Syfy's Dark Matter(Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie)
- Thread starter heisenberg
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shavedape
Well Known GateFan
That's 'cause it isnt. Watched it, it is not science fiction. Just another soap in space.Soap-fi radio.
*couldn't bring myself to call DM "sci-fi"
shavedape
Well Known GateFan
shavedape
Well Known GateFan
Even the exterior shots of the ship are done in near blackout conditions. I get that they're going for a specific tone (to match the "dark" in the title
) but it's just not working. I mean, a few weeks of living in this universe and the people would be as blind as moles. Didn't they learn their lesson with SGU? Remember how one of the big complaints was the low-lighting in the first season? It was a major complaint amongst viewers. Why they're continuing to direct the episodes that way is beyond me. It's certainly not helping to keep me as a viewer.
Even the exterior shots of the ship are done in near blackout conditions. I get that they're going for a specific tone (to match the "dark" in the title
Didn't they learn their lesson with SGU? Remember how one of the big complaints was the low-lighting in the first season? It was a major complaint amongst viewers. Why they're continuing to direct the episodes that way is beyond me. It's certainly not helping to keep me as a viewer.
Maybe the Mozz and Mullie think that SGU was killed by "a few disgruntled Atlantis fans" and that it was actually a great show after all? This show is worse than SGU. Like Joelist said, the acting in this is FLAT. I mean totally flat. Maybe we should create a ball for this one? It is a sinker, and I doubt it will be around very long.
Jim of WVa
Well Known GateFan
Even the exterior shots of the ship are done in near blackout conditions. I get that they're going for a specific tone (to match the "dark" in the title
Didn't they learn their lesson with SGU? Remember how one of the big complaints was the low-lighting in the first season? It was a major complaint amongst viewers. Why they're continuing to direct the episodes that way is beyond me. It's certainly not helping to keep me as a viewer.
It is like that scene in the movie Rated X where Artie Mitchell tells the camera people that he wants the film to really dark, darker than dark. The dailies show just a black picture, and the previous day's work had to be reshot.
shavedape
Well Known GateFan
The funny thing is, I don't want to dislike this show despite a certain producer being a dismal failure in my estimation. I'm okay with the show being "derivative" of other shows as long as it's done well. But that's the issue here, it's not done well. We're seeing some of the exact same mistakes that plagued SGU being replayed here. The poor lighting being just one of them.
So, once again we got ourselves a show that could have been fun and exciting but instead it's becoming a sinker in a toilet bowl. This can be traced directly back to the producers. They are the bosses. The buck stops with them.
Jim of WVa
Well Known GateFan
Has anyone seen the comic? I suspect that the dark nature may have originated in the comic book Dark Matter.
--- merged: Jul 5, 2015 at 12:51 AM ---
I think that it is mostly Brad Wrong who thinks that SGU was killed by a few entitled Atlantis fans.
--- merged: Jul 5, 2015 at 12:51 AM ---
I think that it is mostly Brad Wrong who thinks that SGU was killed by a few entitled Atlantis fans.
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Gatefan1976
Well Known GateFan
Poor lighting?
You guys all need to go to specs savers, cause even without my glasses I saw everything just fine.
Just stick to -actual- faults like flat characters instead of trying to justify "I don't like it"
It's SGU all over again, isn't it.
You guys all need to go to specs savers, cause even without my glasses I saw everything just fine.
Just stick to -actual- faults like flat characters instead of trying to justify "I don't like it"
It's SGU all over again, isn't it.
Jim of WVa
Well Known GateFan
Could you imagine living and working 24/7 in a building with black walls, ceiling, and floor without enough lighting to do precise tasks?
shavedape
Well Known GateFan
I guess you missed the part where I said I wanted to like this show. You also missed the part where I, and others, stated the "actual fault" of incredibly poor lighting. There is a consensus that the lighting is very poor in this show, so it's not just the subjective opinion of one person.
Personally I get so tired of beating this same old drum but apparently I can't quit the job:
I (WE) WANT GOOD SCI-FI SHOWS TO WATCH ON TV.
I (WE) ARE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND ALLOW FOR THAT IN OUR ASSESSMENT OF SHOWS.
I (WE) KNOW FULL WELL THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR SCI-FI SHOWS TO BE CHEAPLY PRODUCED YET STILL BE INTELLIGENT AND ENJOYABLE.
I (WE) AM (ARE) OPTIMISTIC AND OBJECTIVE WHEN PRESENTED WITH A NEW SCI-FI SHOW. FOR CONFIRMATION OF THIS REFER TO THE FIRST POINT IN THE LIST.
But hey GF, if Dark Matter is "SGU all over again" simply because some of us have have offered valid criticisms of the show then it's even more so now that you have chosen to, once again, be an apologist for it. Kinda seems like old times, eh?
ecgordon
Star's Hero
The lighting design is probably by choice, but it doesn't cover up the other faults. As a contrast, consider two other current, and probably low budget shows; Humans (Channel 4 in the UK, AMC in the States) and Mr. Robot (USA network). The difference? Better writing and acting than in Dark Matter.
Add Killjoys to that list. Rather lower budgeted but better acted and written than Dark Matter. Even with its issues (and it has some) it at least has energy and a logical if basic story.
Gatefan1976
Well Known GateFan
I guess you missed the part where I said I wanted to like this show. You also missed the part where I, and others, stated the "actual fault" of incredibly poor lighting. There is a consensus that the lighting is very poor in this show, so it's not just the subjective opinion of one person.
Personally I get so tired of beating this same old drum but apparently I can't quit the job:
I (WE) WANT GOOD SCI-FI SHOWS TO WATCH ON TV.
I (WE) ARE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND ALLOW FOR THAT IN OUR ASSESSMENT OF SHOWS.
I (WE) KNOW FULL WELL THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR SCI-FI SHOWS TO BE CHEAPLY PRODUCED YET STILL BE INTELLIGENT AND ENJOYABLE.
I (WE) AM (ARE) OPTIMISTIC AND OBJECTIVE WHEN PRESENTED WITH A NEW SCI-FI SHOW. FOR CONFIRMATION OF THIS REFER TO THE FIRST POINT IN THE LIST.
But hey GF, if Dark Matter is "SGU all over again" simply because some of us have have offered valid criticisms of the show then it's even more so now that you have chosen to, once again, be an apologist for it. Kinda seems like old times, eh?
yep
ecgordon
Star's Hero
Killjoys hasn't impressed me much yet, and it's not in the same class as the two I mentioned. Neither it or Dark Matter are anywhere close to the level of Showcase's Continuum, which I am sad will be ending after a very short season this year.
Mr. Robot is on USA, produced through Universal Cable Productions, which Syfy has also used for other shows. How can USA come up with more entertaining and better written and acted shows than Syfy? The main reason may go back to that statement made several years ago, from one of the Syfy execs, that they consider their audience to be adolescent males, or video game addicted adults with no social life that live in their parents' basement. They may have decided to recommit themselves to science fiction in the past year or so, but so far it seems they haven't adjusted their opinion of their audience.
I realize both Killjoys and Dark Matter are from Canada's Space channel, but if Syfy also contributes to the production budget, there's no reason those shows can't rise to at least competent level, which neither of them has so far, imo. They're too formulaic and bland for my taste. I'm still watching, but only because there's not much else on this summer that interests me, but several times I've wondered why I was on Syfy rather than Netflix or watching something from my DVD collection.
I'm not as down on Killjoys. It has had some issues but each week has improved on the prior week, the cast is not sleepwalking through it (there is an actual sense of energy in the show) and it did not (like Dark Matter did) advertise itself as something it was not. Dark Matter tried to make itself sound mysterious and profound when in reality it is neither. Killjoys advertised itself as a light action show about bounty hunters, which is exactly what it is.