Syfy Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View

When Stargate and Defiance Met Dark Matter

Plus the vending machine from Hell. Get fun facts from Dark Matter Season 2, Episode 1. 

By Bryan Enk
DarkMatter_gallery_201FunFacts_07.jpg

The prison food dispensers are featured in close-ups but never appear in any wide shots. They were so heavy and moving them required so much effort that the decision was made to sideline them at the risk of slowing down the shooting day.

First of all, the reason why Three looks so sick to his stomach in the above photo isn't because of the prison food but rather because he's hoping he won't be asked to help move the ultra-heavy food dispenser machine.

Also, most of the prison cells you see below are provided by blue screen magic. Amazing, right?

DarkMatter_gallery_201FunFacts_03b.jpg

The impressive scope of Hyperion-8's Gen Pop area was helped along by Visual Effects Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson and his team as they utilized blue screen to triple the size of the section.

Oh, and this is Trenna Keating as One's high-priced lawyer, Felicia Brand. You probably know Trenna better as ...

DarkMatter_gallery_201FunFacts_08.jpg

In an early draft of the script, Derrick Moss’s lawyer, Felicia Brand, is also shot in the episode’s closing sequence. Also, the part of Felicia Brand was originally going to be played by director Amanda Tapping but the episode proved very demanding and the role was given to Trenna Keating (who, by the way, played Doc Yewll in Defiance). 

... Doc Yewll from Defiance.

Defiance_gallery_312FunFacts_09.jpg

"The stuff in the Omec ship where I was connected to the ship was probably the hardest for me. I had to speak Omec, which did not come easily (I commend our cast that do it regularly) and I was sitting on a bike seat under warm lights with magnetic tubes attached to me (that didn't hold well which meant a lot of poking and prodding all day). Needless to say, I was hot and my ass hurt like hell, but it was a great day, too. It looked really effing cool!! And Tony [Curran] and Steph [Leonidas] are great at keeping uncomfortable Indogenes' spirits up." - Trenna Keating, "Doc Yewll"

Click here for more behind-the-scenes facts about Dark Matter Season 2, Episode 1: "Welcome to Your New Home."