The Expanse is apparently still offering early previews of its episodes, so when I went to watch the second episode, I found the third ready to go as well. That means you get two reviews for the price of one!

…Though given that the price is “free,” that’s maybe not such a great deal.

“The Big Empty”:

Most of this episode is devoted to Holden and his ragtag crew trying to escape in a crippled shuttle. Desperate repairs needed, little hope, you know the drill.

It’s certainly more eventful than the pilot, but that isn’t exactly saying much. It’s all things other sci-fi shows have done, and done better.

There is once again a cliff-hanger, so at least they’re good at making you want to move on to the next episode, but if they don’t provide a good pay-off soon, they’ll just be stringing the viewer along.

I hate being strung along.

The other plots continue to go nowhere slowly. My only comment on Chrisjen and her arc so far is that she appears to be pretty much just Dick Cheney in space. It’s making me feel oddly conflicted because I liked the actress so much in Mass Effect, and every time she speaks, I’m still thinking “Oh, yay, Quarian,” but now I kind of want to see her get hit by an asteroid.

The only thing that really interests me so far is Miller’s story — it is at least an effective mystery, and that’s always welcome — but it is, again, going nowhere. Most of his scenes in this episode are devoted to some side plot about water theft that doesn’t appear to have anything to do with anything.

I have seen some sci-fi shows that were very dull to start and then became great — Stargate: Universe comes to mind — but if The Expanse doesn’t do something impressive soon, I’m giving up.

Overall rating: 5/10

“Remember the Cant”:

Three episodes in, and we now get our first real glimpse of the third major faction in The Expanse: Mars.

Turns out they’re basically the Galactic Empire, at least in terms of art design.

Rifts quickly form in Holden’s crew as the Martian interrogators attempt to find — or create — guilt among them, and I come to the conclusion that I don’t particularly like any of them.

I do, at least, enjoy seeing the Martians get some development. It’s very early days yet, but they have the potential to be an interesting culture.

Meanwhile, Chrisjen’s story takes an odd turn. On the one hand, she seems much more sensible and a bit more likable this time around, but on the other, it seems very out of sync with the rest of her character to date. Is she a warmonger or not? Make up your mind, Expanse.

Miller’s investigation on Julie Mao continues to go absolutely nowhere, and tensions on Ceres reach a boiling point, costing the series the one character I liked after the last character I liked died.

In fairness, “Remember the Cant” is definitely a step up from previous episodes. There is a pretty good mystery developing here. Who is trying to start a war, and why? It’s certainly keeping me guessing.

But again, I can’t escape the feeling I’m just being strung along. Sometimes a good mystery only serves to make you drag yourself through an otherwise tedious story. I’ve had that happen before, and I’ve regretted falling for it.

“The Expanse” definitely has the potential to be a good show, but it’s still aways off, and I’m not sure how much longer my patience is going to last.

The fact is I’m just now enjoying this show very much. I want to, but I’m not.

Overall rating: 6.7/10

Later tonight, the TV premiere for the new sci-fi TV series The Expanse will air, but the first episode has already been available online for several days. Always eager for some new sci-fi, I decided to give it a shot.

I knew little of The Expanse going in aside from the fact that it was getting a lot of buzz and had already been compared to Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones. That isn’t entirely good news where I was concerned, but I figured it was worth a try anyway.

The premise for The Expanse is pretty interesting. Two hundred years into the future, humanity has begun to colonize the rest of our solar system. Earth, ruled by the United Nations, and Mars, ruled by its military, are the dominant powers, with a smaller civilization of “Belters” eking out a existence in the asteroid belt.

Tensions are high between Earth and Mars, with war potentially on the horizon, and there is unrest in the asteroid belt as well, as its oppressed underclass chafes under the heel of the inner planets.

The world-building is pretty good, and the show has a fantastic eye for detail. For example, a bird that has adjusted to the low gravity on Ceres* and barely has to flap its wings to fly.

*(Which bears a suspicious similarity to Mass Effect’s Presidium.)

This is also an incredibly beautiful show, with absolutely stellar special effects (no pun intended). The Expanse is an absolute feast for the eyes, even with the crappy video quality of Space’s player.

Unfortunately, the rest of the show is less impressive.

“Dulcinea” seems to have been mainly written using a handbook of standard sci-fi pilot cliches. We’ve got “woman finds something strange and scary and screams hysterically,” and “gratuitous sex scene.” Throw in some casual torture, a wide-eyed rookie cop, and call it a day.

The characters are likewise extremely cliche. Thus far the story focuses on Detective Miller, a roguish but not entirely heartless detective on Ceres who is tasked with tracking down a missing woman, and Jim Holden, a roguish but not entirely heartless starship officer whose freighter investigates a mysterious distress signal.

We’re also introduced to a ruthless UN secretary, Chrisjen Avasarala, but her role is too small to form any real opinions of her. She is, however, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, who voiced Admiral Shala’Raan in the Mass Effect games. Which is cool.

So thus far I’m terribly underwhelmed by the cast. The one character that I kind of liked has already been written out. And once again, in an incredibly cliche way.

It’s a pretty uneventful pilot, too. Only Jim’s plot advances in any meaningful way, and then only barely and only at the end.

On the whole, “Dulcinea” has mostly given me a greater appreciation for how good Dark Matter’s pilot was.

Still, it’s pretty, the concept is interesting, and sci-fi shows often have slow starts, so I’ll probably give it at least one more episode.

Overall rating: 6.1/10

Also it fills my heart with warmth that as of right now the Enterprise episode still appears higher in Wikipedia results for “The Expanse.”