A wide-ranging interview with Joseph Mallozzi about 'Dark Matter'
The series' origins, world-building, storylines, and other aspects are discussed.
Canadian writer-producer Joseph Mallozzi was no stranger to science-fiction when he launched Dark Matter in 2015 on the SyFy channel, having worked on three series from the Stargate franchise (SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe) as a writer, and later showrunner and executive producer. The amazing space opera, which was preceded by a graphic novel of the same name in 2012, focused on a group of passengers that awaken from cryosleep aboard a spaceship without any memory.
Despite having good ratings and developed a loyal fan community, Dark Matter did not receive a renewal from SyFy following the conclusion of its third season in 2018, cutting short Mallozzi’s plans for a five-season story arc with a definitive ending.
Earlier this summer, I reached out to the showrunner via the platform formerly known as Twitter, and asked if he would be interested in participating in an email interview about the series for my publication. Mr. Mallozzi kindly agreed, resulting in the following wide-ranging correspondence about the series.*
*The text has been slightly edited for space and clarity. Also, please note that the interview contains spoilers for the entire series.
Contents
On the Origin of Dark Matter:
Mikhail Skoptsov (MS): I wanted to start off by asking you to discuss the origin and history of Dark Matter as a series. As I understand it, it was originally pitched as a TV show, but then became a comic book before being adapted back into a TV show for the SyFy network?
Joseph Mallozzi (JM): Dark Matter came about because I have always been a big fan of villains and wanted to explore the concept of redemption. It always raised the nature vs nurture debate: Are people born bad or are they products of their environment? I developed the show during my later years on Stargate. But because Stargate kept getting picked up, it gave me more time to flesh out the world and its characters so that, by the time the show was eventually picked up, I had a very good idea of where I wanted all of the stories and character arcs to go.
Dark Matter was a pilot script first but, rather than send it out, I pitched it to Dark Horse Comics as a comic book series. They green lit a four issue arc that comprised what would be the show's first two episodes. Those four issues were collected into a graphic novel that Prodigy Pictures President Jay Firestone used to pitch and, eventually, sell the show.
MS: I recall how back in 2010 Dollhouse on Fox had a somewhat similar idea about main characters who were stripped of memory. Critics at the time seemed to think that a show about people with no memory couldn’t really work. Did that at all impact your ability to sell Dark Matter a series? Was there any nervousness or pushback on the part of the SyFy network in regard to the premise?
JM: I never watched Dollhouse so wasn't aware of any controversy surrounding lost memories. Whenever someone says something along the lines of "this idea doesn't work" it's only because they're trying to come up with an excuse for why something else, in their estimation, didn't work. For the longest time, Westerns were dead and then, suddenly, everyone was making Westerns. It all comes down to the execution. The premise of lost memories never, to the best of my knowledge, gave anyone pause.
MS: By having everyone wake up with amnesia, you have an opportunity to start the story in-medias-res and then gradually fill in the blanks in the past. What made this attractive from a storytelling perspective and how challenging was it to successfully implement?
JM: I loved the idea of the audience discovering the world and backstories at the same time as our characters. This presented a lot of great opportunity for surprises but, at the same time, was a challenge for viewers in the early going. Because the characters had no history to drawn on, they were necessarily cyphers, clichés if you will. But Dark Matter was all about subverting audience expectations, presenting sci-fi chestnuts and then delivering unexpected executions.
The fun of the show was in making assumptions about the characters, who they were, and then being surprised to discover the truth.
MS: Going by the comic, you ended up changing some of the characters, such as the Android. Can you discuss how and why this happened and in what other ways the show evolved in that transition from pitch to comic to screen?
JM: The first two issues of the comic book were pretty much the pilot while the last two were more or less the second episode. More or less because I hadn't written it at the time and so I wasn't writing with a T.V. budget in mind. Other than that, it's pretty much the same story. Only the characters are somewhat different. The character of FIVE was more of a tomboy and much younger in the comic. Because of production concerns, I didn't want to cast someone too young and immediately thought of Jodelle Ferland who I loved working with way back on Stargate: Atlantis. We opened the roles of FOUR and the Android up to all genders. In the case of the android, Zoie Palmer won the role on the strength of her humorous and compassionate audition.
MS: Given the cliffhanger that ends Issue 4, would it be safe to assume the comic was intended at the time to run beyond four issues? Did this not happen due to sales or because the TV show had been greenlit?
JM: I had hoped we would be able to continue the comic book beyond the fourth issue but, once the series got picked up, my focus shifted to the show.
After the series was cancelled, I did approach Dark Horse about continuing and completing the series in comic book form but, at that point, they weren't interested. The comic book was well-received by critics but, like most non-superhero titles, failed to capture a larger audience.
On the Structure and World of Dark Matter:
MS: A regular feature of the series is the ‘bottleship episode.’ Can you talk a little a bit about what it’s like to write a bottle episode that also functions as a big plot episode? Was this typically a creative decision, a budgetary necessity, or a bit of both? And if the show had a larger budget, would you have preferred to have more off-Raza adventures?
JM: It all comes down to the show's budget. In the first season, the episodes tend to be smaller as you build your VFX assets and amortize the costs of your set. It worked for Dark Matter as it reflected the show's themes, the notion of these 7 characters being alone against the universe. Still, sometimes budgetary constraints lead to some wonderful creative stories, and terrific character development.
I don't really have any preference between the smaller or larger episodes. I just like to put our characters in interesting, challenging scenarios that ultimately allow the audience a glimpse into who they are.
MS: Though it has some overarching plotlines, Dark Matter often feels like a collec-tion of short stories, with each main character being the lead of their own mini-series. How tricky was it to balance the episodic vs. serialized demands of the story-telling? Also, was Lost an inspiration when it came to setting up the series and doling out flashbacks?
JM: No inspiration from Lost, that was a very different show. I was inspired by my time on Stargate. With SG-1 and SGA, we told very episodic standalone stories while, in SGU, we told more serialized stories. I wanted the best of both worlds. I wanted to tell standalone stories amidst the backdrop of ongoing arcs, story and character. I didn't want to be one of those shows that set up endless mysteries and then never paid them off. I wanted to reward viewers with answers to their burning questions while, at the same time, setting up more questions in those answers. I wanted to create an ensemble show where each member of the crew had their opportunity to shine.
MS: The pilot does a good job of introducing audiences to the ‘world’ or setting of the space adventure series. It’s the future, and humanity has colonized the galaxy, which is now run largely by Multinational corporations. Does this mean that nation-states or countries no longer exist? Or are they just lower on the scale of influence and authority than the Corporations? And are there still different nationalities?
JM: Yes, we still see some cultural influences shine through but I imagine a future where multinationals (multicorps) evolve to assume power positions beyond Earth, using their vast wealth and resources to colonize worlds and stake their claim over vast swathes of space. Although we never explore Earth's politics in the show, I imagine individual national identity surrendering to a world government.
MS: I am really curious about the history and status of Zairon. Is Zairon basically a future Japan that decided to return to its feudal and imperial traditions? Or was it perhaps a Japanese colony that grew into power and became independent?
JM: Zairon was heavily influenced by my love of anime and the whole sword and planet sub-genre of shows like Cowboy Bebop and Gundam. In fact, Zairon was a play on Gundam's Principality of Zeon. And, yes, the idea is that prior to the ascendancy of the world government, certain nations did seed some worlds that would go on to stake their independence in the galactic order. Zairon was one.
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On Seasons 1-2:
MS: In my experience, the first few episodes of a new series tend to represent a formative period, wherein a show’s cast and crew figures what works and doesn’t work, such as the tone or the character relationships, or certain subplots.
Can you talk about what you learned as the first season was being made and how this impacted the series going forward? Were there any surprises, such as unfore-seen character dynamics that blossomed into something that was never intended?
JM: I'd say the biggest changes made regard the characters of ONE (which I'll address in my response to a later question) and Android who was originally envisioned as more of a supporting character. However, Zoie Palmer's performance was so engaging that, when episodes started coming in short, the extra scenes I wrote would inevitably feature her character. As a result, the character carved out a much bigger role than what I had originally planned and became an equal and integral part of the crew.
MS: Episode 7, in my opinion, is when the show had its first legitimately great episode, in part because it has some really nice material for Android (Zoie Palmer), and we get the first indication that she is capable of emotion. It is also maybe the funniest episode of the show up to that point even as it deals with some pretty serious dramatic material when it comes to Three and Sarah.
Can you talk about finding that tricky tonal balance between comedy and drama? Also, who came up with the idea of the ‘cosmic doughnut’?
JM: I don't find the tonal balance tricky at all. It's essentially what we did on Stargates SG-1 and Atlantis, balancing the high stakes adventure and drama with humor. I've always felt that humor goes a long way towards humanizing a character and allowing viewers to connect with them - which is why each character on ‘Dark Matter’ is humorous in their own way. Also, regarding that episode, it came in short so I ended up adding several scenes (ie. the Android speaking in accents corridor encounter) as well as the Wendy the robot exchange where she suggests Dunking the Cosmic Donut. As to what she is implying - I leave that to your imagination.
MS: As I understand it, you never planned to kill off One (Marc Bendavid) at the beginning of S2 and he would’ve lived until possibly the very end of the series. What would’ve One’s role been in S2, had he remained alive? And what were some of the long-term consequences of his early exit?
JM: I had wanted to develop the ONE/THREE friendship into a sort of Butch and Sundance dynamic and really take advantage of their contrasting personalities, in time, having them learn from each other and, in some ways, becoming a little like each other. ONE's absence didn't change the grand scheme of the seasonal arcs but it did affect the in-story dynamics.
MS: You originally intended for the prison storyline that opens S2 to be a 3-episode arc, but the network insisted on getting the main characters back to the ship faster, resulting in it being compressed into a two-parter. Were there other instances in S2 or S3, where you wanted to do a 2 or 3-episode arc but the network was against it?
JM: No, off the top of my head there were no real instances where I had wanted to a bigger story and was forced to curtail my creative ambitions - outside of the prison arc. I was more or less free to tell the stories I wanted to tell… although occasional creative interference did occur every so often, to the show's detriment.
MS: S2 introduced three brand new Raza crewmembers - Devon, Nyx, and Arax Nero - but they were all gone by the end of the season. Were any of them ever planned to be longer, multi-season protagonists? Or were any alternate fates ever considered for them?
JM: The intent of introducing these characters was to suggest how dangerous being on the Raza, and amongst our crew, could be. There was no set number of episodes for each of the characters but I had always intended for their time with us to be limited.
MS: The S2 finale skips over the aftermath of 2.12’s shocking ending, leaving some gaps in the storytelling. Later on, you clarified some of these in interviews and the series had Four explain more through dialogue in 3.08. But were you ever intending to depict on-screen what happened right after the Zairon coup, why Four decided to simply let the Raza leave, etc.?
JM: I was never intending to show that scene and, in my head, given Ryo's character, I assumed it would have been obvious to the audience - but clearly not, which was why I made reference to his decision in the season 2 finale when he is talking to TWO. He still considered them allies and assumed they would ultimately see the logic in helping him. When they surprisingly refused, that's when he acted.
On Season 3, the Cancellation, and Future:
MS: S3 of the show had legitimately shaken up the dynamic of the Raza, opening with Ryo/Four as Emperor of Zairon and so no longer on the ship. Can you talk about the narrative and logistical challenges in developing this as a separate running storyline from that of the Raza crew? And was there any pressure from the network to try to get Four out of his role as Emperor and back on the ship faster?
JM: There were no logistical or creative issues with running this separate storyline although I'm sure for actor Alex Mallari Jr., it was hard no longer being a part of the crew. Still, I know he enjoyed the dramatic turn his character had taken and relished the challenge. No input from the network on this development.
MS: One of the world-building features I love which gains a lot of prominence in S3 is ‘transfer-transit cloning.’ How did this concept come about and develop? Was it meant to solve any specific storytelling issues? And would we have seen even more cloning shenanigans in future seasons?
JM: Transfer transit was inspired by works of literary science fiction like David Brin's Kiln People and Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - the idea of being able to back-up your memories in alternate bodies. I tried to imagine real world applications of such a technology and realized that it could be a convenient and instantaneous form of travel. I remember pitching it in the season 1 writers' room. My former writing partner, Paul Mullie, objected to the idea and we were deadlocked until writer Martin Gero pointed out he had never seen anything like it before.
Transfer transit would have figured into the solution to the Ryo Ishida dilemma, effectively bringing back the FOUR we knew. We established in previous episodes that the pods retain a back-up of a traveler's engram, a snapshot of their memories at the time of travel. The plan was for Ryo to enter the pod and rewrite his memories to the point when he last traveled, back in episode 2.07.
Thus, he would be the FOUR we knew who would no longer have the memories of Ryo Ishida (everything that happened after he entered the pod in 2.07) but haunted by what he had done. It would have been a great character arc.
MS: “All The Time in the World,” which to me is one of the best episodes of the series, formally introduces the concept of time travel, and ends on a sequence that offers a really big peak into what could be the future of the series. When crafting that scene, how did you decide which narrative events and details to include visually or mention in dialogue? Did the scene change at all from script to screen?
JM: Before going into production on Dark Matter, I had been sitting on the idea for many many years. As a result, I was given time to really flesh out a game plan, everything from the five season arc to the individual character journeys. This allowed me to do things like plant seeds that paid off episodes, sometimes seasons later. Like the end of Episode 2.07 where FIVE is considering the seemingly dead Sarah. She cocks her head thinking... We don't realize until the beginning of season 3 what she has done - effectively uploaded Sarah's consciousness into the ship.
In similar fashion, I had a game plan so coming up with those scenes was easy because they were already sitting more or less full formed in my head, waiting to be written. Sadly, we never got the chance to meet The Accelerated, but we did get a glimpse of The Black Ships.
MS: The series was cancelled with the S3 finale, leaving a lot of cliffhangers. What, in your mind, was the main reason the show was not picked up? Did you get any indication at the time that S3 might be it or was it a complete surprise?
JM: I was surprised given that the show was the #2 scripted series on the network and was relatively inexpensive for them to license. I think that, in the end, the executives at SyFy resented the show's success. We were an acquisition that they had little creative influence on that ended up beating their original programming in the ratings.
While we were their top-ranked show, they couldn't really cancel us but when we stumbled a little, they took advantage of that and got rid of the show. The fact that they gave our sister show, Killjoys, a two season order on the heels of our cancellation - and the fact that they never even bothered to respond to our request to do a wrap-up movie for the fans - really demonstrated to me their pettiness and vindictiveness.
MS: Dark Matter was planned as a five-season story, with each 13-episode season focusing on a specific narrative arc. But had you ever considered whether it could potentially run beyond that? Say, 6-7 seasons?
JM: There is always the possibility of more but, at the time, I had a very clear plan for the series with a definitive ending in mind. Five seasons would have been perfect.
MS: Finally, you were most recently pitching a miniseries revival of Dark Matter for a streaming network. What’s the status of that at the moment?
JM: Alas, no updates, but I still haven't given up on a concluding miniseries to wrap up our story. I think that, at this point, I would need to create a new series and use the heat of that show to push a DM conclusion but, sadly, for now, that feels a ways off.
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That was such an informative interview. It's unfortunate the show was canceled. You asked very thoughtful questions.
SO cool that you got an interview here - and I love how it fits into your Substack's theme (with the pitch to comic to screen thing)! Anyway, great questions (and answers). I do wish I understood more about what happened with ONE (it always felt incredibly strange/off to me, but oh well). And I loved learning that Zairon was a reference to Gundam, ha! Hopefully one day we'll get more of a resolution, but oh well. Upsetting to hear that it might have been because of Network Politics and Shenanigans :(.
I'm also interested in the Dollhouse comparison. I've never felt that Dark Matter dealt with super similar material, since Dark Matter had characters that could form new memories out of the gate. [I totally agree with Mallozzi about how cool it was to have: "the audience discovering the world and backstories at the same time as our characters."] On Dollhouse, it was hard to root for Echo when A) she supposedly could not grow (even if later it became clear that she could); and B) she took on Totally New Personalities each episode, effectively reset to zero at the end. Early on, we were basically just following Echo's weekly programmed personality saving the day - not really Echo (or Caroline).