I wasn’t sure, so one day everything was cancelled due to a snow storm, and I gave it a watch. Kept going for over a half a season in 1 sitting. I was hooping
I consider this to be one of the best sci-fi series I've watched. It has very well done effects, interesting, well written characters, and an interesting story.
Ps the bird is meant to look off as the gravity on Ceres is lower. Alot of people don't get hooked on ep. 1 . I personally loved it from ep 1 with the flip and burn. As far as character driven shows, this own is incredibly. Its based on a series of 9 novels, and the authors were part of the writing room in the show.
I really feel like the show missed out by being too faithful to the book at the beginning. Which, I loved anyway. It hit me right between the nerdy eyes. But the first 2 episodes are really rough to jump into for so many people.
It's really not a character driven show, at least in the first season. The main character is the solar system. It's one of my favorite shows but I STILL don't care that much for the characters per se.
@@pajander I agree but then everyone loves a lot of the characters and I mean... there's a lot to love. So certainly the characters do drive a lot of the emotional momentum I think. But the system itself is a big part of it.
@@scottwatrous True, we'll have good characters and character development eventually. I just don't want them to think that this is going to be like Firefly, which managed to introduce and establish 9 excellent characters in a single episode. It's going to be a lot slower (and more realistic) here.
This is a fantastic series based on some fantastic books. It is also considered one of, if not the, most scientifically accurate sci-fi shows ever made. Give it time, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Episode 4 is when people most often get hooked. Then it's hammer down all the way to the end. Best sci-fi show in recent memory. It stopped at season 6, in part, because that's where a 30 year time jump occurs in the books.
Josh, when they were young my great-grandparents plowed their fields with a horse and lit their houses with whale-oil lamps. Vacuum tubes and AM radio were still hot technologies when my grandparents got married. When I was a child it was a sensation when someone bought the first color television set in the neighborhood. So yeah, a lot can happen in less than 200 years. Creole dialects develop fairly quickly when people who speak different languages are thrust together and need to find a way to communicate with each other.
I always thought that was one of the most interesting things about the show, the interracial mix would inevitably lead to a mixture of dialects. I love that how Alex an Indian character has a Texas accent. The people who would have moved in need of work from poor communities on earth would of because of the inter-mixture of differing cultures would pickup each others tights over the years of living so close together.
You guys COULD chose to react to something other than THE EXPANSE. But nothing you choose would be better. Not on any level. Writing. Directing. Performance. This show is jaw dropping phenomenal. You have no clue how good this is.
Best SciFi show since TNG, brilliant storyline and if it character driven storylines your after, this show is 10 times better than your Firefly or any other. Watch the first season, give it a go and you will not regret it.
One of those shows that deserves a second watch through… I actually thought it started out fairly slow, but by the end of season 1 I was hooked. And I love how Care Gee low key started out as a side character and ended up my favorite!!
I was hooked from the first episode. The Canterbury getting blown up, along with the distress call and the case of the missing girl Julie, set up an intriguing mystery. All I can really say is *you will be rewarded* for sticking with this show. It has surpassed the Battlestar Galactica reboot as the best sci-fi show of all time.
I was hooked from the very first episode, although upon first watching I was a bit confused, because they throw you into the deep end with little explanation. I love the "real world" feel of the show, to include the tech, the politics, interpersonal relationships, etc. While the final season had a somewhat rushed feel, I still rank The Expanse as one of my all-time favorite shows.
Note though that there's still a chance that The Expanse would get to have its _true_ final seasons after Amazon's rights to the show lapses in the next few years. Amazon had partitioned a large chunk of its production budget to shows like _The Wheel of Time_ and _The Rings of Power._ So either way, Amazon renews the rights to the show -- and sets a budget for the 'final trilogy' -- or some other streaming service picks it up.
First time I watched this show, I got in about 15 minutes and realized they wanted me to pay attention. I went back a month later and binged the series. It just takes a minute to realize this show isn't the usual tv pablum.
The final season was indeed rushed as Amazon didn't want to invest in The Expanse too much (and yet they produced ROP... ) so due to budget reasons the final season was compressed into only 6 episodes - there is no way it wouldn't feel rushed when we should get at least 10 if not 13 episodes. I think they did a tremendous job with what they had and after rewatching I appreciate the last season more and more. And the final episode - man, what a ride! Love The Expanse!
you cant judge shows on first episodes, especially if you want them to be good, they have to set up characters, context, world build, and this does an excellent job of that.
Actually The Expanse started in 2015 on the SyFy channel but was cancelled (as per their usual habit of cancelling really good shows) after only 3 seasons. Thankfully Jeff Bezos (yes Amazon owner) was a fan and was so interested in finding out how the show ended picked it up for the remaining 3 seasons. Like him or not we can at least be thankful to him for doing so. The Expanse is one of the best shows I have ever seen.
This, this we will watch the shit out of, you guys HAVE to watch all 6 seasons, as Sci fi fans, its almost a pre-requisite if you wish to retain your rank and level:)
It makes me sad thinking how many people didn't give this show a chance after seeing the first episode. It's a show made by (intelligent) adults for adults. It's the show that treats its viewer as capable of using a brain (which is not that common these days). And I love how it destroys all the myths about space that Hollywood created in people's minds. And as for characters - this show is full of great characters, it's amazing how sometimes supporting characters are so memorable and awsome. Keep watching and pay attention! :-)
It took me three tries to finish the pilot. Pretty much felt as you did, but give it time. By episode three or four I was hooked. Writing and character development are outstanding, and the nuance of every side being a mix of good/bad is very realistic...someone you initially hate might turn out to be a fav. Best sci-fi show all time.
Yes it has an incredibly weak start. Took me 4 episodes to have any idea what's even going on or who anybody is. But then it takes off. But it's one of the slowest start of any show. They didn't do themselves a favor with those first couple episodes. Once you KNOW the story and you go back, those episodes are great but... as a start for someone new... When I started watching it I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about either.
Remember Ceres Station has only 1/3 gravity so throwing the filter guy in the air lock does not injure him like it would on earth. Also explains the strange bird flight.
Dude, the 'hook' you are looking for happens in Ep. 4. Get through Ep. 4, and then give us a re-assessment. BTW, after ep. 4,it's a no holds barred full speed run to the end of Season 3.
The writing and character development of this series are unmatched by any show I've seen. The first season is world building most of the way. From episode 7 on, the story takes over, and literally gets better with each episode. I'm a new sub here to watch your journey through your new favorite show.
If you don't continue, you are missing out on one of the best TV shows ever made IMHO. Of course I read the books first and knew how much excellence was to come. The writers don't actually like the scroll intro and they do NOT spoon feed you, almost no exposition. Once you start to understand the role gravity plays it becomes an actual character; they use mag boots to walk around in zero g. The gravity on Ceres is 1/3 g so the bird doesn't actually need to flap its wings as much as in 1g. The Expanse has a devoted and loyal fan base. We actually saved the show when it was cancelled in the third season and got three more seasons from Amazon. This will also give you a LOT to discuss in terms of politics, culture wars, space technology and some of the best characters you will ever have the privilege of seeing.
The Expanse is known for high concept and physics accurate science fiction. The first season is a bit of a detective story, Julie, a lone astronaut enters a ghost ship and is terrified by what she sees. On earth a belter is being tortured with earth's gravity about something going on in the belt near the asteroid Ceres. On Ceres a detective gets a case to track down a missing daughter of a billionaire, that happens to be Julie, the girl from the beginning. Out in the asteroid belt some space truckers are hauling an ice shipment bound for Ceres when they check out a weak SOS signal from a hidden ship, that happens to be the ghost ship from the start but Julie is no longer there. All the threads start to come together over the episodes building into a great story that gets even bigger and more "science-fictiony" as the series goes on. It was not renewed after season 6 but there is more to tell. The producers may be shopping for a new home. Only time will tell. I would recommend watching it privately if not on the channel, but each to his own, we can't all like the same things.
I didn’t continue this show after episode one at first, but when I gave it another chance I was hooked from ep 4 on. After seeing S2 and S3 I was really glad I did.
This show is made for bingeing. Just watching one episode at a time moves the story slowly. But I still think it's very much worth it. And on top of that, the pilot only gives you a taste, only shows you the tip of the iceberg of an incredibly deep, fleshed out world. That the characters don't grip you is up to you I'm afraid. I immediately loved almost all of them, and a lot of character traits and development is shown in little details. This show is often very subtle and doesn't spell things out like most shows do. It just seems you missed a lot of these details. Miller's cracked phone and hat even though there's no rain on Ceres. The way his colleagues and boss treat him and speak to him reveal how he's regarded (or not), the bribery incident, and so on. Same for Holden, and him drinking coffee staying up late almost alone, how he seems very capable but afraid or not wanting to take on responsibility, how it's mentioned he used to be in the UN navy, and so on. Naomi that seems an incredibly capable engineer but is working on a shitty old ship. Amos who only seems to listen to Naomi, and so on. Alex who seems to have a family but is out far in the solar system doing work that takes him away from home for months on end. Lots of detail going on that immediately should intrigue. And don't go looking for stereotypical characters like usual in American TV, because they don't really exist in the expanse. The "heroes" have a dark side to them, the "villains" have a good side, and everyone honestly believes they're doing the right thing. No black and white in the expanse, only shades of grey. The show is based on a great novel series, and the show does a great job of translating the books to TV. But this also means there's a ton of info, backstory and world building that's constantly going on in the show and being thrown at you. On top of that, the books are based on an ttrpg that the authors played before starting to write. So the books and show are honestly primarily character driven, with a great world building behind it. I really think you just need to give it time. 13:40 Oh and the reason the bird looks like it's moving weird is because it's on Ceres in a low gravity environment that's spinning to create gravity. So it's not bad CGI, the bird moves like it would in 1/3 G. It's details like this that tell you a lot about the world you're entering in. This is hard sci-fi. No magic gravity devices or warp drives. Space is deadly and will kill people, people adapted to space can no longer live on a planet due to their weak physiology, gravity needs to be generated by accelerating or spinning, ships take time to move around and move in actual orbital trajectories, ships can't easily turn around and move in another direction once they're going, and so on.
The show is not just based on novels, it's written like a novel. Multiple story lines, slow build, and a lot of complexity and conflict under the surface that oozes out as it goes along. I waited over 50 years to see a TV show like the classic SF I'd been reading. Total shock that it first showed up on Syfy :-)
I watched this show from the beginning when it was first airing on SyFy. What they did was air the first 3 episodes at once on demand so I binge watched them basically in one night so it's hard for me to say if the first episode really wowed me enough to keep watching. I will say this....episode 4 is the one where I went "wow" I'm sticking with this.
I guess I remembered it wrong then. I thought it aired as a 2+ hour movie or something like that. But then it's like me to get little details like that wrong, so thanks for clearing that up! I would have had a hard time keeping with it if I had to wait four weeks for that payoff.
@@LaBlueStateGirl Well, I should clarify that what they did was drop them off in a block on demand, at least on Spectrum. I watched them that way instead of when they were aired.
I was hooked by the first episode. I'd encourage you to continue and your reaction is very typical of other reactors when they started. it's kinda fun to see how the reactions change from "it's okay" to "holy hell this is the best show ever!" You won't be disappointed and the show has probably the best single episode of any show ever. 😊👍
The first 3 episodes are world building mainly after that have oxygen, a defibrillator and tissues handy this show has more cliff hangers. The bird looks weird because it’s flying in 1/3 gravity inside a slowly rotating asteroid. There are lots of little things to remind you about air and gravity. They stop at end of book 6 as there’s a gap of 30 years till book 7.
I hope this helps Miller: a detective on Ceres station. Havelock: Miller’s rookie partner. Octavia “Tavi” Muss: Miller’s female coworker peer. Captain Shaddid: Miller’s boss. Julie Mao: the woman Miller is tasked to find as a side job. James Holden: the highest-ranking survivor who led the team to investigate the Scopuli. Naomi Nagata: the Canterbury’s chief engineer. Amos Burton: a mechanic from the Canterbury. Shed Garvy: a medical technician from the Canterbury. Alex Kamal: one of the Canterbury’s pilots. Chrisjen Avasarala: Big-wig on earth; she is the deputy undersecretary of the United Nations. Sadavir Errinwright: Avasarala’s boss. He is the undersecretary (‘vice president’) of the UN and earth.
The characters in this show are incredibly well written. There's moments/conversations/elements that will pay off in one, two, 5 seasons. Everything happens for a plot reason. Some characters stay with you forever. Even some that only make a brief appearance. You just have to give it a chance. There hasn't been a better Sci Fi show in the last 15/20 years.
Год назад+9
Pidgin languages, like the Belter language, can develop rather quickly, 200 years is plenty of time. And regarding the "weird CGI-bird", it lives in a micro-gravity environment where artificial gravity is generated through centrifugal force, so the bird doesn't have to flap it's wings much to stay airborne. It can simply "float" on the air. You will be hard pressed to find details in this show that does not conform to the laws of physics or our current understanding of science. Also, it's recommended that you watch the first four episodes "in one go", or at least don't wait too long in between viewings.
Like you both, I wasn't hooked with this first episode. But as many others have said in the comments, by episode 4 I was into it, and started caring about the characters, the story, and the whole universe that had been created. And as a side note, I think season 2, episode 5 is one of the most amazing hours of television I've ever seen. So that's only 14 episodes away!
Episode 1 was good enough for me to continue, then episode 4 had me hooked. There’s some great space battles later on. It’s the best sci-fi show I’ve seen in many years. It’s definitely on the “hard science” side of the science-fiction spectrum (no artificial gravity, no faster than light travel, no magical engine giving near limitless power, etc., etc. just a type of Fusion Drive that’s more efficient than today’s technology but is conceivable with a few hundred years of development). Each season has a different sub-genre, S1 being a bit of detective noir.
It took me forever to watch the first three episodes (weeks between them). Then I watched CQB and then i got hooked....then binged watched the rest of the series in a week.
The Expanse is arguably the most important _new_ (and I'm using new loosly because it has been around for a little while) science fiction intellectual property since Star Trek - for entirely opposing reasons. Some people see it in some ways as a natural descendant of Firefly too for various interesting reasons. I sort of tripped and fell on to it I think that maybe Dark Matter led into it, I hadn't heard of the books but yeah sort of accidentally watched the first airing of the pilot. First season is a little rough and it's one of those shows that will often leave you with more questions than answers until even the later/last season, but it's _well_ worth the time investment. I hate to hype it up, because I don't want to give a false impression because the first season there's a lot of (necessary for later pay off even though it might not be relevant early) exposition and world building. It's still very very good, but you have to give it to episode 4 to decide if you like it - a lot of reactors doing Expanse reactions are closing in on the end so it might not be a terrible one to pick up. The first season is a bit of a noir mystery too, but yeah, episode 4 if you don't like it by then you never will, but if you do you're in for a ride, that's the basic rule; course if you like it already then you're good :)
Just for the context, 2 centuries ago was the 19th century. Taking 1820 as a reference, the world population was 1 billion. There were no cars, first steam locomotive was 16 years old, no planes, travel to space at all was considered impossible and a realm of fantasy. Total length of railway track in the world was 20km, a total of 600,000km less than today. Almost every ship was using sail, was made of wood and armed with muzzle loading blackpowder cannons. The biggest ship was 5 times shorter and with 40 times lower displacement than today. Discovery of penicillin was 100 years away, first sustained flight - 80, first commercial computer - 130 years away. The main mode of transportation and "heavy equipment" were animals. The European population of Australia was around 100,000, some 200 times smaller than today. Sidney was a city of 15,000 people. Los Angeles had 500 people, NYC - 120,000. London was the biggest city in the world with population of 1.5 million. Napoleon Bonaparte was still alive, Abraham Lincoln was 11, Victorian era was 17 years away. A journey between London and NYC took 5 weeks. A journey between London and Australia took 3 months and had just a bit better than 50% chance of you surviving. So if anything, The Expanse is pretty conservative in terms of what is possible in 200 years.
As a sci-fi nerd for around 2 decades, the Expanse rocketed to #1 sci-fi story of all time for me very quickly and has kept that spot for years now. It's great to have a series that takes physics and space as seriously as they should be taken, it's a dangerous solar system out there.
The Expanse does have a steep learning curve at the beginning because it doesn't hold your hand. It took me until episode 3 to become intrigued, and man, episode 4 sealed the deal! It gets even better as it goes on.
This is the best sci-fi series I've seen - and I've seen all seasons 3 times over so far. Looking forward to watch it for the 4th time as soon as I've forgotten enough. To be honest, first time I watched it I wasn't sure for a few episodes, because it was confusing and I couldn't figure out who was good or bad. But daaaaamn did I binge-watch this when I got into it. Fantastic development, writers, characters, attention to detail, and cliffhangers from hell. If you don't continue watching you're missing out of something fantastic...
To answer your question, first time I tried to watch it I didn't make it to the end of the episode. Not because it was bad, but I wasn't in the mood for detectives in space. I wasn't giving up on it, just pushing it back. When I finally watched the whole episode, by the end I had to keep going. But agree with everyone that #4 is when the show really kicks it into gear. After that it had well and truly gotten me. I see where you are coming from and I think you are right about your format of reaction not helping you appreciate the show, think you were brushing aside a lot of cool things, like the filming inside the helmets. This show has great story and amazing characters, with great emotional human moments, but it's also very unusualy cool in its cinematography, and the helmet shots are definitely some of that. Not only is cool has hell but sets the pace and claustrophobic feeling of the moment. And I think the way you bounce off of one another, didn't allow you to appreciate the details.
The first season is a bit overwhelming, but I can assure you that by 1x4, you will never look back. The best written Sci Fi on TV. The acting, character development, over arching themes... This is a classic.
It’s a delayed gratification thing with the first half of season one, like riding up the first big hill on a roller coaster before it drops. The character development is incredible. The same thing happened to me, I wasn’t hooked at first and now it’s the best series I’ve ever seen
Expanse has a very dedicated following, you'll pick up a LOT of followers if you stick with it, and it will start to come together. You kind of have to forget what you know about Sci Fi. Nearly all the tech in this show is theoretically possible given current real world technology, just advanced 300 years. There's no faster-than-light travel, no lasers. The ships are armed with missiles, point defense cannons, and rail guns. The engines are fusion powered ion thrusters that provide constant acceleration, and you flip and burn to decelerate (we already use ion drives for most our unmanned space craft, and recently scientists finally created a small fusion reaction that produced more power than it takes to create it). Stealth doesn't make ships invisible, they sink heat, use angles, and radiation absorbing materials just like real world stealth. The bird was illustrating the fact that Ceres has 1/3rd Earth gravity.
Almost every reactor says something like "strange CGI bird" hahaha. Or thinks that it's bad special effects. But once you delve deeper into the Expanse, you'll see that it is actually perfectly flapping, considering where it lives
A lot of people like this show, and if you look around on RUclips, you'll see that a lot of people react to it. It's honestly kind of hard to imagine that you weren't more familiar with it than you were, just from that. My first experience of this episode was actually watching a reaction to it, on a channel I watched other show reactions on. I thought I'd give it a watch as a "Cliff's Notes" version to see if it was anything I'd be interested in, and I was. It's one of my all time favorite shows. It's one of the best things on TV, now or ever, IMO. I watch your Sar Trek reactions mostly out of nostalgia, having grown up on TOS. I watch reactions to the Expanse because I'm genuinely excited to watch people experience it for the first time. Since you did ask about other shows that might make interesting viewing, besides the Expanse, let me throw the Adventures of Brisco County Jr and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency into the ring. Both are great, character driven shows with clever scripts, that no one reacts to. Which might mean that no one would watch them, or it might mean that they're ripe to bring in an untapped audience. Keep them in mind, if you ever do another pilot week.
There is a lot of world building in the first few episodes. You are meant to feel a bit confused at this point. The show started on syfy and was cancelled at season 3, and there was a massive campaign to save it including crowd funding banner flyovers of amazon hq
You are wrong about the bird. Everyone is always wrong about the bird. Miller (the detective) is on Ceres, the largest asteroid in our solar system. They have spun it up to create spin gravity. That bird and everyone living on Ceres lives under 1/3 of Earth's gravity. THAT is why they bird looks odd. It only needs to flap its wings occasionally to stay afloat in the lower gravity of Ceres. This show adheres to portraying real space physics as best it as it can.
Saw you guys because of The Expanse. Best sci-fi TV show ever. And the character development in this show is 2nd to none. I personally was hooked on the first episode, but I've heard others say it took them the first half of the season to really buy in. I don't know anyone that made it to the end and was disappointed though. Most end up loving this show and characters.
Episode 4 is when the lid comes off! The Expanse is based on nine books by Daniel Abrams and Ty Franks, set about 300 years in the future (unspecified). The first three seasons was on SyFy, then it was cancelled due to budget issues. The fans saved it and Prime picked it up for another three seasons. The tv-series covers the first six books, but the seasons are not in sync with the books so we often get book endings in the middle of a season. Most chapters in the books are named by a person and written from a 1st person perspective, so there is a lot of jumping around, and a mystery on top of that. A throwaway line in season 1 can pay off in season 5. I call it "cliffhangers in space". It is a "hard sci-fi" show, meaning no shields, warp drives, phasers and magic gravity plates. The ships are built like skyscrapers so they have thrust gravity, until the engines goes out that is. Most ships runs at 0.3G to 1G but can go crazy hard if needed. Space and physics is a "character" of its own in the show. The book authors are part of the production crew and used to work with George R. Martin. The showrunner is Naren Shankar and has a PhD in applied physics and have been part of CSI, For all Mankind and several Star Trek tv-series. The majority of characters you will dislike in the beginning, they'll grow on you. It's all gray - humanity sucks - not space. The audio mixing is a bit off the first season, so I suggest you watch with subtitles, especially when there is belter creole (a real language they invented by a linguist).
Let me be another voice to extoll the brilliance of The Expanse. At this point there's already a plethora of commentors mentioning how much they love this show and how the consider it to be one of _the_ best sci-fi shows out there, but let me just add my voice to the choir. I've been a lover of science fiction for well over 30 years now. From shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, to Babylon 5 and Space: Above and Beyond. From Farscape, to Star Wars and Dune, I have watched the shows and movies, read the books, played the games. And The Expanse stands as one of (if not my absolute) most favorite sci-fi stories ever. Yes, the first few episodes are mostly about setting up the world and introducing the main characters, but from about episode 3 (4 at latest) it should really hook you in and it won't let go again from that point; it'll just reel you in further. I genuinely feel that you'd be doing yourselves an immense disfavor if you give up on this show now, though of course, the decision is yours to make.
Just so you know a bird would look like that and fly like that in low gravity. Its not bad cgi. The series is very actual science based which really adds alot to the series. Also LOTS of worldbuilding to start. Give it 4 episodes and most are hooked. Simply AWESOME series!
The intro made a mistake, it's definitely the 24th century in the show, it's estimated to be around 2350, because the original concept was almost called "2350"
I think someone thought 23 century meant 2300s. The show starts in 2350. Roughly 9 generations away. Belters speak "Belter Creole" developed when people from all over the world were mixed together to work the asteroids. A creole usually only takes a generation to form. Most of the science in this series is based off what we know actually works. No artificial gravity or FTL.
If you like good writing, attention to detail, characters,realism, scifi elements this show excells in all of that and more. Also this show does not spoon feed you info or waste time with filler. So worth your time
As Lucas M mentioned, episode 4 is the one that really hooks people. This series is based on a series of novels. The writers of the books were closely involved in creating the series, and took the opportunity to improve some things they thought they could have done better in the books. Each season covers one book more or less, so that richness of character development does take some time. There are a few things that are only hinted at and are not fully revealed until season five.
It was terrifying when they cancelled it. It was clearly the best thing they had going, but they hadn't done the licensing properly, so they weren't making any money on it. So happy Amazon picked it up
This is a great science fiction TV series; one of the best ever made. They seldom miss a trick, and that means the bird on Ceres was animated exactly right. The asteroid, Ceres, has been spun up to provide 0.3 G, or 30 percent of Earth's gravity. That means the bird doesn't need to flap its wings very often, to stay in flight, and it can easily hover in one place until someone tosses it some food. The show has no magical gravity plates, so the only "artificial gravity" comes from acceleration (such as when the engines move a ship) or from rotation. The first half of the first season establishes a lot of plot threads; hangs up even more Chekhov's Guns; lays down the foundations of a tremendously complex setting; and introduces a ton of characters. Moreover, it's (basically) a noir detective mystery that doesn't hold the viewers' hand. You learn things as the characters do, and half the fun is guessing what's actually going on. In addition, the writing is top-shelf, just generally, and The Expanse is *master class* when it comes to cliffhanger endings. Most people get hooked, *hard* , in Episode 4, but a lot of sci-fi fans go all-in by the end of Episode 1. 🙂 If you do decide to continue this show, keep the subtitles turned on. It'll help you learn the characters more quickly,and it makes the Belter Creole language easier to follow.
Ty Frank, one of the original book writers agrees with you about the need to have a written introduction to the story, he has said the same thing word for word.
Creole languages form extremely quickly when disparate groups are stuck together in an isolated place. Nothing more isolated than living and working in the belt/outer planets. The Expanse is sometimes seen as having a slow start, but mostly that is because the density of new information you need to take in and the number of characters you are being hit by makes it hard for some folks to find an emotional purchase. It is also has several mysteries going on at the same time that take a while for you to get enough pieces to even have a chance of figuring out. In later seasons you will realize that some mysteries were right there the whole time, from episode 1, that you didn't even realize were mysteries until you get multiple seasons in. As a lot of folks will tell you, there is basically not a single wasted scene or line of dialogue, even in the background. You don't have to drive yourself crazy trying to catch everything to enjoy it, but the extremely observant and those that rewatch will catch all sorts of things early on that add to the experience. Makes it a great show for rewatches when done.
The bird looks weird because it is flying in a 1/3 G environment. Ceres is being spun to generate the impression of gravity. So the bird doesn't need to flap as hard or as often. There are other effects you will see like pouring liquids looks weird on Ceres for the same reason. While the show cheats timeframes sometimes (things that would take weeks or months are resolved in hours or days), it is generally very careful about the science of space travel, artificial environments, and the impact of living and working in space.
And as others have said, this is based on a series of novels. It is one of the best novel adaptations out there. It works as a companion piece and on its own. They aren't overly precious about the text, and enhance certain elements, but it is true to the core. And also as others have said, it takes 4 episodes for all of the setup to be complete and the main story to really get going. At which point it just builds and builds and builds through the remaining seasons. There is some truly epic and wild stuff in it with brilliant character work.
Klick is a kilometer. The bird might be real - but it's in a different gravity. BTW, no artificial gravity in this show - "gravity" is either due to thrust (in ships) or spin (asteroids like Ceres). The ending of the episode - if you do watch the show be prepared to deal with cliffhangers. By season 3 it's hard not to watch them three to four at a time. This episode doesn't just set up the universe, it sets up all six seasons. Alex's accent is from the Mariner Valley on Mars. In the books they explain it a bit more - it was settled mainly by folks from Pakistan and Texas. I liked it from the start but I'd read the books. Most folks say they get addicted by episode four. Lots of folks say they tuned out the first time they watched it on episode one - and then came back later and got into it. Based on what you said you'd like it. It's very much character driven - but a number of characters.
This show is all about the characters. It also won't dumb things down or give exposition dumps. Apart from the opening summary (which the writers objected to, but SyFy instead on), they show and don't tell. The authors are part of the writing staff, so if the structure sometimes seems odd, it's because this is a story fit for a series of novels. Also, yes, the bird was accurate. That's how a bird flies in less than 1/3 of normal gravity. There is no artificial gravity. If someone is standing/walking, it's because the ship is accelerating, they're in something spinning (like Ceres), or they're wearing magnetic boots.
This show is absolutely amazing. Arguably one of the best sci-fi shows out there from any era. This is due not only to the amazing special effects, complex and intelligent character driven plot with fascinating characters on all sides, but in particular because they have taken such great pains to make the show as scientifically accurate as possible. The devil is in the details and these writers paid very close attention to the details! From the weapons to the ships to the orbital mechanics, they were taking great pains to keep the physics as accurate and realistic as possible. For example, when the point defense cannons fire, if you watch closely you can see that there is a small retro rocket on them that pulses an impulse jet to counteract the force of firing the bullets and thus keeps the cannons from imparting thrust to the ship as they fire. Absolutely brilliant attention to detail.
The Bird is flying in low G. There is no artificial gravity in the Expanse. Gravity is simulated, with spinning space stations, and ships capable of nearly constant thrust with decks that are oriented like building floors.
I was hooked from the first episode, primarily because I love World building. And this world is exceptionally well developed, from the get go. It feels lived in. As for characters by a couple episodes I was deeply in love with how well rounded all the characters were, with no one being an archetype.
Survivors from the Canterbury: Jim Holden, Alex (pilot), Amos (mechanic), Naomi (engineer), Shed (medic). On Ceres: Miller (detective) and Havelock (trainee detective). On Earth: Avasarala (UN Under Secretary). Unknown location: Julie Mao (rich heiress).
You have to understand that this is not an episodic show. It’s based on a series of novels. So the first episode is just introducing the big mystery and the three main settings (the ice harvesting crew, the asteroid cop, and the deputy secretary of the United Nations). It really is worth watching more before you decide you don’t like it.
The bird was supposed to look weird. It was on Ceres, which is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. They were trying to show what a bird would look like flying in low gravity.
Do yourselves a favor and continue watching this show. It *will* subvert your expectations in the best ways. I just watched another reactor discovering the show remark something very close to, "This is season five finale level stuff in the fourth episode of the show! This is so cool! I am so tense!" That tip's on the house. ✌️
As others said, it's a fantastic show that rewards dedication. Trust me, just power through the first few episodes. I tried a couple times, but it really picked up for me on episode 4. It's worth it. The first few episodes are fantastic for slow-burn world building, but terrible for getting people hooked in. If you stick with it and get hooked, you can rewatch the first few and you'll pick up on lots of details, but really, just get through it until episode 4. There's tons of character development, a deep and convoluted plot, and lots of quality hard sci-fi
AWESOME show! But yea, most people will tell you that the show takes the first few episodes to get going but in my opinion it's one of the greatest SciFi shows ever! And also one of the most realistic ones which I personally love! Give it a bit of time and you'll realise how great and detailed and well written the characters are. They develop all of them quite a lot. Also as others have said: the bird looks exactly like it's supposed to look because Ceres has much lighter gravity than earth. Also it's not even actual gravity but spin gravity. Actually I'm not sure if you noticed and it's easy to forget if you're used to the likes of Star Trek but in The Expanse, there is no technology for artificial gravity. Their only way of generating "gravity" is by either thrust or spin. The only other way for them to walk around a ship in space is by using electromagnetic boots. You said a pilot should end with a bang and well.... it actually did that quite literally! I mean think about it: like 90% of the people you thought might be main characters just got nuked. there also is a mistery to be solved that somehow seems to weirdly connect all the different story-lines. But yea, the show takes a little bit of time to set up the world and REALLY get started. For me personally, yea, there may be flashier pilot episodes but I still loved it right away, especially since it's much more "hard" (routed in actual science) SciFi than a lot of other stuff is and things are never like "yea, it doesn't really make sense at all and is there just to look cool".
Ok, just got this spilled into my recommendations. It seems, you only ever watched this first episode. Well, if you don't continue this, you miss nothing else but the best scifi show ever produced. For some reason I personally don't understand, many people have some trouble getting into it first, so you're not alone with this, but I can guarantee you that if you stay with it, it will become one of your all time favorites. This is a big and long story, based on a 9-book series. You just can't judge it after only one episode. You have no idea where this is going, and what you are missing here. Gonna bookmark the channel and will be back if you ever continue.
Though I feel the first season could have been paced better, IMO this is one of the best science fiction series made. This is also one of those shows where one might take a lot of notes at the beginning and then by the end of the season you're thinking _why did I have to write all that down?_ Because all the people and places have easily stuck. I suppose one might think *Game of Thrones* was like that as well. *EDIT:* I absolutely agree with you when it comes to the time frame. I'm always thinking the same thing. There's no way that's enough time for us to be so established in space. But then again, when you think about the gold rush and what happens around the Industrial Revolution, things sort of sped up. But it's still hard to believe sometimes.
A few essential facts. Except for a couple of exceptions, the physics in The Expanse is realistic. The planets and moons and asteroids of the solar system are all real. The MCRN is the Mars Congressional Republican Navy (a space navy). The OPA is the Outer Planets Alliance, a loose collection of various pro-belter groups, some political, some criminal, some terrorist. The action really gets going around episode 4 or 5 and then it never stops. Some of the mysteries seen in the first episode aren't fully explained for quite some time.
I was hooked from Episode 1 because I love Tom Jane, just knowing he's in it means it's serious and compelling. I also had been told it was very scientifically accurate and seeing things like burn times and differing gravities and all that in the show made it more compelling to a science nerd like me. This is a tip-of-iceberg episode. It was a lot to take in but I also then had to know, what was she gonna tell Jim? Who is Miller looking for? Also, Chrisjen Avasarella is one of my favorite characters of ALL time. Just wait, she's a firecracker. So much of it is a reasonable extrapolation of what is happening in our world today.
This show is like a roller-coaster ride. the first 3 (and a quarter) episodes are like the slow climb to the top. Starting episode 4 you start rolling down hill and hang on for the ride. I was a fan of the book series before the tv series started so I was thrilled to have the books so well visualized. The first 3 episodes introduce the characters and sets up the situation. The belters are legitimately being sh#t on by earth and mars. Imagine Northern Ireland during the 80's with the IRA and Shin Fein, only here you've got 3 IRA's and about 4 Shin Fein's which is why they're called the Outer Planet "Alliance". You've got several groups using different methods trying to achieve the same goal. Often the more moderate groups are forced to spend/waste a lot of energy just trying to keep the more action oriented groups from doing anything too radical. This series handles it characters and drama very maturely, showing you horrors and atrocities done by both sides and allowing you to form your own conclusions. I found the show's trust of it's audience to be very refreshing. Stick with it until episode 6, and you'll be as hopelessly hooked as firefly, only this story has a conclusion. ( Sort of,but that's another story. )
This actually started on The Sy Fy Channel. After it was cancelled, Amazon picked it up supposedly because Bezos really liked it. It's based on a great series of nine books. But it doesn't adapt the last three books. Which is kind of OK since they end at a good stopping point and the the last three books jump 30 years in the future. The series has a lot of fans in the scientific community because they really nail some of the scientific details. Not all. But more than most Sci Fi series. The YT channel Dr. Becky (an astrophysicist) looked at one of the episode and was really impressed. The series takes a few episodes to really get started. But it's well worth watching The characters don't come into their own until, I'd say, the fourth episode. You'd really like Amos. He's kind of the Jayne of the group. But a bit more principled.
I had kind of the opposite feeling about this show, in that I was so interested in the world-building going on I didn't want the plot to actually start. The ending annoyed me a lot. Anyway, after watching the rest of the season, I understood why they moved things along, and this is one of my favorite shows now. The first episode is really about setting up the Julie Mao mystery plot with miller on Ceres, and then getting our main crew together in their little skiff. This was just the prologue.
Yes, a lot of folks don’t seem to like this show at the beginning, but if you stick with it, you’ll realize it’s absolutely the BEST show of any genre on TV. It does take a full season to lat the ground work, but most people get hooked by episode 4. Also technically speaking this was NOT a pilot since SyFy ordered a full 10 episodes right from the start. Judging this episode against typical pilot tropes is really irrelevant.
This show is now my all time favorite sci-fi series. The story arc, the acting, and show production is just fantastic. The writer know exactly how to present characters and back stories. I will warn you now, this show is a Master at the cliffhanger. I consider some to be even brutal. I anxiously await your reaction to ep. 4. (said with an evil grin)
Love the Expanse. Love watching people react to it. I can appreciate that you have to enjoy what you're reacting to as well though. There's a lot of world building, so the first couple of episodes are slow and can be confusing because of the multiple viewpoints (and characters not having all of the information themselves). If you feel you have the time and the interest, I'd suggest watching through episode 4 and if you're not hooked by then...such is differing opinions. The Expanse has great characters, great writing and great performances. I hope you give it more of a shot - if not, maybe you'll show back up in my RUclips recommendations someday with a different show.
I really hope yall give this show another chance. The first few episodes go really heavy in the world building and sacrifice some character development, but once the basics of the world are communicated to the viewer, the characters start to shine. I just watched yalls thought on the 5th Element and how not into it you were lmao. How yall felt just made me think this show would be right up your alley even more than I had previously considered.
Everything in the show is on purpose. The screens in the background. The tatoos. The faint loudspeaker. The bird is weird because the gravity on Ceres is low - and centrifugal.
Guys, I respect your thoughts about the show after the show after the first episode. I actually saw the 1st episode and did not watch anymore, for ‘three’ years! Too bad if you don’t continue, but trust me, you will watch it eventually; if you are truly Sci-Fi dudes. It’s arguably the best Sci-Fi show ever made. The ‘Game of Thrones’ for Science Fiction.
This show hooked me straight away (despite difficulties hearing the dialog clearly in the first couple of episodes) because of the mystery / intrigue and the level of scientific realism. Many people will tell you in the comments that you must persist and not give up until episode 4. A good analogy would be a roller-coaster ride. First few episodes are the initial grind up the incline then you roll over the top and all hell breaks loose. I'd buck the trend a little and say that if you're not hooked by episode 3 then it probably isn't for you. It's dense. You can't half watch it. But it will reward your attention. Hugely. I think some people baulk because the characters are not the obvious gung-ho action hero types, and their motivations and back-stories are drip fed in a natural way rather than in an exposition dump. For me, this just makes it far more satisfying. There is a down-side to The Expanse though. It is difficult to find a better sci-fi show once you've seen it (all).
The thing about this show is that it will not tell you anything, it only shows you things that the characters get to see. You need to make an effort to engage with the material. This season of the show is based on a book that is written as a film noir. Just keep with it and it will reward you. This is very much as character based show where even one episode characters are really relatable. Watch this from Amazon with the subtitles on. The belter creole is better understood if you can read it. Lastly, this is not TV, this is art. Just stick with it.
Yes! Always happy to see more reactions to The Expanse. It is my favorite show, ever, and it is truly a fantastic series, regardless of genre. And, this series *is not* just throwing stuff at you. EVERYTHING MATTERS. The details, dialogue, etc, will all come into play later and is significant to the story. And, this is veryyyy much so a character driven series. The characters are complex. Don't look for heroes and villains. Look for great characters. And, yes. I was hooked by the first episode. I love a mystery series, so I wanted to know what was happening and I was shocked by the ending. - You won't catch every single thing all the time but try to pay attention as much as you can (smart to have the subtitles on). Everything will become wayyy easier to follow after episode 4 but it's still helpful to have the subtitles. And, note that a lot of the questions y'all had during the reaction were answered in the episode. Julie's outfit had the words SCOPULI at the beginning and that is the same ship that Holden and team went to investigate at the end. But, Julie wasn't there... so where is she? The big question of the first season is "What happened to Julie Mao?" - Also, the woman who Miller was talking to in the bar is the same co-worker from the beginning of the episode who was dealing with a rowdy inmate that Miller roughed up himself and she told him she could do it. - There's a reason it lasted six seasons. It's amazing.
I hope you keep watching this one just because it is so much fun to watch skeptics become huge fans.
Couldn't agree with this comment more. Hope you end up changing your mind and give this one an extended chance by watching more.
I wasn’t sure, so one day everything was cancelled due to a snow storm, and I gave it a watch. Kept going for over a half a season in 1 sitting. I was hooping
Exactly, it may feel like a slower burn but it stays with you!
I consider this to be one of the best sci-fi series I've watched. It has very well done effects, interesting, well written characters, and an interesting story.
You've got a weird typo where for some reason you added "one of."
The characters are very good! Amos!!
Ps the bird is meant to look off as the gravity on Ceres is lower.
Alot of people don't get hooked on ep. 1 . I personally loved it from ep 1 with the flip and burn.
As far as character driven shows, this own is incredibly. Its based on a series of 9 novels, and the authors were part of the writing room in the show.
Early episodes kept asking questions without answers. Think episode 4 when they started answering I was hooked. Seasons 2 and 3 are the best imo.
I really feel like the show missed out by being too faithful to the book at the beginning. Which, I loved anyway. It hit me right between the nerdy eyes. But the first 2 episodes are really rough to jump into for so many people.
It's really not a character driven show, at least in the first season. The main character is the solar system. It's one of my favorite shows but I STILL don't care that much for the characters per se.
@@pajander I agree but then everyone loves a lot of the characters and I mean... there's a lot to love. So certainly the characters do drive a lot of the emotional momentum I think. But the system itself is a big part of it.
@@scottwatrous True, we'll have good characters and character development eventually. I just don't want them to think that this is going to be like Firefly, which managed to introduce and establish 9 excellent characters in a single episode. It's going to be a lot slower (and more realistic) here.
This is a fantastic series based on some fantastic books. It is also considered one of, if not the, most scientifically accurate sci-fi shows ever made. Give it time, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Episode 4 is when people most often get hooked. Then it's hammer down all the way to the end. Best sci-fi show in recent memory. It stopped at season 6, in part, because that's where a 30 year time jump occurs in the books.
Josh, when they were young my great-grandparents plowed their fields with a horse and lit their houses with whale-oil lamps. Vacuum tubes and AM radio were still hot technologies when my grandparents got married. When I was a child it was a sensation when someone bought the first color television set in the neighborhood. So yeah, a lot can happen in less than 200 years. Creole dialects develop fairly quickly when people who speak different languages are thrust together and need to find a way to communicate with each other.
Yessir, I agree! Progression and change can be very sudden and even painful, especially when in a hostile environment,
I always thought that was one of the most interesting things about the show, the interracial mix would inevitably lead to a mixture of dialects. I love that how Alex an Indian character has a Texas accent. The people who would have moved in need of work from poor communities on earth would of because of the inter-mixture of differing cultures would pickup each others tights over the years of living so close together.
Very true. A Creole can develop in just a handful of years when you throw together a bunch of diverse populations and isolate them.
You guys COULD chose to react to something other than THE EXPANSE. But nothing you choose would be better. Not on any level. Writing. Directing. Performance. This show is jaw dropping phenomenal. You have no clue how good this is.
You are 100% right. This show is so good and the only show that has consistently surprised me throughout its run.
This. So much this!
Best SciFi show since TNG, brilliant storyline and if it character driven storylines your after, this show is 10 times better than your Firefly or any other. Watch the first season, give it a go and you will not regret it.
It is the best series I have seen ever. Start to finish….just incredible.
One of those shows that deserves a second watch through… I actually thought it started out fairly slow, but by the end of season 1 I was hooked. And I love how Care Gee low key started out as a side character and ended up my favorite!!
I was hooked from the first episode. The Canterbury getting blown up, along with the distress call and the case of the missing girl Julie, set up an intriguing mystery.
All I can really say is *you will be rewarded* for sticking with this show. It has surpassed the Battlestar Galactica reboot as the best sci-fi show of all time.
personally i was also hooked immediately but i am a slut for worldbuilding and there was a TON of that in this first episode
Tenya wa Chesh gut!!
And if you’ve read the books
“Let’s get some beers and get reacquainted”
I was hooked from the very first episode, although upon first watching I was a bit confused, because they throw you into the deep end with little explanation. I love the "real world" feel of the show, to include the tech, the politics, interpersonal relationships, etc. While the final season had a somewhat rushed feel, I still rank The Expanse as one of my all-time favorite shows.
Note though that there's still a chance that The Expanse would get to have its _true_ final seasons after Amazon's rights to the show lapses in the next few years. Amazon had partitioned a large chunk of its production budget to shows like _The Wheel of Time_ and _The Rings of Power._
So either way, Amazon renews the rights to the show -- and sets a budget for the 'final trilogy' -- or some other streaming service picks it up.
I think the confusion was deliberate, the characters are utterly confused, so this gives the viewer a relatable connection.
First time I watched this show, I got in about 15 minutes and realized they wanted me to pay attention. I went back a month later and binged the series. It just takes a minute to realize this show isn't the usual tv pablum.
The final season was indeed rushed as Amazon didn't want to invest in The Expanse too much (and yet they produced ROP... ) so due to budget reasons the final season was compressed into only 6 episodes - there is no way it wouldn't feel rushed when we should get at least 10 if not 13 episodes. I think they did a tremendous job with what they had and after rewatching I appreciate the last season more and more. And the final episode - man, what a ride! Love The Expanse!
you cant judge shows on first episodes, especially if you want them to be good, they have to set up characters, context, world build, and this does an excellent job of that.
Actually The Expanse started in 2015 on the SyFy channel but was cancelled (as per their usual habit of cancelling really good shows) after only 3 seasons. Thankfully Jeff Bezos (yes Amazon owner) was a fan and was so interested in finding out how the show ended picked it up for the remaining 3 seasons. Like him or not we can at least be thankful to him for doing so. The Expanse is one of the best shows I have ever seen.
This, this we will watch the shit out of, you guys HAVE to watch all 6 seasons, as Sci fi fans, its almost a pre-requisite if you wish to retain your rank and level:)
I only laugh because this is arguably the best written scifi show of all time. IMO.
It makes me sad thinking how many people didn't give this show a chance after seeing the first episode.
It's a show made by (intelligent) adults for adults. It's the show that treats its viewer as capable of using a brain (which is not that common these days). And I love how it destroys all the myths about space that Hollywood created in people's minds.
And as for characters - this show is full of great characters, it's amazing how sometimes supporting characters are so memorable and awsome.
Keep watching and pay attention! :-)
It took me three tries to finish the pilot. Pretty much felt as you did, but give it time. By episode three or four I was hooked. Writing and character development are outstanding, and the nuance of every side being a mix of good/bad is very realistic...someone you initially hate might turn out to be a fav. Best sci-fi show all time.
Same here, it took a few tries to get through the first couple episodes but it is easily one of my favorites ever.
Yes it has an incredibly weak start. Took me 4 episodes to have any idea what's even going on or who anybody is. But then it takes off. But it's one of the slowest start of any show. They didn't do themselves a favor with those first couple episodes. Once you KNOW the story and you go back, those episodes are great but... as a start for someone new...
When I started watching it I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about either.
Remember Ceres Station has only 1/3 gravity so throwing the filter guy in the air lock does not injure him like it would on earth. Also explains the strange bird flight.
Dude, the 'hook' you are looking for happens in Ep. 4. Get through Ep. 4, and then give us a re-assessment.
BTW, after ep. 4,it's a no holds barred full speed run to the end of Season 3.
The writing and character development of this series are unmatched by any show I've seen. The first season is world building most of the way. From episode 7 on, the story takes over, and literally gets better with each episode. I'm a new sub here to watch your journey through your new favorite show.
If you don't continue, you are missing out on one of the best TV shows ever made IMHO. Of course I read the books first and knew how much excellence was to come. The writers don't actually like the scroll intro and they do NOT spoon feed you, almost no exposition. Once you start to understand the role gravity plays it becomes an actual character; they use mag boots to walk around in zero g. The gravity on Ceres is 1/3 g so the bird doesn't actually need to flap its wings as much as in 1g. The Expanse has a devoted and loyal fan base. We actually saved the show when it was cancelled in the third season and got three more seasons from Amazon. This will also give you a LOT to discuss in terms of politics, culture wars, space technology and some of the best characters you will ever have the privilege of seeing.
The Expanse is known for high concept and physics accurate science fiction. The first season is a bit of a detective story, Julie, a lone astronaut enters a ghost ship and is terrified by what she sees. On earth a belter is being tortured with earth's gravity about something going on in the belt near the asteroid Ceres. On Ceres a detective gets a case to track down a missing daughter of a billionaire, that happens to be Julie, the girl from the beginning. Out in the asteroid belt some space truckers are hauling an ice shipment bound for Ceres when they check out a weak SOS signal from a hidden ship, that happens to be the ghost ship from the start but Julie is no longer there. All the threads start to come together over the episodes building into a great story that gets even bigger and more "science-fictiony" as the series goes on. It was not renewed after season 6 but there is more to tell. The producers may be shopping for a new home. Only time will tell. I would recommend watching it privately if not on the channel, but each to his own, we can't all like the same things.
I didn’t continue this show after episode one at first, but when I gave it another chance I was hooked from ep 4 on. After seeing S2 and S3 I was really glad I did.
This show is made for bingeing. Just watching one episode at a time moves the story slowly. But I still think it's very much worth it. And on top of that, the pilot only gives you a taste, only shows you the tip of the iceberg of an incredibly deep, fleshed out world.
That the characters don't grip you is up to you I'm afraid. I immediately loved almost all of them, and a lot of character traits and development is shown in little details. This show is often very subtle and doesn't spell things out like most shows do. It just seems you missed a lot of these details. Miller's cracked phone and hat even though there's no rain on Ceres. The way his colleagues and boss treat him and speak to him reveal how he's regarded (or not), the bribery incident, and so on. Same for Holden, and him drinking coffee staying up late almost alone, how he seems very capable but afraid or not wanting to take on responsibility, how it's mentioned he used to be in the UN navy, and so on. Naomi that seems an incredibly capable engineer but is working on a shitty old ship. Amos who only seems to listen to Naomi, and so on. Alex who seems to have a family but is out far in the solar system doing work that takes him away from home for months on end. Lots of detail going on that immediately should intrigue.
And don't go looking for stereotypical characters like usual in American TV, because they don't really exist in the expanse. The "heroes" have a dark side to them, the "villains" have a good side, and everyone honestly believes they're doing the right thing. No black and white in the expanse, only shades of grey.
The show is based on a great novel series, and the show does a great job of translating the books to TV. But this also means there's a ton of info, backstory and world building that's constantly going on in the show and being thrown at you. On top of that, the books are based on an ttrpg that the authors played before starting to write. So the books and show are honestly primarily character driven, with a great world building behind it. I really think you just need to give it time.
13:40 Oh and the reason the bird looks like it's moving weird is because it's on Ceres in a low gravity environment that's spinning to create gravity. So it's not bad CGI, the bird moves like it would in 1/3 G. It's details like this that tell you a lot about the world you're entering in. This is hard sci-fi. No magic gravity devices or warp drives. Space is deadly and will kill people, people adapted to space can no longer live on a planet due to their weak physiology, gravity needs to be generated by accelerating or spinning, ships take time to move around and move in actual orbital trajectories, ships can't easily turn around and move in another direction once they're going, and so on.
The show is not just based on novels, it's written like a novel. Multiple story lines, slow build, and a lot of complexity and conflict under the surface that oozes out as it goes along. I waited over 50 years to see a TV show like the classic SF I'd been reading.
Total shock that it first showed up on Syfy :-)
I watched this show from the beginning when it was first airing on SyFy. What they did was air the first 3 episodes at once on demand so I binge watched them basically in one night so it's hard for me to say if the first episode really wowed me enough to keep watching. I will say this....episode 4 is the one where I went "wow" I'm sticking with this.
I guess I remembered it wrong then. I thought it aired as a 2+ hour movie or something like that. But then it's like me to get little details like that wrong, so thanks for clearing that up! I would have had a hard time keeping with it if I had to wait four weeks for that payoff.
@@LaBlueStateGirl Well, I should clarify that what they did was drop them off in a block on demand, at least on Spectrum. I watched them that way instead of when they were aired.
I was hooked by the first episode. I'd encourage you to continue and your reaction is very typical of other reactors when they started. it's kinda fun to see how the reactions change from "it's okay" to "holy hell this is the best show ever!" You won't be disappointed and the show has probably the best single episode of any show ever. 😊👍
Curious to know which one was your fave? Mine is the Naomi episode in season 5 but which are you talking about?
The first 3 episodes are world building mainly after that have oxygen, a defibrillator and tissues handy this show has more cliff hangers. The bird looks weird because it’s flying in 1/3 gravity inside a slowly rotating asteroid. There are lots of little things to remind you about air and gravity. They stop at end of book 6 as there’s a gap of 30 years till book 7.
I hope this helps
Miller: a detective on Ceres station.
Havelock: Miller’s rookie partner.
Octavia “Tavi” Muss: Miller’s female coworker peer.
Captain Shaddid: Miller’s boss.
Julie Mao: the woman Miller is tasked to find as a side job.
James Holden: the highest-ranking survivor who led the team to investigate the Scopuli.
Naomi Nagata: the Canterbury’s chief engineer.
Amos Burton: a mechanic from the Canterbury.
Shed Garvy: a medical technician from the Canterbury.
Alex Kamal: one of the Canterbury’s pilots.
Chrisjen Avasarala: Big-wig on earth; she is the deputy undersecretary of the United Nations.
Sadavir Errinwright: Avasarala’s boss. He is the undersecretary (‘vice president’) of the UN and earth.
The characters in this show are incredibly well written. There's moments/conversations/elements that will pay off in one, two, 5 seasons. Everything happens for a plot reason. Some characters stay with you forever. Even some that only make a brief appearance. You just have to give it a chance.
There hasn't been a better Sci Fi show in the last 15/20 years.
Pidgin languages, like the Belter language, can develop rather quickly, 200 years is plenty of time.
And regarding the "weird CGI-bird", it lives in a micro-gravity environment where artificial gravity is generated through centrifugal force, so the bird doesn't have to flap it's wings much to stay airborne. It can simply "float" on the air.
You will be hard pressed to find details in this show that does not conform to the laws of physics or our current understanding of science.
Also, it's recommended that you watch the first four episodes "in one go", or at least don't wait too long in between viewings.
Like you both, I wasn't hooked with this first episode. But as many others have said in the comments, by episode 4 I was into it, and started caring about the characters, the story, and the whole universe that had been created. And as a side note, I think season 2, episode 5 is one of the most amazing hours of television I've ever seen. So that's only 14 episodes away!
Episode 1 was good enough for me to continue, then episode 4 had me hooked. There’s some great space battles later on. It’s the best sci-fi show I’ve seen in many years. It’s definitely on the “hard science” side of the science-fiction spectrum (no artificial gravity, no faster than light travel, no magical engine giving near limitless power, etc., etc. just a type of Fusion Drive that’s more efficient than today’s technology but is conceivable with a few hundred years of development). Each season has a different sub-genre, S1 being a bit of detective noir.
It took me forever to watch the first three episodes (weeks between them). Then I watched CQB and then i got hooked....then binged watched the rest of the series in a week.
The Expanse is arguably the most important _new_ (and I'm using new loosly because it has been around for a little while) science fiction intellectual property since Star Trek - for entirely opposing reasons. Some people see it in some ways as a natural descendant of Firefly too for various interesting reasons. I sort of tripped and fell on to it I think that maybe Dark Matter led into it, I hadn't heard of the books but yeah sort of accidentally watched the first airing of the pilot. First season is a little rough and it's one of those shows that will often leave you with more questions than answers until even the later/last season, but it's _well_ worth the time investment. I hate to hype it up, because I don't want to give a false impression because the first season there's a lot of (necessary for later pay off even though it might not be relevant early) exposition and world building. It's still very very good, but you have to give it to episode 4 to decide if you like it - a lot of reactors doing Expanse reactions are closing in on the end so it might not be a terrible one to pick up. The first season is a bit of a noir mystery too, but yeah, episode 4 if you don't like it by then you never will, but if you do you're in for a ride, that's the basic rule; course if you like it already then you're good :)
Just for the context, 2 centuries ago was the 19th century.
Taking 1820 as a reference, the world population was 1 billion.
There were no cars, first steam locomotive was 16 years old, no planes, travel to space at all was considered impossible and a realm of fantasy.
Total length of railway track in the world was 20km, a total of 600,000km less than today.
Almost every ship was using sail, was made of wood and armed with muzzle loading blackpowder cannons. The biggest ship was 5 times shorter and with 40 times lower displacement than today.
Discovery of penicillin was 100 years away, first sustained flight - 80, first commercial computer - 130 years away.
The main mode of transportation and "heavy equipment" were animals.
The European population of Australia was around 100,000, some 200 times smaller than today. Sidney was a city of 15,000 people. Los Angeles had 500 people, NYC - 120,000. London was the biggest city in the world with population of 1.5 million.
Napoleon Bonaparte was still alive, Abraham Lincoln was 11, Victorian era was 17 years away.
A journey between London and NYC took 5 weeks. A journey between London and Australia took 3 months and had just a bit better than 50% chance of you surviving.
So if anything, The Expanse is pretty conservative in terms of what is possible in 200 years.
"It feels like we've advanced but we still have a lot of problems" Could be the whole thesis of the show.
You guys realize the bird is flying in 0.25 g? That’s why it’s beating it’s wings slowly.
Welcome to one of the best science fiction series ever made, and I've probably seen more than you can imagine
First season starts out kinda rough, but… here comes the juice!
As a sci-fi nerd for around 2 decades, the Expanse rocketed to #1 sci-fi story of all time for me very quickly and has kept that spot for years now. It's great to have a series that takes physics and space as seriously as they should be taken, it's a dangerous solar system out there.
The Expanse does have a steep learning curve at the beginning because it doesn't hold your hand. It took me until episode 3 to become intrigued, and man, episode 4 sealed the deal! It gets even better as it goes on.
This is the best sci-fi series I've seen - and I've seen all seasons 3 times over so far. Looking forward to watch it for the 4th time as soon as I've forgotten enough.
To be honest, first time I watched it I wasn't sure for a few episodes, because it was confusing and I couldn't figure out who was good or bad. But daaaaamn did I binge-watch this when I got into it.
Fantastic development, writers, characters, attention to detail, and cliffhangers from hell. If you don't continue watching you're missing out of something fantastic...
To answer your question, first time I tried to watch it I didn't make it to the end of the episode. Not because it was bad, but I wasn't in the mood for detectives in space. I wasn't giving up on it, just pushing it back. When I finally watched the whole episode, by the end I had to keep going. But agree with everyone that #4 is when the show really kicks it into gear. After that it had well and truly gotten me.
I see where you are coming from and I think you are right about your format of reaction not helping you appreciate the show, think you were brushing aside a lot of cool things, like the filming inside the helmets. This show has great story and amazing characters, with great emotional human moments, but it's also very unusualy cool in its cinematography, and the helmet shots are definitely some of that. Not only is cool has hell but sets the pace and claustrophobic feeling of the moment. And I think the way you bounce off of one another, didn't allow you to appreciate the details.
The first season is a bit overwhelming, but I can assure you that by 1x4, you will never look back. The best written Sci Fi on TV. The acting, character development, over arching themes... This is a classic.
Knowing the Expanse fans, things will blow up. RUclips seems to throw every reaction channel that starts the show at us.
This is a very good show. The first few episodes have a lot of universe setup but the plot really gets going from about episode 4.
It’s a delayed gratification thing with the first half of season one, like riding up the first big hill on a roller coaster before it drops. The character development is incredible. The same thing happened to me, I wasn’t hooked at first and now it’s the best series I’ve ever seen
Expanse has a very dedicated following, you'll pick up a LOT of followers if you stick with it, and it will start to come together.
You kind of have to forget what you know about Sci Fi. Nearly all the tech in this show is theoretically possible given current real world technology, just advanced 300 years. There's no faster-than-light travel, no lasers. The ships are armed with missiles, point defense cannons, and rail guns. The engines are fusion powered ion thrusters that provide constant acceleration, and you flip and burn to decelerate (we already use ion drives for most our unmanned space craft, and recently scientists finally created a small fusion reaction that produced more power than it takes to create it). Stealth doesn't make ships invisible, they sink heat, use angles, and radiation absorbing materials just like real world stealth.
The bird was illustrating the fact that Ceres has 1/3rd Earth gravity.
Almost every reactor says something like "strange CGI bird" hahaha. Or thinks that it's bad special effects. But once you delve deeper into the Expanse, you'll see that it is actually perfectly flapping, considering where it lives
A lot of people like this show, and if you look around on RUclips, you'll see that a lot of people react to it. It's honestly kind of hard to imagine that you weren't more familiar with it than you were, just from that. My first experience of this episode was actually watching a reaction to it, on a channel I watched other show reactions on. I thought I'd give it a watch as a "Cliff's Notes" version to see if it was anything I'd be interested in, and I was. It's one of my all time favorite shows. It's one of the best things on TV, now or ever, IMO. I watch your Sar Trek reactions mostly out of nostalgia, having grown up on TOS. I watch reactions to the Expanse because I'm genuinely excited to watch people experience it for the first time.
Since you did ask about other shows that might make interesting viewing, besides the Expanse, let me throw the Adventures of Brisco County Jr and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency into the ring. Both are great, character driven shows with clever scripts, that no one reacts to. Which might mean that no one would watch them, or it might mean that they're ripe to bring in an untapped audience. Keep them in mind, if you ever do another pilot week.
There is a lot of world building in the first few episodes. You are meant to feel a bit confused at this point.
The show started on syfy and was cancelled at season 3, and there was a massive campaign to save it including crowd funding banner flyovers of amazon hq
You are wrong about the bird. Everyone is always wrong about the bird. Miller (the detective) is on Ceres, the largest asteroid in our solar system. They have spun it up to create spin gravity. That bird and everyone living on Ceres lives under 1/3 of Earth's gravity. THAT is why they bird looks odd. It only needs to flap its wings occasionally to stay afloat in the lower gravity of Ceres. This show adheres to portraying real space physics as best it as it can.
Saw you guys because of The Expanse. Best sci-fi TV show ever. And the character development in this show is 2nd to none. I personally was hooked on the first episode, but I've heard others say it took them the first half of the season to really buy in. I don't know anyone that made it to the end and was disappointed though. Most end up loving this show and characters.
Episode 4 is when the lid comes off!
The Expanse is based on nine books by Daniel Abrams and Ty Franks, set about 300 years in the future (unspecified). The first three seasons was on SyFy, then it was cancelled due to budget issues. The fans saved it and Prime picked it up for another three seasons. The tv-series covers the first six books, but the seasons are not in sync with the books so we often get book endings in the middle of a season. Most chapters in the books are named by a person and written from a 1st person perspective, so there is a lot of jumping around, and a mystery on top of that. A throwaway line in season 1 can pay off in season 5. I call it "cliffhangers in space".
It is a "hard sci-fi" show, meaning no shields, warp drives, phasers and magic gravity plates. The ships are built like skyscrapers so they have thrust gravity, until the engines goes out that is. Most ships runs at 0.3G to 1G but can go crazy hard if needed. Space and physics is a "character" of its own in the show. The book authors are part of the production crew and used to work with George R. Martin. The showrunner is Naren Shankar and has a PhD in applied physics and have been part of CSI, For all Mankind and several Star Trek tv-series.
The majority of characters you will dislike in the beginning, they'll grow on you. It's all gray - humanity sucks - not space. The audio mixing is a bit off the first season, so I suggest you watch with subtitles, especially when there is belter creole (a real language they invented by a linguist).
Let me be another voice to extoll the brilliance of The Expanse.
At this point there's already a plethora of commentors mentioning how much they love this show and how the consider it to be one of _the_ best sci-fi shows out there, but let me just add my voice to the choir.
I've been a lover of science fiction for well over 30 years now. From shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, to Babylon 5 and Space: Above and Beyond. From Farscape, to Star Wars and Dune, I have watched the shows and movies, read the books, played the games. And The Expanse stands as one of (if not my absolute) most favorite sci-fi stories ever.
Yes, the first few episodes are mostly about setting up the world and introducing the main characters, but from about episode 3 (4 at latest) it should really hook you in and it won't let go again from that point; it'll just reel you in further.
I genuinely feel that you'd be doing yourselves an immense disfavor if you give up on this show now, though of course, the decision is yours to make.
Just so you know a bird would look like that and fly like that in low gravity. Its not bad cgi. The series is very actual science based which really adds alot to the series. Also LOTS of worldbuilding to start. Give it 4 episodes and most are hooked. Simply AWESOME series!
Guaranteed, you guys are gonna love this show. It takes a few episodes to settle down into the main plot. Well worth the time invested.
The intro made a mistake, it's definitely the 24th century in the show, it's estimated to be around 2350, because the original concept was almost called "2350"
I think someone thought 23 century meant 2300s. The show starts in 2350. Roughly 9 generations away. Belters speak "Belter Creole" developed when people from all over the world were mixed together to work the asteroids. A creole usually only takes a generation to form. Most of the science in this series is based off what we know actually works. No artificial gravity or FTL.
If you like good writing, attention to detail, characters,realism, scifi elements this show excells in all of that and more.
Also this show does not spoon feed you info or waste time with filler. So worth your time
As Lucas M mentioned, episode 4 is the one that really hooks people. This series is based on a series of novels. The writers of the books were closely involved in creating the series, and took the opportunity to improve some things they thought they could have done better in the books. Each season covers one book more or less, so that richness of character development does take some time. There are a few things that are only hinted at and are not fully revealed until season five.
it started on ScyFy channel and amazon picked it up
It was terrifying when they cancelled it.
It was clearly the best thing they had going, but they hadn't done the licensing properly, so they weren't making any money on it.
So happy Amazon picked it up
This is a great science fiction TV series; one of the best ever made.
They seldom miss a trick, and that means the bird on Ceres was animated exactly right.
The asteroid, Ceres, has been spun up to provide 0.3 G, or 30 percent of Earth's gravity. That means the bird doesn't need to flap its wings very often, to stay in flight, and it can easily hover in one place until someone tosses it some food.
The show has no magical gravity plates, so the only "artificial gravity" comes from acceleration (such as when the engines move a ship) or from rotation.
The first half of the first season establishes a lot of plot threads; hangs up even more Chekhov's Guns; lays down the foundations of a tremendously complex setting; and introduces a ton of characters.
Moreover, it's (basically) a noir detective mystery that doesn't hold the viewers' hand. You learn things as the characters do, and half the fun is guessing what's actually going on.
In addition, the writing is top-shelf, just generally, and The Expanse is *master class* when it comes to cliffhanger endings.
Most people get hooked, *hard* , in Episode 4, but a lot of sci-fi fans go all-in by the end of Episode 1. 🙂
If you do decide to continue this show, keep the subtitles turned on. It'll help you learn the characters more quickly,and it makes the Belter Creole language easier to follow.
Ty Frank, one of the original book writers agrees with you about the need to have a written introduction to the story, he has said the same thing word for word.
you will love this, keep watching,it get's VERY GOOD! (it takes a few episodes)
Creole languages form extremely quickly when disparate groups are stuck together in an isolated place. Nothing more isolated than living and working in the belt/outer planets.
The Expanse is sometimes seen as having a slow start, but mostly that is because the density of new information you need to take in and the number of characters you are being hit by makes it hard for some folks to find an emotional purchase. It is also has several mysteries going on at the same time that take a while for you to get enough pieces to even have a chance of figuring out. In later seasons you will realize that some mysteries were right there the whole time, from episode 1, that you didn't even realize were mysteries until you get multiple seasons in.
As a lot of folks will tell you, there is basically not a single wasted scene or line of dialogue, even in the background. You don't have to drive yourself crazy trying to catch everything to enjoy it, but the extremely observant and those that rewatch will catch all sorts of things early on that add to the experience. Makes it a great show for rewatches when done.
The bird looks weird because it is flying in a 1/3 G environment. Ceres is being spun to generate the impression of gravity. So the bird doesn't need to flap as hard or as often. There are other effects you will see like pouring liquids looks weird on Ceres for the same reason.
While the show cheats timeframes sometimes (things that would take weeks or months are resolved in hours or days), it is generally very careful about the science of space travel, artificial environments, and the impact of living and working in space.
And as others have said, this is based on a series of novels. It is one of the best novel adaptations out there. It works as a companion piece and on its own. They aren't overly precious about the text, and enhance certain elements, but it is true to the core.
And also as others have said, it takes 4 episodes for all of the setup to be complete and the main story to really get going. At which point it just builds and builds and builds through the remaining seasons. There is some truly epic and wild stuff in it with brilliant character work.
Klick is a kilometer.
The bird might be real - but it's in a different gravity. BTW, no artificial gravity in this show - "gravity" is either due to thrust (in ships) or spin (asteroids like Ceres).
The ending of the episode - if you do watch the show be prepared to deal with cliffhangers. By season 3 it's hard not to watch them three to four at a time.
This episode doesn't just set up the universe, it sets up all six seasons.
Alex's accent is from the Mariner Valley on Mars. In the books they explain it a bit more - it was settled mainly by folks from Pakistan and Texas.
I liked it from the start but I'd read the books. Most folks say they get addicted by episode four. Lots of folks say they tuned out the first time they watched it on episode one - and then came back later and got into it.
Based on what you said you'd like it. It's very much character driven - but a number of characters.
This show is all about the characters. It also won't dumb things down or give exposition dumps. Apart from the opening summary (which the writers objected to, but SyFy instead on), they show and don't tell. The authors are part of the writing staff, so if the structure sometimes seems odd, it's because this is a story fit for a series of novels. Also, yes, the bird was accurate. That's how a bird flies in less than 1/3 of normal gravity. There is no artificial gravity. If someone is standing/walking, it's because the ship is accelerating, they're in something spinning (like Ceres), or they're wearing magnetic boots.
This show is absolutely amazing. Arguably one of the best sci-fi shows out there from any era. This is due not only to the amazing special effects, complex and intelligent character driven plot with fascinating characters on all sides, but in particular because they have taken such great pains to make the show as scientifically accurate as possible. The devil is in the details and these writers paid very close attention to the details! From the weapons to the ships to the orbital mechanics, they were taking great pains to keep the physics as accurate and realistic as possible. For example, when the point defense cannons fire, if you watch closely you can see that there is a small retro rocket on them that pulses an impulse jet to counteract the force of firing the bullets and thus keeps the cannons from imparting thrust to the ship as they fire. Absolutely brilliant attention to detail.
The Bird is flying in low G. There is no artificial gravity in the Expanse. Gravity is simulated, with spinning space stations, and ships capable of nearly constant thrust with decks that are oriented like building floors.
This is a good show to binge, I hated having to wait the next ep. every week, ugh. The show's great by the way.
"We advanced but we still have a lot of problems" might as well be the summary of the expanse.
PS: 1 Km = 1 Klik
I was hooked from the first episode, primarily because I love World building. And this world is exceptionally well developed, from the get go. It feels lived in. As for characters by a couple episodes I was deeply in love with how well rounded all the characters were, with no one being an archetype.
Survivors from the Canterbury: Jim Holden, Alex (pilot), Amos (mechanic), Naomi (engineer), Shed (medic). On Ceres: Miller (detective) and Havelock (trainee detective). On Earth: Avasarala (UN Under Secretary). Unknown location: Julie Mao (rich heiress).
You have to understand that this is not an episodic show. It’s based on a series of novels. So the first episode is just introducing the big mystery and the three main settings (the ice harvesting crew, the asteroid cop, and the deputy secretary of the United Nations). It really is worth watching more before you decide you don’t like it.
The bird is flying in 1/3 gravity, it wouldn't have to beat its wings the same. And pirates wouldn't nuke a ship they could steal from.
I hope you continue watching The Expanse, it is the best sci-fi series of the last couple decades
The bird was supposed to look weird. It was on Ceres, which is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. They were trying to show what a bird would look like flying in low gravity.
Do yourselves a favor and continue watching this show. It *will* subvert your expectations in the best ways. I just watched another reactor discovering the show remark something very close to, "This is season five finale level stuff in the fourth episode of the show! This is so cool! I am so tense!"
That tip's on the house. ✌️
As others said, it's a fantastic show that rewards dedication. Trust me, just power through the first few episodes. I tried a couple times, but it really picked up for me on episode 4.
It's worth it.
The first few episodes are fantastic for slow-burn world building, but terrible for getting people hooked in. If you stick with it and get hooked, you can rewatch the first few and you'll pick up on lots of details, but really, just get through it until episode 4. There's tons of character development, a deep and convoluted plot, and lots of quality hard sci-fi
AWESOME show! But yea, most people will tell you that the show takes the first few episodes to get going but in my opinion it's one of the greatest SciFi shows ever! And also one of the most realistic ones which I personally love!
Give it a bit of time and you'll realise how great and detailed and well written the characters are. They develop all of them quite a lot.
Also as others have said: the bird looks exactly like it's supposed to look because Ceres has much lighter gravity than earth. Also it's not even actual gravity but spin gravity. Actually I'm not sure if you noticed and it's easy to forget if you're used to the likes of Star Trek but in The Expanse, there is no technology for artificial gravity. Their only way of generating "gravity" is by either thrust or spin. The only other way for them to walk around a ship in space is by using electromagnetic boots.
You said a pilot should end with a bang and well.... it actually did that quite literally! I mean think about it: like 90% of the people you thought might be main characters just got nuked. there also is a mistery to be solved that somehow seems to weirdly connect all the different story-lines. But yea, the show takes a little bit of time to set up the world and REALLY get started.
For me personally, yea, there may be flashier pilot episodes but I still loved it right away, especially since it's much more "hard" (routed in actual science) SciFi than a lot of other stuff is and things are never like "yea, it doesn't really make sense at all and is there just to look cool".
Ok, just got this spilled into my recommendations. It seems, you only ever watched this first episode.
Well, if you don't continue this, you miss nothing else but the best scifi show ever produced.
For some reason I personally don't understand, many people have some trouble getting into it first, so you're not alone with this, but I can guarantee you that if you stay with it, it will become one of your all time favorites.
This is a big and long story, based on a 9-book series. You just can't judge it after only one episode. You have no idea where this is going, and what you are missing here.
Gonna bookmark the channel and will be back if you ever continue.
Though I feel the first season could have been paced better, IMO this is one of the best science fiction series made.
This is also one of those shows where one might take a lot of notes at the beginning and then by the end of the season you're thinking _why did I have to write all that down?_ Because all the people and places have easily stuck. I suppose one might think *Game of Thrones* was like that as well.
*EDIT:* I absolutely agree with you when it comes to the time frame. I'm always thinking the same thing. There's no way that's enough time for us to be so established in space. But then again, when you think about the gold rush and what happens around the Industrial Revolution, things sort of sped up. But it's still hard to believe sometimes.
A few essential facts. Except for a couple of exceptions, the physics in The Expanse is realistic. The planets and moons and asteroids of the solar system are all real. The MCRN is the Mars Congressional Republican Navy (a space navy). The OPA is the Outer Planets Alliance, a loose collection of various pro-belter groups, some political, some criminal, some terrorist. The action really gets going around episode 4 or 5 and then it never stops. Some of the mysteries seen in the first episode aren't fully explained for quite some time.
You won't be disappointed to continue with this. One of the best scifi shows on recent times
I was hooked from Episode 1 because I love Tom Jane, just knowing he's in it means it's serious and compelling. I also had been told it was very scientifically accurate and seeing things like burn times and differing gravities and all that in the show made it more compelling to a science nerd like me. This is a tip-of-iceberg episode. It was a lot to take in but I also then had to know, what was she gonna tell Jim? Who is Miller looking for? Also, Chrisjen Avasarella is one of my favorite characters of ALL time. Just wait, she's a firecracker. So much of it is a reasonable extrapolation of what is happening in our world today.
For me he was the least appealing part of the show’s first season - great job by the actor, but his character is kind of a creeper.
It helps that Shohreh Aghdashloo is one of the most compelling actors working today.
This show is like a roller-coaster ride. the first 3 (and a quarter) episodes are like the slow climb to the top. Starting episode 4 you start rolling down
hill and hang on for the ride. I was a fan of the book series before the tv series started so I was thrilled to have the books so well visualized. The
first 3 episodes introduce the characters and sets up the situation. The belters are legitimately being sh#t on by earth and mars. Imagine Northern
Ireland during the 80's with the IRA and Shin Fein, only here you've got 3 IRA's and about 4 Shin Fein's which is why they're called the Outer Planet "Alliance".
You've got several groups using different methods trying to achieve the same goal. Often the more moderate groups are forced to spend/waste a lot
of energy just trying to keep the more action oriented groups from doing anything too radical. This series handles it characters and drama very maturely,
showing you horrors and atrocities done by both sides and allowing you to form your own conclusions. I found the show's trust of it's audience to be
very refreshing. Stick with it until episode 6, and you'll be as hopelessly hooked as firefly, only this story has a conclusion. ( Sort of,but that's another story. )
This actually started on The Sy Fy Channel. After it was cancelled, Amazon picked it up supposedly because Bezos really liked it. It's based on a great series of nine books. But it doesn't adapt the last three books. Which is kind of OK since they end at a good stopping point and the the last three books jump 30 years in the future.
The series has a lot of fans in the scientific community because they really nail some of the scientific details. Not all. But more than most Sci Fi series. The YT channel Dr. Becky (an astrophysicist) looked at one of the episode and was really impressed.
The series takes a few episodes to really get started. But it's well worth watching
The characters don't come into their own until, I'd say, the fourth episode. You'd really like Amos. He's kind of the Jayne of the group. But a bit more principled.
I had kind of the opposite feeling about this show, in that I was so interested in the world-building going on I didn't want the plot to actually start. The ending annoyed me a lot. Anyway, after watching the rest of the season, I understood why they moved things along, and this is one of my favorite shows now. The first episode is really about setting up the Julie Mao mystery plot with miller on Ceres, and then getting our main crew together in their little skiff. This was just the prologue.
Yes, a lot of folks don’t seem to like this show at the beginning, but if you stick with it, you’ll realize it’s absolutely the BEST show of any genre on TV. It does take a full season to lat the ground work, but most people get hooked by episode 4. Also technically speaking this was NOT a pilot since SyFy ordered a full 10 episodes right from the start. Judging this episode against typical pilot tropes is really irrelevant.
This show is now my all time favorite sci-fi series. The story arc, the acting, and show production is just fantastic. The writer know exactly how to present characters and back stories. I will warn you now, this show is a Master at the cliffhanger. I consider some to be even brutal. I anxiously await your reaction to ep. 4. (said with an evil grin)
Love the Expanse. Love watching people react to it. I can appreciate that you have to enjoy what you're reacting to as well though. There's a lot of world building, so the first couple of episodes are slow and can be confusing because of the multiple viewpoints (and characters not having all of the information themselves). If you feel you have the time and the interest, I'd suggest watching through episode 4 and if you're not hooked by then...such is differing opinions. The Expanse has great characters, great writing and great performances. I hope you give it more of a shot - if not, maybe you'll show back up in my RUclips recommendations someday with a different show.
I really hope yall give this show another chance. The first few episodes go really heavy in the world building and sacrifice some character development, but once the basics of the world are communicated to the viewer, the characters start to shine.
I just watched yalls thought on the 5th Element and how not into it you were lmao. How yall felt just made me think this show would be right up your alley even more than I had previously considered.
Everything in the show is on purpose. The screens in the background. The tatoos. The faint loudspeaker. The bird is weird because the gravity on Ceres is low - and centrifugal.
Literally my favourite series out there. It would be a pleasure to watch it again with you.
However I do have to add, I too wasn't hooked from the beginning. Took 3-4 episodes.
Such a good series. Episode 4-5 is where it really picks up.
Don't think 200 years is enough? Look at how much has the world changed since 1823...
And as other said, the CGI bird moved differently because gravity was different. It is on purpose.
Guys, I respect your thoughts about the show after the show after the first episode. I actually saw the 1st episode and did not watch anymore, for ‘three’ years! Too bad if you don’t continue, but trust me, you will watch it eventually; if you are truly Sci-Fi dudes. It’s arguably the best Sci-Fi show ever made. The ‘Game of Thrones’ for Science Fiction.
This show hooked me straight away (despite difficulties hearing the dialog clearly in the first couple of episodes) because of the mystery / intrigue and the level of scientific realism. Many people will tell you in the comments that you must persist and not give up until episode 4. A good analogy would be a roller-coaster ride. First few episodes are the initial grind up the incline then you roll over the top and all hell breaks loose. I'd buck the trend a little and say that if you're not hooked by episode 3 then it probably isn't for you. It's dense. You can't half watch it. But it will reward your attention. Hugely. I think some people baulk because the characters are not the obvious gung-ho action hero types, and their motivations and back-stories are drip fed in a natural way rather than in an exposition dump. For me, this just makes it far more satisfying. There is a down-side to The Expanse though. It is difficult to find a better sci-fi show once you've seen it (all).
The thing about this show is that it will not tell you anything, it only shows you things that the characters get to see. You need to make an effort to engage with the material.
This season of the show is based on a book that is written as a film noir. Just keep with it and it will reward you.
This is very much as character based show where even one episode characters are really relatable.
Watch this from Amazon with the subtitles on. The belter creole is better understood if you can read it.
Lastly, this is not TV, this is art. Just stick with it.
Yes! Always happy to see more reactions to The Expanse. It is my favorite show, ever, and it is truly a fantastic series, regardless of genre. And, this series *is not* just throwing stuff at you. EVERYTHING MATTERS. The details, dialogue, etc, will all come into play later and is significant to the story. And, this is veryyyy much so a character driven series. The characters are complex. Don't look for heroes and villains. Look for great characters. And, yes. I was hooked by the first episode. I love a mystery series, so I wanted to know what was happening and I was shocked by the ending.
-
You won't catch every single thing all the time but try to pay attention as much as you can (smart to have the subtitles on). Everything will become wayyy easier to follow after episode 4 but it's still helpful to have the subtitles. And, note that a lot of the questions y'all had during the reaction were answered in the episode. Julie's outfit had the words SCOPULI at the beginning and that is the same ship that Holden and team went to investigate at the end. But, Julie wasn't there... so where is she? The big question of the first season is "What happened to Julie Mao?"
-
Also, the woman who Miller was talking to in the bar is the same co-worker from the beginning of the episode who was dealing with a rowdy inmate that Miller roughed up himself and she told him she could do it.
-
There's a reason it lasted six seasons. It's amazing.