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Post subject: Re: The Expanse (Books / SyFySeries)
Posted: Tue January 28, 2020 6:24 am
An enigma of a man shaped hole in the wall between reality and the soul of the devil.
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:13 pm Posts: 39894 Location: 6000 feet beyond man and time.
Loving the new one so far. It feels smaller but I think it works in their favor. They do such a great job of giving the factions real motivations and not making them cartoon good guys and bad guys.
Post subject: Re: The Expanse (Books / SyFySeries)
Posted: Fri January 31, 2020 6:48 pm
AnalLog
Joined: Sat January 12, 2013 7:19 pm Posts: 1497 Location: Buffalo, NY
I watched the first 3-4 eps of season 1 a few years ago and didn't come away too impressed. Very confusing and the FX, while good, were executed poorly. For example, had no idea what was happening between the Canterbury, the shuttle and the stealth ship (Anubis). Who was shooting who?
I have since started the books (just started Nemesis Games) and started a rewatch of the show about a week ago. I'm in full blown love with it now (coming up on the last episode of season 3). The acting is generally good, though it takes a noticeable dip whenever there's a weaker script (more prevalent in seasons 1 and 2). Stephen Strait is fine but he's clearly the weak link amongst the four primaries, which is problematic when he's supposed to be the lead. No one beats him at squinting and going slack-jawed, however. Give him an Emmy for that. As the show's gained popularity, you can see the quality of its supporting cast / guest stars has improved as well (David Straithairn for the win). The music is great!
The effects are generally great but not always executed flawlessly. Space battles are still confusing and the way they pan on certain shots makes great effects work look shoddily-animated (example: great-looking ships flying through the Ring in season 3).
My main quibble with the show is the lack of time they take to present and let us absorb the "big" moments. The Ring rising from Venus, Eros dodging the Nauvoo, etc. I'd like to see those presented more deliberately to build tension and let the audience absorb what's going on for maximum impact. I'm sure budget is a factor there but I would hope Amazon's fat wallet will help alleviate this in future seasons (I have not seen season 4 yet). Side note: I have to go back and re-read its original description in the books but Eros on the show was nothing like I pictured in the books: a shiny casino destination with lots of excited people visiting for vacation -- instead, we got Ceres with some slot machines. The protomolecule and its associated "organic mass" is also not what I'd pictured in my head, but that could be fuzzy memory on my part.
And, for the love of God, why would you spoil the surprise return of Miller by putting Thomas Jane's name in the opening credits of the Season 3 episode he comes back in? (Granted, this applies only to those who haven't read the books.)
All in all, this show gives me the same warm and fuzzies I got from Battlestar Galactica back in the day, a show that didn't let its limited budget result in mediocrity.
Last edited by Ensign9 on Fri January 31, 2020 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: The Expanse (Books / SyFySeries)
Posted: Fri January 31, 2020 7:02 pm
AnalLog
Joined: Sat January 12, 2013 7:19 pm Posts: 1497 Location: Buffalo, NY
This is admittedly a minor detail but: am I nuts or shouldn't all of the grav couches on the Roci be rotating in alignment with the ship when they're flying? While the attention to scientific detail should be credited to the books, I feel like the show has been pretty faithful to the science of it all. Am I mis-remembering whether or not the couches rotate in the books? Why do I think about these things? Is this a completely unnecessary post?
Last edited by Ensign9 on Fri January 31, 2020 7:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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