5 ms·

In "The Expanse" TV show, Ceres is the birth place of the main character, police detective Josephus Miller. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_serie

In "The Expanse" TV show, Ceres is the birth place of the main character, police detective Josephus Miller. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series)

colordrops 10y ago
This show should be more popular than it is. It's relatively hard scifi that posits a realistic future of solar system colonization.
- posterboy 10y ago
  >hard scifi It's not, but it takes some inspiration
  - pilom 10y ago
    It certainly starts out fairly hard scifi (with the only exception being Epstein drives) but takes a pretty sharp turn away from that as soon as the proto-molecule is out and about. It was hard for me not to put the book away and stop reading the series when the zombies showed up because I was so engrossed in the realism behind the story that those parts just felt like a betrayal.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - colordrops 10y ago
      What's wrong with Epstein drives? I haven't read the book, but what is impossible about them? Is it the amount of energy needed?
      - pilom 10y ago
        They are more fuel efficient than anything physics predicts is possible because they effectively have the max thrust of chemical rockets, combined with a nearly infinite ISP from using no reaction mass. They mention refueling the fusion reactors and the steam thrusters, but they never mention reaction mass for the Epstein drives.
        colordrops 10y ago
        I did some searching and found this: https://m.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/4frz1k/epstein_drive_may_be_real/ https://m.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/4frz1k/epstein_dr... Ignore the original story and the top level comments. Seems there is some evidence of reaction mass. There is some interesting analysis and basic math in the comments. I didn't see anything that confirmed or precluded the epstein drive from being possible. I should get out a pen and paper and work it out myself.
- satori99 10y ago
  The show is reasonable (as are the novels) but the SyFy channel has a bad reputation for some truly awful television that they are only just starting to recover from. Having said that, it is the only current sci-fi show that gets the physics of spaceflight more or less correct. ie: No 'gravity' without thrust or spin on board vessels or habitats.
pilom 10y ago
I read the books first and then tried to watch the show and couldn't be behind it because in the books, you can physically tell where a person is from from their looks. Earthers are short and stout, Martians are a bit taller and Belters look like ETs with unnatural gangly limbs. It really brings home the racism themes in the books. Unfortunately the TV series couldn't do anything like that (understandably) and it just felt like so much was left out.
prawn 10y ago
I watched the first episode and it was OK. Quit the second episode a few minutes in because it was a bit cheesy. Should I stick with it? Always wary of committing to a series and throwing away a dozen hours unless it's a really strong show.
- omginternets 10y ago
  These things are highly subjective. I think it started to go downhill during the last episode. I then read the book, and my suspicions were confirmed. But that's just me... I don't like space-monsters.
  - douche 10y ago
    The space-monsters angle doesn't last terribly long, basically just the first two books. The bulk of the series ends up being more of a political thriller. It reminds me a lot of Ben Bova's Grand Tour series, with some sprinklings of Frederick Pohl's Gateway series.
    - omginternets 10y ago
      Two books is pretty long! ;) I really did enjoy the political angle of the show, which I thought was much more present than in the first book. I have the second book on my kindle, and I read the first couple of chapters... maybe I'll pick it up again.
      - douche 10y ago
        Haha, well, it didn't seem like that long... I ended up binge-reading the latest one over the course of two days after it came out
        omginternets 10y ago
        It's settled. I'm on vacation, and I'll give it another whirl ;)

colordrops 10y ago

This show should be more popular than it is. It's relatively hard scifi that posits a realistic future of solar system colonization.

posterboy 10y ago
>hard scifi It's not, but it takes some inspiration
- pilom 10y ago
  It certainly starts out fairly hard scifi (with the only exception being Epstein drives) but takes a pretty sharp turn away from that as soon as the proto-molecule is out and about. It was hard for me not to put the book away and stop reading the series when the zombies showed up because I was so engrossed in the realism behind the story that those parts just felt like a betrayal.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - colordrops 10y ago
    What's wrong with Epstein drives? I haven't read the book, but what is impossible about them? Is it the amount of energy needed?
    - pilom 10y ago
      They are more fuel efficient than anything physics predicts is possible because they effectively have the max thrust of chemical rockets, combined with a nearly infinite ISP from using no reaction mass. They mention refueling the fusion reactors and the steam thrusters, but they never mention reaction mass for the Epstein drives.
      - colordrops 10y ago
        I did some searching and found this: https://m.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/4frz1k/epstein_drive_may_be_real/ https://m.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/4frz1k/epstein_dr... Ignore the original story and the top level comments. Seems there is some evidence of reaction mass. There is some interesting analysis and basic math in the comments. I didn't see anything that confirmed or precluded the epstein drive from being possible. I should get out a pen and paper and work it out myself.
satori99 10y ago
The show is reasonable (as are the novels) but the SyFy channel has a bad reputation for some truly awful television that they are only just starting to recover from. Having said that, it is the only current sci-fi show that gets the physics of spaceflight more or less correct. ie: No 'gravity' without thrust or spin on board vessels or habitats.

pilom 10y ago

I read the books first and then tried to watch the show and couldn't be behind it because in the books, you can physically tell where a person is from from their looks. Earthers are short and stout, Martians are a bit taller and Belters look like ETs with unnatural gangly limbs. It really brings home the racism themes in the books. Unfortunately the TV series couldn't do anything like that (understandably) and it just felt like so much was left out.

prawn 10y ago

I watched the first episode and it was OK. Quit the second episode a few minutes in because it was a bit cheesy. Should I stick with it? Always wary of committing to a series and throwing away a dozen hours unless it's a really strong show.

omginternets 10y ago
These things are highly subjective. I think it started to go downhill during the last episode. I then read the book, and my suspicions were confirmed. But that's just me... I don't like space-monsters.
- douche 10y ago
  The space-monsters angle doesn't last terribly long, basically just the first two books. The bulk of the series ends up being more of a political thriller. It reminds me a lot of Ben Bova's Grand Tour series, with some sprinklings of Frederick Pohl's Gateway series.
  - omginternets 10y ago
    Two books is pretty long! ;) I really did enjoy the political angle of the show, which I thought was much more present than in the first book. I have the second book on my kindle, and I read the first couple of chapters... maybe I'll pick it up again.
    - douche 10y ago
      Haha, well, it didn't seem like that long... I ended up binge-reading the latest one over the course of two days after it came out
      - omginternets 10y ago
        It's settled. I'm on vacation, and I'll give it another whirl ;)