The Expanse .......The return of Firefly?

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My Rating **** Genre – Sci-Fiction TV series Run Time – 1-x 50 Minute episodes. Certificate – 15 Country – U.S.A Awards – 5 Wins & 27 Nominations = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Expanse is the big budget Sci-Fi series you have probably never heard of, if you don’t buy any monthly streaming TV services. It’s into season six now and into its 6th year, the first three on the SyFy channel and the next three on Amazon Prime TV. Its good fun, if you long for the return of Firefly, this, that, in all but name. Be it less po-faced. Developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, it’s based on the series of novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey. The series is set around 200-years in the future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. Earthers are the top dogs, Martian’s a distant second and the Belters third. The Belters live mostly on moons and asteroids, a scavenger lifestyle breathing recycled sterile air and crammed repressed conditions. The Plot=== The Solar System balance is fragile and a Cold War rages, United Nations Security Council member Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) tasked with keeping that peace from her plush offices on Earth as war with Mars always a threat. A police detective, Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), has been tasked with finding a young woman in The Belt, one who holds a secret that could threatens that status quo. Handsome square-jawed Ship's officer James Holden (Steven Strait) is about to become unwitting players in the geopolitics as he and his crew of the Rocinante, an ice hauler, unwittingly become part of a Machiavellian plot that dumps them at the center of a conspiracy that threatens that status quo some more, Holden’s gallant need to destroy a newly discovered alien technology causing ructions across the Solar System. -Trivia - The name of the ship, Rocinante, is the name of Don Quixote's horse from the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. -The Cast- Thomas Jane as Josephus Miller Steven Strait as James (Jim) Holden Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata Wes Chatham as Amos Burton Paulo Costanzo as Shed Gar Florence Faivre as Julie Andromeda Mao Shawn Doyle as Sadavir Errinwright Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala ===Results=== So is this just reboot of Firefly in all but name? Kind of. It lacks the dry humor of Joss Whedon’s nostalgic now 20-year-old space western but the writing is as strong and the characters flashed out accordingly, be it clichés. The political side of The Expanse is its defining sharp edge, as sort of Game Of Thrones in space. It’s also big budget FXs and looks great in 4k, equal to any big screen Sci-Fi movie in visuals and panoramic scope. The acting is a little bit hammy in that space opera way as our heroes escape death pretty much episode of season one. It’s above average and engaging streaming TV and doesn’t take too many episodes to get into, not always the case with these expensive shows. I recall losing patience with Breaking Bad after the first few episodes. I stuck with both and the rest is history. This is enjoyable stuff and one to look out for as you have six seasons to enjoy if you get into it. It gets a whopping 8.5 on Imdb and 95% on Rottentomatoes. ===RATINGS=== Imdb.com 8.5/10.0 (141,000 votes) Rottentomatos.com –94% critic’s approval Metacritic.com – 72% critic’s approval ===Trailer=== https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230854/