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2 • December 13 - 19, 2015 • Brainerd Dispatch By Cassie Dresch TV Media H umans have always had a pen- chant for exploring — from the depths of the ocean to the vastness of the universe, we want to know what's out there. Space exploration has come a long way as technologies have advanced and evolved, which makes it easy to dream of what waits for us be- yond our solar system. TV likes to go out into the cos- mos, too: "Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," "Firefly," "Androme- da," the list goes on and on. These shows are classic examples of in- tergalactic, outer space human ex- ploration shows, but what about staying closer to home? There aren't many sci-fi shows that re- volve around the vacuum of space nearest our sun. But Syfy's newest offering does stay within our solar system for a change; "The Expanse," a space opera set 200 years in the future on Earth, Mars and the asteroid belt that separates the two plan- ets, is the cabler's latest original show. The 10-episode series kicks off with a special two-night event Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 14 and 15, on Syfy, before sliding into its regular Tuesday time-slot. The show from NBCUniversal's Syfy is based on the international bestselling series of novels of the same name from James S. A. Corey (the pen name used by authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), and stars three-time Golden Globe nominee Thomas Jane ("The Mist," 2007) as Det. Josephus Miller, and Steven Strait ("Magic City") as rogue ice freighter cap- tain James Holden. The pair are on the hunt for a missing woman, and ultimately end up hot on the trail of the biggest conspiracy in hu- man history. If the source material is any in- dication, "The Expanse" promises to be an intriguing tale that doesn't need to zip-zoom to the outer reaches of the galaxy to make for good TV. Co-creator Mark Fergus commented on this at the Television Critics Association press tour in January: "We always felt that the great struggle of a lot of sci-fi we grew up on takes us into a story world where we've already jumped over the interesting part, which is the first fumbling steps of us push- ing off this plan- et, getting out into the solar system, sorting our- selves out as a race. All the strug- gle and the pain and the glory of that, ... [e]verything is kind of done. And to us, we really got turned on by the books be- cause they told of this world where 'Here is the scaffold- ing. Here is how it got built. Here is who built it. Here is how humanity started look- ing at itself differently and getting rid of old forms of racism and creating new forms of rac- ism.'" Part of the "we" Fergus is talking about is his partner in crime, Hawk Ostby. The screenwriting duo penned the Oscar- nominated film "Children of Men" (2006), the mega- hit superhero film "Iron Man" (2008) and the Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde-starring film "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011), and now they make their first foray into TV writing with "The Expanse." The co-creators have a lot of material to draw from as the series progresses — there are currently five novels, two short stories and two novellas, and four more nov- els and three more novellas are planned for the book series — and, if reaction from San Diego Comic-Con in July and New York Comic Con in October is any indi- cation, the series looks primed for a long run after its initial 10 epi- sodes. "Welp, we have a new favorite show," io9.com's Lauren Davis wrote following the July screen- ing. "At San Diego Comic-Con, we got to watch the entire pilot ... and we were blown away." Max Nich- olson from IGN said that the pilot episode "looked gorgeous. The ex- terior space shots and zero gravity effects in particular were top notch, especially for television," and after the viewing in New York, Blastr's Cher Martinetti said that Syfy "has a winner on their hands," judging by fan response. Of course, the true test comes now as sci-fi fans get introduced en masse to the story and charac- ters, especially if they haven't read the books and this is the first time they're delving into the world of "The Expanse." They're in capable hands, however, as the series has lined up an (inter)stellar cast. Alongside Jane and Strait, the ensemble includes Oscar-nominat- ed and Emmy-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo ("House of Sand and Fog," 2003), Chad L. Coleman ("The Walking Dead," "The Wire"), Wes Chatham ("The Help," 2011), Gemini Award nomi- nee Cas Anvar ("The Tourna- ment") and Dominique Tipper ("Vampire Academy," 2014). The universe is a big, dark, scary place with many corners to ex- plore, and TV likes to do just that. "The Expanse," however, brings things a little closer to home — our own solar system. With assets ranging from a bestselling series of novels to an accomplished pair of screenwriters to an impeccable cast, this new sci-fi series looks poised to be out-of-this-world good. There's tons of hype about the show right now, so see what it's all about when "The Expanse" premieres with a special two-night event Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 14 and 15, on Syfy, before it settles into its regular Tuesday evening time-slot. Thomas Jane as seen in "The Expanse" Closer to home 'The Expanse' brings sci-fi back into our own solar system Cover Story this week 001344453r1 "Your One-Stop, Locally-Owned Medical Supply Company." FREE Delivery in our service area! • 8-5:30pm M-F, 9-12 Sat. 206 W. 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