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"Expanse" TV Series
This video is the first episode of the 10-episode season of The Expanse which is based on the first book, LEVIATHAN WAKES.
Its the 1st episode of the serie suposly they are doing book1 with a small mix of book 2 . But still pretty awesome for them to do this
I watched this episode and listened through my JLab Core ear buds and had no trouble understanding the audio at all.Unfortunately for me I will have to wait until it is released on Bluray before I can watch the rest of the series since I don't have cable.
It's available on iTunes (AppleTv)
I'm pretty excited for this show (wonder if or when we'll get to see it in Australia).I need to get back into this series. Have only read book 1 so far.
Really enjoyed this first episode. It's also available on http://youtu.be/FvZeQD1Vf2s. I was really worried the production values would be poor but I was happy to see that they were good. Wasn't completely happy with the their James Holden or Naomi cast selection. But it's impossible to match ones own imagination. Miller was spot on though in my minds eye. Also was very pleased with their execution of key elements of the book. Particularly I was worried they'd conveniently overlook the the biological speciation of spacers and earthers. They didn't! This first episode didn't disappoint. Eagerly anticipating the rest of the series.
That first episode is fantastic. A worthy successor to Battlestar Galactica. I had worries about Miller, but Thomas Jane is a wonderful actor, he makes the character work so far.
I watched the first episode on the Space Channel's website (Canadian equivalent of Syfy) and it looked awesome. I have read four of the five books and the first episode seems to hold very true to Leviathan Wakes. Loved the characters and the casting and the production values and special effects were of very high quality. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Jason wrote: "I watched the first episode on the Space Channel's website (Canadian equivalent of Syfy) and it looked awesome. I have read four of the five books and the first episode seems to hold very true to L..."I prefer the name "Space" to the misspelled "SyFy"
Yeah! I never understood why they changed it fron SciFi yo SyFy! Never made sense to me!
Probably as an excuse to show less scifi
They changed it to Syfy because it's something they could trademark. They can't trademark a generic term like Sci-Fi and you wouldn't want them to. I've never understood why people seem to be so offended by the name Syfy, who cares?Anyway, on The Expanse, I thought the premier was really good. But, I don't understand why they switched Holden to 2nd Officer from XO, seems like they wasted 15% of the episode on that story line which ends up being meaningless after the first episode.
Michael wrote: "I thought the premier was really good. But, I don't understand why they switched Holden to 2nd Officer from XO, seems like they wasted 15% of the episode on that story line which ends up being meaningless after the first episode."At the very least it showed Holden's reluctance to take on responsibility, something he'll have to do sooner rather than later.
I just binge watched all 4 eps on the syfy site. Me likey lots.
Based on the episode descriptions, it looks like the first season only covers about half of the first book. They imply the season ends somewhere around chapters 30-32 of the 55 chapters in the book.
But it's my understanding they are adding some stuff from Book 2 (like Avarasala) in Season 1.This is a Good Thing!
But it's my understanding they are adding some stuff from Book 2 (like Avarasala) in Season 1.This is a Good Thing!
Yeah, Avasarala is included, but they've said her story will be what she was doing during LW. They can't really bring any of the plot from CW forward because it is predicated on what happens in LW.
The first 4 episodes are now available online on Syfy's website.
Yeah it's one of those things that need to be changed for a TV audience for continuity of characters...bringing in Avasarala now so the audience can get invested in her character...wonder what they'll do about Miller's near complete absence from the second book
I watched the first four episodes on the Syfy website, and I was very impressed. I haven't read the books (although they are on my to-read list), but I was able to follow the storyline without a problem. I love the dark, noir-ish feel to the series and the diversity of the faces that you see on the screen. I liked it so much that I felt kind of bereft for a couple days when I ran out of episodes! I haven't had cable for some years, so I'm definitely not used to having to wait for something to come out. :)
Jeffrey wrote: "Yeah! I never understood why they changed it fron SciFi yo SyFy! Never made sense to me!"J F wrote: "In an attempt to be hip?"
It's so they can trademark the name. "Sci-Fi" is a common word, therefore Comcast (NBC-Universal) can't own it.
Companies do that all the time: "Liquid Plumr". "Kool-Aid", "Flxible Bus", etc.
Apparently it's even worse than I thought! The cable channel is officially "Syfy."Anyway it's what I'll be watching tomorrow for episode 5 of THE EXPANSE.
Tani wrote: "I watched the first four episodes on the Syfy website, and I was very impressed. I haven't read the books (although they are on my to-read list), but I was able to follow the storyline without a problem..."Same here although subtitles could be helpful for some of the more arcane dialogue. I have to note that much of the idea for this tale has already been done by Charles Sheffield in his Cold As Ice series that ended with the 2003 publication of Dark As Day, just after his death in 2002.
Just started cleaning off The Expanse off of my DVR. Have watched the first 2. Am really enjoying it. Not too sure about the casting of the two male leads. I guess I thought they would be more mature. In fact, I thought Holden as MUCH older than he appears.
Agreed I also pictured Holden as older and Amos Burton as much bigger physically. However, I like Steven Strait as Holden (he's really hot!) but I still am not sure about Wes Chatham as Amos. Chatham is plenty muscular, but also (like many actors) pretty short.
I don't know why everyone imagines Holden to be older, it's in the first chapter of Leviathan Wakes that he was in the UN Navy for 7 years and then on the Canterbury for 5 years. That puts him at about 30.
Michael wrote: "I don't know why everyone imagines Holden to be older, it's in the first chapter of Leviathan Wakes that he was in the UN Navy for 7 years and then on the Canterbury for 5 years. That puts him at about 30."Yep, and in one of the early Miller chapters, he describes Holden as a man in his "early thirties" based on the video footage Holden broadcasts, so I don't understand why so many thinks he's "much older" (because Kirsten and MadProfessah are by no means alone on the internet in believing so). For the record, Steven Strait was 28 or 29 when The Expanse was filmed.
I've seen a lot of other weird misconceptions online too. Some people thought Fred Johnson was white in the books, some people thought Miller was in his sixties (at one point in the book he thinks about his impending fiftieth birthday), someone thought Amos was black and Alex was white, etc.
I also pictured Amos as bigger though. And Avasarala is probably a decade younger in the show.
Buuuuut in the end who cares, I think the cast is really strong!
Just finished watching episode 5 "Back to the Butcher". I was really impressed. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and purchase the series for streaming off of Google Play. I hadn't read the short story concerning Anderson Station. The last glimpse of the father and daughter (won't give too much away) was heart rending.
The funny thing about everyone complaining about Holden and Miller's ages (which are very accurate) is that I haven't seen anyone mention Alex, who the book describes as being in his fifties. Not that I care, it all seems pedantic to me.
Jason wrote: "Just finished watching episode 5 "Back to the Butcher". I was really impressed. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and purchase the series for streaming off of Google Play. I hadn't read the shor..."That scene ripped out my heart. You have a kid, and you're just ruined. Great episode.
I enjoyed the two episodes I watched. I can't get into though and Netflix is to blame for that. I just can't be bothered to watch a show I am forced to wait 7 days in between episodes. I'm hoping the entire season turns out good though, because I am going to buy the season when it all airs.
Tobias wrote: "Michael wrote: "I don't know why everyone imagines Holden to be older, it's in the first chapter of Leviathan Wakes that he was in the UN Navy for 7 years and then on the Canterbury for 5 years. Th..."I pictured Miller as a guy with a gut and partial balding. Thomas Jane is a great actor, but I can't get the guy and partial balding out of my mind.
I also had a different picture of Miller...sort of along the same lines as yours Jonathan. The way I pictured Amos was also very different as well. That being said, the actors who are playing them on the series are quickly replacing my pre-series perceptions of them in the same way that Sean Bean will always be Eddard Stark despite the fact that I read the first book before the TV program started.I bought the series off Google Play yesterday. Got tired of watching it on my computer so will be streaming it to my Chromecast from here on in.
I told myself I had to finish the book before I was allowed to start the show. Finished the book last night and promptly went and found the first episode online. I too had a much different picture of Amos - almost like the big German guy from Gladiator. Wes Chatham is definitely muscular enough but he seems too short haha. Otherwise I've been relatively pleased with the cast, even after just one episode. I did picture Havelock being blonde in the book, and it's too bad they couldn't use CGI or something to make the Belter characters as tall as they're supposed to be (being tall myself, I thought it was super cool that Naomi was supposed to be as tall as she was). I'm sure I'll get used to everything though. I'm excited to keep watching.
I'm totally into the series. I didn't know it was based on a book series. Now, I'm torn. If I read the books, will I start picking holes in the series?
...possibly? To an extent, I keep watching and thinking "Ugh, that's not how it was in the book. Why'd they have to change it?" but at the same time I'm also thinking "Oh hey cool that's how they're showing that one part from the book." In my experience though, reading something after you've watched the show (e.g. Game of Thrones in my case) actually helps you understand what's happening in the book better, and that might be the case here because the book starts out with a lot of information that I sorta had trouble keeping track of at first
Alex didn't seem cast right at first, but by the end of the season he fit. Amos still doesn't seem right, but that is from listening to the audiobooks. I have the that voice in my head and it is different person than what we see on the show. Then again Amos is being written a little differently.The one character I don't see anybody mention is Naomi. She could be taller but overall Tipper is nailing the role.
It has been interesting to see the changes made from book to tv, keeping in mind that the writers of the book are part of the writing team for the show. That doesn't happen often and it shows in the quality. It is also gratifying to see SyFy invest in quality Sci Fi once again.
Gem wrote: "I'm totally into the series. I didn't know it was based on a book series. Now, I'm torn. If I read the books, will I start picking holes in the series?"I don't think so. I actually think the changes they made between the book and the show are relatively small and make the story even tighter (which makes sense for a TV script; you have less room to wander or create massive exposition to explain things).
I ended up not getting into the series or the books. I just don't feel it was made for my demographic i.e. minority in the sense of race and gender. I'm really interested in hearing from other females or POCs that liked the book and tv show as I'd really like to find something to like about them.
Chakara wrote: "I ended up not getting into the series or the books. I just don't feel it was made for my demographic i.e. minority in the sense of race and gender."I'm not a minority by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm curious to hear why you don't feel it was made for your demographic?
It's not the most though-provoking series around, and I won't attempt to analyze how it tackles being a minority, but xenophobia is one of the main overarching plot points in the series, after all. Importantly, between people from different parts of the solar system, and not between races/ethnicities, because racism specifically has all but disappeared (so has homophobia) in the future the books take place in. The series has a diverse cast of main characters; the protagonists include a black woman and a man of Indian descent, one book has a lesbian priest as a main character and another has a female polynesian space marine. The most powerful person on Earth is an Indian/Middle Eastern woman.
Again, as a white man I don't want to assume that the series deals with these issues in a mature way, but I'm interested to hear the reason why it doesn't. Even if it doesn't, it paints a future where prejudices like racism and homophobia don't exist anymore (although there are other things that create divides between human beings).
Tobias wrote: "Chakara wrote: "I ended up not getting into the series or the books. I just don't feel it was made for my demographic i.e. minority in the sense of race and gender."I'm not a minority by any stre..."
thanks for your comments. I only got about 40 precent into the book and I really disliked the main characters I felt that the one black lady that you talk about was replaced in the tv show for no apparent reason its sucks and is such a lie when the excuse is they couldn't find one , yet when it comes to historically accurate things and the character is black or POC they can just give a white person a tan and call it a day. I only got about 3 to 4 episodes into the tv show but the Indian lady you speak of didn't seem to have a major part in the story or really a background just another female to advance the plot just like Jamie ( i think thats her name) the girl who went missing. Card bored cut out made to look perfect because she's a purrtttty, innocent young girl. Also if I'm not mistaken the black female that was replaced from the book died in like the first 20-50 pages in the book and was just used as a part of the plot to deepen the male (white) character .
Maybe I don't get this book at all which is what I've been thinking because I have no idea how I can be the only person who thinks this but everyone else seems to love it. Glad to hear the other books are better and I do hope to pick it back up and finish it and hopefully my views on the book will change.
I prob. won't have time to go back and do that this year. I've put it to the side for now. It gives me more hope for the series gets less annoying.
Personally I don't think its at all realistic and I have a problem envisioning a world were prejudice, racism and homophobia don't exist. Eep. with how high the issues between groups seem to be in what I read and saw. I think it was maybe more along the lines of playing nice and ignoring the problems until they spill over. Sort of like whats going on right now in the world.
Hope that made at least a little bit of sense. :D
Thanks for your comment and POV. Really helpful.
Chakara wrote: "I felt that the one black lady that you talk about was replaced in the tv show for no apparent reason"Aaaah. That's true. That character is a very, very minor character though (as you say, (view spoiler). The main character I was talking about was actually Naomi Nagata, who is played by Dominique Tipper, a PoC.
Chakara wrote: "the Indian lady you speak of didn't seem to have a major part in the story or really a background just another female to advance the plot"
It's too bad you feel that, because she's a big part of the story. It is, however, not strange that you have that feeling, because that character didn't appear in the first book, only in the second, so her plotline in the TV series is a new storyline that was partly shoehorned in. The storyline worked for me, but I can see how it didn't for you. She will have a much larger role in the TV series when it catches up with the second book, or before.
Chakara wrote: "Glad to hear the other books are better and I do hope to pick it back up and finish it and hopefully my views on the book will change."
I hope you will! To put it this way: While there's a diverse cast of main characters in the book series, the first book is the only one that has an all-male (white) cast of viewpoint characters. The points of view change with every book, not unlike A Song of Ice and Fire.
Chakara wrote: "Personally I don't think its at all realistic and I have a problem envisioning a world were prejudice, racism and homophobia don't exist. Eep. with how high the issues between groups seem to be in what I read and saw."
I think it makes sense in the context. Space is the great melting pot: People have gone into space and the races and ethnicities and cultures have intermingled in tight spaces, new languages have been created based on old ones. Of course humanity needs another form of prejudice to replace the old ones, though, which is what is depicted in the series.
Chakara wrote: "I think it was maybe more along the lines of playing nice and ignoring the problems until they spill over. Sort of like whats going on right now in the world."
Yes, that's more or less what happens over the course of the books, without giving too much away. Tensions rise, conflicts escalate, problems spill over.
Mod
That's one of the things I don't like about the series. I feel like that is lazy production values. The dark hides errors and makes it hard to see details of the action and emotion of the characters.
I watched the first two episodes and recorded the rest, but I just haven't been interested enough to go back and watch any more. Yet.
The season 1 set comes out the same day star wars does: April 5th is gonna be great.
I'm so aggravated that SyFy won't release it on Netflix or Amazon Prime. I don't want to pay extra money to watch the show (I'm a cord cutter).
Space Opera Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Cold as Ice (other topics)Leviathan Wakes (other topics)
The Martian (other topics)
The Dark Light of Day (other topics)
There's a vid at this link that may be a trailer, but it's 46 minutes long, so maybe it's the first episode. Looks like the production quality is pretty high, but I couldn't hear the conversation well enough to really understand what's going on. I don't know if the problem is the video or my aging ears.
Also, if anyone wants to read the book first, there's a giveaway going for the boxed set of the series (3 books):
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...