Pbmom's Blog

Fans in the U.K., Germany, Spain and Portugal just joined the Dark Matter family and fans in the Netherlands and France are about to follow suit.  So welcome, wilkommen, bienvenida, bem-vindo, welkom, and soyez les bienvenus!  The best is yet to come!

And welcome to my little blog which, over the course of the Dark Matter’s first season, will be offering up plenty of behind the scenes photos, videos, and insights – as well as a surprise or two.

Speaking of two – in case you hadn’t seen them, a few sneak peek pics of our second episode (#102) have popped up online…

DARK MATTER — “Episode Two” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Melissa O’Neil as Two, Mark Bendavid as One — (Photo by: Steve Wilkie/Prodigy Pictures/Syfy)

http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/06/dark-matter-episode-102-sneak-peek.html

And there’s also this Season 1 preview from the gang at SyFy:

Now, let’s talk about Episode #101.  Those of you who…

SyFy’s Dark Matter Brings The Badass Ladies In Force:

http://www.themarysue.com/dark-matter-interview/

Space Opera is Set for a New Dawn with Dark Matter:

http://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/television/space-opera-is-set-for-a-new-dawn-with-dark-matter/

“Dark Matter’s 13-episode first season is destined to be an action-packed mix of drama, humour and adventure in the mould of Stargate and Firefly. Any similarity to the former is not coincidental given that Mallozzi and Mullie have a long history with that franchise.”

How SyFy’s Dark Matter Created the Ultimate Police Ship:

http://io9.com/how-syfys-dark-matter-created-the-ultimate-police-ship-1710547670

Zoie Palmer Brings Dark Matter’s Android to Life:

http://www.thetvjunkies.com/zoie-palmer-dark-matter-android-to-life/

“I’m always drawn to the underdog a little bit, I’m drawn to those characters that are a little bit outside, a little bit quirky, a little bit disconnected. I think there’s a ton of places you can go. Even on Lost Girl I think every character felt a little bit like an outsider. It was a group of outsiders. They all sort of found…

4 days to the Dark Matter series premiere!  Some of the cast and I will be live tweeting the premiere (both east and west coast airings!) on Friday, June 12th at 10 p.m., so get ready!

Let’s start by meeting the crew courtesy of these individual behind-the-scenes featurettes…

http://io9.com/meet-the-memory-wiped-astronauts-of-syfys-new-show-dark-1709920345

DARK MATTER — “Episode Two” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Melissa O’Neil as Two, Mark Bendavid as One — (Photo by: Steve Wilkie/Prodigy Pictures/Syfy)

A shot from one of my favorite scenes from episode #102.  Watch for it!

New sneak peek videos from the gang at Space Channel:

“We can do more.  Commit to something.”

“Do you think you can do a better job?  Didn’t think so.”

“You’re saying it was me who screwed with everyone’s memories?”

Executive Producer Jay Firestone oversees the action, with 1st A.D. Brandon Tataryn and Executive Producer Paul Mullie.

A friendly reminder from the gang at…

Comin’ at ya in five (WITH FIVE!)!

Space Channel here in Canada is counting down toward the Friday premiere in delightful fashion.  Each day ticks off with a different Dark Matter, appropriately enough…

Who’s next?  Can’t wait to find out tomorrow!

SyFy UK and SyFy Australia, meanwhile, have launched this terrific campaign that asks…

Zoie Palmer (Dark Matter’s Android) talks about Lost Girl, her new movie Patch Town, and Dark Matter with ET Canada:

http://www.etcanada.com/video/zoie+palmer+talks+patch+town/video.html?v=458310211866#video

Another Dark Matter preview article.  Brush up before the premiere!

http://www.threeifbyspace.net/2015/06/preview-dark-matter-premieres-on-syfy-june-12/

Lari Burkhart offers up her list of What To Watch In June:  Among her picks…

“What do you get when you have 6 amnesiacs and a spaceship? A SyFy original series, obviously. Throw in an android and the writers from Stargate and you’ve also got me sitting on the couch anxiously awaiting this premiere!”

http://www.geeksundergrace.com/tv/what-to-watch-in-june/

Dark Matter makes Rick’s Picks at…

The excitement continues to mount as we approach the Dark Matter premiere, less than a week away (Friday, 10 p.m. on SyFy/Space)!  I’ll be live-tweeting the event with various to-be-announced cast members, pulling double duty with both the east and west coast airings.  Who’d like to join us?

Uh oh. Someone’s at a distinct disadvantage here. And he’s about to find out.

A slightly different Dark Matter trailer from Space Channel:

https://www.facebook.com/SPACEchannel/videos/10153037388371225/

Some screen grabs of the highlights:

The team!

Trouble headed your way!

This moment?  HUGE!

Proceed with caution.

SyFyAustralia wants to know: “Who wants to win a trip to Comic Con?”

https://twitter.com/syfyau/status/606768390468870144

Emergency lighting!

Them’s some heavy doors.

Director T.J. Scott runs everyone through the opening Stasis Pod Sequence.

The outside of our bridge set.

Setting up the next Stasis Pod Sequence.

Anthony Lemke (THREE) discovers a life-size action figure. In mint condition!

Go ahead.  Pick your weapon.

Last night, I watched Andy Mikita’s director’s cut of episode #113, the big season finale.  All I can say is: Whoa!  I envy all of you who’ll be coming into the show fresh when it premieres on June 12th.  Believe me, you’re in for such a treat. We’re not just going to surpass expectations, we’re going to blow them away by delivering a scifi series you’re going to LOVE: character-driven, ship-based science fiction full of action, adventure, shocks, surprises, dazzling visual effects, and, above all else, a sense of fun.

I want to get the word out early and often.  I don’t want to wait until AFTER we air to start bringing fans on board or rewarding them for their viewership.  I want to get things started early by making you all part of the Dark Matter family BEFORE we air.  All of these sneak peeks, photos, interviews, trailers, and…

I can’t believe it.  After ten years developing it, several years trying to set it up, over ten months of prep and four months of production, we are finally done.  Today was our last main unit day on Dark Matter’s first season.  We’re off for the long weekend, come back to shoot a final day of second unit, then cap it all off with our wrap party Wednesday night.  I deliver my final prod cut at the end of May and then head back to Vancouver where I’ll weigh in on the mixes, color corrects, and visual effects.  Oh, and start work on Dark Matter’s second season.  Yes, I’m that confident.  Because the show is THAT good.

But you all get to be the judges when we premiere in a little less than a month!

So who’s who on the Dark Matter crew?  Follow this link to find out:

http://www.syfy.com/darkmatter/cast/1

Then check…

Actor Anthony Lemke (Dark Matter’s Three), forwarded me a terrific podcast about gendered robots and stereotypes.  The participants point out that female androids tend to be sexualized entities while their male counterparts are usually powerful forces.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-april-24-2015-1.3047057/ex-machina-s-portrayal-of-gendered-robot-perpetuates-stereotypes-1.3047064

It’s an interesting listen and it made me think of our ship’s android, played by the awesome Zoie Palmer, who is clearly atypical from the normal: a female android who isn’t sexualized but a force to be reckoned with.  On the surface, she is your standard logic-based robot but, as the first season progresses, viewers will come to realize there’s much, much more to our android.  In describing her the other day, I said she was much closer to Hitchhiker’s Guide’sMarvin and Red Dwarf’s Kryten than TNG’s Data.  Zoie has done a great job fashioning an incredibly endearing character.  Every time she pops up on screen, Akemi gleefully shouts “Zoie!”.  The…

It’s here!  It’s here!  The Dark Matter teaser trailer is finally out!  Share!  Share!  Share!

Head on over to IGN.com for the write-up and links:

http://www.ign.com/videos/2015/04/10/dark-matter-trailer

When SyFy told us they wanted to produce a one minute teaser trailer for the show, my initial response was “Impossible!”.  We only had two locked episodes with no finished visual effects.  How could they possibly produce a compelling trailer?

Well, I stand corrected.  This first teaser trailer is pretty darn terrific.  A big thanks to Gary Morgenstein, Katherine Nelson, Bill Trojanowski, Samantha Agnoff and the rest of the gang at SyFy Publicity & Marketing!  Great job on this one and I look forward to the next VFX-laden trailers to come!

SyFyFridays returns to SyFy June 12th with an SF triple header!  A two part premiere of Defiance kicks things off at 8:00 p.m.  And Dark Matter has the 10:00 p.m. slot.

Circle the date on…

Well, finally!  It’s official!

http://io9.com/first-details-on-david-hewletts-return-to-syfy-in-dark-1695188609

“David Hewlett is returning to Syfy! This summer Hewlett will reunite with Stargate Atlantis writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie on their new show Dark Matter.

Hewlett will have a recurring part as Talbor Calchek. In a slight change for Hewlett, Calchek is a sleazy agent for unsavory mercenaries who will appear in a four-episode arc.”

Who is Tabor Calchek?  Well…

“Slick, silver-tongued, and more than a little seedy. Tabor Calchek is the team’s handler and the ultimate agent. For the standard 10% commission, he uses his underworld connections as a broker to secure his clients their lucrative assignments. Tabor is sly, manipulative and opportunistic, and can always be counted on to look out for his client’s best interests…right after his own.”

Imagine a cross between Stargate: Atlantis’s Rodney McKay, Entourage’s Ari Gold, and Nic Cage’s Detective Rick Santoro from Snake Eyes, and you’d…