I usually don’t write about television shows here but I think I might have to start doing so as they are becoming increasingly sophisticated and have more artistic merit than many films. The Expanse is a great example, being an impressively well produced adaptation of the novels James S.A. Corey. So far we’ve watched the first two seasons and while they are very far from being perfect, I found it surprising that something this good exists for television.

I’ve never read the books themselves so I had learn about the setting itself from the show. There’s very little exposition so you have to slowly build up an understanding of the whole picture from the context. Earth and Mars are the superpowers of the solar system and the Belters who live in the many orbital habitats and asteroids scattered around the system mining resources are caught in between. The series starts with the destruction of a Belter ice hauler by mysterious assailants that angers the Belters and raises tensions even more. The surviving crew of the ship are eventually rescued by a Mars warship. They learn about the destruction of a research station and experiments about something called the Protomolecule. Meanwhile a police detective on the asteroid Ceres is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a rich young girl. Her father turns out to be one of the richest men in the system and is also connected to the experiments on the Protomolecule.

The series is incredibly ambitious, being set on a grand stage with multiple factions. For example, the group that seeks to stand up on behalf of the Belters, the OPA, is itself divided into many groups who advocate using varying degrees of violence. While the action mostly focuses on the survivors of the ice hauler who later commandeer a Martian gunship, there’s a huge cast of characters to keep track of and I love that even the minor characters have distinct personalities and motivations. The visuals and production values are excellent. The ships, props and sets all look amazing, being both detailed and plausible. The costumes that the character of Chrisjen Avasarala, one of Earth’s leaders at the UN, are especially impressive examples of future fashion with designs inspired from Indian culture. The science depicted is realistic as well. There are no magical shields and space combat uses missiles and projectiles. Gravity is generated by rotation or engine thrust or else the crew get around wearing magnetic boots. About the only complaint I have in this regard is that the show plays fast and loose with distances and travel times between the various landmarks in the Solar System.

Like most science-fiction shows, the interpersonal drama is weak at times especially when they try to tackle romance. Miller’s obsession with Julie Mao drives his character but it’s really weird and creepy as they have never met. The relationship between James Holden, the leader of the crew, and the engineer Naomi has zero chemistry. Yet there are some great character moments as well. Amos is essentially a high functioning psychopath who can’t tell right from wrong and so chooses a leader to trust to make these decisions for him. I also like that none of the actors look like they stepped out of supermodel casting. Instead, they look like real people with diverse backgrounds. More hit and miss are their attempts to create distinct accents for the characters. Jared Harris as an OPA leader goes all in with his Belter accent, which makes it seem strange when the other Belter characters have much weaker accents.

Season 1 has some pacing problems which I think is due to their trying to stretch out their budget by filming scenes in very high detail. It’s interesting I suppose to see them repairing damage to their ship in a very realistic way but it slows the plot to a crawl. Season 2 is much better in that regard. I also think it gets tiresome to see the crew keep winning in firefights against enemies even when outnumbered and despite them not being professional soldiers. Overall I consider this to be an awesome show combining realistic science with acceptably sophisticated politics and decent characterisation. It’s actually quite surprising that this managed to get made and has lasted as long as it has. Pretty much all fans of science-fiction have to watch this.