Science fiction shows and movies can sometimes struggle with a bad reputation passed down to them
by a number of low-budget, poorly executed films in the genre. The Amazon series “The Expanse”,
based on the novels by James S. A. Corey, however, tries to overthrow the idea that sci-fi can’t hold
up to science. So, how well does it do? This is Unveiled, and today we’re
answering the extraordinary question; how realistic is the TV show, “The Expanse”?
Do you need the big questions answered? Are you constantly curious? Then why not subscribe to
Unveiled for more clips like this one? And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
“The Expanse” takes place some two hundred years in the future. Humankind has spread across
the solar system by now, living on different worlds and moons, but interplanetary relations
have become strained… and war seems inevitable. There’s plenty to ponder over the plot itself,
but today we’re most interested in the technology of this spectacular, space-faring reality.
It’s all too common for science fiction shows to capitalize on the fiction aspect of their genre
by presenting key technologies without any real explanation as to how they work. Often,
we see complicated devices such as warp drives, teleporters, and time machines
without any detail about how they function. “The Expanse”, however, actively tries to adhere to
real-world science at every opportunity. As well as having PhD writers on the show’s writing team,
this production also reportedly brings in industry experts to ensure that episodes are
as close to scientifically accurate as possible. And so, here are four key elements to that.
First up, space travel. It’s clearly a central theme in so many sci-fi shows and movies,
but often it isn’t portrayed accurately. Since we don’t currently have any way to traverse the
vastness of space efficiently, most sci-fi stories depend on faster than light travel
or some kind of currently impossible element to speed up the process. And “The Expanse” here, too,
takes some liberties. Though the show’s setting is across our solar system only, passengers onboard
ships must still travel at very high speeds to get anywhere. Crew members are, then, injected with a
key substance called “Juice” that counteracts the effects of high g-force on the body. In addition,
the actual ships can travel with apparently constant acceleration thanks to something called
an Epstein Drive… but how an Epstein Drive works is mostly left to the imagination.
Even so, the show shines in its portrayal of actual space flight. While many others
depict space battles as though they’d be regular aerial dog fights, just in space… “The Expanse”
opts for realism. Because in real life spaceships don’t have even close to the mobility that, say,
a fighter jet does, seeing as there’s nothing in space to glide on. In “The Expanse”, objects move
realistically. They can only go in one direction unless precise thrust or manoeuvring is triggered.
Another reasonably realistic element here is slingshotting, or the getting of energy-saving,
gravitational assists from celestial bodies when passing close by.
This, again, is a real technique, and one that’s been used by NASA to drive probes through space.
One difference, thanks to artistic licence, is that in “The Expanse”,
slingshotting has also become a dangerous, illegal, and potentially deadly extreme sport.
Another of the hardest parts about space travel in sci-fi is getting gravity right. These shows are
of course filmed on Earth, so it's up to producers to either replicate zero gravity situations,
or explain how artificial gravity is created while in space. “The Expanse” succeeds on both counts.
To create a sense of realism when actors are in zero g, the show reportedly brought
in actual NASA astronauts to train the crew on how to act and move in space, while using wire
harnesses to create a sense of weightlessness and CGI screens for yet more authenticity. And
whenever characters aren’t in zero g, a generally acceptable explanation is given. Onboard ships,
for example, characters can be seen wearing magnetic boots to stay attached to the floor,
or else they’re strapped into their chairs. While, in other situations,
a ship’s acceleration is adequately used to show how characters can keep their feet on the ground.
Similarly, one group in the show lives on the dwarf planet Ceres, at Ceres Station,
in the asteroid belt. Here, a certain level of gravity is achieved by having Ceres spin.
It isn’t Earth-like gravity, but it is still manageable for the inhabitants.
Many times, it’s small details like this that trip up producers and ruin any sense of realism within
science fiction. Other times, artistic freedoms are taken so blatantly and unapologetically,
so as to deliberately ignore the trickiness of real-world science.
But “The Expanse” actually uses real-life limitations as a source for tension. For example,
many science fiction movies plainly avoid the time lag that it takes to communicate with anyone
or thing that’s far away in space. Light has a speed limit, which nothing can move faster than.
So, if one character on Mars is talking to another character on Earth, there could be up to
a twenty-minute delay between responses. Depending on where exactly the planets are, that means that
each character may have to wait some forty minutes after sending their initial message for a reply.
That’s how it would work in the real world, but it’s not always how it works in sci-fi.
Those behind “The Expanse”, though, have spoken in multiple interviews about realising that by
accepting and using a realistic time lag, they can actually avoid another annoyance in the
modern horror and thriller film industries - the cell phone problem. Almost everyone has a cell
phone nowadays, but instant access to help and communication is really bad news for filmmakers
trying to create tension. In other shows, it can then feel fairly simple to escape peril. In “The
Expanse”, however, the planetary time lag is incorporated to successfully achieve genuine
suspense. This means that characters in the show - and by extension, the show’s viewers - are
forced to watch missiles, say, that are launched towards their target… only what they’re watching
has already happened due to the realistic lag. In real terms, the missiles may have hit,
and everyone could already be dead, but we can do nothing but wait and see what unfolds.
Finally, after space travel, convincing gravity, and a realistic time lag, the depiction of Mars in
“The Expanse” deserves particular mention, too. The civilization that lives on the Red Planet
does so in a reasonably true-to-life way, based on what real science currently expects. In the show,
Martian citizens live underground and work to terraform the planet so that
one day their children can breathe the air there, and live outside. It’s a long-haul,
multi-generational mission, as it would be in real life. And many of the problems
set to challenge early settlers in the real world are included in “The Expanse”, as well,
such as weird storms and extreme temperatures. Meanwhile, the economy in “The Expanse” - of
which Mars is a major part - perhaps isn’t too unbelievable either. There are many without jobs,
so it isn’t an especially optimistic vision for the future… but the jobs that are available appear
feasible. Such as that of the Belters, who are employed to mine the asteroid belt for resources.
This isn’t too dissimilar from some real-world proposals, including some involving NASA,
which also aim to mine asteroids in the future. It’s too complicated a task for right now,
but it could well become commonplace if (or when) humans become a space-faring society.
Of course, “The Expanse” isn’t all by the book, and it does make some artistic decisions
to increase the drama. Real outer space, for example, has no sound because there’s nothing for
soundwaves to travel through. An explosion would generate light, but you wouldn’t hear the crash...
and this is actually a really good thing in the real world, or else we’d suffer
under the constant, deafening cacophony of explosions from the sun. Again, though,
the show-makers on “The Expanse” do realise this, and reportedly even tried filming season
one without sound during the space scenes… but it was eventually deemed not nearly as exciting.
We can see, though, that overall, “The Expanse” is an impressive example of a show that focuses
on the science in “science fiction”, and gets it mostly right. There’s a team of writers
well-versed in science, backed up by niche experts to advise on the more complicated procedures - and
the process has brought good results. For the most part, the show realistically handles important
concepts like gravity and space travel. And even when unrealistic elements are brought in, there’s
seemingly an awareness and reason for flourishing that artistic license. The production team has
even been invited to speak at real science events before - such as at Caltech University in 2017 -
so well has their take on space been received. It’s a ringing endorsement for a show that may
well be one of the most authentic sci-fi efforts on TV. And that’s how realistic “The Expanse” is.
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.