• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Dark Matter, SyFy's new space show, premieres June 12th

This episode, written by Stargate veteran Martin Gero, was the best one yet. Lots of fun character interplay and humor. And I liked the attempt to base the hazard on real science -- gamma radiation from a supernova rather than some kind of made-up technobabble, plus the danger of electrostatic buildup from the radiation. Although an electric arc would be invisible (and unlikely) in vacuum. And the show continued the paradoxical tendency of SFTV shows to depict people in weightlessness on the upper surface of a ship even though there's a gravity source directly below them. Matter is not opaque to gravity!!! (Plus, why not just rotate the ship so the top was facing away from the supernova? Then the Android would've been shielded from the radiation.)
 
Decent mix of stories tonight. The lie detector was a nice try, and the body raises just more questions. For all we know, he could have been an assassin, sent to kill 5 or someone else. Good surprise ending this time.

Also, no way would I be crawling around the air ducts of a creepy ship like that. Talk about just asking for trouble. Hasn't 5 seen any scary movies? That said, it seems like the air ducts would be an easy way to access whatever is behind that really big door. It's entirely possible 3 hasn't thought of that yet, and 5 will get in there first.
 
^You'd think a room with that much security would have some sort of defenses on its air ducts. Any starship designer who's ever seen a movie would realize that air ducts can be used to sneak into places.
 
I really enjoyed this latest episode. I think Dark Matter is quickly becoming my favorite new show of the summer. I like the cast dynamic, and the various ongoing mysteries coupled with the mission/incident of the week are enough to keep me interested and wanting more. There's not an original thematic element in this show, yet they still managed to rearrange those familiar things enough to keep it fresh and fun.
 
Speaking of starship design, do we really want trench's like that on a starship exterior? Yeah, they have energy shields, but still, when the shields aren't activated, you could get your random stray micro meteor lodged up in those pretty good. And, why can there not be service hatches (in those trenches) near these vital components that can only be accessed from the outside???!

Best of the 3 episodes so far. Though I will nitpick over them not searching the ship in the week since their awakening. I'm guessing the crew must have pirated episodes of Stargate Atlantis & Universe! We're on a ship-under no circumstances should we explore it!!! :D Though, I guess Three's burning desire to get the mystery door open counts as exploring, but nobody else wants to familiarize themselves with their environment beyond the mess hall and crew quarters?
And only 3 functional spacesuits? That seems odd...perhaps a clue? maybe only 3 people actually belong here, or a lame concession to budget realities? You make the call....
 
^ Or there were other people onboard who stole the extra spacesuits.

The open electronics trench on top makes zero sense except as a means of creating drama by requiring an EVA to do basic maintenance and repairs. There was no reason why that couldn't have been a fully enclosed section. If there's something that needs to be vented into space, then have retractable ceiling panels.
 
cylkoth said:
Speaking of starship design, do we really want trench's like that on a starship exterior? Yeah, they have energy shields, but still, when the shields aren't activated, you could get your random stray micro meteor lodged up in those pretty good.
Click to expand...

First off, micrometeoroids would almost certainly be traveling at very high speeds and would vaporize on impact, either leaving a crater in the hull or punching clear through. Nothing would be likely to get "lodged in." Second, the open surface of the ship would clearly be more likely to be hit by a given micrometeoroid than a walled trench, which is only exposed to a narrow strip of the sky. There simply aren't as many directions an impactor could come from.


And, why can there not be service hatches (in those trenches) near these vital components that can only be accessed from the outside???!
Click to expand...

I'm trying to think of a rationale, but nothing's coming to mind. Given that the component slid out of the wall to begin with, I really don't see why there couldn't have been a service corridor behind them, or under them.


And only 3 functional spacesuits? That seems odd...perhaps a clue? maybe only 3 people actually belong here, or a lame concession to budget realities? You make the call....
Click to expand...

There were more suits, but most of them were damaged, no doubt in whatever cataclysm caused the overall ship damage we saw at the start of the series. They had to cannibalize parts from different suits to assemble the three intact ones.
 
Christopher said:
cylkoth said:
Speaking of starship design, do we really want trench's like that on a starship exterior? Yeah, they have energy shields, but still, when the shields aren't activated, you could get your random stray micro meteor lodged up in those pretty good.
Click to expand...

First off, micrometeoroids would almost certainly be traveling at very high speeds and would vaporize on impact, either leaving a crater in the hull or punching clear through. Nothing would be likely to get "lodged in." Second, the open surface of the ship would clearly be more likely to be hit by a given micrometeoroid than a walled trench, which is only exposed to a narrow strip of the sky. There simply aren't as many directions an impactor could come from.
Click to expand...
Wow, my brain distinctly said-to-self, space debris, how did my fingers type micro meteors? :wtf: Of course, if you're hit by a high velocity micrometeor, it wouldn't matter how the ship was designed.


There were more suits, but most of them were damaged, no doubt in whatever cataclysm caused the overall ship damage we saw at the start of the series. They had to cannibalize parts from different suits to assemble the three intact ones.
Click to expand...
Which was the same conceit used on SGU, to limit them to having only 3 suits...They really did watch those old shows. :lol:
 
I was referring to the characters... ;)
I'm guessing the crew must have pirated episodes of Stargate Atlantis & Universe! We're on a ship-under no circumstances should we explore it!!!
Click to expand...
 
I agree with everyone else saying this was the best episode yet. We got some fun stuff with the characters, and some interesting new questions added. I just hope we get some more answers before they start adding to many more mysteries. I am glad that they are actually telling each other about the stuff that they've learned and found, instead of constantly hiding stuff from each other.
The enclosed trench on the outside of the ship was definitely weird.
I'm starting to kind of wonder if the android was some how responsible for the memory loss. She's the one person on the ship that haven't suspected yet, so that alone makes me wonder if it's her.
 
I haven't watched the episode yet. Just wanted to quickly say though, that the space station orbiting overhead right now doesn't have enough spacesuits for everyone to go EVA either. Everyone DOES have a pressurized suit for safety during takeoffs and landings, but that's not to say that they can perform a spacewalk with it. ;)

Mark
 
Last edited:
^Makes sense. Why would there ever be a reason for the entire crew to leave the ship, except to abandon it? If someone were out spacewalking, you'd sure as hell want someone inside to monitor them.
 
The first two episodes were Andromeda-type shlock, but this latest episode was legitimately good.
 
Thought the story itself was dead dull but the character development, interplay and added mysteries was good. I love the stargatey feel to it, it feels very familiar LOL. Android is still my favorite, she's quite perfectly odd. I like how she announced "initiating gravity boots" like she would announce to the crew before she did something on the bridge.

So far it is full of potential. Also space bars, always good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top