Fix: Space Dramas With Great Characters, Found Family, Space Politics, Fun Action Sequences
Platform: Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Summary:
The disappearance of rich-girl-turned-political-activist links the lives of Ceres detective, accidental ship captain and U.N. politician. Amidst political tension between Earth, Mars and the Belt, they unravel the greatest conspiracy.
FYA Summary:
The synopsis above is pretty accurate of the first season, and I’d also add that a seemingly small decision—to answer a distress call instead of ignoring it, like his captain would prefer—forever changes the lives of James Holden, the motley crew forced to go with him, and, eventually, the entire galaxy.
Look, this show is very popular on the internet, and I’m probably one of the last few holdouts to have only just watched it. So this post is for you other holdouts. I promise, I, too, thought this was going to be way cheesy with shallow storytelling (please don’t turn it off when Sy-Fy tries to reel you in with the goofy, gravity-free sex scene right at the start of the pilot…I swear it gets better). I’ve been burned by many science fiction shows that either botched the ending (I never actually finished Battlestar Galactica, and after spoiling myself, I NEVER WILL) or didn’t have enough science fiction in their sci-fi, so I thought this show was going to disappoint me, despite its rabid fanbase.
But it didn’t! Each season (loosely adapted from a book series of the same name) contained an overarching story that connected throughout the series while still giving us smaller, episodic moments to avoid lore burnout. Characters are given time to breathe and grow, and make you fall in love with people you did not think could become your favorites.
And I was honestly impressed with how freaking cool the sets were, how realistic the CGI could look for a TV show, and how expansive (ha-yuck) it felt within its universe.
Familiar Faces:
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala
Shohreh is by far the most recognizable voice on the show (that gravel is so compelling and she’s appeared in some big video game franchises), and one of the most famous faces (can’t forget her stint on 24). Chrisjen is a potty-mouth, certified Badass-with-a-capital-B, who has the most flamboyant jewelry collection you could never even hope to have, and even when she’s wrong, I love her.
Wes Chatham as Amos, Steven Strait as Holden, Cas Anvar as Alex, and Dominique Tipper as Naomi
One of my favorite “tropes” is found family, and the way the Rocinante crew eventually melds together is one of the best parts of the show. How Amos slowly became one of my favorite characters speaks to the talent of Wes Chatham’s acting (and the writing, obvi, but his line delivery kills me).
I did a “oh, that guy!” when I realized I last saw Steven Strait in the eminently silly man-witch movie, The Covenant, where I pondered why he was picked as the lead actor, LOL. I’ll admit it took me a few episodes to get used to his somewhat stoic acting face, but he makes Holden feel like someone dependable and serious enough to be The Guy everyone looks to.
The less said about Cas Anvar the better, unfortunately, as he’s apparently turned out to be a trash human IRL, which sucks because Alex is a delightful character (who also has some trash tendencies but, you know, at least sexual predator isn’t one of them…).
Naomi makes some dumb decisions sometimes but she is motivated by caring for people, so it’s hard to stay mad at her, and Dominique Tipper imbues her with a warmth and steely strength that makes her a great layered character.
Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper
OMG, you will probably want to punch Bobbie Rah-Rah Marine when she first appears, but, once again, the writing and Frankie Adams’ talent made me do an abooooout-face and declare that I want to be BFFs with the second-most certified Badass on the show.
There really is such a wealth of talented and fierce women on this show, and Spacer loyalist Drummer is the fiercest of them all.
Miller wasn’t my favorite character, but his storyline and role do end up being important, even if it felt like he was in a different show than everyone else in the first season (a noir detective mystery on a space station, and yes, the hat is intentional).
There are some other recognizable faces that join here and there, like Elizabeth Mitchell and François Chau, but this is long enough already because I want you to watch this show.
Couch-Sharing Capability: A Must
My husband and I were both equally obsessed, and it’s nice to have someone along for the discourse, especially because so many episodes end on a cliffhanger (which isn’t THAT bad if you’re binging it, like we were, except when we had to be responsible adults and go to bed). Also, it’s nice to have someone on the couch to yell, “STFU, Marco!!” over to whenever the urge hits you—and it will.
If you’re watching alone though, the old Reddit episode threads were fun to peruse, especially because one of the main visual effects artists commented throughout the first season or so and revealed how they created certain sequences.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Low
There’s a LOT going on in each episode as we bounce between different storylines and parse through the politics of the galaxy, so you want to have your ears and eyes open. If you must imbibe, limit yourself to a single dram of your fanciest liquor so you, too, can feel like a fancy Earther politician.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Required
I don’t want just any story that could take place anywhere, but just so happens to be in space; I want it to be ABOUT FRIGGIN’ SPACE. And The Expanse that and more, with some excellently choreographed space fights, several tense space survival moments, and brave-new-world exploration all mixed in with plenty of good, old-fashioned humanitarian moral dilemmas and discussions on how to function in a galactic society.
While it may have gotten cancelled before the fans were ready for it to end, the show manages to wrap up the last season in a satisfying way that left me with a smile. (And if you absolutely need more, they even made an Expanse video game featuring Drummer!)
