The Expanse TV series

May 18 09:17 UTC 2020

Over the last week I've binge-watched all four seasons of The Expanse (taking
advantage of my free one-month Amazon Prime trial). It is a great hard science
fiction TV series, maybe surpassing even my all-time favorite Star Trek.

Especially the first season could be described as Blake's 7 meets Blade Runner
meets Game of Thrones, but I've never seen any movie or TV series do hard
science fiction as well as The Expanse. The series is set in the 23rd Century,
the same as the original run of ST, but The Expanse sticks to very plausible
tech and little "magic". 

Some magic-tech creeps in around the end of the first season, which was a
slight disappointment, and increases in later seasons, but ultimately is
handled fairly well, and has very plausible impact on the characters and plot.

The story involves a large ensemble of very interesting characters interacting
through several fascinating complex plots and intrigues.

Single episodes may not make much sense if viewed in isolation, but very
rewarding for extended viewing. Highly recommended.

The TV series is based on a series of novels also titled "The Expanse" written
by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James C.A. Corey), which
I have not read. The authors are also executive producers of the TV show.