Anyone else dislike Dark Matter but like this?

You're not the only one.

Dark Matter started great but the show takes itself too seriously. The intrigue of the premise turned into a watered down mystery that's all but solved already, and the characters have no personality.

Killjoys is more fun and they actually have developed the characters nicely in just a few episodes, going forward on the two mystery arcs they had going in the premiere. It's not groundbreaking tv or masterpiece scifi but it's enjoyable.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

Like both.
Nothing fancy, just plain entertainment. There don't always have to be deeper meanings or multiple layers or pain-stricken social drama, wrapped in political correctness or whatever. Those get boring too after a while. All in its due time. Just take them for what they are, not what they aren’t.

Oh and if you get old enough you’ll always have this feeling of “where did I see this before” with everything you see. Keeps the mind busy reminiscing. It’s all been done before.

Like both.
Nothing fancy, just plain entertainment. There don't always have to be deeper meanings or multiple layers or pain-stricken social drama, wrapped in political correctness or whatever. Those get boring too after a while. All in its due time. Just take them for what they are, not what they aren’t.

Oh and if you get old enough you’ll always have this feeling of “where did I see this before” with everything you see. Keeps the mind busy reminiscing. It’s all been done before.

I see both of these shows as primarily escapist entertainment, not something that would develop an enthusiastic fanbase and franchise like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica or The X-Files. Both of them seem to be influenced by Heavy Metal/Metal Hurlant Chronicles. The "big picture" doesn't seem too important in either. They only develop the universes enough to set up the episode stories and the action sequences.

I'm kind of glad that neither has focused on make-up-heavy alien creatures (so far). I know that in another thread, someone is mentioning the likelihood of alien life out there. There is probably some type of alien life out there in "reality" but is it going to be bipedal humanoid life that looks like a human being in a costume, prosthetics and heavy make-up? Probably not.

That's why TV aliens, like those in Defiance, upset the suspension of disbelief for me now. (I sort of blame this on Battlestar Galactica and its harder approach to sci-fi. After following that series, it's much more difficult for me to see those make-up aliens in TV shows now without getting distracted and pulled out of the fantasy of the show.)

Anyway, I think both of these shows are OK as escapist sci-fi entertainment. It's good to have some space-based series on TV again. Many of the recent Syfy shows were not set in space (Warehouse 13, Eureka, Alphas, Continuum, Being Human, Lost Girl, Bitten, Haven, etc.). While not all sci-fi needs to be set in space, I think at least some of them should be. Space-based shows have played a major part in the history of science fiction. I think they should continue to form part of the modern sci-fi line-up, whether that's on Syfy or another channel.

Dark Matter is a mystery soap. It's "Lost" in space, no pun intended. Killjoys may not be the most intelligent or complex show under the sun, but at least it's an actual sci-fi show.

I definitely like Killjoys better than Dark Matter... but as to whether or not IMDB does is... weird. Killjoys has a 6.9 rating on IMDB while Dark Matter has a 7.1, so that seems clear... except if you look episode by episode:

Dark Matter: 7.3, 7.3, 7.3, 7.7, 7.1, 7.9
Killjoys: 7.1, 7.7, 7.9, 8.0, 8.3, 8.5

So it seems people who tuned in for the first episode found the premise of Dark Matter intriguing (it was) and the first episode of Killjoys a little off-putting (it was). But those who stuck with Killjoys definitely seem to be more rewarded for it than those who stuck with Dark Matter.

Personally, I'm finding Dark Matter increasingly aggravating and I can't make myself keep watching it, despite desperately wanting some decent space sci-fi on TV, but Killjoys continues to deliver and entertain. But I don't really see it as a competition: Killjoys is not succeeding at Dark Matter's expense or vice versa. I hope to God that TV has room enough for TWO space series, and if it doesn't, then it's a very sad day indeed. Thus, my inability to enjoy Dark Matter is not my rooting for Killjoys, but a disappointment, because I had hoped to connect with the series.

I liked "Dark Matter" at first and "Killjoys" not that much but around the fourth /fifth episode, it changed. The soap opera aspect of "Dark Matter" really turned me off of it. I'm hoping "Killjoys" won't go that route though I fear it might with this romance (blech) between Davin and Dutch.

I agree, I like the actress who plays Dutch much better than the one who plays Two. I can buy Dutch as a tough woman, I don't buy Two. There's too much posing and strutting with Two's actress, like she's too preoccupied with looking good. It doesn't work for me.

Marvel time to snap up Jensen Ackles For Your Next Superhero Movie!

I watched the first episode of Dark Matter, and I wasn't really into it, and didn't plan to watch any more episodes, until the end came and I thought, I'd like to see where this goes. However, I haven't watched any more episodes so far, because there are other series that are taking my time, like The Strain and Killjoys.

I thought the first episode of Killjoys was awesome, and it's one of my high-priority shows. It's much more immediately engaging than Dark Matter, which frankly seemed pedestrian and rather generic (even the name is less creative than Killjoys).

I'm willing to believe Dark Matter might grow on me, depending on how they handle the premise, but from what I've seen it's nowhere near as good as Killjoys.

UPDATE: I did, a few months after watching that first episode, get around to watching more and the series is actually quite good, even if the characters are generic. Still like Killjoys better, but they're both good.