In Search Of, inspiration for Dark Matters? You decide.
Obviously, I didn’t spend my entire life dedicated to boots and leather since childhood. Actually, I grew up on a very healthy diet of science, math, and imagination as a child, which many of my friends from back then will attest to. I watched a lot of PBS and science shows. There was one program called In Search Of that fixated me from the start. A cult-hit formula of mystery and science, In Search Of would later be spoofed in Men In Black 2, and inspire The Blair Witch Project.
The Science Channel has a new show called Dark Matters, which channels much of the same erie mystery and horror that In Search Of did. In each episode, the host, John Noble of Fringe presents three chilling true stories of science gone wrong. Often, the tales are of the folly of business and politics ignoring scientific warning, with hideous consequences. Others are of scientists and doctors who have gone over the edge, subjecting victims to bizarre mutilation, torture, mental anguish, and death in the name of progress. And in Dark Matters, even death does not release the experimenter’s victims.
They’re the kind of scary and weird stories mad scientists would tell their children before bed. I found season one on Netflix, and was so hooked, I went over to Youtube to find more episodes. The recreations are done with a very stylish green screen technique which may be laughable at first, but creates an addicting aesthetic as the show progresses.
In Dark Matters, you’ll find how a massive nuclear bomb test went so wrong, it wiped out power to Hawaii, knocked out satellites, and altered our atmosphere for a decade. Amateur radio operators listen to cosmonauts hopelessly plead for help as secret space missions fail. A two-week psychology study goes violently wrong within days, as subjects are hidden from faculty and the professor becomes part of his own experiment.
A scientist invents electrical implants which control emotions and impulses by remote control.
Before starting his mail-order destruction, the Unibomber is the subject of a harsh CIA psychiatry experiment.
A doctor obsessed with saving souls performs successful head transplants, with tragic consequences for the donor and patient.
Remember, these aren’t jokes or urban legends. This is where truth really is stranger than fiction. These real accounts are the inspiration for fictional works like Frankenstien/Modern Prometheus, Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde, and The Manchurian Candidate. While there may be conjecture, theory, mystery, and a few outright guesses. There is a lot of documentation, history, and science.
Dark Matters is a must see, and I have no doubt it will be a cult hit. It makes Survivor, Amazing Race, and American Idol look lame. This is truly addicting show that leaves you wanting more.
One of my favorite things to do is watch an episode and do a Google or Wikipedia search to find even more interesting details on the history and people behind the stories presented. Sometimes the back story is even scarier and stranger than the episode.
You don’t have to subscribe to the Science Channel to find Dark Matters. Netflix has season one ready to fly on instant streaming, and the Science Channel has full episodes in HD for sale at http://www.youtube.com/show/darkmatterstwistedbuttrue, clips available at http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/dark-matters-twisted-but-true and they’ve released a DVD at http://store.discovery.com/dark-matters-twisted-but-true-dvd/detail.php?p=448208&v=science-channel_dvds_dvds-blu-rays as a novelty or even a gag gift, I’d say it is definitely worth $15 of creepy nightmares.
Dungeon Net
Hogspy
