Episode One (Dark Matter)

"Episode One" is the first episode of the Space channel's science fiction series Dark Matter.

The episode was written by series creators and executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, and directed by TJ Scott. The episode first aired in Canada on June 12, 2015.

Plot

A damaged spaceship drifts with its crew of six in stasis. As the ship's life support system gradually fails, the crew wake up. The first makes his way to the bridge and is attacked by a woman, who then uses a console to bring life support back to normal function. Another man joins them and demands to know who they are; none of them know. As the other three awaken, they find that none have any memory of their past.

The group adopt provisional names, One through Six, in order of their awakening. They find that the ship is carrying a wide variety of guns. They split into pairs to explore the ship. One and Four discover the training room, while Three and Six discover the ship's android in stasis. On the bridge, Two discovers a security protocol in effect and learns that Three and Six are under attack by the Android. She sends One and Four to assist them; after a brief battle, the Android is deactivated by Two who wipes her protocols.

With the Android incapacitated, Two sets about repairing her and listens as the group voices their concerns about her. Two explains that she is no longer a threat, and once reactivated she should be back to normal. Two activates the android and asks her to recover any files relating to the crew but she tells them that they're not accessible at this time.

Meanwhile, Five displays her electronic skill to Six, and on the bridge the Android and Two discuss repairs, but are interrupted when the ship comes under attack. At the Android's suggestion, they make a series of maneuvers to evade the incoming missiles; this causes a brief loss of ship gravity, and Five is injured in a fall. They learn from the Android that their next destination is a planet 12 hours away by FTL.

While in FTL, Five recovers and tells Six about a mysterious door that may have the answers they're looking for behind it. Three attempts unsuccessfully to blast the door and is knocked out when he is thrown against the bulkhead. Meanwhile, One discovers a pendant in his bed, and Four examines a puzzle box he found hidden in a locker.

When they arrive at the planet, One, Three, Four and Six travel to the surface in a shuttle along with the Android to find answers and discover that they are at a mining colony under imminent threat from a corporation that wants to wipe them out and claim the planet for itself. The miners expect to be attacked by a monstrous group known as the Raza, enforcers for such corporations. One notices one of the women wearing a familiar pendant and learns that it comes from Hrothgar, a member of the colony who had gone to buy weapons.

On the ship, One urges that they assist the colony, believing the arms they are carrying are meant for the miners. They vote to give the miners half of their weapons shipment (keeping the other half to sell), and begin loading the arms aboard the shuttle, but are interrupted when Two summons them to the bridge. The Android has recovered important data: their names and history. All but Five are wanted for felonies including murder and piracy. The ship's name is Raza. They have come not to help the colonists but to kill them.

Reception

Ratings

"Episode One" was watched by 273,000 overnight viewers on the Space channel in Canada,^[1] and 1.28 million viewers on Syfy, with a 0.3 18-49 rating during its first airing.^[2]

With Live+7 DVR viewing factored in, the episode had an overall rating of 2.04 million viewers.^[3]

Critical reception

Reaction to the episode from critics was mixed, with Matt Fowler from IGN noting that "Those yearning for Syfy channel's return to space might feel appeased by Dark Matter" and notes that the "opening chapter does little to inspire further exploration", and gives the episode an overall 5.0 out of 10 rating.^[4] Mitch Salem from Showbuzz Daily also noted that he felt that "The characters are interchangeably uninteresting" and believed that it may have been down to the characters not knowing their real identities. Overall he felt it wasn't a promising way to start the series, and also talked about how he believed the show had low production values, and felt even the director TJ Scott couldn't make them seem more expensive than what they were.^[5]

References