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The Expanse |S1| Ubiquitous. Mendacious. Polyglottal. Like a couple of donkey balls.

E

EverythingShiny

Member
Tony Redgrave said:
As a book reader I laughed so much at Holden's scenes with the coffee machine, glad they're embraced his obsessive love with it early on.

Episode was good, really digging how they're portraying both story lines especially Miller's.
Click to expand...

Yes!! I loved this too. And I have to say, the show's enhanced my adoration for Miller and part of that is Jane's portrayal of Miller. I just finished Caliban's War and (major book ending spoilers)
HOLY SHIT HE'S BACK, I may have squealed in delight. I missed his presence the entire book.
 
S

subrock

Member
The presentation has me hesitating to jump in, but maybe I'll get over it after the first few. Had no idea this was based on the Corey books. (I've only read 75% of the first one)
 
S

suzu

Member
subrock said:
The presentation has me hesitating to jump in, but maybe I'll get over it after the first few. Had no idea this was based on the Corey books. (I've only read 75% of the first one)
Click to expand...

Watch up to episode 4 at least! Also maybe turn on subtitles; belter creole + english is a bit hard to understand.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Tony Redgrave said:
As a book reader I laughed so much at Holden's scenes with the coffee machine, glad they're embraced his obsessive love with it early on.

Episode was good, really digging how they're portraying both story lines especially Miller's.
Click to expand...

I geeked a little when I first saw the
Roci
in Ep 4
 
D

DangerMouse

Member
e_i said:
Airing at the same time as the Shannara Chronicles? Thank god for DVRs and On Demand.
Click to expand...

Same here, I wish they'd repeated last night's ep at 12 rather than 2 or I would have stayed up to watch it right after, I love this show so far.

Great to hear that it's picked up for another season.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Watched the first two episodes. It's okay so far. I must admit to having a hard time catching a fair amount of the dialogue, between softer mumbling, slang/dialects and then diegetic noise interference. I have to keep rewinding.

I appreciate the attempts at more realistic space travel and colonization, and all the related issues. I think it's the character work that's lacking most.
 
J

JeffZero

Purple Drazi
Dan said:
Watched the first two episodes. It's okay so far. I must admit to having a hard time catching a fair amount of the dialogue, between softer mumbling, slang/dialects and then diegetic noise interference. I have to keep rewinding.

I appreciate the attempts at more realistic space travel and colonization, and all the related issues. I think it's the character work that's lacking most.
Click to expand...

Is it possible for you to view it with subtitles? That helped me tremendously.
 
Ivory Samoan

Ivory Samoan

Gold Member
My only qualm is the dialect (Belter) that isn't subtitled... I know it's intentional, but still a little frustrating.

Hard coded subs would for those parts would be excellent.

Apart from that, it's my go-to Sci-Fi show right now: loving it.
 
D

DieH@rd

Banned
The origin of Freds nickname was handled much better in the books. Other than that, ep5 was really great.

I'm still amazed that they managed to get the Ceres right. Its full of crowds and large sets. It also looks that they are not backing down from Eros storyline. I kinda thought they will put everything on Ceres so that they could re-use sets more. I was wrong.
 
Moff

Moff

Member
yeah anderson station was very underwhelming, I understand the lack of budget, but maybe just telling about it would have had a bigger effect.

Calibans War Spoiler:
it would have been better if they didn't change it with that budget, in the books we were only told what happened, and that had a much bigger effect because if you don't see something and just imagine a massacre, you usually imagine it much worse and that has a bigger effect. what we got now was poorly done and lacked impcact
 
L

lt519

Member
Moff said:
yeah anderson station was very underwhelming, I understand the lack of budget, but maybe just telling about it would have had a bigger effect.
Click to expand...

I thought it was really well done. A bit fragmented but by the end I really felt for the guy and his little girl. They pleaded and pleaded and were still butchered. Then you have Johnson looking over the carnage of slaughtering these people looking really militaristic and someone congratulating him on killing innocent people. I read the books and this was more meaningful to me, the way I envisioned it was way more tame.

It ties into well why Naomi is terrified to go there as someone with past OPA ties.
 
Moff

Moff

Member
I think everything up until the slaughter was very well done. but just a blast and then Johnson standing there, looked a bit silly. I am not even sure Show watchers realized that was the guy responsible for the blast AND that he was also the guy the rocinante is flying to.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Moff said:
I think everything up until the slaughter was very well done. but just a blast and then Johnson standing there, looked a bit silly. I am not even sure Show watchers realized that was the guy responsible for the blast AND that he was also the guy the rocinante is flying to.
Click to expand...

They put his name on the screen and did a fade between the flashback and current Fred. If show watchers can't put one and one together on that one, that's on them.
 
L

lt519

Member
Moff said:
I am not even sure Show watchers realized that was the guy responsible for the blast AND that he was also the guy the rocinante is flying to.
Click to expand...

Eh, I think it was easy to connect, I just re-watched the 2 minutes. Gotta say it was a wonderfully well done shot, you can see the struggle on his face about what he had just done.

The bodies they zoomed by when zooming into him were the little girl and dad hugging and he was still in full military get up looking out at what he had done standing on the bridge of a military ship. The radio then says "All terrorists have been subdued, nice work Colonel." It then zooms on him further with the text "Col. Fred Johnson, U.N. Military" and then the text changes to "Butcher of Anderson Station." The very next scene is him talking to the crew of the Roci who has already identified him as such previously.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Moff said:
I am not even sure Show watchers realized that was the guy responsible for the blast AND that he was also the guy the rocinante is flying to.
Click to expand...
It was pretty straightforward. I thought the human drama on the station was handled well, but they didn't do a particularly good job of linking it back to the Butcher. I understood that he was the one that did it, but the reveal of who was responsible had very little impact because of the way it was constructed visually and in the scripting.
 
S

suzu

Member
I don't think viewers will be confused. Just that the actual events were a bit less well, butcher-y than you'd expect with a name like that. Not that I'm saying we needed to be shown a red wedding, haha.
 
R

Riptwo

Member
The digital release schedule for this show is bizarre. Still no episode 5 for Canadian iTunes seasons pass buyers!
 
L

lt519

Member
suzu said:
I don't think viewers will be confused. Just that the actual events were a bit less well, butcher-y than you'd expect with a name like that. Not that I'm saying we needed to be shown a red wedding, haha.
Click to expand...

It was definitely a little weak but we just had an overwhelmingly gory moment with Shed (;

I like how the show did it a lot, we don't need to see kids getting gunned down or in a fiery explosion to know it was a terrible thing that was done. Dead bodies floating in space was cold enough.

But taking it from a fresh perspective. I don't know what to think of the Butcher yet. Was he just following orders? Is he really a psychopath? He already basically threatened the Mormons. How did he know where the Roc was? It all feeds into Naomi's fear of the station and makes me wonder if they are just flying right back into the frying pan.

Edit: Also loved Naomi ripping some of the wall on the ship because she couldn't find anything to fix.
 
V

Via Purifico

Banned
I haven't read the books, but the show is surprisingly good. It's a bit hard to get invested in the beginning, especially due to all the exposition, but after a couple of episodes I'm hooked. This and childhoods end give me hope that syfy is focused on providing us with quality programming again.
 
L

lt519

Member
Moff said:
yes, sadly it was clear someone would bag him as soon as he hid that data disk in his hat ;)
Click to expand...

On another note they need to stop putting end of episode cliffhangers in the teasers...or I just need to stop watching them.
 
R

Ricker

Member
lt519 said:
On another note they need to stop putting end of episode cliffhangers in the teasers...or I just need to stop watching them.
Click to expand...

Yep,I stopped watching them...oh a cliffhanger,did a person die...? ...next week on,you see that person running around...Orphan Black was awful with this,so I stopped watching them.
 
Z

zelas

Member
Aiii said:
They put his name on the screen and did a fade between the flashback and current Fred. If show watchers can't put one and one together on that one, that's on them.
Click to expand...

As a show watcher it was pretty clear for me that the guy they were flying to was the guy responsible for destroying the station.

What I didnt know was that those scenes were a flashback. After reading your post I went back over the show and realized why I missed that key piece of info. The "11 years ago" popped up with a bunch of SyFy Sync bullshit that was popping up for about 20 seconds straight. I was already miffed and tuning out those ads and the literally 9 minutes worth of credits that run during the show open. That's ultimately all on me but that's my first official gripe with the show.
 
A

aku:jiki

Member
On the subject of details, I loved the fact that neither character knew what the hell an "anubis" is, but they knew all about plotting flight paths through space and shit.

Moff said:
yeah anderson station was very underwhelming, I understand the lack of budget, but maybe just telling about it would have had a bigger effect.

Calibans War Spoiler:
it would have been better if they didn't change it with that budget, in the books we were only told what happened, and that had a much bigger effect because if you don't see something and just imagine a massacre, you usually imagine it much worse and that has a bigger effect. what we got now was poorly done and lacked impcact
Click to expand...
There is a canon story about Anderson Station in the form of this, though, so it's not like the show is doing something the books aren't (well, not in this case).
 
Jag

Jag

Member
For some reason this show makes me want to buy a Philips Hue and synchronize my lights to the show.
 
L

lt519

Member
Jag said:
For some reason this show makes me want to buy a Philips Hue and synchronize my lights to the show.
Click to expand...

I can't wait until they start incorporating that into video games too, really neat idea. Whenever I buy my first home I'll definitely be going with those lights.

I've also had this odd thought all day that Magic is like a drug...

The xfinity live stream commercials were brutal to watch over and over again.
 
F

Freeza Under The Shower

Member
So, was part of that 'go 3d' shot on a glass frame or is that just my imagination? It seemed like Jane was actually holding it there for a few moments, which is somewhat distinctly 'not cg' in terms of adding natural motion to it. Also, they framed it from 'behind' the thing, which seemed like / could have been a glass panel. Probably just my imagination, but it seemed shot in a way to both get the exposition and hide the prop.

Other than that, I'm not sure we needed the backstory of this guy they're going to, unless there's a twist coming that it wasn't intended or something. I know people might disagree here, but that flashback B-plot didn't do anything we couldn't simply have been told in five seconds of dialogue. As a result it dragged a bit, with Jane's plot becoming the A-plot for the viewer (me).
 
I

icespide

Banned
I've read all of these books and watched the first episode of this but it didn't really grab me.

Book readers, are you enjoying this the more you watch?
 
L

lt519

Member
I couldn't tell about the 3D thing, it did look like he was grabbing and turning something though.

Yup, book reader and really enjoying the show overall. Some nitpick things here and there but it's actually pretty quality television. I'm looking forward to Season 2 already to see how the show grows into itself. It still feels like it's trying to find it's way sometimes in it's storytelling and character development. It works for now but would definitely like to see an improvement later in the season and into season 2.
 
T

Tony Redgrave

Member
icespide said:
I've read all of these books and watched the first episode of this but it didn't really grab me.

Book readers, are you enjoying this the more you watch?
Click to expand...

Definitely. It picks up slow, I recommend you watch up until episode 4 if you can before making up your mind.

lt519 said:
Yup, book reader and really enjoying the show overall. Some nitpick things here and there but it's actually pretty quality television. I'm looking forward to Season 2 already to see how the show grows into itself. It still feels like it's trying to find it's way sometimes in it's storytelling and character development. It works for now but would definitely like to see an improvement later in the season and into season 2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that those of us who have read the books are impatient for the characters to fall in position, the Roci's crew especially. Since the show needs for the characters to get to know each other and all I feel most of us are a little anxious to see the dynamics we're used to play out. Also the story still has a long way to go and there are some truly epic moments yet to come.
 
D

dead souls

Member
Snake said:
The Expanse, or: How I Saw What His Hair Looked Like and Learned to Love the Fedora.
Click to expand...

This entire show is just an elaborate ploy to undo all the fedora hate in the world, which explains why SyFy renewed it even though the ratings are so poor.
 
B

Blatz

Member
icespide said:
I've read all of these books and watched the first episode of this but it didn't really grab me.

Book readers, are you enjoying this the more you watch?
Click to expand...

Yes. And I agree that the first episode was not that gripping. It gets better. Episode 4 especially.

Can anyone remind me? It's been so long since I read Leviathan Wakes. Wasn't the Roci Julie's racer and they modified it? If not,
don't they eventually use her ship for something
?
 
Jag

Jag

Member
icespide said:
I've read all of these books and watched the first episode of this but it didn't really grab me.

Book readers, are you enjoying this the more you watch?
Click to expand...

It's getting better. For me the books got better and better. Which is unusual for a long series like this. Some of them dragged more than others, but I thought Nemesis Games was great.

It's the same as with Game of Thrones. I was a book reader when it was first released and understand that the books and shows are going to be different and appreciate each in their own medium.

Blatz said:
Can anyone remind me? It's been so long since I read Leviathan Wakes. Wasn't the Roci Julie's racer and they modified it? If not,
don't they eventually use her ship for something
?
Click to expand...

No. The Roci was always a top of line MCRN Gunboat.
Julie's racing pinnace, Razorback (massive book spoilers at that link!), plays a significant role, but later on.

Edit 1: The Roci is actually a Corvette Class, fast-attack light frigate. Need to give her the proper respect!

Edit 2: And for Rush fans who get the reference. Yes, Ty Franck is a fan! (even though it is primarily named after Don Quixote's horse)
 
B

Blatz

Member
Jag said:
No. The Roci was always a top of line MCRN Gunboat.
Julie's racing pinnace, Razorback (massive book spoilers at that link!), plays a significant role, but later on.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I didn't think about the wikia page. And I just realized I'm a book behind also. I've probably missed novellas also.
 
D

DieH@rd

Banned
harSon said:
I finally watched the 3rd episode, and this show's definitely going to be good. The CG is legit as fuck.
Click to expand...

CGI is good, but what I am most amazed for are the sets. They created a tons of amazing sets just to make Ceres more impressive. That scene when Miller threatened to eject that gangster to space... Ultra detailed set for a 1 minute scene.

As for sets on ships, they fumbled that a bit. Cant was a ruin in a book, tight quarters and halls. When they entered the Rossi, the crew went wild when seeing how polished and roomy that ship was. In the TV show, every ship has good living environment, which has disappointed me. But that is a really minor issue.
 
G

Geist-

Member
DieH@rd said:
CGI is good, but what I am most amazed for are the sets. They created a tons of amazing sets just to make Ceres more impressive. That scene when Miller threatened to eject that gangster to space... Ultra detailed set for a 1 minute scene.

As for sets on ships, they fumbled that a bit. Cant was a ruin in a book, tight quarters and halls. When they entered the Rossi, the crew went wild when seeing how polished and roomy that ship was. In the TV show, every ship has good living environment, which has disappointed me. But that is a really minor issue.
Click to expand...

You can tell they're reusing set assets on some of the ships. The living quarters especially look almost the same in the Cant and the Roci.
Which honestly I'm fine with since the Cant only lasted 1 episode.
 
S

Selner

Member
DieH@rd said:
CGI is good, but what I am most amazed for are the sets. They created a tons of amazing sets just to make Ceres more impressive. That scene when Miller threatened to eject that gangster to space... Ultra detailed set for a 1 minute scene.

As for sets on ships, they fumbled that a bit. Cant was a ruin in a book, tight quarters and halls. When they entered the Rossi, the crew went wild when seeing how polished and roomy that ship was. In the TV show, every ship has good living environment, which has disappointed me. But that is a really minor issue.
Click to expand...

Wasn't there a Behind the Scenes a little while ago about the Knight? That was the Cant's little shuttle. They built a huge set for it. And it was around only a little longer than the Cant.

Currently listening to the 2nd book, a spoiler of sorts for a character from the 2nd book:
As the father of a 4-year old, the Prax chapters are killing me. The authors really did a good job capturing his feelings.
 
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