# Late comer: The Expanse is the best sci-fi series ever made. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729 "2020-01-20T23:58:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/21 "2020-01-21T19:27:43Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The next one is even duller IMHO. Huh, I’m completely opposite of you on this. I just finished Nemesis Games and it may be my favorite of the series (though Caliban’s War is pretty damned awesome). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/22 "2020-01-21T19:52:02Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Thanks Grrr!. > > I hate that word exclusively. Especially when I am not a member. > > But maybe I should trade in Netflix for the Prime? I mean, the only reason the show wasn’t cancelled was because Jeff Bezos personally liked it so much he had Amazon buy it and show it on prime, so I say they earned the right to keep it. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/23 "2020-01-21T19:53:02Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > BTW, for everyone who enjoys this show- > I think that the short-lived “Dark Matters” is as good or better. It got cancelled on a massive cliff hanger though, kinda cruel to get people hooked on it at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/24 "2020-01-21T20:00:59Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > BTW, for everyone who enjoys this show- > I think that the short-lived “Dark Matters” is as good or better. I’ve got to disagree. Dark Matter had nowhere near the acting, storytelling, production values and epic sweep of The Expanse. To be honest, it kind of felt like a cheap ‘Firefly’ knockoff, with a plucky band of space criminals fighting a corrupt system. Don’t get me wrong - I liked the show well enough, but it’s just not in the same league, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/25 "2020-01-21T23:32:36Z")
Dark Matter was good, but not on the same level as the Expanse. I was still sad when it got cancelled though. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/26 "2020-01-27T15:04:33Z")
I’ve begun watching this because of this thread. I’m 1/3 through the second season. Some reactions: —Great production values for a TV series. It seems like there’s an unending number of physical sets and huge digital creations. —The cold, desaturated colors are a drag. Jeez, if I was setting up colonies in space I’d make sure they had some full spectrum lights. —The writing isn’t dumb or cringe-worthy. That’s huge. It puts the show ahead of most series and let’s me watch without swearing at the characters or creators. —The characters and plot, unfortunately, aren’t very interesting. I’m watching to see what happens, and I generally want the featured characters to win, but nobody is fascinating or charismatic. Overall, the lack of stupidity makes this bingeable, and it’s got some strong visuals. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729/27 "2020-01-28T13:02:06Z")
I binge-watched series 1-4 in December/early January. I found the political thriller aspect of the first two seasons pretty gripping. By season 4 it started suffering a bit from “Ensemble Cast Syndrome” where you have more and more characters competing for a fixed amount of screen time. I felt particularly bad for the actor playing Alex the pilot. I also felt a little embarrassed for David Strathairn whose job seemed to involve standing around trying not to sound too much like Jar Jar Binks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-comer-the-expanse-is-the-best-sci-fi-series-ever-made/846729.md?page=1)