The Expanse


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Omphalos
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The Expanse

Post by Omphalos »

Anyone watching this? Opinions?

I think I want to see it, but I boycotted Syfy a long time ago and want to stay true to my word (though fuck my word for some great SF).
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Robspierre
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Robspierre »

It's good, doesn't dumb down for the audience and forces you to pay attention.

I used a gift card to get the season pass off of iTunes.

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inhuien
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Re: The Expanse

Post by inhuien »

Not heard it, thx for the tip!
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Naib
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Naib »

I tried reading the first book this show is based on. Utter rubbish. I got a third the way through and dropped it off at a charity shop. I feel guilty about that, inflicting that tripe on some unknowing person.

I won't be bothering to watch.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Omphalos »

That's too bad. They were pouring a ton into promotion of this show. Fucking thing was on every FB page I saw for a while.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Robspierre »

It's good, give it a try, you should be able to catch the first episode for free easy, it does a lot of things right.


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Re: The Expanse

Post by Omphalos »

Robspierre wrote:It's good, give it a try, you should be able to catch the first episode for free easy, it does a lot of things right.


Rob
Thanks Rob. Working my way through Bloodline on Netflix now, but Ill get back to this one eventually.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Ampoliros »

I didn't think the book was rubbish, there are some heavy plot cliche's, and strangely, the show does a better job at building the feel of the conspiracy up than the book does.

I'm about half-way through book 2, and while I haven't gotten back around to certain characters, it seems like some of the fallout from the first book has just been forgotten.

Its not Dune, but its certainly not nu-Dune either.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Ampoliros »

I was wrong.

The first book is pretty good...the second one kinds just repeats it all over again, starting the third I started getting suspicious. Looked up a couple of spoilers...yeah apparently this series constantly teases and goes nowhere.

There isn't any consequence for anything, the good guys are going to win and nothing bad is going to happen to them. I think now I know why its so popular with modern readers...

There are some great characters, and the worst part is that there is a firm basis for some strong sci-fi in this setting, but for all the fucking comparisons this gets to Game of Thrones, no one is in danger.

The irony will be if the show, which was enjoyable, ends up being much better than the books.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Naib »

You got further with the books than I did.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Ampoliros »

To quote a better work:

"When you're looking through red-tinted glasses all the red flags just look like flags."

I sincerely hope the show goes in a different direction, because what they build up in the books is just a massive school of red herrings. The main arc COULD have been done well, but from what it sounds it just turns into a massive cop-out. I almost feel like spoiling it just to save people time.

The show could end up doing it better if they go in an alternate direction.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Omphalos »

You make it sound like an episode of Lost.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Ampoliros »

I only saw the pilot, but I don't regret not watching the series. I hate the whole mystery box thing JJ tries to sell: if the writers don't know what's in the box, your just conning the audience until you can't. Seems like Lost was just buckets of that.

So if you mean that the Expanse is just a mystery that keeps getting played out, then i'll say no, its basically a story where they just remove the killer's piece off the gameboard because apparently it wasn't about the danger of the killer striking again, just about the apes behind glass who found the bloody knife.
Last edited by Ampoliros on 24 Feb 2016 09:23, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Omphalos »

Ampoliros wrote:I only saw the pilot, but I don't regret not watching the series. I hate the whole mystery box thing JJ tries to sell: if the writers don't know what's in the box, your just conning the audience until you can't. Seems like Lost was just buckets of that.

So if you mean that the Expanse is just a mystery that keeps getting plaid out, then i'll say no, its basically a story where they just remove the killer's piece off the gameboard because apparently it wasn't about the danger of the killer striking again, just about the apes behind glass who found the bloody knife.
OK. Thanks. :)
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Re: The Expanse

Post by georgiedenbro »

A bit late to the party on this thread but I just now watched S1-2 of The Expanse, and my report is that it's dreadfully dull. Boring, even. Out of all the characters I feel like one has that "it" where I'm truly uncertain what they'll say next and want to know what it'll be. For the rest they come across to me as drab and colorless. But that's just my impression of them individually, and I can't be certain if it's a writing thing or a casting thing.

My bigger issue is the design of the show, which despite being in the future, in outer space, with very open-ended boundaries in terms of what can be introduced, the general tone of the show is gritty dystopian with very little color or flavor. That might very well be 'realistic', since perhaps in the future things are much as they often are now - functional and not always pretty to look at. But I dunno...if I'm going to watch something there needs to be something for me to see. I could almost listen to the show rather than watch and get the same effect, and I hate it when shows are like that.

I also don't like the mystery box thing as mentioned above. I only saw two seasons to give it a fair shake and don't intend to continue, but so far it seems like they're always trying to peel back the next layer and trump what came before, upping the stakes at every turn. And naturally the heroes of the show are the most important people in the universe. To be fair shows like Babylon 5 also had that aspect, but B5 was deliberately leaning into the mythological side of storytelling and so it worked. And yet for all the mystery box element in The Expanse I didn't actually find the mystery all that engaging.

My vote for the show is no. There are more interesting things to watch, although I am starved for good sci-fi. I may try Sense 8 or Altered Carbon next.
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Re: The Expanse

Post by Naib »

Wow, George. You watched two whole seasons 'just to give it a fair shake'? Impressive. That said, based on what you said you only confirmed my thinking of what the show would be like based on the first third of the book I read. Not worth the investment in time.

I also feel starved for quality science fiction programming. I have been disappointed in everything Netflix has offered to date, and Star Trek: Discovery was irritating so I never bothered to finish it. I'm not even going to mention Doctor Who. I keep hoping for lightening to strike and find something to catch my interest.
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