Inside Syfy's 'Dark Matter': Photos from Space.com's Out-Of-This-World Set Visit

'Dark Matter' showrunner speaks

When Space.com visited the set of Syfy's "Dark Matter" TV series in February, showrunner Joe Mallozzi acted as an eager guide. He discussed how Season 1 kept things small, as viewers learned about the amnesiac characters and the "Dark Matter" world at the same rate as the characters themselves did. Season 2, however, will go bigger and darker, he said.

Android

Zoie Palmer, who plays Android, discussed the challenges of portraying a nonhuman, how her character's personality grew over the course of the show and how "British accents make the best villains and/or robots."

Five

Jodelle Ferland, who plays Five, talked about learning what was in store for her character at the same rate as everyone else — when she got each script. She also discussed her character being underestimated for her in-universe youth and her excitement at upcoming action sequences — plus the epic moment when the Season 1 mole was revealed to the cast just before filming.

A look at the sets

Mallozzi guided reporters through the many sets on the Toronto filming site; unfortunately, the One through Six's ship, the Raza, was at a different site. Or so they said. The characters start Season 2 in a prison, whose set was transformed into an alleyway for the third episode. Later, one of the cells becomes a ramen shop.

Ship's corridor

This door in a ship's corridor will lead to an escape pod. It works with the high-tech mechanism of somebody pulling the door smoothly out of the way from behind. This is more reliable than building the door to move on its own, and it "saves tens of thousands of dollars," Mallozzi said.

Inside the Marauder

Reporters posed inside the Marauder that the Raza crew use to get to and from the ship.

Marauder seats

The Marauder was specifically designed to look different from the Raza, suggesting that they were probably both stolen separately and brought together later. The Marauder's pastel, green and orange controls are very different from the Raza's blue, red and orange.

An apartment

This part of the set was a hotel room, but was later transformed into the apartment of Tabor Calchek, the Raza crew's handler. "The crew will pay him a little surprise visit in Season 2," Mallozzi said.

Devon and Six

Shaun Sipos, who plays a new Season 2 character named Devon, and Roger Cross, who plays Six, talked about their character motivations and how new characters might affect the team dynamic.

Two

Melissa O'Neil, who plays Two, stepped in while between takes to quickly talk about her character's complexity and natural leadership, as well as her interactions with a new female character. O'Neil is a musical theater actress and singer; "Dark Matter" was her first science fiction and TV role.

Three

Anthony Lemke, who plays Three, discussed the factions the Raza crew will soon fall into. He also talked about his gun, Bubba, as a character that's fun to interact with, plus discovering more about his character and backstory. Though Three will always say he'll let you down, in the end he doesn't, Lemke said.