Dark Matter is one of those Canadian television shows that flew silent under the mainstream radar yet has made progressive waves in cult followers, and has for years been lauded for its humor and simplicity while being compared non-stop to Whedon’s Firefly as being the latter’s spiritual successor. Being one of the first to break through the mainstream with the band-of-rebels-and-misfits-travelling-in-a-beloved-and-now-iconic-space-vehicle-while-battling-an-intergalactic-federation, was so short-lived and quote-worthy, it’s almost impossible to miss the comparisons. I’m not even going to open a discussion about Farscape, Stargate and the more expansive Battlestar Galactica, because that would be another argument that would span days with the right crowd.
By the time I’m posting this, Dark Matter, together with its sister show, Killjoys, is already embarking on its third season. I wasn’t exactly warm in welcoming Killjoys, if I recall correctly, three years ago, although I have to admit Luke Macfarlane is so dang easy on the eyes as the rest of the cast.
The premise of Dark Matter is quite simple. Six crew members aboard an unknown space ship wake up with no memories of who they are, and of course they immediately start arguing why they were there in the first place. The pilot episode does a great job of setting up tension aboard the men and women in The Raza (the name of the space vessel) and was quick to establish who’s who amongst them.
I'm finally giving #DarkMatter a chance. This Canadian gem is now in it's third season and I was a fool to have been putting it on shelf. pic.twitter.com/sdQd1l1wg8
— Ethan 🐳 (@ethananarchy) August 18, 2017