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It's been a while since there was a good arcing science fiction series on TV, and with The Expanse, it's about time. The background and story is captivating in my opinion. We get a real honest look at what Earth and the rest of the solar system might be like in the next century or two.

The Earth has survived the environmental crisis now facing us and the United Nations evolved into a true world government. Great sea walls hold back the swollen oceans from the coastlines. This has saved New York City from certain destruction, which is now the Earth capital. Earth is all about pragmatism and entitlement; do what must be done to safeguard the UN and the ancestral home of Humanity. The moon has been heavily colonized by Earth, and is apparently a major hub for solar system shipping.

Mars was colonized and declared independence from the UN. Mars technology appears advanced compared to Earth and the Martians toil endlessly to terraform their barren world into a garden. They have a very low opinion of Earth and Earthers.

The UN and Martian cultures are locked in a cold war with each other. Stuck in the middle are the Belters, the lanky people who colonized the low-gravity worlds in the asteroid belt and the moons of the outer planets Jupiter and Saturn, used and abused by Earth and Mars who are yearning to stake their own claim in the solar system and drive off the 'dirtsiders'.

And something is stirring out there in the outer planets...a mystery and a crisis unlike Human civilization has ever seen.

I find the story gripping so far, and the characters well written and portrayed. Thomas Jane deserves special mention for really pulling out all the stops in his portrayal of Miller, the Belter detective trying to figure out the mystery at the heart of this story. He even cut his hair and apparently lost a lot of weight to be more in character as a Belter.