Anyway, next up is a show that I’ve been meaning to watch: The Expanse. The show was based on a novel series by James S.A. Corey. This was a show that I was pretty curious about when it was being aired on Syfy. When I heard that a grounded, dour sci-fi show was coming to Syfy, I was interested… I didn’t tune in, though. Yeah, I could’ve went online to their site, but I wasn’t thinking about it at the time. It then got cancelled but revived on Amazon Prime. I ended up getting Amazon Prime this year, and when I realized that I could finally watch some shows that I’ve been curious about, this was the first one on the list.
The first season started to air at the end of 2015. It takes
place in the 23rd century. Earth has pretty much colonized most of
the solar system, and there’s even a full functioning colony on Mars. Things
aren’t too good, though. Earth and Mars are pretty much in a cold war. The
asteroid belt is full of colonists, and they have it pretty bad. In fact, a
faction called the OPA (Outer Planets Alliance) have become a bit of a new
power in the whole conflict.
We get three storylines in the season. On Earth, UN Executive Chrisjen Avasaria (Shoreh Aghdashloo) does all she can to avert an all-out war between Earth and Mars. On Ceres (an dwarf planet in the belt), Detective Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) is an imperfect officer who’s given a special assignment. He has to investigate the disappearance of Julie Mao, the daughter of a ship designer. Finally, we have the survivors of a freighter called the Cantaberry: James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and Axel Kamel. They all tie into a conspiracy as someone is trying to start a war in the solar system.
PROS
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| Holden loves his coffee. |
I thought this started out pretty well. I think one of the
things that really made the first season work for me was how vast the show was.
You pretty much get all of what’s going on in these 10 episodes. The first two
pretty much lay out what the show is more or less going to be about. In this,
you got politicians, noir detectives, miners who have no choice to become
warriors, and Mormons. You can’t forget about the Mormons, man! The show is
pretty grounded for the most part, but You get the idea that more may be coming
at the end of the season.
I pretty much liked the characters we got here. They vary
from pretty good to pretty deceitful. Avasaria and Miller play those cards
pretty well. Avasaria may act like a nice politician, but you can’t turn your
back on her. Miller is pretty much a bad detective who could do good if given
the chance. My favorites for the season though are the survivors of the
Cantaberry. James, Naomi, Amos, and Axel are all pretty cool and bounce off one
another pretty well. James’ the reluctant leader, Naomi’s the one holding it
all down, Amos is nuts, and Axel is funny. It all worked well.
We really don’t learn who our villains are for the series
until the end. Even then, things feel up in the air on who the bad guys are.
All of the organizations are pretty shady. Heck, everyone here has some shade
of gray to them especially the leads. You find out that Naomi and Axel have
some connections to other groups throughout the season.
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| Miller, definitely a detective. |
Even though it takes place in the 23rd century, this is no Star Trek or Star Wars. Things seem to be more in the vein of the rebooted Battlestar Galactica or Firefly. While some technology seems pretty advanced, things seem a little downgraded when space travel is concerned. The effects look good for the most part. The set designs vary a bit with each location, but it’s all good on that front. When we do get action, it’s handled well. It can be a bit choppy, though.
CONS
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| Space tends to do a number on the body. |
There aren’t too many problems with the season, but you know how it is. It takes a while for the show to really get going. Once things get settled into place after a couple of episodes, things do pick up. Even with that, you may run into some pacing issues towards the end of the season. When we make it to Eros, another colony, some of the pacing gets slow when a big event happens.
While I liked all the
storylines, the political storyline featuring Avasaria is a bit dull. It’s not
bad, but it’s not too engaging like the other two storylines are. While
Miller’s storyline was pretty good, it had a couple of hiccups here and there.
It definitely got weird as he got closer and closer to the memory of Julia Mao.
You also got some weird moments with certain plots. Maybe they’ll be brought up
in the second season, I don’t know. Other than some small nitpicks like some
lackluster acting and effects, this was a good start to this show.
FAVORITE EPISODES
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| So, why isn't Naomi leading our ragtag team of cool folk? |
Even though it’s only 10 episodes, I did have some favorites
here. I’ll just list off the top five:
1. Dulcinea – The pilot episode. It gets everyone started on
their path for the season.
2. CQB – THe Cantaberry survivors are taken in by a Martian
ship, and they end up facing the unknown
ships who destroyed the Cantaberry.
3. Rock Bottom – Miller’s story takes a turn for the worst
while Holden and the rest meet Fred Johnson, the guy who’s building a
generation ship for the Mormons.
4. Critical Mass – Two storylines finally cross over, and we
learn about Julie Mao.
5. Leviathan Wakes – The season concludes with a virus being
unleashed on the Eros station.
……………………………………
Overall, season 1 of The Expanse was pretty good. It was definitely a return to form for Syfy. I don’t know if I’ll talk about the rest of the seasons here, but I may mention them. I’m on Season 2 right now, and it’s only getting better. Anyway, I gotta wrap this up. Next up, it’s time to return to Trek with the latest show. Peace, God Bless, and stay away from Eros Station. It may sound like love, but it ain’t.
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