Saturday, June 17, 2017

Expanse Sieve Thoughts


I'm pretty happy with my brain most of the time. It does what I ask it to do and / or what I want it to do (which means that sometimes it surprises me by doing things I didn't ask it to do).  It's got good intentions, and on those rare occasions when it veers into Danger, Will Robinson! territory, it gets out a whip and a chair and walks itself back into the cage before anyone gets eaten. It's taken some big hits from bitches and bastards, and even though the bilge pump is running full steam 24 / 7, it's still seaworthy.

However.

I have a really hard time following certain types of stories.

Like James Bond movies. I'm never sure why people are going where they're going, why they're doing what they do when they get there, or how it all relates to the Big Picture.

And maybe a part of that is because I don't really give a milligram of shit about James Bond. Nope, not even the Daniel Craig ones. But, alas, it doesn't just apply to shit like the adventures of 007.

The Expanse, for example. I really, truly love this show. Watched Season One, read three or four of the novels, watched Season Two. And just now, in a very rare move for solo moi, I've binged Season One again in a mere 24 hours. (It was due at the library and couldn't be renewed. Hmm? Yeah, I know, but (1) I was hoping that there would be super cool extras on the dvd set that weren't available on the streaming version, and (2) once I'm in, I just can't switch over to streaming until I've finished the last track on the third dvd. Yes, I know it would be the same. But it wouldn't be the same
And not only am I intending to re-watch Season Two (which I had the foresight to dvr), but I am thinking about going back and having another go at the novels as well.

Because I love The Expanse.

Because . . . well, in "The Big Empty" Amos says to Holden, 

"You must think I'm pretty stupid, don't you? I mean, you're right.
I can take a core apart and put it back together with my eyes closed.
But ask me whether or not I should rip your helmet off and kick you off this bucket, and I couldn't give you a reason why I should or shouldn't.
Except Naomi wouldn't like it.

"Could you pass me the drill? 

"Thank you."

Now is that fucking GOLD or what?

And there are lots of other moments like that. Most of them due to the amazingly deadpan delivery of Wes Chatham as Amos Burton.  Man, I love that guy so much.

And speaking of man love, there's the character of  Josephus "Joe" Aloisus Miller, played will stunning panache by Thomas Jane. 

But even though I've watched all of the episodes of the show to date and read over half of the books . . . as I re-watch Season One, I am still not sure who is behind this Ultimate Weapon stuff, or how Julie Chan got involved in it. You know, like the most basic elements of the plot.

What the fucking fuck, Negan.

But there's no doubt in my mind that this is one of The Great Science Fiction Shows EVer. Worth 45 minutes X 23 episodes ( = a tad over 17 hours) of your time, foe shoe.







The Great Science Fiction Shows EVer

The Expanse
Killjoys
Firefly

you'd think Star Trek would be in there somewhere . . .
to be continued

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