“The Expanse” Picked Up by Amazon for Season 4 after Syfy Cancellation

Megalith

Megalith

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Amazon has saved The Expanse: during last night’s National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference, Jeff Bezos mentioned that his deal for the critically praised drama has been completed. The show was canceled after three seasons at Syfy, but it will return on Amazon Prime’s streaming service.

Amazon had been a main target for the fans behind the #SaveTheExpanse campaign. The show’s supporters launched a massive effort to get a streaming company to pick up The Expanse after Syfy two weeks days ago decided not to renew the show for a fourth season, with the last episodes slated to air in early July.
 
My wife and I loved the first two seasons. Can't wait for season 3 to come to Amazon since I don't have cable. I am glad it is getting picked up since the story line is quite interesting.
 
We really need this show. It's a practical projection of the future exploration of the solar system and it's exploitation. The current and next generation need to have practical aspirations that can be achieved in their lifetimes. Frankly, the current targets of Mars exploration and terraforming are not practical to the acceleration of the goals. Start first by developing a launch pad/base in space. There is no better place to start than Eros. Hitch a ride on the elliptical orbit to Mars and at the same time build out and mine out the raw materials there for a permanent station. At the same time send back all that Copper, Gold and Platinum to fund the construction. Want to terraform Mars? Bombard with millions of tons of ice and methane from the asteroid rings to bring the water and gas content up in the atmosphere. Don't just study it, do it, aggressively.
 
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Happy to see Expanse got picked up.....I now have another reason to continue Amazon Prime
 
I need to read less. It is never-ending disappointment when these shows are released.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
now if only dark matter was picked up. :(
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W...what? <_> They canned Dark Matter, too?! FFS *sigh*

I was so pissed off when Stargate: Universe was axed, RIGHT when it was getting amazing and had a great plot element being uncovered... Granted, the first half of season 1 really dragged ass, so that's no doubt where the majority of viewers jumped ship, but I'm still incredibly upset about it. I still re-watch the show every year at the cabin, an episode a day while I'm waking up in the morning :)

Dark Matter I can understand, honestly, but with shows like The Colony that seemed like it would be amazing and sorta went meh (commercials look like it's maybe worth checking out again), it's unfortunate to see good shows die.

But The Expanse I just don't understand why every space sci-fi fan doesn't enjoy it, and as such, why it'd get canceled :\ So while I don't have Amazon Video, nor the bandwidth to stream (rural living + cellular internet), I'm still really happy that it'll continue on. If anything, that it'll get a proper, legitimate ending (so a even just a final season to wrap everything up) instead of an episode that hastily puts the show in limbo... like SG:U did.

(y) Thank you, Amazon! I still hate you for the Ryzen+Mobo pre-order fiasco, but I love you for this! lol
 
Aww, now I'm not going to be able to see in on netflix anymore, that sucks.
 
I just started watching this, not terribly impressed so far. It reminds me a lot of SG:U, interesting premise wasted on bickering and politics. Hopefully they continue to release it on disk so I can get it on Netflix but it'll probably be a Prime exclusive so that'll be the end of that.
 
Formula.350 said:
But The Expanse I just don't understand why every space sci-fi fan doesn't enjoy it, and as such, why it'd get canceled :\
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It's because space sci-fi fans can't be painted with the same brush. I couldn't stand any of Stargate shows. I feel that Firefly was grossly over-rated. I once loved Babylon 5 but despise it now. I can't bear any of the Clone Wars or Rebel cartoons. I think Deep Space Nine, Battlestar and The Man in the High Castle were the pinnacles of sci-fi TV before The Expanse came along. And I still think The Orville is a confused, nostalgic, annoying yet endearing show. (just like Star Trek Discovery)

But I also feel the reason a lot don't get The Expanse is that it's plausible. The show spends a lot of effort trying to get the science right- and that heart is simply lost on the lightsaber/warp drive crowd.
 
This show has been struggling since day one. Since they didn't have enough money to cover the pretty action packed novels the way they go, they have to resort to... drama. Drama is cheap but hardcore sci-fi fans don't want drama. Give them Star Trek's 8 million per episode and it'll be the best sci-fi show on TV. I loved the new Trek but this source material is better.
 
Bosch
Man in the High Castle
The Expanse

These 3 reasons alone are worth keeping Amazon Prime.
 
dgz said:
This show has been struggling since day one. Since they didn't have enough money to cover the pretty action packed novels the way they go, they have to resort to... drama. Drama is cheap but hardcore sci-fi fans don't want drama. Give them Star Trek's 8 million per episode and it'll be the best sci-fi show on TV. I loved the new Trek but this source material is better.
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Really, Discovery is 8 million an episode?

I got into The Expanse earlier this year binging the first two seasons on Amazon Prime. I very much enjoy the show. Never read The Expanse books but if the show is true to the vision of its universe, clearly the 23rd Century Federation is FAR more advanced culturally and technologically, maybe too much so for sci-fi fans looking for more realistic and gritter version of the future that isn't apocalyptic, at least not yet.

The greatness of Star Trek is in the hope for a better tomorrow, perhaps a bit too campy for the modern world but then that's the nature of hope.
 
Glad it got picked up. Now that Amazon picked it up at least I won't have to wait a week before seeing the next episode. :)
 
The show is very good at adapting the source material. Far better then
Game of Thrones for example. I also hear Bosch has been faithful to the books.

I do recommend the books, but I do feel the show has a significantly more consistent tone; whereas the books change it up which threw me off at first. That said, the show is just starting to get into the big twists and turns that got me interested in the books.
 
I am so glad it got picked up by Amazon. I was so afraid this show wouldn't get another season. (y)(y)
 
heatlesssun said:
Really, Discovery is 8 million an episode?

I got into The Expanse earlier this year binging the first two seasons on Amazon Prime. I very much enjoy the show. Never read The Expanse books but if the show is true to the vision of its universe, clearly the 23rd Century Federation is FAR more advanced culturally and technologically, maybe too much so for sci-fi fans looking for more realistic and gritter version of the future that isn't apocalyptic, at least not yet.

The greatness of Star Trek is in the hope for a better tomorrow, perhaps a bit too campy for the modern world but then that's the nature of hope.
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That's what the creators said I think. It does look incredible, doesn't it? The Expanse is nowhere near that in terms of visuals imo. I'd prefer to live in the Trek universe but having all that in 200 years laughable.

The irony with the Expanse is that there's way more action in the books than the TV show. Usually it's the other way around. Think they're doing it to save money but what do I know. Need more space action :(
 
One of the few shows I watch.
Gives me a reason to renew prime (in spite of the price increase) next year.
 
gigaxtreme1 said:
Want to terraform Mars? Bombard with millions of tons of ice and methane from the asteroid rings to bring the water and gas content up in the atmosphere. Don't just study it, do it, aggressively.
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AFAIK, terraforming Mars is pretty much impossible.

You could maybe get the temperature right and get the pressure up at first. Humans could even adapt to the gravity with tech, but Mars has no magnetic field like Earth does. Radiation on the surface is always going to be brutal, and whatever atmosphere (and biosphere) you generate is slowly going to get blown away by the Sun.


Sure, you could live underground and wear protective suits above. But then why settle there over anywhere else in the Solar System? Would self sufficiency or profit even be possible?
 
dnphamus13 said:
I gave up, after seeing "All the Time in the World"
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You made it a lot further than I did. I gave up after the 3rd episode I think. The acting was awful for the most part and I found the characters to be just stupid and annoying.

Back on topic, I'm very happy that the expanse got picked up. Been watching it from the beginning, absolutely love it.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
now if only dark matter was picked up. :(
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No kidding, however I think at this time Dark Matter is gone. The sets probably have been dismantled and the cast and crew moved on. I think the Expanse had a much larger and more vocal fanbase to make this happen this quickly.

At least one sci fi show was saved.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
With new writers, that last season :meh:
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yeah the last season was kinda meh but i it also felt like they already knew the show was getting cancelled before the season started.

WarriorX said:
No kidding, however I think at this time Dark Matter is gone. The sets probably have been dismantled and the cast and crew moved on. I think the Expanse had a much larger and more vocal fanbase to make this happen this quickly.

At least one sci fi show was saved.
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actually dark matter was done on the stargate SG1 set.

also The Expanse is produced by a separate company and syfy paid the rights to air it which is also why it got cancelled and picked up so quickly by amazon.
 
Syfy are one of the main problems, their distribution policies are awful.

I'm in Australia ATM, love the expanse. Literally can't get it, old series are on Netflix, new ones you can't buy through Amazon or iTunes.
UK is the same. It will probably turn up in September.

Cord cutters are the biggest audience for Sci fi so it's pretty dumb to tie yourself so tightly to cable companies.

That said, the books jump forward 20 years pretty soon so there's not really a lot of material left.
 
Iratus said:
Syfy are one of the main problems, their distribution policies are awful.

I'm in Australia ATM, love the expanse. Literally can't get it, old series are on Netflix, new ones you can't buy through Amazon or iTunes.
UK is the same. It will probably turn up in September.

Cord cutters are the biggest audience for Sci fi so it's pretty dumb to tie yourself so tightly to cable companies.

That said, the books jump forward 20 years pretty soon so there's not really a lot of material left.
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Eh? they are just starting on book 3 of 9. Lots and lots of material left.
 
Iratus said:
That said, the books jump forward 20 years pretty soon so there's not really a lot of material left.
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At the pace the show is going (halfway through season 3 and just jumping into book 3 after skipping some pretty awesome book material with the Agatha King), and the changes they're making vs. the source material, I don't think the couple of many-year jumps of the books are really going to be noticed or expanded upon on in the show. After all, they just jumped 3 years between episodes without much of a mention (and then deleted 4 viewpoint characters from the book). The real question is how many seasons are they willing to give it? 10, 12, 15?

And if you haven't read the books, I cannot recommend them highly enough. So good, and even for 500+ pages each, rather quick reading.
 
aaronspink said:
Eh? they are just starting on book 3 of 9. Lots and lots of material left.
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Well 6 really. 7 doesn't lend itself from a plot point or the fact that the main point is the (attempted) torch passing. Don't know how they'd fold all that in, there's not really a plot other than that.


Don't get me wrong, I love both but just don't see the narrative path for a TV show through the later books as it becomes so much less about the Rocicente and the arcs become quite complex. Deep Space Nine with a speed limit, Terra Nova with shit trying to kill everyone. It's all very different. Awesome but not what they've been building towards or what easily lends itself to a tv structure built around hard fi and plausability. I just expressed it badly.

I'd just do a show about Amos tbh, he's like my spirit animal in the books. He, Avasarala and Bobbie are so much more interesting than Holden
 
Iratus said:
Well 6 really. 7 doesn't lend itself from a plot point or the fact that the main point is the (attempted) torch passing. Don't know how they'd fold all that in, there's not really a plot other than that.


Don't get me wrong, I love both but just don't see the narrative path for a TV show through the later books as it becomes so much less about the Rocicente and the arcs become quite complex. Deep Space Nine with a speed limit, Terra Nova with shit trying to kill everyone. It's all very different. Awesome but not what they've been building towards or what easily lends itself to a tv structure built around hard fi and plausability. I just expressed it badly.

I'd just do a show about Amos tbh, he's like my spirit animal in the books. He, Avasarala and Bobbie are so much more interesting than Holden
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A whole season of Amos/Clarissa on earth would be awesome.
 
brucethemoose said:
AFAIK, terraforming Mars is pretty much impossible.

You could maybe get the temperature right and get the pressure up at first. Humans could even adapt to the gravity with tech, but Mars has no magnetic field like Earth does. Radiation on the surface is always going to be brutal, and whatever atmosphere (and biosphere) you generate is slowly going to get blown away by the Sun.


Sure, you could live underground and wear protective suits above. But then why settle there over anywhere else in the Solar System? Would self sufficiency or profit even be possible?
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Sure, just have to hit the start button. Spin er up! What I was thinking, maybe with a mini black hole we could graze the atmosphere of Jupiter enough to create an eccentric orbit and spit into two bodies and get a resultant. Two body formation scanario. That's the rub, getting a proper sized neutron body. Who cares, we got quadrllions of tons of water/methane ejecta to deal with. Heck we can just scrap phobos.
 
Yeah, well, hopefully that doesn't mean it's going to be like Man in the high castle, and we end up with one season every two years.
 
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