The Syfy Channel’s adaptation of S.A. Corey’s excellent near-future SF series The Expanse was an anomaly from the very beginning: a TV show based on an actual book by actual SF writers, not a freshly made (and frequently derivative) one-off by TV People. When we first talked about it way back when, hopes were high … and for once, we’ve been pleasantly surprised. The first episode of The Expanse is available now on the SyFy Channel right here, and it’s amazing: beautifully designed, visually stunning, well (and even subtly) acted (including a wonderfully understated performance by Thomas Jane, goofy hat and all), and strangest of all: amazing faithful to the book.
So often the dreaded TV People get hold of an sci fi property, hi-jack the title and a few basic copy points and just do their ‘thing.’ Usually the results are embarrassing, or at least boring (we have, for instance, low expectations for the upcoming adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). And even when the results are interesting, like the current run of Amazon’s excellent Man in the High Castle, loosely based on Phillip K. Dick’s classic novel, there’s a certain sense of loss: this is the book we remember. This is real.
Not so in Expanse. Of course there are differences and some necessary short-hand. Multiple episodes notwithstanding, S.A. Corey’s novel and its sequels are complicated and rich, and way beyond the scope of an hour a week for a few weeks in a row. But what they do, they do right, and it’s a real joy to see it done so well.
Enjoy the first episode on the SyFy Channel, and be back in a couple of weeks for more. And stay tuned here, too: we’ll be recapping The Expanse starting with the ‘official’ premiere.
