Author Topic: SyFy actually getting back into Sci-Fi? (The Expanse) (Read 46299 times)

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #210 on:** 12 October 2020, 09:59:45 »

Because people have stopped being optimistic about the future.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #211 on:** 12 October 2020, 10:02:21 »

Quote from: Triptych on 12 October 2020, 07:40:03

Amazon then decided to change things so they could make more money, thats it- they always do stuff like this.

The dog asked "why did you sting me, now we'll both drown" And the scorpion said "It's my nature"

Øystein · « **Reply #212 on:** 12 October 2020, 16:01:36 »

Quote from: Lorcan Nagle on 12 October 2020, 10:02:21

The dog asked "why did you sting me, now we'll both drown" And the scorpion said "It's my nature"

I think you overestimate the instant-gratification-crowd.

As I mentioned above, a weekly release has been the norm for the Expanse, only season 4 was the odd duck for that show.
Plenty of shows manage to run and keep running on weekly release schedules on online services.

If you are too cheap to watch it as it's being released, just wait until feb and binge-watch it.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #213 on:** 12 October 2020, 16:23:18 »

Quote from: Øystein on 12 October 2020, 16:01:36

I think you overestimate the instant-gratification-crowd.

As I mentioned above, a weekly release has been the norm for the Expanse, only season 4 was the odd duck for that show.
Plenty of shows manage to run and keep running on weekly release schedules on online services.

If you are too cheap to watch it as it's being released, just wait until feb and binge-watch it.

Well my point is more if Amazon are doing this to get more money, then yes, it's what they do, they're a corporation.

They're clearly experimenting with different release schedules at the moment - all their shows were dropping on a single day for a year or two, and now they're trialling this three episodes then weekly thereafter model with The Boys series 2 and The Expanse series 5, it's a middle ground between Netflix's all in one go model (with caveats for shows they license from other sources) and CBS All-Access and other services doing weekly episodes. Streaming services don't work on an advertising model (with caveats like Hulu or the cheap CBS All-Access model), so Amazon and Netflix especially want to gain new subscribers and retain present ones. It's still a new business model and there's a lot of experimentation, and a lot of it is highly cynical, like Netflix cancelling a lot of shows after a couple of series because they're not drawing in new subscribers any more. Amazon's new scheduling experiment is more of the same.

I am Belch II · « **Reply #214 on:** 12 October 2020, 20:23:15 »

I dont mind once a week epsidoes. I just don't like it when it was done to Discovery when they took a huge break between episodes in Season 1, almost 2 months. Did you go thru the pain of cancelling or just paid it for the 2 months.

Øystein · « **Reply #215 on:** 13 October 2020, 01:40:36 »

Quote from: Lorcan Nagle on 12 October 2020, 16:23:18

It's still a new business model and there's a lot of experimentation, and a lot of it is highly cynical, like Netflix cancelling a lot of shows after a couple of series because they're not drawing in new subscribers any more. Amazon's new scheduling experiment is more of the same.

Why is cancelling a show that doesn't generate the income needed to film it cynical? It's standard business practice for the entertainment industry and has been for as long as there has been television.
If you don't like a weekly schedule just wait and then subscribe for month and get all the episodes in february. It's common practice amongst lots of people who don't want to subscribe for the weekly episode drop. People did it with GoT and other shows.

One thing that using a weekly release schedule does is create lots more buzz about the show for a longer period. I did miss being able to dicuss this weeks episode with friends and colleagues when shows drop all at once, because people were on different episodes all the time.

Also, the point of the entertainment business is to create revenue - that we're being entertained is just a benefit but their goal is to make a profit on each show. Not enough viewers to justify the cost of the show and it'll be cancelled.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #216 on:** 13 October 2020, 01:49:09 »

Quote from: Øystein on 13 October 2020, 01:40:36

Why is cancelling a show that doesn't generate the income needed to film it cynical? It's standard business practice for the entertainment industry and has been for as long as there has been television.
If you don't like a weekly schedule just wait and then subscribe for month and get all the episodes in february. It's common practice amongst lots of people who don't want to subscribe for the weekly episode drop. People did it with GoT and other shows.

One thing that using a weekly release schedule does is create lots more buzz about the show for a longer period. I did miss being able to dicuss this weeks episode with friends and colleagues when shows drop all at once, because people were on different episodes all the time.

Also, the point of the entertainment business is to create revenue - that we're being entertained is just a benefit but their goal is to make a profit on each show. Not enough viewers to justify the cost of the show and it'll be cancelled.

Netflix seems to have a pattern of cancelling almost everything after a year or two though, including shows they claim themselves are popular.

Elmoth · « **Reply #217 on:** 13 October 2020, 03:05:53 »

THere are no statistics in Netflix's webpage, so you need ot take what they say is popular with some caution, as I am sure you do.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #218 on:** 13 October 2020, 03:30:08 »

Quote from: Elmoth on 13 October 2020, 03:05:53

THere are no statistics in Netflix's webpage, so you need ot take what they say is popular with some caution, as I am sure you do.

They do a top 10 now, but there's no solid numbers against them. So who knows if it's genuine or not.

Triptych · « **Reply #219 on:** 13 October 2020, 07:03:32 »

Quote from: Lorcan Nagle on 12 October 2020, 10:02:21

The dog asked "why did you sting me, now we'll both drown" And the scorpion said "It's my nature"

LOL Yeah, I know, thats why I said Amazon does this all the time.

As an author that gets a nice monthly paycheck from them, this isnt the first time they suddenly pull the rug out from under me. Their attitude has always been profits for themselves first- I just dont like it when they do these things and imply that one has to put up with it because hey, theyre one of the biggest companies in the world, so they could care less about the little guys.

And the reasoning about weekly releases giving more people time to talk about it is bogus, because Netflix's shows like Stranger Things, for example, do get talked about all year.

CrossfirePilot · « **Reply #220 on:** 15 October 2020, 21:10:47 »

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 12 October 2020, 09:59:45

Because people have stopped being optimistic about the future.

Yeah and that is exactly the reason I want some of my scifi to be a bit optimistic. If I want reality I can walk out my door. Like Vince Neil said when referring to grunge music "people dont need to be continually reminded on how crappy life is"

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #221 on:** 16 October 2020, 00:16:14 »

Tell me about it.

Elmoth · « **Reply #222 on:** 16 October 2020, 01:06:04 »

Manga/Anime has had a depressing streak about the future for a long time. Starting with classics like Akira, Ghost in the Shell and the like. Sometimes is an outside force that comes and smashes humankind (and all other things in the planet) and sometimes it is just humans playing stupid (been doing some of that for a long time after all). But yes, now it seems to be THE trend instead of A trend among many.

CrossfirePilot · « **Reply #223 on:** 16 October 2020, 08:35:33 »

I think a lot of the distopia trend happened with the 90s Outer Limits reboot. I used to like that show but now I realize (and i have also seen plenty of reruns of it to verify) that every episode the moral of the story was "no matter how hard you try, you will fail and we're all doomed"

Asgo · « **Reply #224 on:** 16 October 2020, 21:23:10 »

dystopian futures are also easier and cheaper to produce.
a) a dystopia usually has already baked in a lot of drama hooks into the universe definition, easy starting points for the writers.
b) a dystopia needs fewer explanations why day to day elements aren't as futuristic as the time difference from the present would suggest. Also you can hide easily a lack of details of tunnels/colonies/star ship interiors in darkness and dirt.

Nightlord01 · « **Reply #225 on:** 16 October 2020, 23:26:06 »

Quote from: Asgo on 16 October 2020, 21:23:10

dystopian futures are also easier and cheaper to produce.
a) a dystopia usually has already baked in a lot of drama hooks into the universe definition, easy starting points for the writers.
b) a dystopia needs fewer explanations why day to day elements aren't as futuristic as the time difference from the present would suggest. Also you can hide easily a lack of details of tunnels/colonies/star ship interiors in darkness and dirt.

They are also a lot easier to relate to. Even in the greatest of golden age, people will see the problems with society, trends or relics that will lead down a dark path. Dystopian futures really only require exaggeration of these factors to be realistic and engaging.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #226 on:** 17 October 2020, 01:41:29 »

Plus, the Expanse is largely about people coming together in the face of great threats and gradually coming out of the dystopia. The setting is bleak to give the protagonists something to save. It's the same with the modern Trek shows - Discovery series 1 (and probably 3) and Picard are all about the heroes fighting to preserve a utopia from encroaching darkness.

elf25s · « **Reply #227 on:** 17 October 2020, 10:23:46 »

speaking of expanse any word on if there will be 5th season or we are just left hanging about the builders?

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #228 on:** 17 October 2020, 11:38:23 »

Quote from: elf25s on 17 October 2020, 10:23:46

speaking of expanse any word on if there will be 5th season or we are just left hanging about the builders?

Series 5 episodes 1-3 will be on Amazon on December 16th, with episodes 4-10 weekly after that. Series 6 is apparently in pre-production now.

elf25s · « **Reply #229 on:** 17 October 2020, 19:52:22 »

Quote from: Lorcan Nagle on 17 October 2020, 11:38:23

Series 5 episodes 1-3 will be on Amazon on December 16th, with episodes 4-10 weekly after that. Series 6 is apparently in pre-production now.

excellent news..

CrossfirePilot · « **Reply #230 on:** 02 November 2020, 19:33:55 »

So it seems one of the staples of a distopia sci fi setting is usually a holodeck or some sort of VR world where characters go to escape. The most recent example I saw was an episode of electric dreams where the main character was running in a treadmill inside some sort of 360 projection to help her pretend she was in a snowy forest running. After sitting in front of a 4K TV with nothing but youtube beach scenes on, I am starting to see its appeal...

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #231 on:** 02 November 2020, 19:47:33 »

To be fair, holodecks are staples of sci-fi in general, especially stuff from the 80s when holographic stuff was all the rage.

worktroll · « **Reply #232 on:** 02 November 2020, 20:05:17 »

Seasons 7-9 will pose some challenges. But worth it, just for the last chapter of book 8 ... >:D

YingJanshi · « **Reply #233 on:** 24 November 2020, 15:12:10 »

Well. Looks like we're only getting 6 seasons. Wonder where in the books they're calling it quits?

https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/press-release/amazon-studios-picks-up-fan-favorite-sci-fi-s

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #234 on:** 24 November 2020, 15:12:38 »

Book 6 would be a logical ending point

Jaim Magnus · « **Reply #235 on:** 24 November 2020, 15:17:01 »

Yeah.

Maybe one day they can do big event movies for the rest. One can dream.

Lorcan Nagle · « **Reply #236 on:** 24 November 2020, 15:19:40 »

Or even a sequel TV show in a few years. Be nice if it happened but I definitely felt like the end of book 6 was written to be a conclusion in case they couldn't cross the tees and dot the lower case jays

I am Belch II · « **Reply #237 on:** 24 November 2020, 21:08:21 »

Just glad it's going 6 seasons. I was late to the Expanse party, but so glad I watched it.

worktroll · « **Reply #238 on:** 27 November 2020, 13:54:34 »

There are certain conditions - the time jump - that would make seasons 7-9 a challenge, true.

YingJanshi · « **Reply #239 on:** 16 December 2020, 20:10:41 »

So....what's everyone's opinion on those first 3 episodes?