[SyFy]Expanse

[Skinypupy]

The only thing I found odd was that the usually great actress Shoreh Aghdashloo seems to have forgotten she’s a great actress. Her acting seemed really off. Maybe it’s just me, but everyone else was firing on all cylinders, and she seemed to just be phoning it in.

This has been me impression of her for the entire series, tbh. She’s been bad to the point of distraction.

I have Season 4 downloaded and will start it on my flight tomorrow. Can’t wait!

[Daehawk]

[Skinypupy]

Got through the first 6 episodes. While it took me a bit to remember everything that had happened before, it's been brilliant so far. Amos is one of my favorite characters ever.

The only thing I'm not overly crazy about is "Ghost Miller". That seems kinda cheesy, but I'll reserve full judgement until I see where they take it.

[hepcat]

Amos is one of my favorite characters ever.

That actor took the standard Klingon role in a post ST: Next Gen sci fi show and made it insanely more 3 dimensional and interesting than it had any right to be. My hat’s off to him for taking a trope I usually roll my eyes at in this kind of show and making it work so damn well.

[Zaxxon]

Amos is one of my favorite characters ever.

That actor took the standard Klingon role in a post ST: Next Gen sci fi show and made it insanely more 3 dimensional and interesting than it had any right to be. My hat’s off to him for taking a trope I usually roll my eyes at in this kind of show and making it work so damn well.

I'm... I'm not sure, but I hope you're not insinuating that Amos from the books is that standard trope.

[hepcat]

I’ve not read the books. I’m just going off the standard trope of having a “muscle” character in a sci fi show that seems to have become the standard after Worf showed up in Next Gen. They’re always rough but secretly have a heart of gold. When Amos first appeared on the show, he fit that to a T. But the actor (and the writers) have elevated him since then.

[Jaymann]

I’ve not read the books. I’m just going off the standard trope of having a “muscle” character in a sci fi show that seems to have become the standard after Worf showed up in Next Gen. They’re always rough but secretly have a heart of gold.

Like Clancy Brown on The Mandalorian.

[hepcat]

The Mandolorian is focused on one character, not a group.

[Jaymann]

GreenGoo, is that you?

[Zaxxon]

I’ve not read the books. I’m just going off the standard trope of having a “muscle” character in a sci fi show that seems to have become the standard after Worf showed up in Next Gen. They’re always rough but secretly have a heart of gold. When Amos first appeared on the show, he fit that to a T. But the actor (and the writers) have elevated him since then.

If you aren't interested in the whole series but like Amos, I'd highly recommend The Churn, a short novella that's basically Amos' origin story.

[Smoove_B]

I tried reading the the first book, but there's something about the author's style that just isn't working for me. I'm also not really a space/sci-fi/space opera fan, so that's likely not helping. But this show? This show is fantastic. I only watched the S4 opener, but I was impressed with how well it looked and how they set up the next storyline. So grateful it transitioned to a service that will seemingly support it.

[hepcat]

GreenGoo, is that you?

Who's asking? Wait, are you GreenGoo?

If you aren't interested in the whole series but like Amos, I'd highly recommend The Churn, a short novella that's basically Amos' origin story.

Why thankee, kind sir!

[Hrdina]

GreenGoo, is that you?

Who's asking? Wait, are you GreenGoo?

If you aren't interested in the whole series but like Amos, I'd highly recommend The Churn, a short novella that's basically Amos' origin story.

Why thankee, kind sir!

I second the recco for The Churn. It was the best of the Expanse novellas.

[Daveman]

I just finished season 4 and like the rest of the show absolutely loved it. I only recently started the first book so I've been enjoying this as completely new material for me.

I didn't like one point of the last episode. Major last-episode spoiler warning!!

Spoiler:

I get that from a story perspective they wanted Ashford dead and Marco to live. Part of me is sad simply because Ashford is gone and I liked his character... but the means of his death was silly to me. Last episode when he's getting his ship ready he mentioned loading up on PDC ammo since Marco's ship had lots of missiles so I was looking forward to some belter-on-belter space combat. He presumably snuck up on Marco and disabled his ship. Compared to the previous boarding action attempt to grab Marco this seemed like it should have been a straightforward kill mission (maybe they wanted to get his body to confirm he's dead?) but instead they board a known hostile ship with THREE soldiers?

*pours one out for the bossman*

[Daehawk]

I heard you like Amos so heres some Amos.

[Jaymann]

I just finished season 4 and like the rest of the show absolutely loved it. I only recently started the first book so I've been enjoying this as completely new material for me.

I didn't like one point of the last episode. Major last-episode spoiler warning!!

Spoiler:

I get that from a story perspective they wanted Ashford dead and Marco to live. Part of me is sad simply because Ashford is gone and I liked his character... but the means of his death was silly to me. Last episode when he's getting his ship ready he mentioned loading up on PDC ammo since Marco's ship had lots of missiles so I was looking forward to some belter-on-belter space combat. He presumably snuck up on Marco and disabled his ship. Compared to the previous boarding action attempt to grab Marco this seemed like it should have been a straightforward kill mission (maybe they wanted to get his body to confirm he's dead?) but instead they board a known hostile ship with THREE soldiers?

*pours one out for the bossman*

bossmang

[$iljanus]

I just finished season 4 and like the rest of the show absolutely loved it. I only recently started the first book so I've been enjoying this as completely new material for me.

I didn't like one point of the last episode. Major last-episode spoiler warning!!

Spoiler:

I get that from a story perspective they wanted Ashford dead and Marco to live. Part of me is sad simply because Ashford is gone and I liked his character... but the means of his death was silly to me. Last episode when he's getting his ship ready he mentioned loading up on PDC ammo since Marco's ship had lots of missiles so I was looking forward to some belter-on-belter space combat. He presumably snuck up on Marco and disabled his ship. Compared to the previous boarding action attempt to grab Marco this seemed like it should have been a straightforward kill mission (maybe they wanted to get his body to confirm he's dead?) but instead they board a known hostile ship with THREE soldiers?

*pours one out for the bossman*

Keeping it vague but I loved the way he boarded the ship. A badass and a visionary. Glad they brought his character back this season.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Just finished season 4. The book this season was based on definitely wasn’t my favorite, but I think this season of the tv show was better than any previous season. The writing and special effects really seemed a step up than previous seasons (although the writing was always pretty good). The only thing I didn’t like was the guy playing the Secretary General‘a husband. There was a different actor playing that role before, right?

[Zaxxon]

The only thing I didn’t like was the guy playing the Secretary General‘a husband. There was a different actor playing that role before, right?

Yes.

[Skinypupy]

The only thing I didn’t like was the guy playing the Secretary General‘a husband. There was a different actor playing that role before, right?

Huh. I thought he was great. Added a much-needed human touch to all her political machinations.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I just found him smug and off-putting. /shrug

[Sudy]

Loved the new season, though it felt a lot smaller in scope than previous ones, with less physical movement by the main characters. It also felt very book-like or "latter-season TV series" with Bobbie off doing her own thing for the most part on Mars.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, or that I didn't enjoy it immensely. And of course, the source material (which I haven't read) is, I assume, setting a precedent. But even though the plot and character development logically followed what came before, the "feel" seemed different. Usually I would think the switch to Amazon had something to do with that, but I suspect it was more the source material itself and how the writers chose to proceed.

I really miss following Miller in Season 1. But obviously that storyline had to evolve, and evolution is something this series is excellent at.

[disarm]

Loved the new season, though it felt a lot smaller in scope than previous ones, with less physical movement by the main characters. It also felt very book-like or "latter-season TV series" with Bobbie off doing her own thing for the most part on Mars.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, or that I didn't enjoy it immensely. And of course, the source material (which I haven't read) is, I assume, setting a precedent. But even though the plot and character development logically followed what came before, the "feel" seemed different. Usually I would think the switch to Amazon had something to do with that, but I suspect it was more the source material itself and how the writers chose to proceed.

That feeling is totally due to the source material. The fourth book, Cibola Burn , is pretty much entirely set where we find the Rocinante in season 4. The only portions that don't take place there are the prologue and epilogue. All the scenes with Bobby, Avasarala, and the OPA in the show are based on material in other books. This gives book 4 (and season 4) a very different feel, but it still tells a great story. Rest assured that the story gets back to a much larger scale soon. Much of the best is yet to come!

[MonkeyFinger]

Rest assured that the story gets back to a much larger scale soon. Much of the best is yet to come!

Totally.

[Zaxxon]

Rest assured that the story gets back to a much larger scale soon. Much of the best is yet to come!

Totally.

Thirded.

[Jaymann]

Rest assured that the story gets back to a much larger scale soon. Much of the best is yet to come!

Totally.

Thirded.

Fourthinated.

[hepcat]

Finished season 4 last night. I loved it from beginning to end. It felt like Rome in space at times, which is high praise coming from me. There was only a few things that I thought didn't really work.

Spoiler:

Murtry's motivations for turning into Snidely Whiplash seemed to be inconsistent and unclear much of the time. They should have pulled back a little bit on his character's nefarious actions/ramblings. As it stands, he came across a bit two dimensional to me. I couldn't tell if they were going for psycho serial killer, Colonel Kurtz or something else.

Shohreh Aghdashloo's acting still felt off to me throughout the show. There were a few brief moments where she displayed her talent (which she does have, believe it or not...watch her in other films), but overall she just felt like she didn't want to be there.

I will say that the final episode fight scene with Klaes on Marco's ship was a standout moment for me in season 4. I will definitely miss that actor on the show.

And while I wasn't on board initially with Bobbie's side story, it eventually won me over by making the villain actually likeable and understandable. I love it when a show plays with convention like that.

[rittchard]

I binge-watched the entire series over the winter break. Loved it. I had tried to watch the show the first time around on Syfy but both my partner and I kept falling asleep and getting confused. But after seeing the previews for this season and getting it recommended again, we decided to power through it and it was definitely worth the effort. Season 3 was my favorite, it just felt so epic. I mean so much happens in both halves of the season but it always felt very clear to me. I just couldn't stop watching. There's now an empty place in my heart that needs more Expanse. Luckily Picard is coming soon.

[Kraken]

Reviving the Expanse makes up for a lot of Bezos douchebaggery. So glad the next season is already in production, and I hope there are many more to come. Remember when a season was 26 episodes? Then 13? Now it's 10. That's just not enough Expanse.

Really sorry that they ended

Spoiler:

David Strathairn's character.

We saw him in a play in Williamstown MA a few years ago (he's a Williams College alum) and then ran into him in a diner afterward. At the time, Wife had to explain who he was, and I didn't know any of his work, so I was like "meh, whoever." Williamstown Theater Festival draws a lot of talent -- we've seen Sam Rockwell, Alfred Molina, Jane Kaczmarek, Stacy Keach, and a few other names you'd recognize on stage there. After seeing the Expanse, I feel an irrational connection with him.

[Sudy]

I've had the same thought, but can you really think of many 20+ episode season series that rival anything from the prestige era of television, on an episode by episode basis?

The quality is just so much higher. Even stuff I grew up loving can't compare... e.g. TNG, X-Files, Babylon 5. At their best they shined just as bright, but there was a lot of fat on those bones.

[hepcat]

Hannibal, Legion, Fargo, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul....I could go on, but this isn't to insult The Expanse, which I absolutely adore. But rather to point out that we live in a new era of "prestige television". We have had some truly great tv over the last decade or so.

[Kraken]

Some stories are better told in a shorter time, sure. Those 26-ep seasons usually included a good amount of filler. We just finished S4 of Dexter, a 13-ep season, and the story was starting to feel padded and repetitive by the end -- IDK how they're going to keep it fresh for four more seasons. But Dexter is a smaller story. The Expanse is more expansive, with room for side quests. They could go 13 episodes, or have the occasional double-length ep, without stretching. I haven't read the books so I can't comment on how well the season length matches the source material.

[pr0ner]

Some stories are better told in a shorter time, sure. Those 26-ep seasons usually included a good amount of filler. We just finished S4 of Dexter, a 13-ep season, and the story was starting to feel padded and repetitive by the end -- IDK how they're going to keep it fresh for four more seasons. But Dexter is a smaller story. The Expanse is more expansive, with room for side quests. They could go 13 episodes, or have the occasional double-length ep, without stretching. I haven't read the books so I can't comment on how well the season length matches the source material.

So far, it's been somewhat variable.

The first book lasted 15 episodes (all of season 1, which was 10 episodes, plus the first five episodes of season 2).
The second book lasted 14 episodes (the remainder of season 2, plus the first 6 episodes of season 3).
The third book lasted 7 episodes (the remainder of season 3).

I haven't finished the 4th season yet, but from what I've heard, it covers all of the fourth book, and gets ready to start up the fifth book.

They also do a good job incorporating the character/world building from the short stories into the TV series, along with moving characters around and introducing them sooner (Avasarala, Volovodov, and Inaros all get introduced a book "early" in the TV series). Plus, a lot of the "side quests" in season 4 aren't in the books at all (the Bobbie Draper stuff, for instance).

13 episodes would be great, but I don't know how much more inventing of stories that aren't in the books the show runners or the book authors want to do to fill more episodes.

[Kurth]

I finished up season 4 over the weekend. I definitely enjoyed it, but I did feel like it lost something from the source material, “Cibola Burn.” That book was such a departure in terms of the size and scale and scope of the story being told. Being limited to just the action taking place on Ilus/New Terra and in near orbit also lent a claustrophobic, pressure cooker feel. As much as I enjoyed TV season 4, I felt like it was missing some of the great tension developed in the book.

Agree with those that Didn’t like the actor that replaced Avasarala’s husband. He’s just so different from the first guy. Really made her plot line difficult for me to watch at times.

Also,

Spoiler:

Murtry started out great, and I like the actor that played him. But I agree with some other posters that as the season went on, his motives became kind of garbled, and the writing got worse and worse for him. I think part of the problem was that they dropped most of the focus on the near orbit conflict between the Edward Israel and the Rocinante and the Barbapicola. In the book, Havelock (remember him - Miller’s partner from Ceres) is Murtry’s second in command and is holding down the fort on the Edward Israel. That conflict between the three ships is a major focus of the book, much more so than in the show, where it was given short shrift. I think a lot of Murtry’s personality and motivation came out in the book as part of his dialogue with Havelock.

In the end, the TV show pretty much went with Murtry is just a greedy bastard who wants to get personally rich off the lithium on the planet. That was definitely not the Murtry I remembered from the book.

Anyway, really enjoyed the season, nits aside, and can’t wait for season 5 where shit is going to hit the fan. Talk about a swing in terms of size/scope/scale. Can’t wait to see how they approach that!

[Holman]

I’m avoiding this thread for the sake of spoilers, but I just came across a mention that the series bonus material on Prime is especially good.

[Kurth]

I’m avoiding this thread for the sake of spoilers, but I just came across a mention that the series bonus material on Prime is especially good.

Thanks! I will check that out for sure. Also going to follow up on the recommendation above for the novella, Churn. Can’t get enough Amos!

[Zaxxon]

Wholeheartedly agree with Kurth's spoiler. However, I think...

Spoiler:

...the reasoning for this is probably that they wanted to keep the Bobby & OPA storylines going, and doing that plus adding another feather to the Ilus line might have felt a little convoluted. I prefer the book's approach of tightening the zoom level to just Ilus, but I can see how as a television show they preferred to keep the continuity going with the non-Ilus storylines rather than dump all those actors entirely from the season.

[Grifman]

I love sci-fi and I don't know how I missed this the first time around, but I just finished binging The Expanse through Season 3 and this is the best TV sci-fi since Babylon 5. I love this show! A few scattered thoughts/vague spoilers (be warned) follow:

1) I love world building, the three societies (Earth, Mars, Belters) are really cool, similar with shared humanity but different due to the worlds they live on (I love the Belter patois) (Side note, I loved when Naomi in Season 3 slipped into her Belter dialect when she was working with the Belters)
2) The zero G of space is really cool and I love how they remind you of that all the time - the constant klink klink of walking, dead people floating or belted in seats with arms up, stuff floating. The most amazing scene which I don't know if anyone caught was in season 3 when a woman we impaled hanging from the ceiling. As she was dying she was crying but rather than the tears sliding down her face they pooled in her eyes. It was amazing they thought of that.
3) The battles in space (especially the R vs. a certain ship) are fantastic and seem so grounded in a lower tech reality. No shields, no unlimited manuevering, holes get punched in ships, vacuum is a constant danger.
4) I love the crew, every single one of them. They are real people with flaws, they make mistakes (some quite bad) and they grow/change as people.
5) Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala steals every scene she is in. She has just the thinnest veneer of sugar coating her piss and vinegar. She also gets the best outfits - even when she got on a spaceship, her space outfit was the most stylish of the series
6) I also found interesting the "reboot" of the show in the third season. The show started out as a political/military/mystery thriller and then it became a 2001/space exploration show. The change started off slowly but wow, did that end in a big reveal!
7) I love Amos but I think he is a psychopath who just happened to find the right people to direct him. I also love Drummer, she takes no prisoners

That's all for now, gotta start Season 4 now. Just had to say something about my new binge crush. I love this show!

[Zaxxon]

Awesome. I'll once again be that guy (sorry) and say that if you love those aspects of the show, you should check out the books. They are fantastic, and just about done (*cough* GRRM).

[Grifman]

Awesome. I'll once again be that guy (sorry) and say that if you love those aspects of the show, you should check out the books. They are fantastic, and just about done (*cough* GRRM).

I am putting them on my list!