Late to the Party Review: Killjoys

For my second "Late to the Party Review" I watched the second lauded sci-fi series by SyFy, Killjoys.

I started watching Killjoys because it was mentioned beside Dark Matter as one of the shows that SyFy was using to relaunch its sci-fi-based programming. The reviewers over at Geek's Guide to the Galaxy seemed to like it better than Dark Matter, so I figured it must be worth a look.

After watching the first few episodes, I have to admit, I don't agree.

Killjoys was a bit hard for me to watch. From the start it seemed like the show was using its "trendy" music and "edgy" sex appeal to appeal to its audience. The bizarre thing about this is that it really didn't need to. The universe is interesting and the character stories are compelling all on their own. The strange, lyric-heavy "pop" style music winds up being a distraction, particularly during fight scenes where I'd much rather have a tense instrumental than songs that keep pulling me out of the action.

The sex-heavy atmosphere of Killjoys likewise proves a distraction from what is otherwise a good show. I'm not against sexiness in sci-fi, I'm very much for it, but it's got to blend in well (i.e. Battlestar Galactica & the Mass Effect series of video games). In the context of Killjoys it just made it seem like the writers or producers were just trying too hard to make things edgy rather than letting the show develop that way on its own.

Despite this, however, I did wind up being drawn into the plot by the end. I hope they fix some of these issues in Season 2, because it really would be a great show if they just relaxed a bit, got out of their own way, and let it take its own form instead of the one they're trying to cram it into. Dark Matter did this. It had a bit of an awkward start but then became completely involving because it was able to relax and find its groove fast. I can't wait for Season 2 of Dark Matter. For Killjoys, I can sort of take it or leave it.