Giving this another go since I keep hearing about how good it's gotten. I think this is the third time I've watched this pilot episode and I've also read the book, but I can't make any sense of what's going on here. The attempt to set up a coherent story is a failure, with bland actors playing very uninteresting characters. Nobody seems to like each other and all the dialogue is difficult to make out.
First Impressions: So much going on and I love it. The frist chapter of a great scifi story. Plots within plots.
As far as a pilot, it doesn't feel much like one. It feels more like the first/opening chapter of a book. There is a small text sequence that gives us basic context to the story we're about to jump into. Just the bare basics. Like any good book, we are dropped right into the story, moments before everything changes, glimpses of the before. There is tensions between the three space groups (Earth, Mars and The Belt), like a chess game, each trying to make the smart move, to retain/gain power, but at possible peril. No one is playing by any rules, cause rules don't make victories. It is the classic and cyclical tale of ruling class, military and working class, in a never ending power struggle. The only difference, it now involves rest of the solar system.
Cast: Great. Loved the choices they've made. The known actors are solid choices, while the less known are wonderful surprises. Interested to see how they'll interact.
Visual: look reminds me of BSG but with a more polished finish. We have high contrast but desaturated colors in space, while the Earth is giving a bit more warm tones in set design and costuming. Grade A CGI. Again, reminds me of the quality SciFi I expected in the BSG days on SYFY.
Opening sequence is phenominal and unexpected (we are unsure who this girl is, but as she is our introduction to the series, this places her as a key person in the story).
Writing is well crafted. We get enough intro of all three groups (Earth, Belters and the Canteburry ship) while not feeling like we are wasting screentime. Also loved the exposition on the Belters, from intro to their language/dialect to the anatomical changes after generations due to living in space, i.e. thin muscles, long structure,, etc... no longer earth like. Alot of the exposition is to give us context of the status quo, how the world works for these characters.
Seems like the missing girl case, aka Julie Mao (rich earth girl turned Belter activist), Det. Miller has taken on is key, but the key to what? Is she the same girl we saw in the opening sequence?
We know Det Miller is part of the Belters and Ambassado Avasarala is representing Earth's interest, how does Holden from the Canteburry tie into the bigger story? Who is Jim Holden? Hero? Anti-Hero? Reluctant Hero?
Now the abandoned ship, the Scopuli, is it the first piece of a larger puzzle? Or the first domino to fall before it all snowballs into hell?
Closing sequence of the ship getting nuked was so unexpected (didn't think they'd kill off a group that quickly) and again reminds me of the nukes destroying earth in BSG at end of the pilot. Though this does set up a major conflict, but is it tied to the opening sequences or are they completely separate and unrelated?
A great setup to a bigger and probably very complicated story.
Not the best introduction, it bounces around between the characters a lot and it's kinda annoying.
I do like the concept though, hopefully the rest of the series is more focused.
Considering the reputation this has, not really enjoying it so far (2 episodes down). Don't really care about any of the political Mars - Earth stuff, especially the stuff surrounding Shohreh's character or the characters on the ship. Really only interested in Thomas Jane's character so far. Maybe at this point in my life, I'm just not a hard sci-fi guy.
It's really confusing at first. Lots of characters to introduce, lots of background story and lore you have to learn... and too many short scenes intertwined, so you have to keep track of a few storylines at the same time. Plus, they made up the mandatory bunch of words, just like in any other space sci-fi show :rolling_eyes:, which also doesn't help. Specially if you choose to watch it in English but it's not your native language.
Anyway, don't let the beginning discourage you. If you get past the first half of the episode, it gets way less difficult to follow, and the plot (or rather, some of the many plots) get really interesting.
I've had an urge to watch some harder sci-fi recently, and had read from a few sources that The Expanse is more intelligent than the average series. I have to admit, I was a little reluctant as SyFy aren't exactly renowned for their quality and I didn't want something with the production values and writing quality of a Tremors sequel. Any concerns about the quality of production were assuaged in the opening few minutes, thankfully—it doesn't look cheap, which is a relief. It does suffer a little from a problem that is, admittedly, somewhat endemic with films and television programmes set on spaceships: a limited colour palette and endless shots of grey, metallic corridors. I'm hoping there will be an effort to include more varied environments as the show goes on. What was more disappointing than this, though, was the disjointed storytelling throughout this pilot. It can't be an easy thing to introduce a selection of different characters, make each of them compelling enough to get the viewer invested and also provide some semblance of a plot that binds them all together and sadly, The Expanse fails to do all of these in this first episode.
Part of the issue is that we're presented with what are little more than clichés—the maverick policeman who has betrayed his background, the rebellious crew member who rejects promotion, the hypocritical politician. There's nothing at this stage to make me think that any of these characters will be particularly distinct in any way. The world they inhabit, however, has been clearly thought-out and the promise of more complex political tension and intrigue than the average science fiction television programme is appealing. I will reserve my judgement on whether these archetypes can be developed into more nuanced and compelling characters as the show finds its feet. There is enough overall to make me want to continue, as well as the assurances of fans that it does improve, so hopefully it'll be sooner or later that it clicks for me.
I think I'll keep this show on hold for some more days.
From this opening episode, I think the atmosphere and world is already compelling. Characters are a bit bland and one-note so far, but I'll see how they progress. Story is a bit slow to set-up but that's understandable for a first episode. I think the most important thing--especially for a sci-fi based show--is that the world portrayed here is interesting and atmospheric, and that I'm already drawn into the series.
Really bad start!!!! Really bad storytelling!!! BUT, just enough, to check out ep 2. So far not impressed at all!!!
It seems that hard sci-fi series are back in the game. Besides Black Matter and the Killjoys we have now the Expanse. Comparing the three pilot episodes, this one was the best. They did a decent job in building a large universe with clear rules and relationship (in Black Matter we know next to nothing about the bigger picture of the universe and in the Killjoys it is too complicated and bad explained). They had nice ideas with G-forces and general orbital mechanics, but in the end the whole physics in this episode is bogus. If they refine their character and really use their sci-fi setting it has the potential to become a really cool series. The risk is to do a story which could be told in any setting without science fiction, often caused by lazy writing.
The first episode was amazing! After the cheap looking trailer I was sceptical, but wow - it looks so expensive! It looks better than a lot of Sci-Fi movies.
This show is so good! The first episode is already awesome but it'll get even better.
It's just so well done and the attention to detail is amazing (all those "little" things like the increased sea level on Earth from climate change (I suppose)). IMO they did a very good job at portraying zero/low gravity effects, the UI designs are pretty realistic for a TV show, and they even created a language for it (which is pretty cool but also somewhat annoying as it makes some dialogues kinda impossible to understand).
I guess the main problem with this first episode is that it's just so much! We get thrown right into the universe (new technologies, politics, places, etc.) and it's a bit difficult to follow (I imagine because when rewatching it's obviously much easier).
My favorite part of this show are the incredible Sci-Fi designs. I really love them and IMO they're a nice mix of current technologies and things that could work in the future. Physically this is the most accurate show that I know (apart from e.g. "Mars" maybe but that's almost a documentary). It is obviously not 100% physically accurate but that's a good thing IMO (e.g. no sound in space (vacuums) would be pretty lame).
The CGI isn't perfect but IMO it's damn good for a TV show (and the cool designs totally make up for the minor imperfections).
Edit: I forgot that this is already 6.5 years old. Wow! For that the CGI is even more amazing!
Surprisingly enjoyed this first episode !
I was surprised how it starts, we continue to see
I like Expanse, the most unusual and captivating tv series, that I've seen so far.
Slow start buy I've every hope this show can hold its own, against the likes Dark Matter. Clearly a lot of money was put into this so fingers crossed.
Shout by onlimeBlockedParent2015-11-25T21:27:01Z
This looks like SyFy took a lot of money to create this show and it really payed off. It has a great authentic look and feel and the worldbuilding is intreaguing. But plotwise I have a problem. I have no idea what's going on. Whatever is happening failed to drag me into the story so far. None of the characters is remotely interesting so far they are no real personalities yet. I really hope this will improve in the following episodes because the show looks like it's worth it.
When I watched Dark Matter I was instantly drawn into the plot and was more invested in the characters. Dark Matter is produced very cheap but cast and plot compensate fr that. Just imagine Dakr Matter with the production value of The Expanse. It would be awesome!