Da Vinci's Demons

OK, so I watched the first episode of Da Vinci's Demons. Not bad, but hugely derivative. Basically, imagine BBC Wales does Assassin's Creed 2 (really, the CG Florence is totally AC2...), with fast-talking pretty boys and girls to pick up Merlin's audience, and gratuitous nudity and swears to try to catch the Game Of Thrones audience. That said, it's fucking better than Merlin, by a long way, so actually I didn't mind it. Whether the screaming anachronisms will put me off it later remains to be seen, especially as opposed to AC2 which so impressed me that I had to go and get some proper history books about the Pazzi Plot and the Medicis - whereas this show isn't making me want to learn more about Leonardo...

As for Defiance

I found that I did end up enjoying the pilot by the time it was over - but I forgot to catch episode 2, and feel strangely unbothered.

I think the reliance on having to be familiar with the other media bits is really the "why bother" dealbreaker for me... Still, I'm sure it won't be long after the season finished before there's a rerun.