Syfy is making damned sure that it will once more be synonymous with science fiction. The network is reteaming with Stargate franchise writer/producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie for a trip up to space with a limited series adaptation of the duo’s comic book miniseries Dark Matter. I think I’ve lost track of how many original scripted series Syfy has picked up over the last six months, just like these characters have lost track of everything else.
Dark Matter, which lasted for four issues in 2012, has been given a 13 episode order from Syfy. It will tell the tale of a derelict spaceship's crew, each member of which wakes up with no memories of who they are. (Typical sci-fi opening.) Beyond a lack of identities, the crew also doesn’t know where they’re going or how they got on board the craft. Everything is a possible threat at this point, and they must band together to figure out what their purpose is, as the secrets keep piling up all around them.
I could do some more hemming and hawing over the plot, but the point is, it’s best to go into this story as blind as possible. I’m not sure how they’re going to make it last for 13 episodes, but I’m definitely intrigued. Oddly enough, Mallozzi and Mullie first conceived the idea for Dark Matter as a TV series, but it was later modified for the page and published by Dark Horse Comics. Perhaps the duo had a larger story in mind to begin with.
Mallozzi and Mullie are well-known to the science fiction community, having written and executive produced Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate Universe. I don’t suppose anyone would blame them if they slipped up and added a couple of Stargates into Dark Matter. The Canadian pair also wrote and produced for the comedies Big Wolf on Campus and Student Bodies, the former of which I’d completely forgotten about. Most recently, they’ve worked on Transporter: The Series and Reelz’s Delete.
Syfy is already heading back to the space opera genre with the miniseries Ascension, which I’m stoked for, as well as The Expanse, based on James S.A. Corey’s acclaimed novel series. The network also has a slew of comic adaptations in development, including Pax Romana, Five Ghosts and Letter 44. Not to mention their 12 Monkeys adaptation and the currently airing new series Z Nation and Town of the Living Dead. Pretty soon, space will be the only place where all of Syfy’s in-development projects can fit.
