The Expanse - ship

Fangirling: The Expanse Television Series

Last year when the SyFy channel launched The Expanse series, I was little dubious. They have some REALLY crappy shows on the air. Amazon – as it happens sometimes – had a preview episode for Prime users. I watched the first episode and was hooked, I mean HOOKED. Bought the first book and devoured it, reading non-stop. I swear I tried to pace myself and not finish the book before the season was over. But I was not very successful with my attempt. Such a great show and a great series.

Here is a summary of the plot from Amazon:

The Expanse is a thriller set two hundred years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective (Thomas Jane, Hung) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait, Magic City) come together for what starts as the case of a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

The show is not without it’s faults. Mainly that Season 1 ends long before the first book does but there are others:

  • The casting is terrible for all but a few characters – one set of humans in space is supposed to look a certain way and it doesn’t hold true for any of the main characters
  • The ship design is kind of “meh” – not very exciting or original

The best casting was Wes Chatham for Amos. He is a central character in both the books and the series. The picture pretty well sums up his character.

The Expanse - Amos

My biggest pet peeve for the show is ChrisJen Avasarala. I absolutely ADORE the actress who plays her, Shohreh Aghdashloo, but she plays the role without ANY of the light or spark of the character in the book.

The Expanse - Avasarala

Speaking of the books, they are great. It’s a series of three novels and three stories about the crew’s past.  The main three books should definitely be read in order but the back stories do not need to be. They definitely add to the depth of the characters but even after reading them, I did not find it necessary to go back and read through the first three again.

Have you seen the show or read the books? What do you think about the series?

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