket, which she still wears on the chain around her neck.

For Zoe, the Bucket has evolved into a symbol of overcoming improbable odds, facing personal demons and a talisman of the close friendship that formed between herself and Donner during training (yup, there's a WHOLE LOT more to that story).

Zoe is the Keeper of the Bucket.

Fast forward one year. The show has now been cancelled, the actors released, and the set dismantled. There will be no season two, no follow up movie, no continuing saga of this amazing series. *sob*

And the Bucket has now been passed on to a new keeper. Yours truly!

YES! I won the actual Bucket in a (frantic) auction on eBay in mid-November, after losing out on Zoe's flight suit, Donner's flight suit, and various props and set peices that I would have loved to have snagged for my personal collection.

But it's okay, because I am now the new Keeper of the Bucket and all that it stands for. I am the Bucketeer. And owning this little piece of SFR and television history has made me one very happy space cadet.

Laurie Green, Bucketeer. Has kind of a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Well, if you've read this far, I have a surprise for you. Enter a comment below and you'll be entered in a random drawing for a DVD set of the complete first (and only) season of Defying Gravity. Why? Well, because I'm looking to convert more lamentees to the Defying Gravity bandwag--er...booster rocket...and gifting this excellent series to interested parties is a great way to do that. But also because it's the holidays and this is a Spacefreighters Lounge thank you to our readers. (I'm sorry to say I can't ship internationally, but I will substitute a $20 Amazon gift certificate if the random winner lives overseas.)

Happy Holidays. And may the Bucket be with you!

~*~