Is anybody else watching The Expanse?

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

avasarala goes to see them in S1 to learn more about what this Holden dude is up to.

And Avasarala is psychic so she decides Holden is a good egg based on the short time she spends with his mother.

The more parents the gooder the egg iirc

Think s1 on;y met one mom
think meet more of the pod beginning of s4 when they visit earth before heading to ilus, naomi has to facetime with holden and inlaws as still cant handle earth grav

on revisit, s5 might be the most powerfully canadian season

1. a roommate has just started using tinder and the first expanse cast member has turned up, complete with belter face tats. unfortunately they did not match. but efforts continue.
2. acc to the wiki, the members of Drummer's polycule are actually married? were we supposed to infer that at some point? if so we definitely missed it

After reading books 7 and 8 and seeing where they go, I'm bummed they won't get turned into TV (though the authors have vaguely said not to count it out)

Yeah the large time jump between 6 and 7 means they could theoretically look to do it in five, ten years or whatever although the show has not leaned as heavily into all the Duarte stuff

I can't wait that long - they gotta The Crown that shit and recast everyone. Well, keep Wes Chatham tho

Just learned Wes Chatham and one of the two Expanse authors have a podcast: https://tyandthatguy.com/

Holy shit I thought this was me. https://t.co/I5HZ6RoP5N

— Cara Gee (@CaraGeeeee) April 26, 2021

I watched the first three episodes of this based on its seeming popularity around here. Does it get better?

Yes

Okay, thanks. Because right now it just seems under lit and underwritten.

It’s the 4th or 5th ep where it starts to improve iirc, and then it keeps getting better. The finale is v tense

The first episodes definitely suck

will probably remain under-lit tho

yep. adds necessary moodiness

besides the characters yet to appear “light up the screen all on their own” (robin leach voice)

Heh, lighting has actually improved, even whilst remaining somewhat twilit.

you’ll want underlighting on all your shows when you’re done: regular tv will require sunglasses

Heh

forgot about the hole in the cathode layer

S1E4&5 were good as you say and am now officially into this and on E6. Anderson Dawes has an accent like Hugh Masekela.

yeah once the SPOILER Martian warship that took them hostage gets wasted and they barely escape AGAIN, the story really gets going

it's different interesting in that they fool you into what the main narrative is going to be for the first season.

The scene where Nico shows Gunny how to walk like a human is so well done.

Guy Molinari?

Smack dab in the middle of S2, in the episode after the central crescendo, and loving the incredibly crap drawing of the martyr mural.

Just finished S1. My justification for not stopping at this point is I watched all of Battlestar Galactica.

Fair. Also this is way better than BSG

Thought people loved that BSG reboot. At least that's the impression I got over here during the discussion about his more recent show: I come in peace... three times a night -- FOR ALL MANKIND (Apple TV Plus)

people do love the BSG reboot, until the last third

sticking the landing is paramount+