Giving 'Dark Matter' a rewatch

Recently I began a rewatch of Dark Matter, an understated Canadian science fiction series which ran between 2015 and 2017. It is holding up surprisingly well for me second time round! I am enjoying it MUCH more than Expanse season five, which I have now given up on completely since the last episode I watched didn't even feature Amos or Drummer.

The characters

First time round it took a while for the characters in Dark Matter to settle down, on a second viewing they're already my friends and it's fun to watch the unravelling of their varied and always preposterous back stories. The intriguing premise of the show is that six people come out of deep freeze on a spaceship with their memories wiped. They name themselves in order of appearance thus we have one (a Ryan Gosling clone - Marc Bendavid), two (the leader and all-round badass - Melissa O'Neil), three (the macho guy - Anthony Lemke), four (the martial arts guy - Alex Mallari Jr.), five (a young stowaway - Jodelle Ferland) and six (the pilot - Roger Cross). There's also the ship's android, stiffly played to loveable perfection by Zoie Palmer.

Over time, the group discovers that they are none other than the notorious crew of the Rasa, a bunch of feared and good-for-nothing mercenaries. Their former job was doing the dirty work for representatives of the warring mega-corporations which rule the world in the 27th-century. It's hard to choose a favourite from such a great cast and I do enjoy four's stoner cynicism a lot, but my all-round fave character has to be Commander Truffault (Torri Higginson) from the Mikkei Combine, who is completely amoral and always impeccably dressed.

Going places

For a show set in space, we hardly ever see a spacesuit. The narrative is driven by interpersonal relations and interstellar politics, not big explosions and stale dialogue (unlike another sci-fi show I could mention). Plus, the amusing thing about it being a Canadian show is that whenever they land on a planet, it's cold and snowy, just like in Canada!

The creators (Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie) adapted the show from their own graphic novel and this must have helped with the overall vision and look of the show and they do a lot with a relatively low budget. Sure some of the special effects leave a little to be desired, yet there's a certain Dr. Who style charm to cheap models and whooshing noises. Growing up on Star Trek lets me enjoy the bits when the ship is under attack and everyone holds onto the deck and swings from side to side. Plus the rock music which plays every time the shuttle craft leaves the Rasa is hilarious!

What actually counts is the writing which is topnotch, every episode the story always lurches entertainingly from one crisis to the next, with the odd philosophical question or time travel conundrum thrown in to keep my interest piqued. For example, what truly makes someone who they are? If the crew wakes up with their memories wiped, will they make the same mistakes as they did the first time, or not? Further, what loyalties does someone owe to a crew they just woke up with and may never have been a part of to begin with?

The show wears its commitment to feminism and diversity on its sleeve, which is only to be applauded. There are three seasons of Dark Matter and there are no duff ones (unlike Expanse season 4!). In fact the show really cranks it up and having just finished season 2 I have to say I'm excited to get back to the madness of season 3 again!

All in all, Dark Matter is a great low-budget sci-fi show.