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

Quinton O'Connor

Quinton O'Connor

Commodore
Commodore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Matter_%28TV_series%29

http://www.syfy.com/darkmatter

DarkMatter_hero_watchvideo.jpg


It's being created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, two of the Stargate television franchise's biggest creative forces, and several other persons responsible for those shows are also involved behind-the-scenes. David Hewlett, Wil Wheaton, and Torri Higginson all have roles as well.

Here's SyFy's synopsis:

In Dark Matter, the crew of a derelict spaceship is awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.
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Comparisons have been made to Stargate Universe, although it's worth noting that from what I've gathered this team won't be on the other end of the... well, universe, but rather, they'll be interacting with other humans who have charted the stars. At least, that's what I've ascertained from the trailers, interviews, recurring cast list, et al.

I'm critical of SyFy's decision to try to achieve ratings success with yet another Friday night timeslot, but Mark Stern and Bill McGoldrick are doing everything they can to make everyone think we're back in 2002 and the network is centered on delivering scripted science fiction content. I'm more enthusiastic about The Expanse, a novel-to-television space opera adaptation coming later this year, but I'll be watching Dark Matter, and I suggest y'all give it a shot as well.

It's... our only TV space opera right now. :lol:
 
Syfy also has Killjoys coming up a week after Dark Matter premieres (edit: oops, just beaten to it). That one's from Lost Girl creator Michelle Lovretta and the production company that does Orphan Black, and it includes the ubiquitous Aaron Ashmore in the cast, though it has a female lead. It's about space bounty hunters, though I doubt it'll have much in common with Cowboy Bebop.

Of the two, though, I'm a bit more optimistic about Dark Matter, given its pedigree. I haven't been too intrigued by what I've seen of either show so far, though. Time will tell.

Is that Zoie Palmer on the right in that photo? Hard to tell with her hair tied back like that. I know she's in the show, but I couldn't seem to recognize her in the previews.
 
Christopher said:
Is that Zoie Palmer on the right in that photo? Hard to tell with her hair tied back like that. I know she's in the show, but I couldn't seem to recognize her in the previews.
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That's exactly who I thought it was when I saw the photo and I didn't know that she was in the show, so my guess is yeah.
 
I'd actually never heard of Killjoys until now! I'm not sure how that happened. Looking into it now... its previews aren't impressing me, but I'll give it a shot for sure.
 
Christopher said:
Syfy also has Killjoys coming up a week after Dark Matter premieres (edit: oops, just beaten to it). That one's from Lost Girl creator Michelle Lovretta and the production company that does Orphan Black, and it includes the ubiquitous Aaron Ashmore in the cast, though it has a female lead. It's about space bounty hunters, though I doubt it'll have much in common with Cowboy Bebop.

Of the two, though, I'm a bit more optimistic about Dark Matter, given its pedigree. I haven't been too intrigued by what I've seen of either show so far, though. Time will tell.

Is that Zoie Palmer on the right in that photo? Hard to tell with her hair tied back like that. I know she's in the show, but I couldn't seem to recognize her in the previews.
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dansigal said:
Christopher said:
Is that Zoie Palmer on the right in that photo? Hard to tell with her hair tied back like that. I know she's in the show, but I couldn't seem to recognize her in the previews.
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That's exactly who I thought it was when I saw the photo and I didn't know that she was in the show, so my guess is yeah.
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Yeah, Zoie Palmer is on this, playing an android.
I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm a big fan of the Stargate shows, and I like the cast so I'm pretty optimistic. At least this appears to actually be a real space show, unlike certain other shows on Syfy recently.

Hulu has a featurette up that has interviews with the cast, including Zoie Palmer, and creators.
 
Heh, speaking of Stargate, I've been rewatching it recently and it's come to my attention that we may never see another space show with the same brand of humor. O'Neill and Teal'c, man, what constant zingers with those two. Sheppard and McKay on Atlantis, too.
 
Just a bit more than a week until the SyFy premiere, so I figured I would bump this thread to help raise awareness a touch more. I have to believe the relative success of a new space opera series can only spell good things for the genre as a whole.
 
This show really has a sort of Stargate Universe vibe to it. The sets look near identical to the sets for Destiny, and I can't help but thinking the show is borne out of stories planned for SGU's third season. SGU ended with the characters going into stasis, while this show is about people waking up from stasis with no memories of who they are.
 
I'll definitely be trying it out. Its always good to see new Sci Fi, especially space stuff, on TV.
 
Jeff O'Connor said:
Heh, speaking of Stargate, I've been rewatching it recently and it's come to my attention that we may never see another space show with the same brand of humor. O'Neill and Teal'c, man, what constant zingers with those two. Sheppard and McKay on Atlantis, too.
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I miss the Stargate series. It's a shame that SGU never really got a proper ending, but in its brief run, it offered a decidedly different view of Stargate Command and its offshoot programs.

This Dark Matter looks intriguing and I've set the DVR up for it.
 
First impressions, at the first commercial break. The dialog and the acting seem really awkward.

They immediately made the Asian guy a sword fighting expert.
 
First episode isn't even over and I think the show might have already lost me.

For science fiction it's visually unimaginative. Characters just kind of obey the formula without any emotional presence. I care so little about what happens to these people at this point. I don't care why they lost their memories, I don't care what's behind the door, I don't care what's in the box, and I certainly don't care why 1 has the same pendant as that woman.

In the first ten seconds they throw in a random fight scene just because whatever we have to establish our blatant Mary S2. Nobody questions using numbers as names and it seems like they're going to refer to each other that way forever. There's no comic relief and they're trying to force sexual tension awkwardly without earning it. The android expresses more emotions trying to act emotionless than the rest of the cast express while trying to.

And the twist at the end was predictable within the first five minutes. Granted it is the first thing that made the show even mildly intriguing, but the way the first episode was written I'm 90% sure no character on the show will actually express murderous tendencies in the present time frame and they're just going to act like heroes from now on.

Based on just the first episode, this show is the definition of 'Middle of the road boring'.
 
JirinPanthosa said:
First impressions, at the first commercial break. The dialog and the acting seem really awkward.
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Awkward seems the appropriate way to act in that situation.


I thought it was reasonably entertaining -- and then that final twist came along, and wow. That was a hell of a surprise. I have to commend the promotional people -- they really made it look like these characters were going to remain just numbers for some time to come. So actually finding the answer at the end of the pilot -- and having it be such a shocking answer -- was pretty impressive. It's definitely got my interest now. And we still have some mysteries left, like who Five is and how they lost their memories.


They immediately made the Asian guy a sword fighting expert.
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Yeah, that bugged me too.

On the other hand, Alex Mallari is not the only cast member of Asian ethnicity. Melissa O'Neil is of partly Chinese heritage. And Marc Bendavid is part-Moroccan, so it's actually a more diverse cast than it seems at first glance. And at least this time Roger Cross isn't typecast as the big angry tough guy -- Anthony Lemke gets that part.


For science fiction it's visually unimaginative.
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I'll agree with that part. The FTL entry/exit effect is sort of clever, but the depiction of FTL space itself is pretty cliched. I'd love to see something more like Interstellar's wormhole, based on topological distortions of space itself rather than just swooshy blue light. And the ship interior isn't too impressive. Neither are the ship designs I've seen in preview articles.
 
I enjoyed it, more than I thought I would, given the pre release details and general apathy towards Syfy. I didn't see the twist coming as I was leaning towards them being genetic constructs of some sort, but it certainly adds to their plight, giving them plenty to deal with as they grapple moving forward.

The set design was too close to Stargate Universe, but I'm relieved they didn't go for the dark and dreary lighting that plagued SGU. Very nice on first look, if a little bland.

It held my interest, and has me hopeful that it can take it's premise and develope a promising space opera beyond this first outing.

Christopher said

I'll agree with that part. The FTL entry/exit effect is sort of clever, but the depiction of FTL space itself is pretty cliched. I'd love to see something more like Interstellar's wormhole, based on topological distortions of space itself rather than just swooshy blue light
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It must be hard to come up with different visual interpretations for entering, flying through, and exiting hyperspace. 24th century Trek offered the sleekest warp entry and speed effects of all space based shows, and the Stargate comes in second. FTL flight mode effects were not very impressive, though its entry/exit were okay. I hope they can refine the look, I'd hate to look at that each episode.
 
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Given that Five is the odd one out, still a mystery, and evidently quite brilliant, I wonder if she's behind the memory wipe in some way. Maybe the dreams she's having are the others' memories.

I like Zoie Palmer as the android, even if she's a bit too Data-ish to start. I loved the bit of wry wit when she mentioned countermeasures for the missiles and asked, "Do you want me to show you?"
 
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