So, let’s discuss next steps. I know there are those of you who would prefer to have your imaginations finish the story for you. And I’m fine with that because it looks like another season or miniseries is off the table (for now). But there are those of you who would like some closure – or, at the very least, answers. Here are the option presently open to us:
Continuing the series as a comic book: This would seem to make the most sense since Dark Matter started off as a four-issue arc for Dark Horse Comics (although it technically existed as a pilot script first, but for the sake of argument, let’s ignore that for the time being). The comic realm offers the opportunity to tell the planned final two season arcs OR possibly a condensed version of seasons 4 and 5. The only thing working against this would be any copyright issues that might prevent me from using the characters from the t.v. series in the comic book. The original characters were somewhat different in the original comic books (ie. FIVE was much younger and the Android was male), so I need to be sure I can use the characters we have come to know as the crew of The Raza – otherwise, continuing the story is pointless. In any case, I’ve put out feelers and hope to hear back later this week about the possibility.
I write some scripts: The operative word being “some”. At this point, the prospect of writing any more scripts is daunting, but I do like the idea of maybe scripting my plan for the first few episodes and making them available to you online. Still, this would be a long way from that two season plan.
I offer a breakdown of what I had planned: Which might be kind of fun. Dedicate a separate blog entry to an episode by offering a summary of each proposed episodic story. In this case, however, the devil would be in the details since much of my season-long writing has consisted of me jumping back and forth between scripts to ensure consistency and flow – something that might be a little difficult to achieve in this scenario.
I offer “answers”: This would no doubt be the easiest option. Line up the questions (Where was TWO’s story with her daughter headed? What were your plans for Ryo Ishida? How would the reunion between THREE and Sarah play out and where would it go from there? What happened to SIX?) and then give you my intended broad stroke game plan for each.
There are several ways to go and I leave you to think about it – or suggest options I haven’t offered (although if I haven’t offered them, chances are it’s because I’m not exactly keen on them) – while I look into a few scenarios.
But whatever we decide to go with, it won’t be for a little while. I am, to be honest, exhausted. On the one hand, I’m fortunate enough to have worked some 20 straight years in this business without interruption. On the other hand, I’ve worked 20 straight years in this business without interruption. I went from teen sitcoms straight into action adventures directly to 12 years of Stargate followed by another series, then a miniseries, a year spent writing pilots, and finally three straight years of Dark Matter which consisted of overseeing a room, writing scripts, prepping, producing, and posting a season, then overseeing another room, writing scripts, prepping, producing and posting another season… 350+ hours of produced television, 115+ hours of scripted television, and one immense fan campaign later – I am exhausted. I think I could use a break.
So, I’m going to take a little time. To read. Take some meetings. Consider my options. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop keeping you informed – of my fight to give Dark Matter a proper conclusion, or of the other exciting projects I have in the works. You’ll still be able to connect with me on twitter (@BaronDestructo), find me on reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkMatter/), and interact with me here where I’ve been blogging daily for over 10 years.
All that said, I really, REALLY appreciate how amazing you’ve all been throughout the show’s run but especially over these last few difficult weeks. I often talk about family – how the crew of The Raza are like family, and how the cast and crew of the show have become like family to me. Well, you’ve all become family to me and I thank you for that. And, as a token of my appreciation, I’d like to offer you continued access to exclusive BTS materials. Last week, I posted the first production draft of the Dark Matter pilot. Today, I’d like to give you the final shooting draft of…well, you choose.
I went through the imdb listing for the show and came up with the six highest-rated episodes as chosen by fans. Cast your vote for the script you’d like to read. Polls close in 24 hours!
![Jayenkai [JNK] (@Jayenkai) Avatar](https://i0.wp.com/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/875798051503439872/U_Stl5zW_normal.jpg?resize=50%2C50){kind=avatar}
Leave a Reply