Is The Expanse worth it? Thinking of starting that after strange new worlds.
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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The expanse is great! Highly recommend it, and the books are even better.
@maino82 @oehm Agreed. The show because of Shohreh Aghdashloo, whose casting was a stroke of genius. And the books because it's a great story. Silo (on Apple TV) is also great. #ScienceFiction
Oh boy you're in for a treat! The first season is my favorite one. Not very Trekky though, I get a vibe of Alien mixed with cyberpunk.
Another big vote for The Expanse. I always tell people to give the first season 3-4 episodes before judging. The main plot doesn't get started until around then and the full cast isn't even fully introduced after the first episode (IIRC). It's one of those shows that doesn't make it easy early on, but rewards those who stick through for the whole ride.
It’s very, very good. Every season is basically a different genre though - within the context of the setting.
The first is my favorite and is basically a noir/detective story.
Second is my least favorite and is basically a monster movie.
Third is political thriller and I fell in love with the show again, fourth is like a western/frontier story and fifth is a family drama.
The best thing about the Expanse is the world-building. A lot of attention to detail. Great characters too.
I'm a huge fan of the first few seasons. When Amazon bought them I feel the quality really dropped (especially in the set pieces/visual effects) but the story is still good. A lot of people didn't care for the first season or Miller's character but I really enjoyed it.
It's wild to me when fans of the show disregard the first season. To me, that season is pretty much perfect. Three arcs - a detective story, a motley crew, a political thriller - pay off feels so great when it all comes together at the end. Season 2 was such a drastic change in pacing, concept and 'feel' that I didn't want to keep watching. I felt a little betrayed that Miller wasn't actually the main character.
Besides Amos, I don't really care about the Roci crew. I had to wait until Ashford came along in Season 3 for a new favorite character.
All in all - Avasarala, Bobby and Drummer carried the series for me.
It’s interesting that you felt betrayed by Miller not being the main character. In the book his chapters are a good example of unreliable narrator.
He comes across as a good guy and a good cop. It’s only later you realise he is unpopular which is why he was dumped with the Earther and his reputation as a drunk earned him an investigation they wanted done poorly.
Maybe the show got a similar result to the book in a different way.
I liked him too though and was gutted by his fate.
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Yes. IMO the best SciFi Series
Yes, the Expanse is wonderful ... I miss it TBH. As "blasphemous" as it might be here, I'd be more excited for a new Expanse series than new a Trek series.
You may have heard already, but give the show 3-4 episodes before you give up on it.
I was told this and I recall a specific moment even where I felt myself switch from, "this is fine" to "ok I like this". May not be that way for everyone, but give it 3-4 episodes.
Also, and others have said this, each season is different with a different vibe, however that alters your viewing.
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In a word, yes. In three words oh fuck yes.
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You don't watch other shows. You start over with Star Trek.
😁
I'm gonna throw this in here since no one has mentioned it —
Dark Matter
A fun SyFy show that was cancelled way too early and run by Joseph Mallozi who contributed to SG-1 and SG: Atlantis.
I'm always worried watching stuff that's cancelled too early. Does it end in a decent place?
Unfortunately it ends with an unresolved cliffhanger. Although I feel like they dropped enough hints that you could kind of imagine how the next season would go.
Don't let that stop you. The show sputters here and there, but the story is intriguing. Anyone that complains has clearly never seen seasons 1 & 2 of ST:TNG, and Dark Matter's entire run is only 39 eps.
And with all due respect to Brent Spiner, Zoie Palmer as the android is *fantastic*.
I'll be honest. Where it ended, I was pretty pissed that I wasn't going to get a resolution.
But, am I still glad I watched it? Absolutely.
Altered Carbon (Netflix). This is what Blade Runner 2 should have been in terms of cinematography and story telling. First season especially is great.
I have mixed feelings on AC. I really loved the first season. Beautiful cinematography, amazing acting (Joel Kinnaman is incredible), great concept and plot. Pacing could’ve been a little better, but it really evoked that Blade Runner vibe in a cool way.
Season 2 didn’t really resonate with me :/ Felt like a cheap Marvel movie.
I did enjoy both seasons, however Season 1 is definitely better written than Season 2.
Took me a bit to get into Star Trek: Lower Decks but I recommend it to any star Trek fan!
Going to keep the British end up here
Red Dwarf
Blake's 7
Hyperdrive
Classic Dr Who (not all great but some classics in the run)
How you gonna mention star gate SG1 but not mention Stargate Atlantis?!?!
Also Stargate Universe - it is a shame that it was cancelled after only two series, as it was getting quite good
For All Mankind is by the same writer as ds9/bsg and is pretty entertaining. There's some bad personal drama, but the space and alternative timeline stuff is good.
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You've got SG-1 but not Stargate Atlantis, so add that in, it's just about as good as SG-1. (not Stargate Universe, though, that one's bad.)
There it is, Stargate SG-1
Damn that show starts off slow - most people can't get past season one. But holy heck does it have an amazing team writing the plots. I thoroughly enjoyed that show. And it's so underrated. I know I never watched it much when it was on air weekly with new episodes
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The Mandalorian is probably the best star wars show out there at the moment. There is a world-of-the-week vibe to it, but like most modern shows the primary focus is on the overarching plot and characters that recur. That said, if you liked Andor I think you'll thoroughly enjoy The Mandalorian.
If you like animated shows, Futurama is a classic. If you want something a bit more obscure and odd, Final Space is a good and funny show too. That's starting to stray pretty far away from Star Trek other than it taking place in space though.
I thought Andor was the best Star Wars thing ever made period but found Mandalorian kinda boring and dropped it after a few episodes.
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Ah yeah, I saw Mandalorian. It was pretty fun to watch, but I didn’t find it super compelling beyond the visuals - especially compared to Andor.
Of course, Futurama is one of my favorites! Haven’t heard of Final Space, I’ll put it on my list - thanks!!
Earth Final Conflict is also an interesting series. It was developed by Roddenberry, and produced by Majel Barret. I enjoyed watching it when it was in syndication.
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I've watched and can recommend X-Files, Fringe, Warehouse 13, Eureka, Mrs. Smith, and Station Eleven.
These are some that people have recommended that seem interesting, but have not watched yet: Orphan Black, Killjoys, Humans, The 100, Dark Matter.
Thanks for these recommendations! I actually never watched X-Files, and a friend of mine binge watched all of it earlier this year and was sending me funny clips. I should add it to the list.
LOVED Station Eleven. It might be a top 5 show of all time. The first episode felt like a slog until that last minute. Partially ‘cause we were kinda living that pandemic.
But I was absolutely hooked and psyched to see more. And every episode after was “holy crap!” moments through to the very end.
Some of the best storytelling I’ve seen on TV. Really rich character development and such a beautiful concept altogether. It made me really hopeful.
Same writer/creator as The Leftovers (which I also recommend, very cool show - 3 seasons with an ending, gets progressively weirder and wilder).
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It didn't exist at the time this was posted, but this is the kind of content that would fit right in at our new community, !quarks@startrek.website .
If you like SG1 you should checkout Travelers on Netflix. It was created by one of the SG1 co-creators, Brad Write. The first 2 seasons are really good.
I didn't mention Travelers in my watched list because it's not very 'Star Treky', but I absolutely adored the series. It had some faults, but really clever writing, well thought-out characters, great acting, cool story. I still think about it. Did you not like Season 3? Enrico Colantoni was brilliant. Also loved him in Station Eleven.
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Babylon 5 has an epic story, character development, and space battles.
"I have always been here." ~
"Can not run out of time. There is infinite time. You are finite. Zathras is finite. This...is wrong tool... No... No, not good. No... Never use that."
I'm not seeing Doctor Who on your list yet! You could give that a shot. Many of the series have the world-of-the-week feeling.
Definitely watch the rest of the Stargate movies and then get into Atlantis. The Stargate series is very much Star Trek but with a more grounded premise. Yeah there are aliens out there, but the majority of the powers are not interested in getting along with these plucky Earthlings.
Also seconding the SyFy shows, especially Eureka and Dark Matter. Eureka is much more comedic and optimistic than the usual science fiction show. About 5 seasons and was given the chance to end properly. Dark Matter is, well, dark. Opposite of the Star Trek universe, but has great character arcs and plot lines. Absolutely worth watching the 3(?) seasons even if it ends on a cliff hangar.
Stargate. Especially the movies SG1 and Atlantis
I could not get into farscape or earth final conflict. I've always wanted to watch SG1, but I can't find anywhere to stream it now.
Try Farscape again and see if you can get to the end of the first series. It shifts majorly then when the main villian for the rest of the show turns up and the tone shifts darker and more serialised. It's one of my favourite sci-fis of all time.
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