Fans Are In Renewal Limbo Over Syfy Channel Fan Favorites Killjoys and Dark Matter

SyFy Channel

My Tweetpal @kiddle is one of the fans trying to let the Syfy network how much they like the show and is prodding them to let us know if there will be a season 2 for Killjoys and Dark Matter. I asked Kiddle if she would like to include her thoughts about the programs,  she wrote the following.

 Killjoys follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant system on the brink of a bloody, multiplanetary class war.
Luke Macfarlane, Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore Photo courtesy Syfy Channel. Killjoys follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant system on the brink of a bloody, multiplanetary class war.

Kill joys and Dark Matter Reviews by Guest Author Kiddle

In a return to its roots, SyFy Channel produced shows which are actually set in space (not that we don’t love our earthbound and angelic SyFy siblings).

SyFy’s two freshman Friday night specials arrived. And, delivered.

Killjoys Review

An exciting bounty hunter show, Killjoys illustrates why triangles may be the worst shape ever. You quickly come to care for the two “established” characters and the newbie to the team. The very definition of “life is unfair” applies to D’avin Jaqobis (Luke Macfarlane), an ex-soldier suffering PTSD, but not from the normal source. The two original bounty hunters, Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), and Johnny Jaqobis (Aaron Ashmore), excel in executing warrants and witty banter. The story could be trite, but instead explores unusual plot lines and has a satisfying level of mysterious factors: who is “the Company,” why was Dutch brought up the way she was, who messed D’avin up and, how is Johnny gonna fix all this?

On top of a tight core group are delightful ancillary characters, like the quippy bartender, Pree (Thom Allison); relegated to backwater planet Dr. Pawter (Sarah Power); seriously protective boss lady, Bellus (Nora McLellan); mysterious cult monk secret rebellion leader Alvis (Morgan Kelly), bounty competitor Fancy Lee (Sean Baek) and perhaps most interesting of all, Khlyen (Rob Stewart) – Dutch’s pretty creepy and yet protective mentor. Non-human, but beloved is the ship, Lucy (Tamsen McDonough).

In addition to its interesting cast, the show establishes a great locale and political structure and quickly fleshes it out. Killjoys definitely deserves love, attention and a second season.

Killjoys 1×10 “Escape Velocity” (Season Finale) airs Friday night on the SyFy Channel.

 

 

Dark Mater TV Show The crew of a derelict spaceship is awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.
DARK MATTER TV Show — Zoie Palmer, Alex Mallari Jr. as Four, Anthony Lemke, Melissa O’Neil, Mark Bendavid, Jodelle Ferland, Roger Cross —  Photo courtesy Syfy Channel. The crew of a derelict spaceship is awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.

 

Dark Matter Review

Who doesn’t like the equivalent of a space “locked room” mystery? Oh, and by the way, there IS a locked room. Dark Matter is a mixed genre mystery science fiction thriller.

SyFy bravely backs a show in which no less than seven major recurring characters are introduced in the first episode, Zoie Palmer as The Android, Mark Bendavid as One, Melissa O’Neil as Two, Anthony Lemke as Three,  Alex Mallari Jr. as Four,  Jodelle Ferland as Five and Roger Cross as Six.

The audience is as mystified as the crew members, six of whom have woken up from stasis with no idea of who they are. The seventh is a remarkably human android.

Dark Matter makes an excellent choice to keep the characters with their original numbers (the order in which they were woken up) and Android is simply Android. The show gradually exposes the backgrounds of the the crew, most of whom were pretty unpalatable in their former lives. Viewers are drawn to the crew very quickly because they are more than the standard 2-dimensional characters and the show raises the question of what is the core of a human?

Dark Matter is deftly cast, and has extremely amusing dialog.  The show offers another bonus: kickass fights, space battles, cloning, and other sciency goodness.  Because of the character building, Dark Matter may be better served by binge watching, but it’s been very pleasant to watch unfold.

And, the show creator promises we’ll find out who wiped the crew’s memory (and maybe fiddled with Android).

Dark Matter airs Friday nights on the SyFy Channel.

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