Dark Matter: Welcome to Your New Home
July 2, 2016 6:24 PM - Season 2, Episode 1 - Subscribe
When we last left the crew of the Raza, they were being led away in chains by the Galactic Authority, seemingly betrayed by Six. We pick up shortly thereafter, with the gang now the guests of honor at Hyperion-8, a notorious maximum security detention center on some godforsaken moon.
And for those who weren't following along last year, the origins of Space Ross.
posted by sardonyx at 9:38 PM on July 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sardonyx at 9:38 PM on July 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
I liked the pettiness of the jail manager's VR setting, and the quickly dealt with ticking off-of standard prison tropes - there's a gang, this is how it's run, this is how riot-control tech is handled, and yes, the prisoners are smart enough to know to talk carefully in half-code in VR and around, and the way the prisoners are being treated is being set up as starkly wrong.
The sister show Killjoys has a very small story universe, barely a solar system and they are sort of pushing at the edges of what that actually means in plausibility, while Dark Matter had a mystery that kept it going through a larger space setting and so much of it is still unclear - are planets independent, how much power do corporations have, is there an organised core and a frontier, multiple empires....?
This episode throws that in the air again because a criminal in jail expresses genuine surprise that a group of criminals have been railroaded. That's an expectation of fair treatment and human rights that runs very deep, not at all an empire or openly corrupt universe.
It might just be bad writing, but so little was made clear about their universe in season one, they have room to do a lot.
Also, dollars to doughnuts there's a backup clone of that idiot waking up somewhere and coming back with a convenient reset to surprise his assassin. He's so boring. I hope his wife turns out to be not dead and to have arranged her own apparent death to run away from him or something better than a fridging for manpain.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:57 AM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
The sister show Killjoys has a very small story universe, barely a solar system and they are sort of pushing at the edges of what that actually means in plausibility, while Dark Matter had a mystery that kept it going through a larger space setting and so much of it is still unclear - are planets independent, how much power do corporations have, is there an organised core and a frontier, multiple empires....?
This episode throws that in the air again because a criminal in jail expresses genuine surprise that a group of criminals have been railroaded. That's an expectation of fair treatment and human rights that runs very deep, not at all an empire or openly corrupt universe.
It might just be bad writing, but so little was made clear about their universe in season one, they have room to do a lot.
Also, dollars to doughnuts there's a backup clone of that idiot waking up somewhere and coming back with a convenient reset to surprise his assassin. He's so boring. I hope his wife turns out to be not dead and to have arranged her own apparent death to run away from him or something better than a fridging for manpain.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:57 AM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks for posting this! I forgot that it was premiering.
posted by rednikki at 11:14 AM on July 3, 2016
posted by rednikki at 11:14 AM on July 3, 2016
I really liked this episode. Great way to bring things back.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:04 PM on July 3, 2016
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:04 PM on July 3, 2016
Dear Dark Matter,
I'll admit it - we had you on the chopping block with this season premiere episode. We weren't entirely thrilled with last season and had we had just more of the same we would have TiVo-cancelled you.
But you came back with a vengeance! Was it the great directing by Amanda Tapping? Mike Dopud's guest stint in a role that was askew from his usual vibe? Or was it that you let each character be a better version of what they were good at?
One was still pretty Space Ross, but he was at least trying. And nice little twist there at the end! Will he be back? Will he be the same actor or if they bring him back will they use the actor who played the "real" version of him? Asking about his wife got him killed...is it possible he's still alive?
Two was smart and violent but also fulfilled her "team leader" role better than she has in a long time. And she made a new friend! Looking forward to see if the woman she fought is also a synthetic.
They found a perfect niche with Three as the "evil Jack O'Neill" comic relief. I guess now he's more like "morally ambiguous Jack O'Neill."
Yeah, Four, I'm sure the ONLY reason you got into that fight was to test their response time. Suuuuuure. But you are really good at calculating that stuff while you indulge your violent impulses.
Five is appropriately pissy. If I were 16 and a genius orphan computer hacker I'd react the same way. Intrigued to find out why Franka Potente is so interested in her.
Six, you with your secrets! I always liked you but now you've become even more intriguing. The more questions you ask the sketchier things get. Hopefully you're putting the pieces together now.
I don't know where the mystery is going, but I feel like you're's in a better spot than it was last year. You've got me for a few more episodes.
Love,
Me.
posted by rednikki at 9:33 PM on July 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'll admit it - we had you on the chopping block with this season premiere episode. We weren't entirely thrilled with last season and had we had just more of the same we would have TiVo-cancelled you.
But you came back with a vengeance! Was it the great directing by Amanda Tapping? Mike Dopud's guest stint in a role that was askew from his usual vibe? Or was it that you let each character be a better version of what they were good at?
One was still pretty Space Ross, but he was at least trying. And nice little twist there at the end! Will he be back? Will he be the same actor or if they bring him back will they use the actor who played the "real" version of him? Asking about his wife got him killed...is it possible he's still alive?
Two was smart and violent but also fulfilled her "team leader" role better than she has in a long time. And she made a new friend! Looking forward to see if the woman she fought is also a synthetic.
They found a perfect niche with Three as the "evil Jack O'Neill" comic relief. I guess now he's more like "morally ambiguous Jack O'Neill."
Yeah, Four, I'm sure the ONLY reason you got into that fight was to test their response time. Suuuuuure. But you are really good at calculating that stuff while you indulge your violent impulses.
Five is appropriately pissy. If I were 16 and a genius orphan computer hacker I'd react the same way. Intrigued to find out why Franka Potente is so interested in her.
Six, you with your secrets! I always liked you but now you've become even more intriguing. The more questions you ask the sketchier things get. Hopefully you're putting the pieces together now.
I don't know where the mystery is going, but I feel like you're's in a better spot than it was last year. You've got me for a few more episodes.
Love,
Me.
posted by rednikki at 9:33 PM on July 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Okay Dark Matter, you've bought yourself another week. Don't waste it!
Seriously, this show suddenly seems more interesting than it ever did last season.
I'm really hoping they pull a Grant Ward with Space Ross - lull the audience into thinking he's bland and pointless, then let the actor cut loose with the real character.
I thought the establishing shot of the prison was bad CGI, the depth of field felt wrong. The cliffs in the background should have been in focus. It looked like a CGI shot of a miniature.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 9:53 PM on July 3, 2016
Seriously, this show suddenly seems more interesting than it ever did last season.
I'm really hoping they pull a Grant Ward with Space Ross - lull the audience into thinking he's bland and pointless, then let the actor cut loose with the real character.
I thought the establishing shot of the prison was bad CGI, the depth of field felt wrong. The cliffs in the background should have been in focus. It looked like a CGI shot of a miniature.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 9:53 PM on July 3, 2016
Like Killjoys, I forgot it was returning this weekend, so thank you for the post!
One of the things which works so well for this show are the characters, and I felt, for the most part, they continued to be the interesting selves they were last season. I don't even mind Space Ross, though, his storyline just in this episode was a bit thrown together ("Sorry, ugh, the guy you asked to speak with just happened to die last night...") Really? You couldn't have at least written in the script that he died a few years ago and bet on Space Ross not bothering to do his own research? (As opposed to what happened, which just screams super sketchy.)
There were a couple moments where the episode felt a little clunky, such as Two's encounters with whats her name. The dialogue just didn't work, and I don't know if it was the script or simply the execution by the actress. Same goes for the Space Ross stuff above. "Killing him" was a good move, but I agree, I'm expecting them to resurrect him somehow, like the aforementioned, transferring his mind into another body or something to that extent.
Three, I enjoyed his bit, especially when he quickly realized that he had burned his hand for no good reason. It was a great little side story to go with the greater.
I liked that the crew of the Raza still have their reputation and I'm interested to see how they will return to her (they will). I figure we probably have at least one full episode left in the prison, maybe one and a half before the break.
Finally, enjoyed Tapping's directing. She framed a great shot of Five and Six walking down a hallway into a larger room. Comparing this against her earlier work and you can feel that she's definitely improving as a director. I'm totally okay with her becoming the Frakes of SG-1.
posted by Atreides at 9:55 AM on July 5, 2016
One of the things which works so well for this show are the characters, and I felt, for the most part, they continued to be the interesting selves they were last season. I don't even mind Space Ross, though, his storyline just in this episode was a bit thrown together ("Sorry, ugh, the guy you asked to speak with just happened to die last night...") Really? You couldn't have at least written in the script that he died a few years ago and bet on Space Ross not bothering to do his own research? (As opposed to what happened, which just screams super sketchy.)
There were a couple moments where the episode felt a little clunky, such as Two's encounters with whats her name. The dialogue just didn't work, and I don't know if it was the script or simply the execution by the actress. Same goes for the Space Ross stuff above. "Killing him" was a good move, but I agree, I'm expecting them to resurrect him somehow, like the aforementioned, transferring his mind into another body or something to that extent.
Three, I enjoyed his bit, especially when he quickly realized that he had burned his hand for no good reason. It was a great little side story to go with the greater.
I liked that the crew of the Raza still have their reputation and I'm interested to see how they will return to her (they will). I figure we probably have at least one full episode left in the prison, maybe one and a half before the break.
Finally, enjoyed Tapping's directing. She framed a great shot of Five and Six walking down a hallway into a larger room. Comparing this against her earlier work and you can feel that she's definitely improving as a director. I'm totally okay with her becoming the Frakes of SG-1.
posted by Atreides at 9:55 AM on July 5, 2016
Just watched the episode yesterday.
I am a big fan of last season I thought it was refreshing and well paced, and this season opener did raise more questions than it answered then WTF WITH THAT ENDING?!?
posted by Faintdreams at 2:01 PM on September 10, 2016
I am a big fan of last season I thought it was refreshing and well paced, and this season opener did raise more questions than it answered then WTF WITH THAT ENDING?!?
posted by Faintdreams at 2:01 PM on September 10, 2016
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Not sure what I felt about it. It almost feels like a rebooted show with a premise I'm not too sure I have any interest in at all. I guess, though, that I'll stick around for another episode or two. So anybody offering odds or speculation on exactly how Space Ross survives?
Thanks for posting this sammyo. Looking forward to following the discussions (for at least as long as I follow the show).
posted by sardonyx at 9:33 PM on July 2, 2016