FILUMS ..to see.

[Spinners]

Yes, sad news about Ginger Baker. I'll be digging out and listening to 'Disraeli Gears' tomorrow.

[Stradageek]

Fahrenheit 11/9, the latest Michael Moore offering, both revealing and scary.

[mercalia]

The Expanse is an American tv sci-fi series. There are 3 series but a 4th is coming I believe. What makes it interesting is that it aint placed like Star Trek in the where no one has gone before saga with silly alien rubber masks but a believable colonisation of the solar system, There are 3 main groups - Earth ruled by the UN, Mars a breakaway military power that dreams of terraforming the place but has had to put it off to defend its self from Earth, and the Belters who live on stations in the asteroid belt, mining the asteroids. The Belters are the underdogs who mars and Earth exploits. The special effects are wonderful, the story unfolds and doesnt consist of discrete episodes like Star Trek. Very organic. The underlying story is about a first contact but very different to the normal ones, intertwined with power and greed. The Belters have strange accent that is quite believable. I am not sure where it is available here in the UK, maybe SKY/Amazon? Very good series, fit for adults.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series)

[Psamathe]

The Expanse is an American tv sci-fi series. There are 3 series but a 4th is coming I believe. What makes it interesting is that it aint placed like Star Trek in the where no one has gone before saga with silly alien rubber masks but a believable colonisation of the solar system, There are 3 main groups - Earth ruled by the UN, Mars a breakaway military power that dreams of terraforming the place but has had to put it off to defend its self from Earth, and the Belters who live on stations in the asteroid belt, mining the asteroids. The Belters are the underdogs who mars and Earth exploits. The special effects are wonderful, the story unfolds and doesnt consist of discrete episodes like Star Trek. Very organic. The underlying story is about a first contact but very different to the normal ones, intertwined with power and greed. The Belters have strange accent that is quite believable. I am not sure where it is available here in the UK, maybe SKY? Very good series.

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

[landsurfer]

Four Lions ...
Filmed in Sheffield, even the London shots where filmed in Sheffield ...
One of the funniest and saddest filums i have ever watched ...
A group of Muslim men try their best to become Jihidi's / Terrorists, failing and succeeding in less than equal measures ..
The family support, tears, wives and children make this a must see ..
For all the right and wrong reasons ...
Watch it ... laugh lots .... and deal with the sadness .....

/

And feel sorry for the sheep .....................

[kwackers]

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right?

I really enjoyed The Expanse, having read all the books I'm not completely convinced by the actor playing Holden but in both the books and the series I'm a fan of Amos.
Season 4 out in December.
(+1 for Amazon for picking it up after it was cancelled).

[reohn2]

Four Lions ...
Filmed in Sheffield, even the London shots where filmed in Sheffield ...
One of the funniest and saddest filums i have ever watched ...
A group of Muslim men try their best to become Jihidi's / Terrorists, failing and succeeding in less than equal measures ..
The family support, tears, wives and children make this a must see ..
For all the right and wrong reasons ...
Watch it ... laugh lots .... and deal with the sadness .....

/

And feel sorry for the sheep .....................

I mentioned it early on in the thread,great funny and touching film.

[Audax67]

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right?

I really enjoyed The Expanse, having read all the books I'm not completely convinced by the actor playing Holden but in both the books and the series I'm a fan of Amos.
Season 4 out in December.
(+1 for Amazon for picking it up after it was cancelled).

I watched it on Netflux before they dumped it. I also read the books, although I can't say I approved of the physics involved - see Scott Manley on that (motors that run on "efficiency", spinning up asteroids to provide gravity, etc.) I started going off the books when they began to concentrate more on boring human conflicts - whereof you can get oodles elsewhere, and better - rather than strange things in alien worlds.

My favourite character throughout was Avasarala.

---o0o---

A film I'd like to see would be of Ian McDonald's Chaga. There's a thing on Netflux called Annihilation that looks to be vaguely based on it, but it has supposed scientists venturing into the strange bits dressed like marines, and they resolve everything in the Good Old American Way, i.e. with explosives.

While I'm at it, another I'd like to see would be of his two Mars novels, Desolation Road and Ares Express. They'd make a great serial.

[mercalia]

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right?

I really enjoyed The Expanse, having read all the books I'm not completely convinced by the actor playing Holden but in both the books and the series I'm a fan of Amos.
Season 4 out in December.
(+1 for Amazon for picking it up after it was cancelled).

I watched it on Netflux before they dumped it. I also read the books, although I can't say I approved of the physics involved - see Scott Manley on that (motors that run on "efficiency", spinning up asteroids to provide gravity, etc.) I started going off the books when they began to concentrate more on boring human conflicts - whereof you can get oodles elsewhere, and better - rather than strange things in alien worlds.

My favourite character throughout was Avasarala.

.

I dont read scifi these days so dont know whats around these days, but I thought the human conflicts was what made the series special depicting the various ways that the solar system might be colonised and the political results. There was sufficient depth but not too much. struck a good balance. And I thought the handling of the "aliens" far better than the rubber masked versions, which are never very alien even the Klingons! There are lots of good characters but I think my favourite is Cara Gee/Camina Drummer.

I am surprised that Psamathe found the storyline far fetched. Maybe he could elaborate?

[Psamathe]

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right? ;)
.....

I think because it's far fetched technology (the "intelligent" Protomolecule) mixed with not much beyond current technology (at least in the earlier books). By contrast I do enjoy e.g. The Culture series (Iain M Banks) that is probably more extreme technology but in a far future setting. For me the Expanse "not far from current" setting makes it more of an adventure story less of "interesting ideas" thought provoking whereas The Culture is more of a thought provoking series. Some science fiction (often the "more trashy stuff" can use amazing "technology" as a substitute for thoughtful writing (e.g. "smart-metal" that allows the metal to be instructed by computers to re-form/morph into anything the story might need at that moment).

That said I certainly enjoyed The Expanse both the TV series and the books (I've still got books 5 & 6 sitting in my pile of unread books waiting for me to work my way through to them).

Ian

[mercalia]

Good series of books as well (quite a lot of them now). I found the storyline a bit far fetched but not enough to spoil the story. I agree excellent series as well (I've only seen series 1 & 2 which are available on DVD, series 3 released on DVD soon or recently).

Ian

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right?
.....

I think because it's far fetched technology (the "intelligent" Protomolecule) mixed with not much beyond current technology (at least in the earlier books). By contrast I do enjoy e.g. The Culture series (Iain M Banks) that is probably more extreme technology but in a far future setting. For me the Expanse "not far from current" setting makes it more of an adventure story less of "interesting ideas" thought provoking whereas The Culture is more of a thought provoking series. Some science fiction (often the "more trashy stuff" can use amazing "technology" as a substitute for thoughtful writing (e.g. "smart-metal" that allows the metal to be instructed by computers to re-form/morph into anything the story might need at that moment).

That said I certainly enjoyed The Expanse both the TV series and the books (I've still got books 5 & 6 sitting in my pile of unread books waiting for me to work my way through to them).

Ian

but the protomolecule is alien? not far fetched from their point of view. Not as if it is elaborated to any extent? just made to be very alien & strange rather than commonplace like phasers and "beam me up scotty". The Protomolecule is more like that in the Andromeda Strain film not some thing that is ours.

The series is very good in HD.

[kwackers]

but the protomolecule is alien? not far fetched from their point of view. Not as if it is elaborated to any extent? just made to be very alien & strange rather than commonplace like phasers and "beam me up scotty"

Yeah exactly.

I like the near future technology aspect of The Expanse.
The super advanced alien tech was a good foil against that.

[Audax67]

Far fetched? You know it's science fiction right?

I really enjoyed The Expanse, having read all the books I'm not completely convinced by the actor playing Holden but in both the books and the series I'm a fan of Amos.
Season 4 out in December.
(+1 for Amazon for picking it up after it was cancelled).

I watched it on Netflux before they dumped it. I also read the books, although I can't say I approved of the physics involved - see Scott Manley on that (motors that run on "efficiency", spinning up asteroids to provide gravity, etc.) I started going off the books when they began to concentrate more on boring human conflicts - whereof you can get oodles elsewhere, and better - rather than strange things in alien worlds.

My favourite character throughout was Avasarala.

.

I dont read scifi these days so dont know whats around these days, but I thought the human conflicts was what made the series special depicting the various ways that the solar system might be colonised and the political results. There was sufficient depth but not too much. struck a good balance. And I thought the handling of the "aliens" far better than the rubber masked versions, which are never very alien even the Klingons! There are lots of good characters but I think my favourite is Cara Gee/Camina Drummer.

I am surprised that Psamathe found the storyline far fetched. Maybe he could elaborate?

Boring human conflicts: there was one book that hinged on the defeat of a psychopathic military commander; it felt very like a potboiler, and when books begin to feel that way it's time to find something else. After all, the biological constituents of James A. Corey appear to be under contract to crank out one book per year, so at some point production-line fatigue has to set in. "I know! Let's have a bonkers fleet commander!" And so it began...

Other human conflicts were better, but also felt rather tired at times, as when they were crawling round inside that Mormon behemoth taking potshots at each other. It's been done, fellers.

The protomolecule was ingenious, though, although the name is a bit weird: a molecule is a molecule and proto- doesn't add anything to it. "Protovirus" would have been closer but that's taken.

[mercalia]

I watched it on Netflux before they dumped it. I also read the books, although I can't say I approved of the physics involved - see Scott Manley on that (motors that run on "efficiency", spinning up asteroids to provide gravity, etc.) I started going off the books when they began to concentrate more on boring human conflicts - whereof you can get oodles elsewhere, and better - rather than strange things in alien worlds.

My favourite character throughout was Avasarala.

.

I dont read scifi these days so dont know whats around these days, but I thought the human conflicts was what made the series special depicting the various ways that the solar system might be colonised and the political results. There was sufficient depth but not too much. struck a good balance. And I thought the handling of the "aliens" far better than the rubber masked versions, which are never very alien even the Klingons! There are lots of good characters but I think my favourite is Cara Gee/Camina Drummer.

I am surprised that Psamathe found the storyline far fetched. Maybe he could elaborate?

Boring human conflicts: there was one book that hinged on the defeat of a psychopathic military commander; it felt very like a potboiler, and when books begin to feel that way it's time to find something else. After all, the biological constituents of James A. Corey appear to be under contract to crank out one book per year, so at some point production-line fatigue has to set in. "I know! Let's have a bonkers fleet commander!" And so it began...

Other human conflicts were better, but also felt rather tired at times, as when they were crawling round inside that Mormon behemoth taking potshots at each other. It's been done, fellers.

The protomolecule was ingenious, though, although the name is a bit weird: a molecule is a molecule and proto- doesn't add anything to it. "Protovirus" would have been closer but that's taken.

Are you talking just about the books or the videos also?

Books and the video realisation of them can often be different.

here is another tv series - A Discovery of Witches I rate
A British television series based on the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Discovery_of_Witches_(TV_series)

I saw the TV series first and enjoyed it very much so I bought the blu rays.

Then I bought the ebook ( of the whole trilogy) and well it wasnt up to par to say the least, I started to skip pages picking on just sentences so I didnt miss the basic thrust of what was going on. So the idea had changed from book to tv series ( even though Deborah Harkness over saw the tv series! maybe she need to rewrite the books!) The actors made all the difference to some thing that only acting can do and words cant and made difference emphases - in the books the Congregation ( = parlaiment of witches/demons and vamps) is an after thought to just get the heros to time jump into the past, whereas in the tv series it is central and a nasty group of power hungry so and sos they are , with characters you cant wait to get their come uppance?

In the case of The Expanse, the star is the picture of the colonised solar system, not far removed from the present, which must be a first? I too am not into human conflicts but in this case was drawn in as the whole thing was so organic ( in the tv series)

[Psamathe]

but the protomolecule is alien? not far fetched from their point of view. Not as if it is elaborated to any extent? just made to be very alien & strange rather than commonplace like phasers and "beam me up scotty"

Yeah exactly.

I like the near future technology aspect of The Expanse.
The super advanced alien tech was a good foil against that.

I agree, just for me I've read so many poor unchallenging Si-Fi where the plot becomes rescued by some magic amazing technology I'm not so keen on the mix. Like I enjoyed The Culture series (super advanced tech) I also enjoyed the "Mars" trilogy (near future) (Kim Stanley Robinson). In some way the protomolecule (after the 1st book) becomes a bit like the "beam me up Scotty" - which was a scheme designed purely to get round moving the adventure between locations (not really "thought provoking").

I enjoyed/enjoy The Expanse but the books where e.g. Miller was appearing only to Holden ... didn't spoil it for me just seemed a bit of an "easy way out" - a way to feed "the hero" the knowledge he clearly could never have on his own but needs to save the day. It's a personal but not black and white preference.

Ian