Syfy: The Expanse

[keg in kc]

I'm really excited about this - it's a fantastic set of books that I think could translate into really good TV.

Syfy orders 'The Expanse' series based on 'Leviathan Wakes' (think 'Game of Thrones' in space)

By James Hibberd on Apr 11, 2014 at 6:30PM

Syfy has given a direct-to-series order to an exciting-sounding new project based on an acclaimed sci-fi book series. The cable network has ordered 10 episodes of The Expanse, from Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) and Alcon Television Group. The project has been described by industry insiders as “Game of Thrones in space” — not so much because of the specifics of the plot, but because it tells a dramatic sprawling grown-up story within a popular fantasy genre that’s based on a respected series of novels.

The logline: “A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.”

The Expanse is based on a series of books by James S.A. Corey. The most well-known title is probably the first in the series, Leviathan Wakes, which has been praised for reinventing and updating the old-school Star Wars/Firefly-style space opera. Syfy won a bidding war with another content producer to acquire the project.

Syfy president Dave Howe promised, “The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy’s most ambitious series to date. Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories. The Expanse joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects Ascension, 12 Monkeys, the renewal of Helix, and the soon to premiere Dominion.”

Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch, with Fergus and Ostby, and will also executive produce. “The Expanse is one of the most special pieces of material we’ve ever encountered and it has been our dream to bring it to life since the moment we read it,” Daniel and Brown said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to be doing it with this team of all-stars.”

Added Alcon president Sharon Hall: “The Expanse is an addictive, sophisticated, character-driven franchise and Mark and Hawk are the perfect people to steer it. Their script is a totally immersive and accessible sci-fi journey.”

(Just FYI, the author of Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey, is actually a collaberative pseudonym of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. I guess EW didn't know this...)

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I really wish I did. I think season 5 may be one of my favorite seasons so far, but it would be so much better if I could sit down and watch it all in one day. It's been a slow and steady buildup, but I just want more every time I watch.

So many shows do that shit. Drives me crazy. Kind of why i like Magnum, P.I. Each show is a separate story. Don't have to worry about being left hanging at the end of every show.

[Bowser]

Possibly a top three episode of the entire series, wow.

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Possibly a top three episode of the entire series, wow.

Definitely the best episode of the season, though I was not terribly high on the season as a whole.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Third Eye

Definitely the best episode of the season, though I was not terribly high on the season as a whole.

I've been hooked into this season so far. I've enjoyed it more than season 4 for sure, and S4 wasn't bad.

Have you read the books by chance?

[NewChief]

I've enjoyed this season (I'm only through Ep6). Man, some other boards I'm on are REALLY down on it. They're vicious about how "awful" the Naomi/Phillip storyline has been and feel that the entire season has been basically watching Naomi be emotional and whiney about her relationship with Phillip. I don't know... I think they could have condensed it down, but it just didn't bother me that much.

I am a book reader, so when I watch... I'm kind of taking the book perspective with me... so I might have a little more understanding and background knowledge on the Naomi situation than non-book readers. I dunno.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by NewChief

I've enjoyed this season (I'm only through Ep6). Man, some other boards I'm on are REALLY down on it. They're vicious about how "awful" the Naomi/Phillip storyline has been and feel that the entire season has been basically watching Naomi be emotional and whiney about her relationship with Phillip. I don't know... I think they could have condensed it down, but it just didn't bother me that much.

But without that storyline, how else do you tell the inside narrative of what a manipulative rat bastard Marco is? It sounds like those posters are just tired of seeing Naomi get beat down mentally for pretty much the entire season.

[RealSNR]

Finished the season last night.

Not sure if this is much of a season spoiler since there was news about it, but whatever. Here it is in the tags anyway

Spoiler!

So I was kind of taken aback that they actually killed Alex. From what I had heard, the MeToo stuff that went down with him occurred after they filmed the 5th season, so I didn't think I'd see the writing out beginning now. Even if just making him have a stroke, freezing the frame, and then putting his spittle in zero gravity was the best solution without making the actor come in to shoot a death scene, they still had to make the other actors come in and talk about his death and whatnot.

I thought they would just start up Season 6, get the Roci crew ready, and have them go, "Where's Alex?" "He can't make it. Wife and kids love him again, he wants to be a family man now. He said he loves you all." "Okay whatever let's go". Yeah, that'd be shitty, but I thought while it'd be a shitty thing we have to get over, it'd be a quick acknowledgment that he's not here anymore and that the series is just gonna move on.

I'm also probably thinking about it too deeply, too. This was not the focal point of the episode or the season. Just... it stuck out to me. For obvious reasons.

[Bowser]

Yeah, agreed with that. Totally caught me off guard with the abruptness. Thought it was a terrible way to go with the way they did it.

[Icon]

Overall it was a really good season which doesn't surprise because I enjoyed the book associated with it. Like previously mentioned I was surprised with how the abruptness of Alex's death. It felt like it was crudely spliced in after the season was finished (which it may have been).

The one aspect that disappointed me was the space battle scene in the final episode. Earlier seasons had some epic battle scenes but this one left me disappointed. I figured when Bezos decided to save the Expanse that we would see more killer space battles given Amazon's deep pockets.

[stumppy]

Not my favorite season at all. Got tired of having to watch all of Naomi's bullshit.
I mean, how many times did they have to drive the narrative about Naomi, Phillip, and Marco and how ****ed up they are? Guess what, when Marco and Phillip killed millions of people I got it. I feel like there was so much time spent on those three when they should/could have been telling more of The Expanse story.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by stumppy

Not my favorite season at all. Got tired of having to watch all of Naomi's bullshit.
I mean, how many times did they have to drive the narrative about Naomi, Phillip, and Marco and how ****ed up they are? Guess what, when Marco and Phillip killed millions of people I got it. I feel like there was so much time spent on those three when they should/could have been telling more of The Expanse story.

Have you read the book? If not, they told The Expanse story nearly exactly how it is in the book. This is the weakest book in my opinion, but I have not read book 7 onward yet.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by bowener

Have you read the book? If not, they told The Expanse story nearly exactly how it is in the book. This is the weakest book in my opinion, but I have not read book 7 onward yet.

No, not yet. It's on my list but it'll be awhile.

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I've been hooked into this season so far. I've enjoyed it more than season 4 for sure, and S4 wasn't bad.

Have you read the books by chance?

No, I’ve never read the books, just a show watcher.

For the record, I’m not saying the season was bad, but it’s my least favorite of the series. If I were forced to rank them, it would probably be 3,2,1,4,5.

Of all the separate side quests story arcs of the Roci crew, only Amos’ kept my interest. The Naomi storyline was fine for a while, but it just dragged on. The two episodes leading up to the finale are probably the worst episodes of the series for me. I liked some of the Avasarala stuff, but that seemed to peter out as the season went on.

Honestly, if they just reworked the last several episodes before the finale, I probably would’ve liked the season much better as I enjoyed the first half well enough.

[keg in kc]

I finally decided to binge today, and did all 10 eps in one sitting. Much like season 4, I was surprised how good of a show they made out of the two weakest books. I didn't think splitting the crew would work, but it definitely did. As far as Cas Anvar goes, he got a much better death than I expected, and I thought it needed to be abrupt, because anyone following the press would know he'd gotten himself in real world trouble. They gave him a hero's death, really, and still provided closure to Alex as a character. So well done, I thought.

The bigger surprise to me, after the announcement of the show ending after 6 seasons, was introducing Duarte and Laconia. I don't know how they can possibly do that story arc - which is literally the second half of the book series - in 10 episodes. Not to mention the 30 year time jump in the novels. But why introduce Duarte and Laconia, and the introduction of the protomolecule into the orbital stations that eventually construct his crazy advanced ships in the books if you aren't going to follow through on everything that happens?

One season can't possibly be enough...

Anyway, I thought it was a really good season. Not many shows can keep me engaged for 10 hours. I do think binging helped, because I would have been disappointed with the ending of a couple of the individual episodes had I been forced to wait another week for more.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Spoiler!

I finally decided to binge today, and did all 10 eps in one sitting. Much like season 4, I was surprised how good of a show they made out of the two weakest books. I didn't think splitting the crew would work, but it definitely did. As far as Cas Anvar goes, he got a much better death than I expected, and I thought it needed to be abrupt, because anyone following the press would know he'd gotten himself in real world trouble. They gave him a hero's death, really, and still provided closure to Alex as a character. So well done, I thought.

The bigger surprise to me, after the announcement of the show ending after 6 seasons, was introducing Duarte and Laconia. I don't know how they can possibly do that story arc - which is literally the second half of the book series - in 10 episodes. Not to mention the 30 year time jump in the novels. But why introduce Duarte and Laconia, and the introduction of the protomolecule into the orbital stations that eventually construct his crazy advanced ships in the books if you aren't going to follow through on everything that happens?

One season can't possibly be enough...

Anyway, I thought it was a really good season. Not many shows can keep me engaged for 10 hours. I do think binging helped, because I would have been disappointed with the ending of a couple of the individual episodes had I been forced to wait another week for more.

Some spoilers in there, bro. Maybe they leave it on a cliffhanger in hopes it causes some pressure to get a final couple of seasons from somebody.