Last August 24th, SciFi Vision was extremely lucky to get an exclusive visit to the Defiance set. This was my second time visiting after the Syfy Digital Press Tour last summer, however it was the first time for my writer Karen Moul, who accompanied me.

Even the second time, I was still in awe of the beauty and size of the backlot. It's easy to let reality fall away and feel like you are really in the town of Defiance.

The main differences around the lot were the E-Republic building and propaganda banners plastered around the town, in both English and the Votan languages. This time on the set the cast and crew were filming. We walked around a bit through the lot, stopping for a few minutes to watch the action; however, as most of the filming took place inside the Lawkeeper's office, which is very tight, we mostly just saw cameras and crew.

We not only saw the backlot, but also some of the inside studio sets. Some were not in use at the time and had furniture covered in plastic, such as with the McCawley house and the mayor's office. We also saw where the Tarr family takes their baths, which was basically a covered hole in the floor.

We made our way to the Need/Want, which was just as magnificent as I remembered, though this time the lights on the massive tree used for filming were not turned on at first, which makes quite a big difference in the mood.

While waiting for actors in between scenes to do interviews, I walked around the room and took a bunch of photos.

First we were joined by Grant Bowler, who stars as Joshua Nolan on the series, who gave a great interview. Afterwards I took a few photos for the articles both inside and outside.

Next we talked to Dewshane Williams, who plays Tommy, back in the Need/Want and got another fantastic interview (with video) and photos. When we went outside I also saw Stephanie Leonidas, who plays Irisa, who is also Nolan's adoptive daughter, and although there was no time with the filming schedule to get an interview, I did get some photos of her and of the two of them.

Finally it was time to leave Defiance and await the second season.

Be sure to check out the gallery of photos from this recent visit.

To read more about the set, I previously wrote an extensive review of the details on the set during the Syfy Digital Press Tour last year. You can also look at photos from that visit. There is also an article about the Defiance Q&A from the press tour.