# The Expanse (new show on syfy) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300 "2015-12-13T03:19:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/41 "2015-12-24T20:25:17Z")
The first episode kind of threw you into the deep end but I watched the first four episodes and I’m in. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/42 "2015-12-31T02:26:36Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > …Am I wrong in thinking the Belter’s building the generational ship for the Mormons (I liked this bit) have something to do with the ship that took out the Canterbury?.. I’m thinking the Head of Operations has been embezzling funds from the Mormons (how cute is the missionaries still dress the same). Also this may sound like a dumb question, but if they just shut off the engines without turning the ship around or using reverse thrusters it’s still going to move forward at the same speed instead of slowing down so wouldn’t there still be gravity? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/43 "2015-12-31T02:45:04Z")
Loving the hard SF actually getting on TV. Not sure I give a damn about the story. But I’ll stick with it for a while. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/44 "2015-12-31T04:15:14Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > if they just shut off the engines without turning the ship around or using reverse thrusters it’s still going to move forward at the same speed instead of slowing down so wouldn’t there still be gravity? 😕 The apparent gravity is created by _acceleration_, not motion. As soon as the drive goes down, they are in free fall, or null g. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/45 "2015-12-31T05:27:03Z")
I’m enjoying this series so far–especially this last episode. The storytelling reminds me of **Babylon 5** , while the visual style reminds me of **BSG**. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/46 "2015-12-31T22:56:45Z")
Just saw episode 4 – really killing it so far, especially with the escape sequence. All the zero-g bits have been great too – very interesting to see (mostly) good physics for space and gravity. Really excited to keep watching! ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/47 "2016-01-01T01:46:31Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The apparent gravity is created by _acceleration_, not motion. As soon as the drive goes down, they are in free fall, or null g. Thanks. Now for my next question; how fast would they need to be traveling to have apparent gravity approximately .33g? > [@Kinthalis](#): > > Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out to be another Firefly! (in terms of ending criminally sooner than it should have). It’s already been [renewed](http://deadline.com/2015/12/the-expanse-renewed-season-2-syfy-1201674459/) for a 2nd season. 🙂 Happy New Year! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/48 "2016-01-01T02:18:34Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Thanks. Now for my next question; how fast would they need to be traveling to have apparent gravity approximately .33g? Again, it’s not about how _fast_ they are going, it’s about their _acceleration_. So to produce an apparent gravity of 0.33g, they would have to accelerate at… 0.33g! 0.33 x 9.8 m/s^2 = 3.2 m/s^2 Meaning the ship would have to keep increasing its speed by 3.2 m/s every second in order to maintain that apparent gravity. If the ship stops accelerating, no matter how fast its moving–the ‘gravity’ drops to zero. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/49 "2016-01-01T02:33:39Z")
I hope this doesn’t get canceled. Is it getting decent ratings? it looks expensive. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/50 "2016-01-01T03:29:30Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I hope this doesn’t get canceled. Is it getting decent ratings? it looks expensive. I just heard it got renewed for a second season. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/51 "2016-01-01T11:24:21Z")
I randomly caught the first episode, and thought it was promising. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/52 "2016-01-02T23:30:43Z")
I like how the writers proactively includes the viewers in creating backstory with the introduction to the show. They can hint as much as they want, but the death of one of those dead girls affected that captured, cynical army dude and will hopefully shape his deciscions as a character in the future. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/53 "2016-01-06T17:10:15Z")
Really excited about this show. I did the [SyFy.com](http://SyFy.com) binge viewing of episodes 1-4 and just watched 5 this morning from the DVR. I do find my interest has been unbalanced between the Canterbury/MARS/space storyline and the Detective on Ceres storyline. Episode 4-5 started to raise my interest more in the detective storyline more which is good. Before that I found myself not paying as close attention when it was back to Ceres. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/54 "2016-01-06T18:00:40Z")
I caught up to episode 4 last night, but first: > [@Tangent](#): > > Again, it’s not about how _fast_ they are going, it’s about their _acceleration_. So to produce an apparent gravity of 0.33g, they would have to accelerate at… 0.33g! > > 0.33 x 9.8 m/s^2 = 3.2 m/s^2 > > Meaning the ship would have to keep increasing its speed by 3.2 m/s every second in order to maintain that apparent gravity. If the ship stops accelerating, no matter how fast its moving–the ‘gravity’ drops to zero. You’re thinking in linear acceleration. The implication is that Ceres has gravity via rotation. It’s implied by things like the way water poured from the pitcher. The stream “bent” rather than falling straight down. This is a side-effect of rotational gravity. It’s weaker closer to the center and creates a stronger Coriolis effect than we see on Earth. To get 0.33G on Ceres, I get that they’d have to rotate at about 0.025 rpm. (assuming the gravity is measured at the surface - it’s variable by the distance from the axis) I’m going to speak of what happens in very broad terms and leave out specific spoilers. If you don’t want broad elements spoiled, don’t unspoil. [spoiler]I liked the first three episodes just fine. The first two come off as setting up the main conflict and world building. Which is good. I like those things, but they need to be paid off. The third episode starts to pay the setup off, and the fourth episode (CQB) was great. If The Expanse is going to be compared to Battlestar Galactica, the first three episodes were the mini-series, while the fourth was ‘33.’ There was a lot of action, but it wasn’t stupid or pointless action sequences. In fact, because the POV characters are only party to some of the action, much of it is simply in the background. In the meantime, it’s advancing the intrigue related to the destruction of the Cant and opening the intrigue about the lab station. My one concern is that there are three major stories going on (the Cant, Ceres, and the UN/Earth), but no direct interaction. I don’t know that the series can be sustained with each in isolation. In the meantime, I’m happy to go along for the ride. Finally, the way the scene was done where the Cant’s medic threw the medicine across the room was great.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/55 "2016-01-06T18:18:45Z")
> [@HookerChemical](#): > > You’re thinking in linear acceleration. The implication is that Ceres has gravity via rotation. You are correct about Ceres, but **alphaboi867** was asking about apparent gravity on the Donnager which was created by linear acceleration. The gravity was correctly portrayed as disappearing immediately when the drive engine was shut down. 0.33 g seems to be a kind of standard Belter gravity: Ceres is rotated to mimic 0.33 g, and a comfortable thrust for a ship is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/56 "2016-01-06T18:51:57Z")
> [@HookerChemical](#): > > You’re thinking in linear acceleration. The implication is that Ceres has gravity via rotation. As **Troutman** pointed out, the question was not about Ceres–it was about the gravity produced by the non-rotating space ships. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/57 "2016-01-06T19:19:58Z")
Oops. I missed the part about ships. Apparent gravity for ships makes sense because they’re meant to move from place to place, but it does not for Ceres (unless Mars plans on resolving their conflict by slowly accelerating it out to the Oort cloud and beyond). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/58 "2016-01-07T04:23:45Z")
I just watched E5; this show started out as “better than average” and so far gets better with every episode; I currently rate it as “very good”. I’m most impressed with how deep the story is but I’m also quite pleased with the production values, the editing and the casting and acting. All are top notch. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/59 "2016-01-07T14:33:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I just watched E5; this show started out as “better than average” and so far gets better with every episode; I currently rate it as “very good”. > > I’m most impressed with how deep the story is but I’m also quite pleased with the production values, the editing and the casting and acting. All are top notch. Agree wholeheartedly. I like the gritty Blade Runner atmosphere. It’s not all shiny and new. I like that the characters are rounded out, and have all sorts of faults. And I like that they attempt to deal realistically with the weightlessness, except when under acceleration. Firefly got the “no sounds in space” stuff correct, but I was always bugged about the gravity in the Serenity. I have not read the books so this is a new story for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300/60 "2016-01-08T21:33:40Z")
I don’t know you guys, I don’t think I’d trust the Butcher Of Anderson Station. Also, they need to be asking how the hell he knew where they were. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-new-show-on-syfy/740300.md?page=4)