June 18, 2016: Melissa O’Neil, Dark Matter’s TWO, Answers YOUR Questions!

THIS is the blog entry you’ve all been waiting for.  Melissa O’Neil, Dark Matter’s TWO, answers YOUR questions.  And there are A LOT of them so let’s not waste anytime and get to it.

But first, let me just say this about the lovely Melissa.  I remember watching her very first audition for the role of the kick-ass commander of The Raza and knowing, immediately, that SHE was the one.  And having Executive Producer Vanessa Piazza walk into my office to inform me that she thought SHE was the one.  And then receiving a call from my longtime writing/producing partner Paul Mullie telling me that he thought SHE was the one.  And Melissa proved us right from day one in consistently spectacular fashion.

QUESTIONS ABOUT DARK MATTER AND THE CAST

Carlytto: “Would you eliminate One to take his number spot?”

Two might. I wouldn’t dream of it.

Kabra: “Do you have to keep Joe in line you do with the rest of the Raza Crew?”

It’s really the other way around. I can barely colour within the lines!

Craig M: “If there was one character/actor in S2 you’d like to see TWO hang out with/have more scenes with, who would it be?”

It’s hard to choose because I love the two hander scenes that TWO has on the ship.

After S1, I would have said FOUR, because we don’t get to see the two of them working together all that much; after S2, it’s still hard to choose, but I’ll go with Nyx. It’s really fun having another woman on the ship.

Thogar: “What’s your favourite part of working on Dark Matter?”

I enjoy being exposed to so many creative people in all of their varied disciplines in one environment. It’s the only job I’ve had where everyone populates the same space for extended periods of time. If I’m being mindful, Hurry Up and Wait can easily turn into Hurry Up, Pause, and Learn.

“Who’s the biggest goofball on set? ”

I know you want to think it’s Anthony but IMHO it’s actually ROGER CROSS

“Who flubs their lines the most?”

Are you trying to get me in trouble, Thogar?

“Practical joker on set?”

One of the camera assistants, occasional focus puller, Michael Purdon

For April Fools this past season he busted into our trailers and put tape marks on the ground for us where he thought we might stand the most. I don’t know if that’s a practical joke. But he does silly things around set to keep things light.[image error]

“Will you and the cast be live tweeting again this year?”

I’ll certainly be making an effort to do so, and I imagine so will the others, schedules permitting! It’s so fun hanging out while watching it for the first time with you guys! Maybe some periscoping this year, too!

Hadley: “I was wondering how it’s been working with Melanie (Liburd)?”

An absolute joy. She is a dedicated professional with grace, style, and wit to spare.

Skywatcher: “Are you learning martial arts with Alex Mallari (Jr.)?”

No! But I should! Homeboy is in the dungeon training all the time and his dedication is inspirational. We’ve only jammed on set a few times about stances and footwork.

Silver: “What is it like to work with Zoie Palmer?”

Zoie, arguably, has the most difficult gig on this ship. The technical jargon she has to get her mouth around is a feat in and of itself but layer in all of the subtleties of a unique personality matrix and her carefully crafted take on how an android might communicate facially, physically, and tonally – AND THEN, watch her turn it all off in-between scenes and just hang out?

What is it like to work with Zoie Palmer? F*%^ing Impressive.[image error]

Jeffrey: “Who is the most hilarious person in the Dark Matter Cast?”

See above. Just wait until the outtakes for Two and Android come out. It’s insanity.

Janie: “What do you think the significance is to the order the crew wakes up?”

You know, I’ve never asked Joe that question. I imagine it had a lot to with the initial characters introductions and setting up that vortex of mistrust based off of ‘who woke up first’, and, because Joe seems to takes an impish delight in misdirecting, SIX woke up last.

bambamfans: “I’m a fan of the ONE/TWO relationship or OTR. I imagine incarceration will put a halt to it. Where do you see their relationship headed in Season 2?”

I saw their relationship go in a direction that took me by surprise. It’ll be interesting to see how the audience receives it!

“Now that they are off the Raza, will any of the characters use their real names rather than the numbers?”

Identity is a big thing that we deal with on this show. Being confronted with their actions in the past as a person who no longer remembers that time has been met differently by each character. TWO, for example wants to be as far away from whoever Portia is/was. With Season Two just around the corner, we’ll have to see if that’s the case for everyone.