Jump to content

The Expanse #3: Abaddon's Post - [spoilers for book only up to latest tv show episode]


SpaceChampion

Recommended Posts

Since the show is going to finish off book 2 and then move on to part of book 3, where's the sensible finale plot point?

Spoiler

Opening the gate and passing into the slow zone, right? Or is there a better point I'm forgetting?

[Remember no unmarked book spoilers beyond the latest episode]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

Since the show is going to finish off book 2 and then move on to part of book 3, where's the sensible finale plot point?

  Hide contents

Opening the gate and passing into the slow zone, right? Or is there a better point I'm forgetting?

[Remember no unmarked book spoilers beyond the latest episode]

Spoiler

Do they pass into it right away? I thought the first craft to go through was the young daredevil belter in his little cobbled together slingshot racer.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:
  Hide contents

Do they pass into it right away? I thought the first craft to go through was the young daredevil belter in his little cobbled together slingshot racer.

 

Spoiler

Well the gate should be forming in one of the first episodes next season, so maybe when the Roci and the rest of ships go through could be a good stopping point. But I think they can go further than that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I don't think that's near far enough. We got 2/3 of LW in the first season, then the equivalent of 2/3 to a full book in the second that leaves us somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way through CW. Assuming Season 3 has the same number of episodes, then I'd expect

Spoiler

CW to finish in episode 5, the same as with Season 2 and LW. I wouldn't be surprised if the endpoint is whatever gets used to replace Sam getting killed off (since Drummer is an amalgamation of book Sam with book Drummer, it makes zero sense to kill her off before book Drummer has even been introduced). I'm not sure though, just trying to guess at a dramatic event midway through the slow zone stuff.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

So, Netflix (Sweden) is streaming this now. I can continue to bitch about physics.

Weeping Somnabulist: 1:00. Nooo! The ship is facing in the wrong direction. Since Jupiter is in visual range, it should accelerate away by this time.

11:17. Somnambulist and Roci both under thrust, and docked to each other. This makes no sense and annoys me a lot.

35: Roci burning away from Jupiter moon Celine! Woot! Now, was that so hard? It makes complete sense when you see it, and gives a great visual. And great shot of the Roci hiding in a crater.

36: Somnabulist breaking towards Ganymede, then finally switches off the Epstein. Not good, since the station should be turned into glass by the drive.

Several shots throughout the episode show spacecraft engaging the drive and flying away. None of them gets acceleration correct: In each shot, we see the drive lighten up, at which moment the craft immediately flies away at very high speed. Looks like Star Wars physics. What we should see is a gradual increase of speed, giving our brains a feeling of mass. (A similar criticism goes to the Solomon Epstein scenes, where his spaceship continues to increase acceleration throughout the flight. Why? The drive is on, so it gives constant acceleration, say of 1 G, or 5 G for drama, and increases its speed. The people responsible for all the space visuals don’t seem to understand the difference between speed and acceleration—to them, turning on the drive seems to give high speed. This really bugs me, because The Expanse books actually get this (very simple) physics (which we learn in school, and which corresponds to our intuitive understanding of how stuff moves, so it helps immersing us in the world) right, and it contributes importantly to the world building (how space ships are built, how interplanetary travel works, how battles work.) This would be cheap to correct, it just requires the diligence and professionalism of taking the setting seriously. Grumble-grumble.  

Later: Alex has a dozen beer cans floating in the Roci. Stuff like that continues to annoy me. Alex is a professional, living in space. Alex should be extremely diligent about not having stuff float around in a war ship (the beer cans become deadly projectiles the moment he engages the thrusters.) I’d like pilots and belters to obsess about such things (more than me); it could even be used to differentiate them from squatters, for extra world-building colour. In a space ship, everything must be bolted down, and our characters should care about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew that last one was going to piss you off when you watched. And on some level it bothered me. On another level, drunk Alex losing it from solitude was hilarious enough I forgave it.

You're going to hate another scene in another ep or two, they acknowledged its not remotely realistic and said it was one of those "sacrifice it for television" cases. Just imagine there being a logarithmic time compression going on that magically doesn't distort Alex or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 20/09/2017 at 7:34 AM, karaddin said:

I knew that last one was going to piss you off when you watched. And on some level it bothered me. On another level, drunk Alex losing it from solitude was hilarious enough I forgave it.

The visuals were great, it was good character development, etc. They are doing many things right.

But he might as well drunkenly fumble with trying to un or rebolt a beer bottle, reminding us viewers that a lot of trivial things become life-critical in space. This would improve world building, would be dirt cheap, and give atmosphere—exactly the atmosphere of precariousness that I really, really like in the books. It’s the difference between lazy Earthers and the Belters and Dusters, for whom every single detail (forks, valves, doors) is potentially deadly. Book Belters are hypercareful, extremely competent, socially responsible, valuable, yet unruly. TV-show Belters are just a mob.

This also bugged me about the shots of Earth precariate in Bobby’s excursion in the next episode. Book Earth is on basic income; everybody has what they need, there certainly is no shortage of medicine, food, or housing. What Earth lacks (and Mars has) is meaning. This is an interesting, original, politically relevant view of the future, and it’s cheap to produce. Instead, TV-show Earth just gives us a Malthusian precariate (barter economy!) that we’ve seen on TV a thousand times before. It’s lazy and boring. 

I do realise that this is the Earth underbelly that we see from Amos’ POV in The Churn, so there is some canon behind these scenes. But Bobby’s Book POV sees something else (the basic income-dystopia), and that is what her character is supposed to be disgusted by: not that Earth fails to provide everybody their food and medicine (Earth is good at that!), but that Earth succeeds in providing everybody their food and medicine.

So this adaption was bad world building and bad character development.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the first 6 episodes of season 2 have been really good SF tv. Season one's loss has been season 2's gain in the sense it has been able to start with the final act of book 1. If season 2 ends with the end of book 2 that'll make a good season. It'll be more disappointing if they don't end with the end of book 2 though.

I enjoyed the epstein drive flashback. I think I missed the short story covering this? A dark reveal for how the show's engines were created.

I was wary of the guy playing Amos when it was first announced but he absolutely nails it. He's got this weird child-like innocence about him yet you can tell he's on a different wavelength and will kill you if you get in the way of him and those he wishes to protect. I think book Amos is generally more intimidating but I really like the way the actor conveys him on screen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/25/2017 at 10:25 AM, HelenaExMachina said:

I love chrisjen avasarala so much :D 

Damn, the woman is amazing... I especially liked her "rain hellfire on them all" scene with Erinwright.

If not for "Our lives are tough" scene, that would be my favorite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Risto said:

Damn, the woman is amazing... I especially liked her "rain hellfire on them all" scene with Erinwright.

If not for "Our lives are tough" scene, that would be my favorite.

"Whoever the fuck you are, stand down and let her speak."

:D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, GallowKnight said:

That GIF is made even better by Bobbie eating cucumber in the background.

That was one of my favorite little bits. Naturally she'd be incredibly thrilled at that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Risto said:

ALSO THIS ONE...

 

She fills the void left by Dame Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess, when Downton Abbey ended

 

I'm so pleased they are allowed to use the occasional "fuck" on screen. It was an aspect of the book version I really liked - this intelligent, strong, elderly woman who had no problem with a foul mouth (I think she uses it to purposely throw adversaries off). Also glad they cast her so well - I think the book version was a lot older although it's probably just that the actress looks decidely young for her age and it could also be a case of "people in their 80s look like people in their 50s by year-expanse"

I read that non-sweary cable channels now have a quota of strong cuss words they can use. I guess syfy has been taking advantage of this (or the netflix version just has sweary edits?). Avasarala and Negan (walking dead) could have a swear off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, red snow said:

I'm so pleased they are allowed to use the occasional "fuck" on screen. It was an aspect of the book version I really liked - this intelligent, strong, elderly woman who had no problem with a foul mouth (I think she uses it to purposely throw adversaries off). Also glad they cast her so well - I think the book version was a lot older although it's probably just that the actress looks decidely young for her age and it could also be a case of "people in their 80s look like people in their 50s by year-expanse"

I read that non-sweary cable channels now have a quota of strong cuss words they can use. I guess syfy has been taking advantage of this (or the netflix version just has sweary edits?). Avasarala and Negan (walking dead) could have a swear off.

They definitely had it on SyFy, so I guess it's good to know that cuss words can be used now. Taboo on FX also wasn't shy of utilizing the word.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 01/10/2017 at 11:28 PM, Martini Sigil said:

Me too... he defies every stereotype, and Shohreh Aghdashloo's intellect pours through the screen

.... But Naomi might be my favorite character on TV since Job on Banshee

I was a little confused when I first read this but then I finished up the season and yes I totally agree. Though she is still tied with Chrisjen for me...

22 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

That GIF is made even better by Bobbie eating cucumber in the background.

:lol: I saw the gif before I watched the episode so burst out giggling while I was watching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently binged this. I thought it was quite good, it took a step up in season 2 imo. 

My favorite characters would be Miller, Chrisjen and Amos I think. I really like Alex too, he needs some more character development next season. I actually doesn't think Holden nor Naomi are very interesting characters. Both are kind of annoying becuase of their houlier-than-thou schtick they're always doing. 

But as a whole, this series is great, and the shots are gorgeous most of the time. It doesn't reach BSG's highs, but then again, not many series can compare with BSG first 2.5 seasons run. I do like the realism of keeping it pretty grounded and in our solar system too, it makes it a bit more familiar regarding the worldbuilding. And agreed, Chrisjens actor is really good. Nice to see an older woman kicking ass on the screen. Looking forward to next season. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...