Sep 7, 2023·edited Sep 7, 2023Liked by Mikhail Skoptsov
I was a huge fan of Dark Matter; I really enjoyed that era of SyFy programming (Continuum, Killjoys), but Dark Matter was easily the best by far. Devastating cancellation on the heels of an amazing (final) season. Thanks for sharing - I couldn't agree more with all of your points (though 13 episode seasons, instead of 22, certainly helped it bridge the gap between modern serialization and classic episodic meandering).
Ach, now this post unlocked some memories for me. I remember watching this show as it aired, intrigued in part because IIRC while it was airing it was the only sci-fi show on TV with a non-white female lead, and I found that very fun.
But TBQH in my estimation the show never really escaped the pull of "B-tier Firefly imitation." I think I checked out towards the start of season 3 when they did the "Groundhog Day" episode with Not Jayne Cobb, and I thought to myself, "you know, I liked this episode, but it's clear that this show's heart isn't in its serialized elements or its character beats or its worldbuilding, but in just having its more-or-less likable cast run through a bunch of stock sci-fi plots." (By that point the show had already done a "36 Hours" episode, a "we're in the distant past year of 2016!" episode, a beat-for-beat clone of "Our Mrs Reynolds," etc etc.) Which was quite irritating, as I thought the show had come across a very interesting hook with the Portia Lin character - can she escape the pull of her psychopathic baseline personality, or is she fated to be a scoundrel again? - but by that point the show was too interested in being a hangout series to really explore that plot beat.
I think I saw the first season when it aired, but I dont' believe I continued. Maybe a good time to revisit.
I was a huge fan of Dark Matter; I really enjoyed that era of SyFy programming (Continuum, Killjoys), but Dark Matter was easily the best by far. Devastating cancellation on the heels of an amazing (final) season. Thanks for sharing - I couldn't agree more with all of your points (though 13 episode seasons, instead of 22, certainly helped it bridge the gap between modern serialization and classic episodic meandering).
Ach, now this post unlocked some memories for me. I remember watching this show as it aired, intrigued in part because IIRC while it was airing it was the only sci-fi show on TV with a non-white female lead, and I found that very fun.
But TBQH in my estimation the show never really escaped the pull of "B-tier Firefly imitation." I think I checked out towards the start of season 3 when they did the "Groundhog Day" episode with Not Jayne Cobb, and I thought to myself, "you know, I liked this episode, but it's clear that this show's heart isn't in its serialized elements or its character beats or its worldbuilding, but in just having its more-or-less likable cast run through a bunch of stock sci-fi plots." (By that point the show had already done a "36 Hours" episode, a "we're in the distant past year of 2016!" episode, a beat-for-beat clone of "Our Mrs Reynolds," etc etc.) Which was quite irritating, as I thought the show had come across a very interesting hook with the Portia Lin character - can she escape the pull of her psychopathic baseline personality, or is she fated to be a scoundrel again? - but by that point the show was too interested in being a hangout series to really explore that plot beat.
Just my $0.02!!