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TimTakDoh
yes, it's clearly guys who just love TNG so much that it's forgotten that Picard and characters weren't really that fleshed out until season 3(when the show really hit its stride) and TNG had WAY more episodes every year
TimTakDoh
I mean, Picard was Holden for almost 2 seasons(of way more episodes.) TNG didn't get really good(hit its stride) until season 3. Comparing the shows just feels wrong other than both are SciFi/space shows(and the best of their genre imo)
Timothy Nikiforovs
So I wouldn't say there are too many parallels between Expanse and TNG characters. Obviously Amos is the tough guy archetype like Worf, but in personality and motivations they're light years apart. Alex is a bit of a boyscout, but he's not a leader like Picard. He's more like a coach for the crew if that makes sense. He keeps morale up and glues the team together. Holden I find very much is supposed to be a Picard type character. The problem is he hasn't earned it. Picard started out as the cranky, hardass boss who grew into the character we know and love. Holden is kind of that generic rpg character if you play the good guy. Like Shepard from Mass Effect if you go 100% paragon(and Miller shooting Dresden was absolutely a renegade interrupt). He's full of righteous indignation, but kinda boring and predictable, and pretty naive. We understand Picard and what drives him, we understand WHY he's this moral figure. Holden kinda just is, and that's hard to really buy into. Naomi is fine, but she just doesn't have a lot to work with right now.
Todd Pritchett
The guys who wrote the books also write the show.
Todd Pritchett
I will say the amazon 4k HDR stream is vastly superior to the blu ray (but you gotta pay the extra $2 of whatever to get 4k prime video.) It looks amazing in HDR especially the last 3 seasons amazon produced. And I say that as someone who pushes physical media, the 4k with HDR is just better here. I also would imagine the majority of people are using the amazon stream but who knows. Regardless of what you choose to do it would help a lot to just add more sync points through the episode or make the blurred video a bit more clear to make it easier sync during the episode. I also notice your video will drift sometimes from the stream and it will get out of sync so being able to easily resync is important.
Richard Craig
You guys will eventually like James Holden. He’s the most unlikable in season 2.
Thicketdweller
Yes!! These characters are becoming more clear, the stakes are life itself in this solar system, and the enemy is a unknown life force which overzealous masters of society and government attempt to control a hurrican with a windsock Love the reaction you guys show the buzzy feeling of growing circumstances and the freight train coming for our tiny human perception. It took longer to get back and join the conversation than I thought training 24 hours a day with a guide dog is time consuming and more important exhausting
#MaxwellDidNothingWrong
Except no, that's not realistic. Leading up to the war in Ukraine the two countries talked plenty, it's just that one side was lying. The idea that two sides can go to war without either side wanting to because of misunderstandings and a lack of communication is an interesting concept to explore, but the set up can't be "yeah these two sides just didn't think to have any diplomatic channels"
John Pierce
Also- Amazon are dicks. Just saying. :)
John Pierce
The one thing that could help is if you add one more clear sync after Amazon has run the credits. This would be after the first scene you watch, at the start of the second. Last episode I decided I’d just skip intro when it started, but Amazon decided not to provide the skip button for this episode and I was all out of wack after fastforwarding thru my credits.
John Pierce
They also ended swapping some events from one character to another and combined several belter characters into one character that is really a standout in the show. I won’t say who to avoid spoilers. But by and large, the show tracks the major plot points of the books pretty well. They did cut out the weeks/months of travel time needed to get anywhere. Effectively- “distance” is a character in the book. It wouldn’t be possible to really get that across in a show, so they reduced te travel times and communication light lag to off-hand remarks.
Tony B
This is the way
Jeff Cornell
It's definitely manageable. Just have to be particularly alert about noticing the commercial breaks.
Boggle
Fwiw, the blurred screen does actually help me sync the two up. That and a little patience in learning when to pause either the Amazon video or the reaction video and it usually is fine after the first minute or so. I found watching it on my PC with two monitors made things a easier than trying to do it on a tv and something else.
Boggle
I've read the books. There's a bunch of them. Big beefy reads full of details. Going to try to keep this as spoiler free as I can: The series follows the books really well. There are a couple bits they change up chronologically, and one major change. But even the major thing doesn't change the original story that much, it just tacks those parts on to another thing instead. ETA: One of the things that would be a good example that wouldn't be spoilers as you've gotten into the series far enough is the introduction of the undersecretary. In the books she's introduced a fair bit later than in the tv show. And iirc, she has a slightly different job title. But her role and actions in both are the same.
Paul
It's all good, as always, I love trying to understand why people like or dislike events and characters, especially when it diverges from me.
Josh (Target Audience)
Yeah, that’s unfortunate. If we switched to Amazon though then those watching from the Blu-ray would have the same issue so it’s a no-win choice. Hopefully the blurred image helps you a bit.
Josh (Target Audience)
@Paul I think what you’re describing what I said earlier regarding admiring vs identifying. I personally don’t care about seeing myself on screen or in that situation. I want the characters to be different than myself as if I could meet them in real life. I can still relate to what they are going through similar to how I can relate to what a friend of mine is going through. Comes down to personal preference I think.
Jeff Cornell
I know there's not much you can do about it, but dang, syncing this with the Amazon version is tough. Your version starts with a "previously on", then the opening credits, then the first act of the actual episode. Amazon jumps straight into the first act of the episode, then has the opening credits where the commercial break would be between acts 1 and 2. Also, Amazon has about a second of black in the commercial breaks, but it looks like your version just cuts straight to the next scene.
Paul
And I like that anger, even if not applied tactically, let's not forget how we'd feel if we were on Eros and saw hundreds of thousands of people butchered for an experiment, and one of the people responsible was in our faces, just as an example. Not sure I'd be able to rein in my emotions either.
Aaron Wells
To be fair, even in the books Holden was very much the straight man. It was a running gag there too that he was at his most dangerous on an open channel, speaking truth to power. I think he's a bit angrier on the show than on paper, but it's not a bad portrayal from the source material.
Worf and Riker Ride Again
I think Holden is fine, but he’s kind of generic in the earlier seasons. If he were a game or D&D character he’d be like a lawful good human with average stats across the board. Not bad on his charisma, but not great. Amos on the other hand…
Worf and Riker Ride Again
I’m looking forward to catching up on your season 2 videos, the bluerays should be arriving tomorrow and just picked up a blue ray player. Stupid streaming services!
Paul
I agree with all of that. Maybe I just like Holden more (at this stage in the show - no comment for the future) precisely because he's just a "young" ish guy stumbling through in an insane situation and trying to make the best of it, while holding onto his humanity and morals. Tough thing to do in the mess the solar system is in, and I'd picture myself making most of the same choices.
Josh (Target Audience)
Picard has insane levels of aura… I think maybe the problem is Holden isn’t very sure of himself and lacks the confidence of a Picard. He reminds me of a scared puppy barking to look tough. Hopefully that changes over the course of the series.
Paul
Really, why? Virtue is dull, do you consider Picard dull? Then again, some people do.
ellmo
He's as dull as they come.
Paul
Perhaps him being more... generic? Not sure that's the right word.
Josh (Target Audience)
Probably needs more time to cook for us. Also, I think we both value admiring a character rather than identifying with them. Holden lacks aura imo compared to basically every other character.
Paul
I believe the lines of communication existed, but after the events of the first season and up to now, things are... tense. As governments tend to be in these situations preempting war, often they close embassies and disconnect other lines of communication. Crazy? Yup. Sadly realistic? Yup.
Paul
It surprises me that you don't like Holden, when you both like virtuous characters, which he clearly is? Sure, emotional, which makes sense given that he's young. He's the character I by far most identify with (although a close second would be Alex). I guess it's because he's not particularly smooth in his approach? Basically, you only like virtue if it's connected with suave charisma and intellect, like Picard? Fair enough I suppose.
Aaron Wells
Enjoy. Hell of a ride.
Aaron Wells
Is this your first watch? Yeah, depending on the time of year there's as much as a 30-minute delay in communication Earth to Mars.
Jason Dokos
Lest we forget he's also in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia... Part of the "bridge crew"
#MaxwellDidNothingWrong
I find it really weird that Earth and Mars have no diplomatic channels. At first I thought that there was just a time delay mucking things up in tense moments, or that both sides were keeping quiet waiting for the other to make inroads first, but I'm starting to believe there is no embassy, no line of contact whatsoever. It feels like literally any talking whatsoever would change the direction of things.
Ryan Mahoney
He was also in The Wire. He killed it on that show. So hes a good actor. I also didnt like his character in TWD.
Ryan Mahoney
The book authors were VERY closely involved with the show. They were in the writers room helping craft the scripts.
Ken R
I was worried about Fred when I saw him because I found the actor maybe the most annoying person on Walking Dead, but he's good here.
Aaron Wells
The leader of the OPA is Anderson Dawes. Played by Jared Harris. Fred Johnson is in charge of Tycho Station. Tycho station is a big piece of construction infrastructure, it was used to spin up the big asteroids like Ceres and Eros, and is building that huge Mormon ship.
Jamie Cordell
I have never been as excited to watch reactions as I am excited to watch your guy's reactions to this season.
Jason Lallathin
Ya ever been on a really big, really old roller coaster... slowly working its way to the top of a really big hill...click...click...click
Julie Carter
So heres a terrifying fact: the trans cranial magnetic induction to supress empathy is a thing we can actually do today, though as far as I know its only a short term effect in experiments done so far.
Dmitriy.0
The show is pretty faithful to the books. There are some differences in characters and beats, but overall it arrives at the same place.
Thicketdweller
I am looking forward to picking up with the expanse this evening, I am in New York right now getting a brand new Guide Dog for the second time this year the first Guide Dog did not train well and had to go back for more training this evening when I get a chance to rest, I’m gonna watch this and make a more interesting comment than this Glad to be on board with your expanse journey
AzoriusMage
Evening sorted
