Well, as promised in a recent blog entry, I’d like to give you all a chance to get to know our extended Dark Matter family by bringing back the guest Q&A’s I used to do on Stargate. For those not in the know, it works like this: I announce our blog guest after which you’ll have a few days to upload your questions to this blog’s comment section. Days, maybe weeks later, our guest will drop by tho answer those questions in a dedicated blog entry! I thought it only appropriate that we kick things off with a key architect of the production: Dark Matter Executive Producer and President of Prodigy Pictures Jay Firestone.
As I’ve mentioned previously, you wouldn’t be watching this show if it wasn’t for Jay. He put together the deal that got the show ordered, then assembled the prep, production, and post infrastructure that got this show made, and then was heavily involved in all aspects of said production, from casting through scripts to final edits.
If you’ve got questions for Jay – which I’m sure you do! – post them in the comment section. I’ll be gathering them up and sending them his way Wednesday, so don’t delay!
Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present… The Dark Matter Boys’ Choir:
*
Season 3 musical episode here we come!
Some interesting Dark Matter-related links:
http://www.threeifbyspace.net/2015/06/dark-matter-episode-2-review-its-bubba-time/
“Dark Matter is a character-driven show that’s well-written and full of great dialogue. Only two hours in and I already feel like I know these people even though they don’t quite know themselves yet. ”
http://geekswithwives.com/syfy-has-found-dark-matter-pilot-review-spoilers/
“This series has started with action, drama, humor and spaceships and I don’t mind saying that’s right up my street. ”
http://sidelinebuzz.com/dark-matter-is-a-surprising-catch-for-summer-television/
“The last theme of “Dark Matter” is being immersed in the mystery of the characters situations as we know only as much as they do. Finding out the facts and being on the same page as them gives us a more enriched understanding of the story. Because the audience has to constantly guess what will happen next, (as if they are a member of the group themselves), the viewer is going to keep on coming back to know more. Especially since each character has a complex past, which in light of it has to create a present persona. This style stages an interesting mystery for audience members to try and piece together week by week.”
“Dark Matter‘s second episode amped up the action from last week, as the crew found themselves in conflict with the Ferrous Corporation on the ground and in the sky.”
http://www.tv-eh.com/2015/06/20/review-dark-matter-takes-mysterious-intriguing-next-steps/
“Because I’ve been covering television for years, I have a bit of a suspicious streak when it comes to storylines. I’m always looking for the red herring, the twist, the other shoe to drop. Because of that, watching Episode 2 of Dark Matter turned into an exercise in conspiracy theories and experiments.”
http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/dark-matter/247130/dark-matter-episode-2-review
“What makes Dark Matter unique and potentially great is its innovative exploration of human nature and the concept of being “born bad.”
Dark Matter episode #102 aired last night in North America and Australia. What’d you all think? I’ll be rolling out the behind-the-scenes pics, vids, and tidbits in the coming days – once most of the rest of the world has caught up – but would love to hear your thoughts and theories!
OK, they can sing in unison and on key, but can they harmonize?
😈
No questions yet. Just a big-hearted THANK YOU to Jay for bringing us Dark Matter.
Joe,
So far I LIKE IT…….D.M…….:)
Thanks, Jay! You must have a lot of patience to put together all these pieces, and then have to still work hard to make the show a success – with hardly any support from your own network. I’m sorry but I saw lots of ads for Killjoys and even The Expanse which won’t air until the end of the year, but not one ad for Dark Matter. But you still pulled in great ratings!
Questions for Jay:
1. Are you a science fiction fan and if yes, what show or movies or books do you like?
2. What was the hardest part of making Dark Matter happen?
3. What was your favorite part of the whole process?
4. Which episode is your favorite. And why?
5. What’s your next project?
“wise men say: only fools rush in…” is very apt for our crew. 🙂
Great reviews!
Question for Jay Firestone:
What really sold you on Dark Matter?
Thanks so much for helping to bring this story to life!
I liked the naming of the guns 😉
@Jay THANK YOU for bringing back science fiction the fans want.
@Joe, thanks for finding Jay
So fun that Bubba and Lulu made it into DM. Now who is Pip?
Yes, that was my question, too, Noellam — who is Pip?
I have some questions for Jay but it’s after midnight and I have to get up for work in 6 hours. So I will post them tomorrow.
And quickly–I loved the amped up action in episode 2. I loved the bonding that was going on with the guys on the planet. And love that the word “shit” is being allowed. I was very happy Alex got more lines to say and what he had to say was not what you would typically expect to hear. I liked when they were fighting and you expected one thing to happen and something else happened instead (don’t want to spoil with specifics). Don’t know why that tickles me so much, but it does. And thanks for letting me know that I was wrong about thinking I knew who wiped their memories (I thought I knew from the comic). When you said it wasn’t there, I went back and looked and I see I misinterpreted those comic scenes wrong. Now I’m super excited to develop ideas about that. Loved seeing Torri and David Richmond-Peck. I enjoyed the scene with the Kid and Zobot. And you do know what tickled me most was the naming of the guns Bubba and Lulu. Now, Bubba we knew at least from your naming of it in the blog, but I didn’t expect that to translate over to the show by name and Lulu was the surprise. Crichton had a gun he named Wynona and Stephen Colbert had “Precious” (Guess that wasn’t really “quickly” LOL).
Great 2nd episode Joe! The hour just flies by, and I want more show! The cast is really settling in to their characters.
One minor nitpick: The unnecessarily slow shuttle door closing, leading to the plan being foiled.
And in terms of BadAss to …not.
The Android
Four
Three
Six
Two
One
Five
Huge THANK YOU to Jay Firestone for bringing Dark Matter into my living room!! You are my super hero! Questions:
1. What is your earliest memory of your favorite Science Fiction TV show or movie?
2. What is a typical day like for you?
3. Awesome video you made for/with your son Ross when he was a kid. Is he following in your footsteps? btw, Happy Father’s Day!
4. What is the coolest thing about your job?
5. Do you ever see Joe coming with his camera and run the other way?
6. What are you most proud of in relation to Dark Matter?
7. What is one thing we see in Dark Matter that you insisted be in there?
Okay, that is all for now. I’ll probably think of more later. Or in the next minute. And have to post a comment again.
Oh shoot, forgot to say, the boys sound really, really good. So entertaining. Now lets hear the girls.
@Jamie — Not sure about Syfy, but I know Space has been airing the promo for DM every second commercial break, along with the promo for Killjoys (and that boring TNT drama Last Ship), so both shows seem to be getting a lot of exposure in Canada.
Joe, I think it’s been said many times, but DM is by far the best of the three on #SyfyFridays. I watched the premiere of Defiance when it first started in 2013 and just never got into it. Seemed very boring to me and I haven’t tuned in since then. As for Killjoys, I checked out the premiere on Friday and it seems alright… though with a heck of a lot of emphasis on swearing in that pilot… I’ll continue to watch it for now to see how the storyline develops (hopefully we see more VFX in space, rather than them just running around on planets hunting down people, because if it’s the latter, it’ll definitely turn me off of watching it). So right now anyways, for me, it’s just a 2-hour Syfy Friday — Killjoys and DM.
Oh, and a question for Jay. Were you surprised at how hard it was to get a ship-based sci-fi series green-lit for production? I mean, we always love seeing them on television, but it seems like it literally takes forever to get the go-ahead — not sure if it’s because of budget, or resistance in the genre or whatnot. I mean, look at how long it’s been since Star Trek ended and we’re still waiting for CBS to develop another series.
Oooh. People are asking good questions. Now I don’t have to!
I must say that you’ve picked a fine group of actors for Dark Matter’s cast. I can’t say which one is my favorite. They are all so compelling to watch.
Did anyone watch Killjoy? I liked that show too. It would be great for you to have a group of strong shows around Dark Matter.
Defiance’s premiere was very dark. They killed off some of my favorite characters. 🙂 I almost turned that one off in disgust. I haven’t seen the other episodes. Hopefully, it will get better because it’s the lead-in here.
Question for Jay: Do you have a core group of co-workers that you bring over to each project? Others posted great questions. Can’t wait to see the answers!
😳 supposed to be a sad face. I’m a little migrainey today. 🙁
Happy Fathers day! When is that in Canada?
Hi Joe
Ok, I’ve watched the latest episode twice now. So I’m thinking five has to be close to the person she’s stealing the memories of. Could it be Hewlett living behind the locked door? It would be a slimy thing right up his alley, he owns the Raza and has his own space on it. Just a thought.
Elminster
I would ask Jay, “in selecting and putting together projects what has been your biggest surprise good or bad, i.e. company response, fan response, unexpected out come, etc?” Was forming Prodigy Pictures a long term goal or was it more like I can do that and better?
While I like Dark Matter and all, when are you finally going to make Teal’C: PI?
Hi Jay Firestone.
First of all I’m enjoying Dark Matter. it a fun show.
I’m sure you get loads of writers and their agents sending in their show idea to you, what originally attracted to you to push forward with Dark Matter?
How important was the Dark Matter comic in that decision and in selling it to the tv networks?
Which episode of Dark Matter is your favourite and which one is your least favorite?
Apart from getting the show commission, what was your biggest contribution to the show?
Did you have to put your foot down and say no to Joe or anyone elses idea during production?
Why are TV network and production companies so protective and secretive in the details surrounding the costs and financing on a tv series?
How many and what kinds of cars do you have and what do you plan to pick up at the end of production of season 2 of Dark Matter?
Excluding Dark Matter, which other tv show would you love to be a producer on?
Are there any plans to expand Dark Matter beyond tv, novels, games?
Are there any other comics, games, novels that you would like to see make their way to tv series?
What was the worst and best part of working with Joe?
During production did you ever think it was a bad idea putting Dark matter into production?
Is Prodigy working on any other shows
It’s funny, that song is the same one that the choir I’m in used as an encore piece in our Spring concert about a month ago. Our version sounded… different. 😉 I might have to go up there and lead those guys next season! 🙂
My question for Jay was pretty much the same as Sparrow_hawk’s – What was the MAIN thing that when you read Dark Matter, completely sold you on the idea? Also, not a question, but such HUGE thanks to Jay for helping to bring Dark Matter to the screen. Getting stuff produced is not easy, especially nowadays, and his dedication to getting this done was and is amazing and appreciated.
@Tam Dixon: Father’s Day is the same here as in the US. In fact, today I went out to a small coastal town called St. Martin’s to have lunch – a lobster roll with fries. When my Dad was in the hospital, and not long before he passed, the last place I took him out for the day to lunch was this same place and that’s what we had. His favourite dessert was lemon creme pie, so that’s what I had today, too! 🙂 It was a nice lunch, but the weather here today is terrible – pouring rain. So, no walks along the beach by the restaurant that’s for sure.
Jay:
Great job with the new show.
You mentioned in an interview with Syfy magazine that you were very proud of your female empowered characters in all of your shows and that there was flak for this in Lost GIrl. How do you anticipate Dark Matter differing from Lost Girl, especially in regards to the character of Two?
@Gforce: Thanks! Sounds like a lovely day (even with the rain 😉).
Hey Joe,
I have a question about Dark Matter. I am really excited about it and I want to watch it but I am in Canada but I do not have a cable TV subscription anymore. I currently get my TV shows from Netflix and other streaming services. Do you know if there are plans for Dark Matter to be available on a streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, CraveTV, Shomi, etc.), say when the season has finished? And if so, which service(s) would you think would be the most likely to offer it?
@Mackenzie: If you have Netflix, then you must have internet, and the show is available to watch via streaming on the Space.ca website around the day after original airing. Right here:
http://www.space.ca/Dark-Matter
Thanks gforce,
I didn’t know that that was an option. I guess I have to install Flash again though *shudders* but I am sure it is worth it.
I finally got the singing to play on my computer. That was fantastic. Now we know Melissa can sing, too. She sounds like Idina Menzel. You know we would love a musical episode. Maybe the crew encounter a race of beings that can only communicate via song. Or they fly through something that makes them only able to sing their conversations. Or maybe the only lines they can sing are from the musical Grease. (Okay, now I’m just being silly, I know).
Questions for Jay:
1. What was the thing that appealed to you about Dark Matter that made you feel like you could really help get this show made?
2. Were there any situations where you envisioned them going one way, but they veered off to another way and it was better than what you had in you rmind?
3. What is the worst thing Joe made you eat? The best thing that you are glad you tried it?
4. Do you have a favorite character or is it more of a you like something about each kind of thing?
5. Do you have a favorite episode?
6. What is the hardest thing about your job?
7. What is your typical day like while working on Dark Matter?
8. Do you have any hobbies (besides cool cars)?
9. What do you consider your hidden talent?
10. Is there someone you’d love to get as a guest star for season 2 (name names)?
Jay:
Being a huge fan of La Femme Nikita, I was excited to see your name attached to Joe’s new SciFi show! Since everyone else will cover the Dark Matter questions, I thought I would selfishly ask you a couple (I have a million…) 15+ year old questions!
1) Was there any thoughts about a spin-off to LFN?
2) Do you have a favorite memory of working on that show you could share?
Thanks for being instrumental in bringing us this new SciFi show!!