The countdown is on and I begin to grow apprehensive. For a number of reasons.
For starters, Dark Matter’s third season returns to Syfy and SpaceChannel this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. with a double-episode premiere that picks up right where we left off last season, with our crew in mortal danger, scrambling to escape EOS-7, while the Android looks on helplessly from the bridge as the space station is destroyed. Who escapes and how will be the focus of much of the first episode that will end on the survivors reuniting with renewed purpose…and a trademark Dark Matter WTF??? scene that will send one character’s story into a whole new trajectory.
On the night’s second episode, our determined anti-villains set out to make good on a personal vendetta – only to encounter an unexpected and unfathomable complication.
I’ll admit that, whenever a new episode airs, I look forward to the night with a mix of excitement and trepidation. How will fandom react? Will they enjoy the episode? How will they respond to the various developments? The action and adventure? The shocks and surprises? The humor?
I’m cautiously optimistic though. I have, of course, seen the finished product and feel very good about our double-episode premiere – and particularly good about the show’s third season which raises the stakes coming off a stake-raising second season.
Then, it’s a long wait for the ratings. Over the show’s two season run, our ratings have been solid, and I continue to hold that those numbers aren’t reflective of our much bigger audience that, young and tech savvy, may be watching the show through alternate means. Still, until the ratings system catches up with the technology, those long analyzed numbers – overnights, +3’s, +7’s – will form the basis for the decision on a fourth season pick-up.
Again, based on the show’s past performance – and my knowledge of what’s in store for the show’s third season – I am cautiously optimistic. Which is why, a week from today, we’ll be convening the room to start breaking stories for Dark Matter’s fourth season.
Which brings me to my third source of anxiety: that writers’ room – three weeks in which we’ll be expecting to come up with outlines for thirteen new episodes. Or close to.
Sure, I already know how season 4 will begin, how it will end, and every narrative touchstone in between. I know the personal journeys each of our characters will take, the various twists and turns and revelations along the way. I know a number of the stories I want to tell. All that remains to be done is fill in the blanks, come up with the myriad complex little steps that will get us there. In other words, all the heavy lifting.
Making a show offers challenges at every stage: scriptwriting, prep, production, and post. But it’s this initial stage, the generating of new ideas and the breaking of stories, that is the most daunting and frustrating – especially just a little over a month removed from wrapping production on the previous season.
Of course, I felt the same way last year around this time only to end up producing our best season yet – so maybe I needn’t worry.
Nah. I’ll just go ahead and worry.
P.S. Episodic stills from our big double episode premiere!
So did you ever get around to Andriod’s new name or do you plan to hold that secret? Still plan to watch Friday. (action packed thriller)
Your work is solid. The show is solid… Off the hook fantastic. Relax… I know easier said than done.
BTW thank you to the cast and crew, and all involved. You all are much appreciated.
Can’t really believe the reception will be anything but wonderful. Excited for the new season!
Deep breaths. slow full exhale.
Here’s a pep talk heading into S4 writers room.
This one comes from author Justine Musk
(The mother of Elon Musks brood of little geniuses.)
“:It’s never enough to simply string together clever sentences,
or know how to stage a particular scene,
or understand the cause and effect of plot.
You have to travel into the deeper places,
the soul-places, that scare you and strip you raw.
Because it is only when you show the inner self
that you show us something we haven’t seen before
(often many times before)”. -Justine Musk
Dark Matter is a story of nature vs nurture.
In Season 1 we got the basics & hints.
In season 2 we saw the first complete layer of each characters onion peeled.
In season 3 am sure we will see one more layer peeled.
Perhaps one more character will even make
a shocking choice as Ryo/Four did.
Soooo .. In season 4 ….. its time to seriously
TEAR DOWN THE WALLS!
In every human being their is a core reason for why they do anything.
A reason that reaches beyond ego, basic personality,
over all life experience or immediate circumstance.
Pick two character leads to stand out and let your audience see
their deepest inner core, really understand them
and become so damn emotionally attached
they will wonder if they are losing their grip on reality!
Dig so deep that
even your actors who portray these characters
will discover things about themselves they never knew before
and have a difficult time saying goodnight to their characters
at the end of each work day.
Dig so deep
that tears quietly stream from your own eyes,
as you release the music of their soul wrenching journey
onto the page.
Its time to let go of the carefully, calculated, controlled, story
and let emotional chaos run amok within you.
No more safety net. No more being reasonable.
No more perfectly measured formula
No more walking a slightly blurred line along a high wire
with an angry seagull meeting you midway.
Let the emotional depths to which you free fall
scare the hell out of even you.
Be so messy, reckless and recoilless,
that by the time you reach the stories conclusion in season 5
complete exhaustion & speechlessness
will be the only reaction by each and all.
Its time. to have that explosive nervous break down, Joseph Mallozzi.
Tear down your walls. Let the super nova begin.
Why a double episode premiere? Was that the plan? I have noticed several shows are doing double episodes.
Thanks for the stills! Looks like our crew survived…as if we doubted for a minute. Who is the fellow with Five? Seeing several props from earlier postings, now in action. So cool.
I already have my popcorn bowl ready for Friday!
Well be visiting my no-cable mom, so alas, no premiere till at least the +3. I’m a little ashamed at how tempting it was to stay in for both Dark Matter and Orphan Black… 🙂
Try to enjoy some down time, and as always, thanks for all your hard work!
Bonne chance pour vendredi. Nous y serons. Et pour la saison 4.
So glad the premiere is 2 episodes…kinda helps to fill the void of the 39 or so weeks waiting for season 3.
wheeeee…. 3 more sleeps.
This week is dragging for me. I wonder why?? Lol
I was watching season 2. Last night I was watching ep.1 and somehow thinking about StarGate SG1. I was reminded of the episode that had the group working for the leadership as indentured workers of a visited planet said to suffer from cold. Is that bleed over by design? It seems to me as superficial. Counting the days T – 3 until D-Day.
Since worrying won’t affect the outcome breathe deep of the hot cocoa and chill with some great flicks. My current favorite distractions are Wonder Woman, Night of the Comet and hunting for the perfect double chocolate chip cookie.
Ugh, I’m really starting hate Tuesdays, especially when they stand in the way of my DM Fridays. I’m so ready for the premiere.
Thanks MaggieL80 & Sylvia! I’ll check out Apple TV too. My son loaned me his Chromecast, so I’m using that right now. He’s taking it with him this fall though. He said you can buy episodes through Google too. Plus, they have an app for ipad/iphone. I’m not sure which direction I’ll go. I really like Roku, so I might look for some format that will play through that.
Mr. M.: If I had to guess, I believe you should plan for a S4-5 also. “Dark Matter” has good ratings (most popular behind Dr Who)! Do the online subscriptions help boost ratings? (Would that be do or does?)
We bought a subscription to Hulu. I tried “Handmaiden’s Tale”. It was excellent but brutal! I’m binging on “Fargo” and would recommend that show! My hubby enjoys “Angie Tribeca”. Only two seasons for both of those. 🙁
Less than a week to the UK premiere – woohoo!
I’ve been loving all the teasers we’ve been given – Bring It On 👍
My ability to watch S3 premiere is on hold. I’m not too happy with MGM’s new Stargate comic book launch.
I definitely agree with the season 4 and 5.