The Expanse

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This looks pretty good......

It will take me a few more episodes to work out the "plot convolutions", but so far no complaints. There is sort of a "space opera" feel to it, not that that is a bad thing as long as the space ship explosions don't get too common....

I have it DVRed so I'll check it out.

I'm not that impressed after several eps but there are a couple of 'cultural artifacts' transported to the 23rd Century which are interesting and shows that the writers/producers have 'done their homework'.....in the latest episode in the scene where the two guys are riding the 'space ferry', one of them says that he's going to the Mormon space station, "Navoo". This is why that's interesting and how many viewer/geeks knows the significance ?

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Then when the ferry gets there we briefly see the station which incorporates a giant, golden statue of a 'guy' blowing a long, skinny horn. What's the significance of that ?....a present day artifact of some Mormon temples, including the one just east of here...

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Mormons in Space!

Yes this series has some good and interesting story lines, as well as characters. And then some obscure and as you mentioned convoluted plot lines that make the story drag. Or the presentation of them is slow and uninteresting. Thomas Jane's character is much improved now that he ditched the stupid hat. I think the events in space with the attack & destruction of the Canterbury and who attacked is the most interesting story.

See below plot summery:

"Two hundred years in the future, in a fully colonized Solar System, police detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), born in the asteroid belt, is given the assignment to find a missing young woman, Julie Mao (Florence Faivre). Meanwhile, James Holden (Steven Strait), the Executive Officer of the ice freighter Canterbury, is involved in a tragic incident that threatens to destabilize Earth, Mars and the Belt. Far away from their struggles in space, Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), a United Nations executive, works to prevent war between Earth and Mars by any means necessary. Soon, the three find out that the missing woman and the ice freighter's fate are part of a vast conspiracy that threatens all humanity."

Yes, the action in space is usually more interesting than the "surface" action. The political wranglings between Earth/Mars/and 'Belters', is too obscure and far removed from our experiences to be extrapolated well. imho.

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I never did get into this show after watching some S1 eps, but am beginning to like it more after watching some of the YouTube videos that explain the technology and political structures underlying the plots. Also watched the cast interviews from Comic Con 2019. The SyFy channel had cancelled it after S3 but Amazon Prime picked it up and S4 will air in Dec. The cast isn't as appealing as those of The Magicians, but you can't expect Olivia Taylor Dudley to be in every show.

It has developed a good fan base of hard core type S-F fans because the astrophysics are realistic based on present knowledge and extrapolated 350 years into the future where the show takes place. The "Epstein Drive" invented by Solomon Epstein 150 years before the show takes place, enables the more practical space travel within the Solar System. After another 200 years they had only gotten as far out as Neptune with research bases, but Mars, Jupiter's moons and the Asteroid Belt are populated by millions. Earth has 30 billion and is going 'down hill' but still a powerful force against the Mars colonists and the 'Belters'.

I watched the last ep of S3. It ended either on an ambiguous cliff hanger or a series wrap up, depending on how you look at it. At the time I don't know if they knew it would be cancelled by SyFy, but now it opens interesting possibilities for S4. The cast at Comic Con of course revealed no details. Now I'm going back and watching all of S3   to get a better feel for S4.

Of course on Amazon the season will be streamed allowing for binge watching, whereas on SyFy we had to wait a week for every new ep.

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Of all the S-F books I've read, S-F movies and TV series I've seen over the years, The Expanse has the most elaborate explanations of technology, socio-political explanations,  back stories, etc. of any, by far. On You Tube are literally dozens of videos explaining all that stuff, and it is necessary to understand it if you want to be a competent viewer of the show, the first 3 seasons  especially and the upcoming S4.  That is why I couldn't get into S1, having been actually incompetent to watch. But back then there wasn't all the explanations out there. Only when it became a hit was when it became apparent that explanations were necessary as fan questions erupted. But most of it had been covered in the book series, the readers of which were up to speed but the TV show brought in a lot of newbies.

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I am gradually learning and it is a good review of Solar System objects.  Can you explain what is meant by "Galilean  Moons" ?

Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Io,

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Ep 10 of S2 was one of the best. What other S-F show has ever delved into those concepts so realistically if at all ? None would be the answer. 3 more eps of S2 to go then I'll be all caught up for the premire of S4 in Dec.

Two examples of the sophistication in the show not present in any other S-F.  Caution...spoilers !

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The latest season of The Expanse is out. It's still really good and the best space Sci-Fi show on at the moment. I watched the entire season.

Yes, I accomplished that a couple of weeks ago. season 5 is now in production.