Dark Matter

[Warren_Paul]

Watched the first episode of this tonight and was pleasantly surprised for a Syfy channel production. Hopefully it will get even better. I've been itching for a show that might one day match the BSG remake.

It's made by the people behind Stargate Universe and steals a lot from that show. I guess they weren't ready to give up on their project yet and reimagined it as Dark Matter. The quality of the production is pretty decent for a Syfy channel show and I'm satisfied with the acting of all but perhaps the android, who has her moments, but the majority of the time she grated on my nerves a little. I can live with it.

The design of the sets was well done, and I was happy with the CG work showing the spaceship in motion. While some concepts of the plot for the first episode were a little cliché and predictable, they served their purpose and opened it up for what might be a very good show.

I'm definitely looking forward to next week.

 

[REBerg]

This premiere was a wow inside a holy cow!

Rarely have I been this enthused about a new show. It has been a verrrry long time since Syfy has offered anything with this kind of potential to stay on my watch list. Space opera, ho!

Spoiler

I like how crew members (?) are given numbers corresponding to the order in which they came out of stasis. They don't put a number on the hostile, kick-ass android after she is activated. Had they done so, she would logically have been designated “Seven.”

To physically resist Seven is futile, the boys on board painfully learn, until a security protocol (AKA Seven, herself) is overridden and she is hastily reprogrammed to behave. Reactivated, she is directed to establish a neural link with the collective, er, I mean the ship, which immediately proves extremely useful.

I'm already thinking this series will eventually have a place with its siblings on my video shelves. Don't make me wrong about that, Syfy.

 

[Warren_Paul]

Spoiler

Oh yes, I liked the low key homage to Star Trek there. As soon as she woke up I was like, "oh hey, android." Then, "Doesn't she look a little like Jeri Ryan?"

 

[BAYLOR]

I was impressed with the first episode.

 

[The Bluestocking]

I liked it! It reminds me a little of FIREFLY

I did like that there looks to be a female captain/leader and the twist at the end of the first episode means I'll be coming back for more!

 

[REBerg]

I liked it! It reminds me a little of FIREFLY

I did like that there looks to be a female captain/leader and the twist at the end of the first episode means I'll be coming back for more!

All right! I'm not alone.

I also see elements of Firefly (which can never be a bad thing) in this series, especially in the motley crew.

Spoiler

“Two” demonstrated her Captain Janeway core when she kicked “One” into next week simply because he was in her way when she wanted get to the control console. Nice!

 

[Warren_Paul]

I thought the second episode was a bit weaker than the first.


It's still entertaining enough to keep watching, but I hope the writing gets better than what was demonstrated in this episode.

Spoiler

I found the way the conflict was resolved by introducing the third party a bit deus ex machina. They should have just gone with the destroying the enemy ship plan, would have been better writing. As it is they scrapped that idea after mentioning it, which is just more weak storytelling. The stunt acting during the fighting scene on the planet was pretty bad as well, tbh.

 

[REBerg]

I thought the second episode was a bit weaker than the first.


It's still entertaining enough to keep watching, but I hope the writing gets better than what was demonstrated in this episode.

Spoiler

I found the way the conflict was resolved by introducing the third party a bit deus ex machina. They should have just gone with the destroying the enemy ship plan, would have been better writing. As it is they scrapped that idea after mentioning it, which is just more weak storytelling. The stunt acting during the fighting scene on the planet was pretty bad as well, tbh.

Episode 1.02

Spoiler

I think you're right on all points. The second episode didn't deliver on the action promised by the pilot.
Taking out the corporation's destroyer would have been far more interesting than a rival combine, red tape solution to the miners' dilemma. If Syfy has budget concerns, it should opt for quality over quantity in the fight scenes.

Weak storyline issues aside, the writing still delivered some good stuff. I like the characters rejecting what they have learned of their criminal pasts in favor of starting over with clean slates.
Two refuses the name Portia. She declares that she will not have a computer file tell her who she is.

Three is becoming my favorite character. He reminds me, more than a little, of Firefly resident bad boy, Jayne.
He wants Six to rank the crew members from "super bad-ass" down to "cause for concern." Of course he puts himself at the top of the rankings.
The man labels sword-wielding Four "Slashy Stabberson." He names his weapons, in descending order of size, Bubba, Lulu and Pip, but he won't name the knife he keeps in his boot.
"What do I think I am, psycho?" he tells One.

I think the writers need to strike a better balance between human and robot with the android. She expresses motherly concerns for other characters, coupling these pseudo-emotions with lines like: "My stealth routines are very efficient," after startling Five.

Nothing in the second episode, however, would cause me to stop watching. The show still beats most of what's out there right now.

 

[Tulius Hostilius]

I am looking for a new show to see… and I think I will give this one a try even if I am not impressed with the synopsis…

But if anyone wants to make better suggestions I would gladly appreciate!

 

[The Bluestocking]

I am looking for a new show to see… and I think I will give this one a try even if I am not impressed with the synopsis…

But if anyone wants to make better suggestions I would gladly appreciate!

This show is promising if you liked FIREFLY or space opera in general.

If that's not your jam, then you can try any of these other new/recent shows (some are ongoing, others have just wrapped up):

1. Wayward Pines (Fox) - This show is Twin Peaks meets The X-Files meets The Prisoner.
2. Marvel's Daredevil (Netflix) - Hands down the best comic book based series of the year.
3. Outlander (Starz) - If you're a fan of feminist historical fiction meets time travel shenanigans

 

[Cli-Fi]

First episode can be summed up as Guardians of the Galaxy question mark? Though it did portray my favorite form of brainwashing extremely well. Especially at the end of the first episode... Will continue watching, as it's been a long time since there was a good space opera on TV.

 

[clovis-man]

Worth continuing to watch. Gotta see what's behind that locked door. And need to know more about the one character who isn't a crew member but knows waaay too much. The characters could be less two-dimensional, but I'll go with it for now.

 

[Tulius Hostilius]

Thanks The Bluestocking,

Firefly was OK/Good, it had some good humour, and yes, I am a space Opera Fan.

And thanks for pointing the others show. I will take them a look although for your description the 3rd one is not targeted to me. And Super Heroes are not my first choice even if sometimes they are a form of Science Fiction and Marvel's Daredevil sounds to me like something from the some Super Heroes universe, paradoxically I enjoyed Gotham.

As for Dark Matter I have seen now the first 2 episodes. Can’t say that is excellent. Doesn’t reach Firefly. It is full of clichés. Plain story. I didn’t linked with any character. The ships aren’t epic. At least doesn’t have cheap humanoid almost human aliens. But it seems to be watchable for now. As Cli-Fi said "it's been a long time since there was a good space opera on TV". But I will also say that if the show doesn’t improve I will drop it.

 

[The Bluestocking]

And Super Heroes are not my first choice even if sometimes they are a form of Science Fiction and Marvel's Daredevil sounds to me like something from the some Super Heroes universe, paradoxically I enjoyed Gotham.

You'll be pleasantly surprised by DAREDEVIL. It's very different from other MCU stuff. Think of THE WIRE but with a superhero element in it. It's gritty and realistic and the fight scenes (especially the one at the end of episode 2) are EPIC.

If you like Space Opera, you might want to check out Killjoys.

Back on topic: will be watching episode 2 of DARK MATTER soon. Hope it'll keep the momentum going...

 

[Warren_Paul]

Well watched the 3rd episode. I'd hoped, based on how the second episode ended, that it would be at the space station and show a little more of the world. I was left disappointed. They played up the "who did this to them" with a way overwritten minor conflict stretched over the entire episode. I didn't think much of it.


The show demonstrated great promise in the first episode. Where has all that gone? Can we get it back? Is it bad that I'm enjoying Defiance more than Dark Matter now?

 

[REBerg]

1.03

Well watched the 3rd episode. I'd hoped, based on how the second episode ended, that it would be at the space station and show a little more of the world. I was left disappointed. They played up the "who did this to them" with a way overwritten minor conflict stretched over the entire episode. I didn't think much of it.


The show demonstrated great promise in the first episode. Where has all that gone? Can we get it back? Is it bad that I'm enjoying Defiance more than Dark Matter now?

I was disappointed in this episode, too. I kept waiting for things to get interesting, right up to the anticlimax.

The dialog seemed wooden, as if the rest of the cast members have been taking acting lessons from the android. The witty banter I liked in the first two episodes was missing. Even Three had nothing funny to say.

Spoiler

If he's so intent on finding out what's behind Door Number 1, maybe they should bring in Wayne Brady.

I think I would have had mixed feelings if the android had been reduced to atoms in a piggy-back FTL ride.

I half-expected the dead boy to spring back to life, but I guess that might have been too exciting for the episode.

Merited or not, I still have hope for the series.

 

[REBerg]

Hey! What if...

Spoiler

...the Raza crew members are really clones? The “real” Jace Corso is looking for “One,” the last scene of episode 3 reveals. Maybe he's not the only one out there looking for his or her doppelganger.

 

[Lenny]

Hey! What if...

Spoiler

...the Raza crew members are really clones? The “real” Jace Corso is looking for “One,” the last scene of episode 3 reveals. Maybe he's not the only one out there looking for his or her doppelganger.

Totally agree!

Spoiler

Behind the Big Door is probably a cloning station. When one of the crew dies, they pop out a new clone, load all of the memories into it, bish, bash, bosh, seemingly unkillable, totally fearless, always-gets-the-job-done band of mercenaries.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Five is sister to the dead kid she found, and that both stowed away with plans of revenge after the most recent batch of mercenaries killed their parents, burnt the town to the ground, and generally made a mess of the planet. But, twist, Five's plan went awry, her kid brother got shot, and Five somehow, in no particular order, got the mercenaries off the ship, stole the ship, got behind the Big Door, and self-implanted the mercenaries' memories. Alternatively, Five and kid-brother came out of hiding when the ship was empty, Five self-implanted the memories in an effort to learn everything the mercenaries know she that she could defeat them, and, in a moment of instinct, shot kid-brother. Then she stole the ship, wiped her own memories out of guilt (sloppily), and went into stasis with the hope that she'd never wake up.

Also, my money is on the android being programmed by Five to attack the mercenaries in case her plan failed - as happened in the first episode.

---

I'm fairly enjoying Dark Matter. The scope of the Universe has been teased and could be fun, there are enough hat-tips to other series for you to know that the writers know their domain (if wasn't already evident with them having done SG:U) and could potentially go off in exciting directions, and although things are a bit flat so far, we're only three episodes in - plenty of time for things to get interesting (particularly as we're getting the standard stories, like ship breaking down in the middle of nowhere, out of the way).

 

[REBerg]

Totally agree!

Spoiler

Behind the Big Door is probably a cloning station. When one of the crew dies, they pop out a new clone, load all of the memories into it, bish, bash, bosh, seemingly unkillable, totally fearless, always-gets-the-job-done band of mercenaries.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Five is sister to the dead kid she found, and that both stowed away with plans of revenge after the most recent batch of mercenaries killed their parents, burnt the town to the ground, and generally made a mess of the planet. But, twist, Five's plan went awry, her kid brother got shot, and Five somehow, in no particular order, got the mercenaries off the ship, stole the ship, got behind the Big Door, and self-implanted the mercenaries' memories. Alternatively, Five and kid-brother came out of hiding when the ship was empty, Five self-implanted the memories in an effort to learn everything the mercenaries know she that she could defeat them, and, in a moment of instinct, shot kid-brother. Then she stole the ship, wiped her own memories out of guilt (sloppily), and went into stasis with the hope that she'd never wake up.

Also, my money is on the android being programmed by Five to attack the mercenaries in case her plan failed - as happened in the first episode.

Yeah!

Spoiler

Cloning station behind the big door. Of course. What else could it be? The door can't be an obstacle for Clone Queen Five, who apparently can go anywhere in the ship through the vents.

Also a perfect explanation for the android coming out of stasis in full attack mode against these she should have recognized as crew members. Diabolically clever, Five, but not quite clever enough. Lenny is on to you.

Looks like the series has at least 10 more episodes to get its footing and build some momentum. Hope that's enough.

 

[Warren_Paul]

Does make a lot of sense, I'll give you that.