Big news! I’m not crazy after all –
http://tvline.com/2014/10/15/syfy-acquires-dark-matter-graphic-novel-adaptation/
http://www.gateworld.net/news/2014/10/stargate-producers-bring-dark-matter-to-syfy/
So I DIDN’T imagine the whole thing. Unless, of course, this is also part of my elaborate, ongoing hallucination and those url’s actually link to the live cam of a cat hotel in Cornwall.
But, just in case, I’d like to thank a few of the people who got us where we are today: poised to go into production on a glorious 13-episode SF series…
First and foremost, Jay Firestone of Prodigy Pictures who worked tirelessly for months (and months and months!) relentlessly pursuing (I suspect he’s really a T-1000) and piecing together the various deals that made Dark Matter, the t.v. series, a reality. If not for all of Jay’s determined hard work, none of this would have been possible and I would have had to find something else to blog about today.
Next, Keith Goldberg at Dark Horse Comics who green lit the original four issue Dark Matter comic book series (available as a graphic novel here: https://digital.darkhorse.com/browse/brand/52/. As I suspected, the graphic novel proved an invaluable visual tool in conveying a proper sense of the prospective show’s tone and plotting – and ensuring people didn’t automatically imagine “the worst version”.
Speaking of the comic book, a big thanks to artist extraordinaire Garry Brown who illustrated all four issues (http://www.garrybrownart.com), colorist Ryan Hill (https://twitter.com/josephryanhill), letters Richard Starkings and Comicraft (http://www.comicbookfonts.com/default.asp), and my awesome editor Patrick Thorpe (http://www.comicbookdaily.com/columns/wham-bang-pow/got-job-series-patrick-thorpe/).
I’m sure I’ll have at least another hundred people to thank when all is said and done but for now, a final thanks to Vanessa Piazza who has been overseeing early prep (everything from The Raza and space station designs to casting) and will be joining me on set for all the space-faring fun in the coming months.
Spread the word. And check back here for plenty of behind-the-scenes insights, tidbits, and sneak peaks.
*throws confetti and yells*
That is so awesome. Is it too soon to get ridiculously excited about seeing this? Oh heck, of course not. The graphic novel was a great idea, I just reread it a week or so ago, and it’s just so much easier to picture what the whole thing will be like. It’s almost like it’s already storyboarded!
“I’m not crazy after all..”
Well, now about that… 😉
Oh thank goodness!!! I am looking forward to hearing all about behind the scenes tid bits. I would like to say THANK YOU to the team as well and look forward to seeing the cast. I hope that some familiar faces are chosen.
I’m happy for you that your comic book is finally coming to life. I think anyone who read it would agree that it would make a good TV series and that’s finally happening.
Great news! Congrats, Joe!
First, congats
Second, aww SyFy? Why not a respectable network like Fox News?
Will it at least put put on Hulu the same day?
So happy for you!
Great news! I suspected early on that the secret series had to be Dark Matter.
If you ever need extras for the show you should give your blog followers a chance. Good to see production of this caliber here in Toronto!
Congrats! I’m sure it will be a great success. Looking forward to it… unfortunately, it’s going to be quite the wait! Fall 2015 can’t come soon enough.
Congrats Joe!
Can’t wait to see it. I will be on in Canada, won’t it?
Elminster
Congratulations! This is amazing.
I just shared the news on Facebook.
Woohoo! I can’t wait to see Dark Matter come to life on the screen.
So, our cast of characters is:
Marcus Boone
Griffin Jones
Jace Corso (Mike Dopud would be great for this guy – no?)
Ryo Tetsuda ;D
Portia Lin
and the munchkin
Whoot! So giddy!
In my world, the big news is that today my doc declared me ten years cancer free (breast cancer). So Yay! I went and had a pumpkin latte and a gingerbread baby bundt cake at the new bakery which opened this week.
Dang. That was supposed to be a big smiley face after Tetsuda. ’cause, ya know. Well, just because.
das! help me out here!
SyFy, huh? I haven’t watched them since SGU and Sanctuary went off the air.
Best of luck to your new series Joe, I hope to watch when it premiers.
Oh, is it going to be on a Canadian network? Space? Showcase?
Congratulations Joe and Paul. So happy for you. Now to see if it will be shown on Down Under telly.
Congrats! So, is this 13 with the possibility of more (a normal series), or more like a 13-ep miniseries?
Yeah! And just before your birthday. They must have planned that!
I enjoyed reading Dark Matter and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on the tube. Congratulations.
Finally! Been waiting a long time, and will be watching for updates
Reblogged this on Pbmom's Blog and commented:
Great news for all sci-fi fans everywhere. And you’ll see a lot of your old Stargate (crew at least) together again.
Happy Happy Happy!!!
“Big news! I’m not crazy after all -“
This time…
Very excited for you! Will any of the character names change for the show? Like that robot’s name? How did you hook up with the 2 new producers? Have you cast that cute long haired guy (don’t make him a girl!) yet? Will you have a very young, but genius cast member? I’m very excited for me too! I miss a regular space series.
Freakin Awesome! We don’t have enough space ships on the boob tube and since Stargate ended, there just hasn’t been anything to really grab the imagination. I’m excited to see the end result. Yay for the shoot in Toronto, welcome back. Although I hope you brought a milder winter with you from Vancouver this year. 🙂 I’ll definitely be spreading the word, as I know a lot of people who have been hoping for something like this.
Congratulations Joe! I hope you get a Friday night time slot. I love me some SciFi Friday!
“And the crowd goes wild! …Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Seriously, Joe, Well done!” You do realize you also need to thank Brad Wright and company for giving you your first real job in Sci-Fi, the fans for keeping you on the air for all those wonderful Stargate years, Your College for accepting you, your teachers in high school and elementary school for tolerating you, your parents for giving birth to you…..”
Yes! I’ve been hoping this was the show that got picked up! (Especially when I started hearing that Syfy wanted to go back to space and less with the ghosts.) Congrats to you and all involved! I can’t wait to start getting more details.
WOOT!! (As if I didn’t know…I mean…you are NOT good at ‘subtle’, Joey… 😉 )
Cheers, and congrats!
das
PS; You better get a hawt guy to play Two-Katana-san. 😉
das
So exciting! I can’t wait.
Now, I haven’t read the comic book (yet). Should I read it before the show starts?
AWESOME! Congratulations Joseph. Can’t wait to see it.
Congratulations Joe 😀
Warner Bros. announced updates: “Aquaman” (starring Jason Momoa) will open in 2018
Hot damn! Ok, it was worth the wait. I cannot be happier for you and Paul. It has to be literally a dream come true. Congrats to everyone who made this happen! And it’s going to be so much fun seeing how the show comes together over the next few months. Any chance for some videos down the road?
For Sparrow – You did winkie eyes instead of regular eyes…a case of not being ‘shifty’ enough. 😉
das
Just a bit of my day…
Tonight I tried to put mail into the mailbox at the post office, only to have it fall back out. I discovered the box was jammed and it was well after post office hours so no one was around. So I tried removing the mail clogging the box in an attempt to get to whatever was keeping the mail from going in, only to realize that by doing so I was actually tampering with US Mail (a Federal offense in these parts)…so, I called the police. A cute young officer arrived and tried to unclog the box with his nightstick…which really isn’t as dirty as it sounds. Unfortunately, his stick was too rigid and he couldn’t get it to go in all the way (also not as dirty as it sounds). I saw a long branch growing in a row of hedges, and suggested we break it off and see if that would reach into the box. I went over to the branch and started bending it – at which point I asked the officer if he was going to arrest me for vandalism, to which he replied, ‘not tonight’ – and just then I pulled the whole branch-thingy out of the ground, roots and all. He still assured me that he wouldn’t arrest me. He jammed the stick into the box (again, not as dirty as it sounds) and VOILA! The clog unclogged and the mail fell into the box.
I suggested to the officer that this had to be the silliest call he responded to this month, and he said, ‘not even close’. I just can’t imagine what it’s like being a cop in a little country village…
Dang. Now I wanna watch Hot Fuzz again! 😀
das
yay!! Im so happy for you and Paul. I was so hoping it was Dark Matter. You stopped talking about it completely, so I was kinda suspicious, but I didn’t want to say something and be wrong, Most wonderful news and worth the wait. I guess the only crap part is that it’s shooting in Toronto and not there in Vancouver. I just hope your experience there getting a place and getting settled goes better than the horrific mess the last time you tried Toronto.
I know you don’t know me at all, but you’ve shared so much of your life with us who read your blog daily, in a way, you seem like good friends.
–Gina
YAAAAY!!! and Congratulations to you and Paul.
AND…Happy Birthday DUDE! this is an awesome “gift” wooo hoooo!
This is great news! Congrats, Joe!
Joe i can’t even begin to express how happy I am for you this is what you wanted and you worked hard to get it. I’m hoping you will be able to answer some questions in an upcoming mailbag my question is will the shows ship be like the ship from the graphic novel or will there be differences also when will we learn who has been casted to play what roles? Hoping the show goes for 10 seasons and becomes the next star trek/stargate/star wars/battlestar gallactica.
Congratulations 🙂
Soooo looking forward to this! TV needs a new space scifi!
Im very excited about this Star Matter…sorry Dark Gate, opss Dark is what Matter. 😉
Never give up, never surrender!
So Freaking Awesome Joe!!!! Very happy for you & Paul. I hope we get it on SyFy Australia.
Happy Birthday!!!! It is the 16th there isn’t it? Have a great day. Next year is a big one isn’t it? We should have a big blog party!
xoxo Chev
Joe’s good news ended my day on a positive note, and your story is getting my day off to a good start, das! 🙂
And the help I was looking for was support on the casting of Two-Katana-san (which you gave!) not how to do the big smile 😀
Yep, not shifty enough. 😉
AND~~~~ Happy Birthday to you,happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Joey,,(so much better than my real voice singing to you)
Have Great Day!! 😉
@Maggiemayday CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I’m so happy for you. What wonderful news to celebrate.
@JeffW Thanks for your kind words about my knee. Looks like I can get on the schedule for Nov 7 so I’ll be glad to get this over.
@Das Funny story.
And congratulations Joe. I’m so happy for you, so excited for us, and thanks to all those people who helped make this possible.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE!!! (It’s the 16th).
Great news! I was hedging my bets on if you’d eaten a suspect bite of Fugu and were hallucinating the whole thing.
I never thought I’d say this about another SyFy program, but…I’ll be watching!
Congratulations guys!
Congratulations!
So it premiers next fall? In September? I’ll have to find something to do for eleven months while we wait!
http://youtu.be/T5kVeY-GbJc
Congrats to you and Mr. Paul! Now you can afford to keep Jelly in the life style she deserves! Seriously though, hats off to you making your own career. I like security and knowing where my money is coming from. I couldn’t do what you do…too unstable.
When I went on a girls weekend recently, one the ladies works at creating a niche for herself involving health care for seniors. She is creating her own field and it’s a much needed service over here! I hope it works out for her. Very impressive!
Das: 😆
Happy Birthday! We expect plenty of birthday food porn! 🙂
When do you fly the pups over?
Happy Birthday, Sir. And I ordered the graphic novel yesterday after I saw the announcement. Good luck with your new show.
Congratulations! Sounds like fun, can’t wait to see it! Very happy for you and Paul.
Jay Firestone. I felt like I knew that name from somewhere. I looked him up. He was Executive Producer for the “original” La Femme Nikita TV series. I FREAKING LOVED that show! I am expecting great things from Jay and Joe!!
Congratulations! Well deserved!
YES!!! Well done to you and Paul, and the team. So, about those novelisations…?
Woo hoo can’t wait!!! And Happy birthday too!
Happy Birthday!!!
Awesome News! Congrats!-The Klam
Congrats on the, now, “official-ness” of the show, and happy birthday! I’m sure the upcoming move back east is bittersweet, but it’s for a great reason and at the very least, it’s temporary! I can’t wait to see who you guys end up casting in the show!
If your past showrunning-concurrent posts are any indication, I’m sure we’re in for a fun ride behind the scenes these next few months!
Wishing you and the dogs a safe journey,
-Mike A.
Congratulations on DARK MATTER, Joe and Paul!
After all the blood, sweat, and tears — and never giving up! — your hard work has FINALLY paid off. And this time you didn’t get hives when you went to Toronto! It’s finally the right thing. AND we get to see more blog family members/Stargate writers in a while.
Talk about a birthday present, Joe! Happy Birthday!!! Hope you have a terrific day w/ Akemi, the doggie babes, and friends and food. Like Tam Dixon, am looking forward to pictures!
Congrats to maggiemayday! So glad you are a suvivor and here with us! We need our Anti-M. 🙂
Das, loved your story! That was “classic Das.” Bet it was as entertaining for the cop as it was for us.
PBMom, great birthday video. It was barking awesome. 😉 Am already praying for your knee surgery!
JeffW, I shoulda asked if you guys wanted to stop for dinner in Indy on the way back to Chicago. That would’ve been fun!
gforce, you really could be making money with your photos. They are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them. Glad you liked “Following Atticus.” Was going to recommend it a few months back, because of the hiking in NH, but like to read books first. Cause you never know. This was a good one.
Deni-cita! Am glad to see you around. Bet your grand-bambino is keeping you busy. Sorry for not writing (that goes for everybody). Have been swamped and working split shifts this year.
So glad to “see” everyone here on the blog. Miss ya!
What a great day to celebrate. Joe’s birthday and Dark Matter’s birthday! 8-|
Three cheers!
Let’s hope if gets down here to Rio de Janeiro sometime in the near future…
Good luck.
Joe- So happy to see the “official” announcement that Dark Matter received the green light. It must have been hard keeping that secret under wraps for such a long time. Although I don’t think many long-time blog readers were fooled! I know I’ll be reading the blog with renewed interest to see how dark Matter comes together. Best wishes and Happy Birthday! Kevin
*steeples fingers* And so it begins…! Cool stuff, I’m ready, bring on the mystery ship! And happy birthday, which is what I originally wandered over here to say; here we are wishing you Happy B-day while you’re the one giving out presents! Hey, I’m hoping your East Coast adventures will allow time for a trip to Paris (so close from the coast!) Felicia Day has a funny trip video with clips of Dernier Cafe sci fi theme spot and the second floor is all Stargate:
http://youtu.be/OCxy8FU5_nE?list=UUIg7U4yoXlm2_nnkl9wsIcw
Sorry guys, I posted the wrong Felicia D vid, here goes, the Stargate themed room is at 4:30
http://youtu.be/OCxy8FU5_nE
Happy Birthday Joe! Another year older 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOECITO!
@maggiemayday: Congratulations! 🙂
@for the love of Beckett: Lisita! Mikey/Anakin is growing and breaking things. Lotsa things. xoxo
Congratulations, Joe! I’m am so happy for you to be back on SyFy! It has been so dark and cold without your presence!
Happy Birthday, Joe!!!
Congratulations, Joe and Paul. I’ll come up with some more questions as soon as I admit that I didn’t read the comic. There, the deed is done.
Will the beginning of the series follow the story line/lines of the comic?
@Tam Dixon:
Take care of that knee; knee issues are no fun!
@for the love of Beckett:
Dinner in Indy would’ve been fun! The only problem would’ve been that both times we passed Indy was late at night, so maybe we need to plan our driving better! 😉
The dinner offer is open on our side if you visit the northwest Chicago suburbs. Just let us know. We also throw a Christmas open house around the middle of December, and shopping on Michigan Avenue is great that time of year (if a little pricey).
What are ya know, Joey? 59? 😉
das
Yeah…I meant ‘now’. It’s been a bad week. 😛
das
Here’s to seeing an awesome new series.
BTW – I got to see a few episodes of Transporter – The Series. I’m glad your not apart of it.