Is anybody else watching The Expanse?

imagine, you’ve fucked off to an ice hauler gig and the galaxy finally gives you purpose in life and it’s just this never-ending series of bullshit

and also everyone in the galaxy knows who you are and mostly just finds you annoying

when you make the Right decisions that benefit the common good and no one group in particular, no one group will be your friends

and combine that with being the first one to tell people something they really don't want to hear. I do feel that he could be written better though -- there are some more interesting/funny bits in the books that the show doesn't use. It's like they're thinking, "isn't being the cute white guy in charge enough?"

I was sort of hoping the show would do more with his weird family/origins situation but it would pull attention from too many other characters I like better. This is the rare show that would actually benefit from longer seasons.

yeah, i don't really have a problem with with strait, holden was boring in books as well, so strait at least pretty when furrows brow
the books don't really give anyone deep characterization so not much lost by portrayal and think show done great and better job of providing emotions and motivation to all

think someone posted above re show but i think just comes from books they were set up as RPG to begin with

also he furrows his brow and frowns stoically so much of the time that when he does have occasion to crack a genuine smile it feels like a major moment, lol

every time holden smiles i genuinely think "wow that guy has such a nice, warm, inviting smile! i love this guy!"

He's the straight man, his name is literally Strait. He's my least favorite of the major characters, but as an inert mass that the rest of the characters orbit around I guess he does the job. I don't know how much more a better actor could do with the part. Though Timothy Olyphant, e.g., might make it more interesting.

Recast everyone with it's always sunny players. Jimmi Simpson already played the same kind of mopey character in Westworld and Perpetual Grace.

The Gang Opens an Intergalactic Alien Portal

Fred Johnson may stay.
https://i.redd.it/mqsgtpj4kql01.jpg

how the fuck did I not make the connection that Fred Johnson is Cutty from The Wire

i.... dk!

dude

his range in acting is such that he was completely incognito

what makes little sense is when he showed up on Always Sunny, I said "that's Cutty" immediately, yet no reaction when I saw him on the Expanse

the game wasn't in him anymore

in the books he survives the assassination

Drummer wasn't a fan favorite by then. There's certainly some influence of the show on the later books.

Cara Gee deserves immense credit for what she's done with that role. She rules.

Yeah the show is playing out a bit differently than the books, moreso in the later seasons. I was surprised that some chunks of book 6 (which I just finished) were pulled into season 5 - I feel they'll have to add quite a bit of new or future material to season 6 to compensate. Incidentally book 6 was my least favorite thus far, didn't have enough to it, too many POVs

started this up recently, about 6 episodes in, still on the fence

noooo keep going it's so good. but honestly if those first 6 don't hook you it might just not be for you. by the time they escaped the Martian ship I was hooked.

I'm convinced that the Rocinante is a sly reference to "Cygnus X-1" and "Hemispheres" by Rush

Heh I knew of the Don Quixote reference but not the Rush one, seems likely to have inspired the books

I saw the Fred Jackson/Cutty guy in Walking Dead back when I was watching that. Think I've seen him elsewhere too.

Used to be a time when it seemed that there was only a small pool of black actors that were used at any one time. Like there were only 5 black actors permitted in Hollywood. So hope that is becoming a thing of the past.

He's also in The Orville but you're unlikely to recognise him from that

yeah he's under prosthetics but I think he can be recognised a bit. Have managed to do that before. Did know who he was when you said taht. but may have looked it up before.
THink he has been in a few things anyway.

OH & probably nice that Expanse does seem to be using a pretty diverse array of ethnicities. Not read teh boooks yet so not sure to what extent that reflects teh source material.
BUt does seem that there are diverse people in authority roles and things doesn't it.
Which I hope more projects do

I don't recall the books specifying any ethnicities but things like Avasarala's saris and last name give some hints

The main weakness in terms of representation on the show is that everyone is apparently cis, which is extra glaring cause, yknow, it's the future? I remember when Spartacus' showrunner announced that he was going to make an extremely horny and gay sci-fi series for Starz, but they pulled the plug at seemingly the last minute...someone still needs to make that show

everyone is apparently cis

Except for Drummer and at least half her crew, sure.

mmmmmm you might want to look up what cis means! unless i’ve missed something (entirely possible)

the wiki missed it too in that case

https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Camina_Drummer_(TV)

I binged the whole series over the past month. No deep thoughts - it was compelling and fun ('cept season 4 dragged a bit). Can't say I would be first in line for space travel after watching the show, looks grueling.

yeah the most persistent message of the show is "space really really sucks ass" and you know what, they're right

Begs the question why so many people end up living on Mars, the Belt, etc. Some combo of "space, the final frontier," Earth becoming miserable with overpopulation and limited jobs, and implication that the Belt starts out as a form of indentured servitude.

mmmmmm you might want to look up what cis means! unless i’ve missed something (entirely possible)

No, you're right; I see "cis" paired with "het" so often that I made the mental leap on my own.

xp I think the closest they get is a character using they/them pronoun

https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Liang_Goodfortune_(Books)

OH & probably nice that Expanse does seem to be using a pretty diverse array of ethnicities. Not read teh boooks yet so not sure to what extent that reflects teh source material.

A lot of the characters in the books have names that imply multi-racial identity. Avasarala and her husband are both Indian/South Asian in the books. I think in terms of ethnicity, the show is fairly loyal to the books -- though Naomi's physical description in the book is more white-seeming? I think? Maybe it's just that it mentions her hair being straight ... I don't remember well and please correct me if I'm wrong. I love Dominique Tipper as Naomi.

Nagata is a surname which can be either of Japanese (written: 永田 or 長田) or Fijian origin

I think Bobbie is Polynesian in the books too

There are probably details like Naomi's straight hair in the books that I totally ignored because whenever I see the show/movie first, I can't help but picture the actors in my head while reading

Yeah, that this is a show that just has, eg, an Ojibwe space captain and it's just not even a plot point it just is part of the tapestry of the show, is cool.

It makes sense that it's more or less a "post-racial" future - there's still rampant and violent subjugation and discrimination, of course, it's just based on point of origin and political allegiance

it's kind of funny/weird that Holden is the whitest motherfucker on the show when he has eight parents or whatever

IIRC, when we meet the parents, one of Holden's fathers is of African background.

i don't remember meeting the parents?? when was that

s1 I think?

d'oh