The Smartest (& Best) TV Show About Space
Science fiction is entertaining, but it can also educate if it gets the science right! The Expanse gets that right, a lot!
I watch a lot of TV, especially science fiction.
I watched the latest ones, including Foundations, Westworld, Lost in Space, etc. I enjoy these kinds of shows. I know this is fiction, but it is also not so far from being our reality.
However, one series stands out to me as being accurate about science — The Expanse!
Most of these shows take great care to try and not break the laws of physics. But it is still entertainment, so they use complicated concepts of warp, wormhole, etc., to explain what cannot be described with current science.
Some of the shows get the science right, a lot! But ‘The Expanse’ takes this to a whole new level!
Let’s see why I think that.
- It’s conceivable that humans will settle on the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids in the future.
- A Type 1 civilization (on the Kardashev scale) is a single country covering the entire planet, which happens with Mars and Earth!
- We’d just progress to Type 2 civilization on the Kardashev scale when we begin controlling the solar system. This is what is happening — we are moving from Type 1 to Type 2 on the show. We need to do this to avoid extinction.
- When the ring appears, we may be moving into either Type 3 or 4. It’s difficult to say — and neither are the characters.
- The sequences that demonstrate Mag Boots in action illustrate the incredible amount of research that has been conducted into zero-gravity conditions.
- There is no sound in space if you don’t have your headset talking to someone! They’ve almost always remembered it.
- They don’t break the laws of physics, and projectiles fly in a straight line.
- Space drones don’t use wings! The drones use more of the rocket tech in the series.
- Space is dark unless there is light to reflect the sunlight. They get this right mostly, including the Ag dome crash!
- Space travel is adequately accurate for most scenarios — long travel time, AI, Fuel, Nano-tech, Communication lags, travel speed, etc. The extrapolation of technology and human behavior seems as accurate as one can get for fiction!
- The effect of low gravity on Martians/Belters is very well thought through!
- IoT — almost all devices are connected!
- The division amongst the human species continues. Earth has Universal Basic Income, Mars is ambitious but struggling, and OPA is relegated to the third world equivalent.
- You can see the evolution of the human species — and branching off into multiple branches.
- They include science as much as possible. There is a specific scene with polar lights on Mars. And the actor says — that is what happens when you create a magnetosphere! — WoW! That is like sprinkling science without boring us.
- The CG was excellent as well. It’s hard to spot issues given the various planets and asteroids’ detailing.
- We seem to have advanced enough, but there are still many unknowns than knowns!
It is a very entertaining show. But what makes Expanse work for me is how many things they got right from a science perspective!
It is science fiction, after all. The creators did take some liberties and made some mistakes, but the overall thinking was impressive!
Shame on you Amazon for ending the show. I look forward to someone else continuing the fantastic work!
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. By the way, I write on a lot of other topics.
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