All Things The Expanse

There are many here. The books have been talked about in the book thread and the TV shows in the TV shows thread. This is the first thread wholly dedicated to the series.
 
There are many here. The books have been talked about in the book thread and the TV shows in the TV shows thread. This is the first thread wholly dedicated to the series.

Woe my ignorance. Didn’t realize there were other off topic sections. My bad! I shall ask this be moved to arts and entertainment.
 
Woe my ignorance. Didn’t realize there were other off topic sections. My bad! I shall ask this be moved to arts and entertainment.
Well, you could ask me! The books thread is in OT and so is the TV thread. OT gets more traffic than A&E, but I can move it if you want.

Oh, and welcome!
 
Last edited:
So, for anyone who doesn’t know about it, The Expanse just finished airing its fifth season and is available on Amazon Prime. I give it my highest possible endorsement.

One thing I love about it is the awesome female characters. They are kick ass but in unique ways. Shout outs to these four: Avasarala, Nagata, Draper, and Drummer.

Also, Amos is a fascinating one. Loved new season five additions Bull and Erich. Shame about Cas Anvar though.

Finally, I love it’s realism. Star Trek always struck me as more fantasy than fiction with it’s magical teleportation and warp speed, even worse as of late. Flip and burn anyone?

Who is on team Earth, Mars, and Belt? Anyone on team protomolecule? Let me know your favorite faction.
 
I love The Expanse, both the shows and the books. Well, most of them. I thought Cibola Burn was a real slog, and I don't remember it very well. Season 4 of the show was better, if for no other reason than a 10-episode tv series moves quicker than a 600-page book, but it was still the least of the seasons, imo. Season 5 was a nice return to form, even though it felt like the first part of a larger story, and with so many of the characters separated from one another for basically the whole season.

I rewatched the first 4 seasons last Summer, in anticipation of season 5, and I was impressed with the long game the writers were playing. There are some lines of dialogue in the first season that relate to and foreshadow events in seasons 4-5. I suppose that comes from adapting a series of novels. Nemesis Games was published in June 2015 and the first season of the show debuted in December 2015, so the writers could well have had a review copy of the fifth book from the beginning.

I wouldn't say I have one favorite character, but I definitely agree that the women are all fantastic. I would probably put the women of The Expanse up alongside the women of Halt & Catch Fire, The Magicians, and GLOW, shows that are all pretty much carried by their women. Dominique Tipper's Naomi is a daughter (or granddaughter, depending on how you reckon) of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, to me. I remember reading that the producers had a tough time finding someone to play Bobbie Draper, and I think Frankie Adams has done a great job. Cara Gee's Drummer is a big departure from the books, and a big improvement, imo. Drummer's taken some of the role of Michio Pa, who I remember much less clearly than Drummer in the show (I think Drummer was in the books, at some point, but I don't remember her at all, unless I'm conflating her with Pa). It was only after rewatching season 5 that I realized the petite blonde woman on Drummer's ship is named Michio. She's clearly not the same character from the books, but I assume the name was a nod to the character-who-never-was.
 
I have started reading the books now as well. I am halfway through Leviathan Wakes. Can’t wait to get a preview of season 6, given how closely the show and books correlate.

Since you brought up Ripley, I’ll add one of the authors (Ty) recently said on the aftershow Alien was the top inspiration.

I have enjoyed every season, but agree four, while awesome, may have lagged slightly behind the others. I adore Frankie Adams though. Obviously from my picture.

The battle between rocinante/Drummer faction/Koto and Serrio Mal has to be one of my favorite scenes of the show.

Thank you for sharing your perspective!
 
As of season 5, I see a few missing spots about gravity:
  • s5e1 they lie down to rest, but without mag boots they should float?
  • s5e1 people are totally naked in the showers (showers which I actually like, just gaz, no liquid, makes sense), but they walk
  • s5e2 they sit (!) to eat in bowls (?)
Has anyone noticed similar things?
 
As of season 5, I see a few missing spots about gravity:
  • s5e1 they lie down to rest, but without mag boots they should float?
  • s5e1 people are totally naked in the showers (showers which I actually like, just gaz, no liquid, makes sense), but they walk
  • s5e2 they sit (!) to eat in bowls (?)
Has anyone noticed similar things?
Any time there appears to be gravity, we have to assume the ship is "on the burn" - under thrust. In the scene in ep 501 where Amos is on the passenger ship to Earth, I can hear a constant hum in the background, but it's so faint I can't say for sure that it's the ship's engines. It's more of a whoosh than a rumble, so it could just be the ventilation system. On a passenger ship, especially one heading for Earth (because you can assume most of the passengers are Inners), the pilots probably maintain a constant low-G burn the whole way, rather than do a high-G acceleration and then coast for a while. Just for the comfort of the passengers. On a Belter ship, it's probably the opposite. They probably prefer to strap in, bite down on their mouthpieces, and do a high-G burn for 30 minutes; then they can go "on the float" and relax for the rest of the day. Similarly, any time a ship's crew sits down to eat a meal, they probably schedule a low-G burn. That would be one reason everybody eats together, because mealtimes are on a schedule. I'd think you'd want to have some gravity for a little while after you eat, too, or everyone would get acid reflux/heartburn. (Do contemporary astronauts and cosmonauts have trouble keeping food down, I wonder?)
 
Top Bottom