The Expanse
Starring: Thomas Jane, Steven Strait
Premieres December 14th, 2015 on Syfy
Reviewed by Jess Landry
An hour-long drama on TV these days generally runs about forty-four minutes after all the commercials, so what can you expect in the first forty-four minutes of Syfy’s latest space opera, The Expanse? How do explosions, dismemberments, zero gravity boning and space pirates sound?
In the world of The Expanse, the solar system has been colonized. There are people living and working on Mars, Ceres (a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter) and Earth. Much like current, real-life Earth, politics and social standings play a key factor in the regions briefly explored in the premiere. It’s clear that there’s much more of this universe to be discovered, and the small glimpses we’re given in forty-four minutes are just a sneak peek.
Viewers are also introduced to the two main characters: Detective Miller (played by The Mist’s Thomas Jane) – a disgruntled, no holds barred space cop living on Ceres (complete with what can only be described as a space mullet), and Jim Holden (played by Steven Strait) – the charmingly cocky second-in-command of a water-carrying ship whose world gets rocked by the end of the show (and who I can see filling the role of the archetypal hero). There’s also a quick introduction to Julie Mao (played by Florence Faivre), who seems to be the one everyone’s looking for, though that reason isn’t made clear in the first episode.
Having no knowledge of the book series which the show is based on (and that currently spans five novels and four shorter stories with another novel on the way in 2016 – yeesh), it’s easy for newcomers to get lost in some of the lingo and the different settings that get bounced around in the first episode. But that doesn’t make the show any less watchable – if you pay attention, you can probably get the jist of what’s going on.
So far, the show is checking off all the points required of a space opera (impending intergalactic warfare? Check. Romance? Check. A well-rounded cast of characters? Check.). If shows like that tickle your fancy, then The Expanse may be worth your while.
