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The Expanse

prometheus110

prometheus110

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Having seen the first episode I have to say that it's looking pretty good — especially for a show made by the SyFy channel (I know, I'm scared too). That said, it's a fairly slow episode as they have to introduce a bunch of characters like James Holden and Chrisjen Avasarala, but they've stuck really closely to the first book and I think that it'll be a pretty great help to them in the future. We should also see things pick up in the next few episodes now that the majority of the character introductions are out of the way and the plot can really get moving. All in all I'm excited to see the story play out on TV. I expect that the screenwriters, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, will be able to keep up the same level of writing given how well their work on Children of Man, and Iron Man turned out.

As an aside I really like what little we've seen of the ship designs. Hopefully we'll get a good look at Martian warships when the Donnager and what becomes the Rocinante make their appearances. Also, Miller wears a bloody stupid hat.
 
Shut up, Miller's hat is amazing. :D

But yeah, the pilot was almost everything I hoped it would be; some minor changes from the books (like Alex's age), but nothing too horrible. The only real issue is that Avasarala's early introduction feels...shoehorned; I hope they can figure out a way to integrate her into the Leviathan Wakes plot more smoothly.
 
Shockz said:
Shut up, Miller's hat is amazing. :D

But yeah, the pilot was almost everything I hoped it would be; some minor changes from the books (like Alex's age), but nothing too horrible. The only real issue is that Avasarala's early introduction feels...shoehorned; I hope they can figure out a way to integrate her into the Leviathan Wakes plot more smoothly.
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Yeah, that will probably be a bit of an issue. She might be used as a way to explain the relationship between Earth, Mars, and the Belt without it seeming too forced, though.
 
Huh, they're making a series out of this? I enjoyed the first 2 books, getting any of the later ones slipped my mind there. Wondering how they're going to do things when
The protomolecule
gets involved
 
Sightedjt said:
Huh, they're making a series out of this? I enjoyed the first 2 books, getting any of the later ones slipped my mind there. Wondering how they're going to do things when
The protomolecule
gets involved
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So far? With pretty decent looking (and likely expensive) special effects. TBH I'm worried that the proto-molecule creatures will end up being cheesy-looking as fuck.
 
prometheus110 said:
So far? With pretty decent looking (and likely expensive) special effects. TBH I'm worried that the proto-molecule creatures will end up being cheesy-looking as fuck.
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Yeah, the bits where the whole station is taken over by the protomolecule also seem like something thats harder to do right.

Still, I might check this series out if I can find a way of getting my hands on it, maybe reread the books as well.
 
Oooh, I like the looks of this. Loved the books so far. Seconding the love for Miller's hat. Really, Miller is just there to transport The Hat.

I don't suppose this is up somewhere someone from the UK can legally see it? Or am I stuck waiting for the DVDs?
 
Number6 said:
Oooh, I like the looks of this. Loved the books so far. Seconding the love for Miller's hat. Really, Miller is just there to transport The Hat.

I don't suppose this is up somewhere someone from the UK can legally see it? Or am I stuck waiting for the DVDs?
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The pilot, at least, is up for free on SyFy.com, Facebook, Google Play, and I think maybe even YouTube. I don't think it's region-locked, either.
 
First episode is even free and legal right on youtube.


So far it's pretty excellent.
 
I am incredibly excite. This is, by all accounts, exactly* what I've been looking for from TV science fiction, and they haven't fucked it up yet. There's not a whole lot to say, though, until we get a little more information.

The only real major takeaway from episode one is this: Mars does not fuck around.

*Okay, it would be better if it had transhumanism.
 
Hykal94 said:
Someone tell me what this series is about.
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Humanity has spread over the solar system by slow boating. No artificial gravity or FTL, or outright radical transhumanisim. But they did have highly efficient fusion drives (still takes months to get around the solar system).

Massive economic and social separation occurred due to the distance, and radically different environments and how it changes humans in low-gee environments.

The major factions are; Earth, Mars, the Belt (which includes everything past the Mars orbit). Then some asshole triggers a shooting war between everyone.
 
Xon said:
Humanity has spread over the solar system by slow boating. No artificial gravity or FTL, or outright radical transhumanisim. But they did have highly efficient fusion drives (still takes months to get around the solar system).

Massive economic and social separation occurred due to the distance, and radically different environments and how it changes humans in low-gee environments.

The major factions are; Earth, Mars, the Belt (which includes everything past the Mars orbit). Then some asshole triggers a shooting war between everyone.
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Interesting. What year is it? Who are the protags? Does religion play a major role?
 
Hykal94 said:
Interesting. What year is it? Who are the protags? Does religion play a major role?
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An ill-defined 'some time in the future', but rough figures can be derived form approximately 5-6 generations of people living in the outer solar reaches.

We've already met most of the protags. IMO, there isn't any RL religions playing a part of the series but plenty of the same drivers and behaviours are shown causing conflict.
 
Acatalepsy said:
I am incredibly excite. This is, by all accounts, exactly* what I've been looking for from TV science fiction, and they haven't fucked it up yet. There's not a whole lot to say, though, until we get a little more information.

The only real major takeaway from episode one is this: Mars does not fuck around.

*Okay, it would be better if it had transhumanism.
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Heh.
 
Saw the first episode. I haven't read the books. Looks very promising though I got the feeling they erred on the side of too much exposition.
 
Nice to see to what the Rocinante will look like. I'm seeing a distinct lack of fuel tanks on the ships though, and the drive cones seem to be undersized compared to the books' descriptions.
 
Hykal94 said:
Interesting. What year is it? Who are the protags? Does religion play a major role?
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The Mormons have a role. Methodists too, later, though that's more just a stand in for generic mainline Protestant with future social values.

Number6 said:
Nice to see to what the Rocinante will look like. I'm seeing a distinct lack of fuel tanks on the ships though, and the drive cones seem to be undersized compared to the books' descriptions.
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The Rocinante is just the Tachi repainted. The fuel tanks are from when it was disguised as a light gas hauler, I guess.
 
I just finished the first four episodes and loved them, so I snagged the first book at the library. I'm really enjoying the cultures so far in particular. Each of the three fractions is believable and distinct. The Belters have their very distinct patois and gestures, which is a nice touch that make sense for people who presumably work in space and suits a lot. The Martians were so completely opposite of the Belters - very clean ships and people, very staid and proper. They were also arrogant and self-righteous, especially the lieutenant's spiel about how Earth's welfare system makes it lazy (hello, you live in domes they put there...), but they also showed a lot of dignity and composure even as the fight went against them. Earth is less distinct but I love the background bits like Holden's family and the sea walls around the Statue of Liberty. The multi-ethnic makeup and the prominent women in all three definitely help a bunch, especially with Earth where we haven't seen much so far; so many genre shows are still dominated by Americans and token minorities. (Hopefully the new Trek show follows in its footsteps and the spirit of TOS.) The UN feels like it's genuinely many nations and cultures.

The awesomeness of the space battle goes without saying. It reminded me of the CIC scenes from Battlestar, lots of professionals standing around in a relatively calm environment even while the guns and torpedoes blaze around outside.
 
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