Watched the first episode of this last night (off DVR). I too was really impressed with the production quality. The acting was also surprisingly decent, and I recognized several actors who have had supporting or minor roles on shows from other networks. If this all stays true through multiple episodes this could be a very good thing. I really enjoyed SyFy’s original content Dark Matter and Killjoys earlier this year. Both of those shows were able to overcome limited budgets and mostly unknown actors, while The Expanse doesn’t seem like it has those limitations. Really looking forward to seeing how it develops.
I like the plotline thus far, with the tension between Earth, Mars and the Belt being the driving force behind all the events. I assume the girl on the ship is the missing one from Gemini Station or whatever, and am curious to know where she went (and what happened on the ship). The station was giving me some serious Total Recall vibes with a hint of Blade Runner, and I liked it. The ice freighter was also pretty cool, though I guess we won’t be seeing any more of it.
Yep the first 4 are available to stream. Ive watched 2 and its really quite good. Its been awhile since I read the first book but it seems like they are sticking to the basic plotlines at this point.
Ive watched the four available episodes and damn, SyFy is serious with this one. The production values are way above norm for Syfy and the show is really good. If they can keep the production values and writing at this level through out the series, the show should do quite well. Cant wait until they see what they are really up against!
I read (okay listened) to all of these books and I only have one thing to add: Do you ever have a book or whatever series you consider private or personal and then BAM there’s a miniseries or something that’s depicting it in a conventional all-for-the-masses kinda way. And then you sorta look at it and you decide: am I gonna Shogun/Game of thrones/Lonesome dove this? or am I gonna ignore it and retain my own thoughts considering my recollection of the books.
THIS is a series Ill recall jogging 5 miles too while listening on an audiobook and I think I’ll skip the tv version. Just feels like one of those books via video media I don’t want to share.
Over the years, I developed the ability to, for the most part, view books and video versions separately. Books are internal and thus ones view is very personal. Movies and tv shows are adaptations and will never live up to your personal view you developed from reading the book. Its silly to expect any video adaptation will be true to ones personal view of the novel, because in the end, it is someone else view that ends up on film. I can enjoy the show for what it is without allowing it, in anyway top diminish my enjoyment of the books. For example, the movie based on The Bourne Identity was only tied to the novel in the most basic way and in the end was a different story. It was still a good and entertaining movie and worth watching on its own merits. So far The Expanse is worth watching on its own merits. I will say that for me, it seems to be staying fairly true to the novels so far. Now Im not saying that your decision to not watch The Expanse is a wrong one, its your decision and clearly based on your personal viewpoint but I will say that by doing so, you are missing out on some excellent sci-fi.
I personally don’t find it too difficult to hold two different media interpretations of the same story separate in my mind. David Lynch’s Dune movie doesn’t displace Frank Herbert’s novel, it occupies a different space in my head. The Game of Thrones TV show is different enough from the books to me that they might as well unrelated, even as I really enjoy them both.
Hopefully The Expanse will end up having the same effect.
I’ve watched the first two (televised) episodes, and I have to say that I was very impressed.
The production values are BSG-level or better, and the actors seem to be taking the venture seriously.
For the most part I like the choices that they’ve made with the actors. Naomi is a little more thick-set than I had pictured in my head and maybe a little more hard-bitten in the first couple episodes than I remember from the books, but that’s just fine. Thomas Jane is a good match for Miller, and although the actor they picked for Holden is pretty generic, he seems to be decent in the role. Cas Anvar seems good as Alex… even if he’s not going bald. And I’m glad they are not neglecting Havelock.
The only one I am having problems with is the guy they picked for Amos. In the books he’s supposed to be this massive, hulking brute of a man, but Wes Chatham seems too… I dunno, “delicate” is what I come up with. I pictured a hulking Hell’s Angel type, and Chatham seems more like a hedge fund manager who is trying to grow out a decent beard. We’ll see.
I liked the varied environments they showed for Ceres Station, and they drove home the value of water and air much more forcefully than Abraham did in the book. Chrisjen doesn’t register much with me yet, but they seem to be making her out to be far more ruthless than I remember… which is great.
I think I’ll wait for the Syfy broadcasts of the next two episodes rather than pulling them up on the computer. Not only will I get to see it on the big TV without a lot of technical juggling, but I don’t want to binge and then have a three-week wait.
Loving the show so far. They’re working very hard (occasionally a little too hard, but nothing egregious) to show the characters’ experience of the differences between belt/earth/mars and all the politics surrounding that. Really enjoying the belter cant, in particular.
Episode three was pretty damned great. I am still very bullish on this show.
I enjoyed the different methods of interrogation shown in the two episodes: Miller’s blackmail, Avasarala’s torture, and the Martian tech-based lie detection.
I also like the game that Avasarala ran on the poor ambassador - that’s an unusually subtle throw-away plot-point.
The one thing that I was a little disappointed in was the interior of the Martian ship, especially the bridge. It had a lot of extraneous and silly sci-fi touches to it that didn’t jibe well with the rest of the show, not to mention having a ridiculous layout.
Mostly good world-building and attention to detail in this, and they’ve got good actors in all the key roles, with a story that’s intriguing enough and has got enough depth and resonance to continue watching. Very enjoyable, proper hard(-ish) s-f, with the channel actually living up to its name for a change.
A little bit too heavy-handed with the red-and-black-Sith-Lord art design for the martian ship and corridors and stuff (although I thought the uniforms were pretty neat, leaning more towards smart and functional rather than fascist).
The realization of ship-to-ship warfare was quite well done I thought, with the buzz, rattle and pew of ballistic weaponry and railguns. A bit EVE like.
