Dark Matter

You wake up on a spaceship--course unknown, mission unknown, really everything unknown, because you have no memory of your life prior to the moment. You discover there are five others on board--also without recall, apparently. There's also an android who needs a little reprogramming to make "her" usable.

Such is the premise of "Dark Matter"--a new show from Syfy that invokes similarities to "Firefly" with its characterizations. There's the gun-loving meathead, the mysterious young woman...but viewers soon realize that the characters must reinvent themselves. They have clues to their mission, but amnesia offers freedom from the past and past deeds.

After two episodes, it feels like a slowly developing story in terms of the direction the show will take. While it is an action show, there are plenty of mysteries to be revealed. Who erased their memories and why? What's in the small box onboard? What's behind a large door that doesn't want to be opened? And why is the mysterious young woman--who apparently is not crew--on board?

The sets are dark, like The Nostromo or any number of other spaceship depictions. The sound is sometimes muffled. But for now, I am willing to follow this crew to unravel the mysteries and see where fate leads.

Updated at end of first season: The season finished strong. I am increasing my grade to an 8.