8/2/2023 0 Comments Summary of expanse booksWe didn’t need to see additional lead up to the airlock scene: what’s unspoken and unshown isn’t needed. No transition or explanation is given, but within a few seconds the viewer realizes the man is a corrupt local businessman who had earlier been seen first giving the detective a payoff then dodging responsibility when a safety violation (which the detective had turned a blind eye to) caused injury to others. It seems like a very small point, but it’s a point where many other shows with a similar opportunity have made a mistake.Īlso in the first episode, there’s a small scene which begins with a police detective tossing a man into an airlock. The scene gets straight into organic character development, without wasting time either on moving us from place to place or forcing that development in an artificial way (“Let’s look at the crew manifest and see who has the skills we need”). In the first episode, when the ice mining ship Canterbury sends a small shuttle to investigate a distress call, the story jump from crew selection on the bridge of the Canterbury straight to the bridge of the shuttle. What does good story editing look like in this context? Here are several examples which I hope will make the point. The Expanse gets it more right than any other production I’ve seen in a long time. This can lead to a tricky interplay between telling too much and not telling enough, and it’s not easy to get it just right. Story editing strikes a balance between the author-who frequently wants to describe and explain too much-and the editor-who wants to strip certain things down in order to reduce space, speed the pace of the story, and simply make it a better work. It’s easy enough to see when something isn’t working, but it’s not always so easy to tell what works-or why. Nothing else.Īs an editor (and writer) I need to always be aware of what is working and what is not working in a story. While there are many things I could talk about with The Expanse, I want to focus on only one: the story editing*. There’s a fair amount of political intrigue building up as well: it’s definitely not Star Wars (a bunch of special-effects showcase battles strung together in lieu of a plot) or Star Trek (unconnected episodes built on morality-laden plots that sometimes succeed in spite of themselves). The first season is as much gritty noir-style detective thriller as it is a space-based tale. If you’re not a fan of science fiction, don’t be concerned. This review applies only to the television production. The series is based on a collection of novels and stories, of which I previously had only the barest awareness-and none of which I have read. It’s set in a 23rd century future where humanity has colonized Mars as well as the asteroid belt and the Jovian moons. It’s been running since 2015 and has released a total of 46 episodes over four seasons a fifth season is planned for release in December of 2020. If you’re not familiar with The Expanse, it’s a science fiction series streaming on Amazon Prime. After going through a few other shows I wanted to watch, this one popped up on the recommended list recently and I thought, “I have some time, I’ll take a look at a few episodes.” I’ve watched the first two seasons now, and this review will touch on something about the first season (2015-16). The pandemic has changed many things, and in our house that has meant both (1) even more time at home (I already worked primarily from home) and (2) an Amazon Prime membership, including Prime Video. I’ve heard of The Expanse for some time but had no real reason to check it out. I’ll post a warning note: there might be spoilers in here, but they’re narrowly focused and shouldn’t deprive anyone of potential enjoyment (just in case anyone else, like me, is checking out items from the back catalog). I’ve noticed something interesting about a work I’ve been watching and thought I’d post a few words about it here. When I do, it’s because something about that work has caught my attention: in the way language is used, or the way certain ideas in it are of special interest to writers and editors, or something else. It’s not a focus on this blog, but very occasionally I’ll post a review of a book or film.
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