Expanding on "The Expanse"

I have a new favorite show. Okay, the series is not new. In fact, it is ongoing, with a sixth season coming soon. “The Expanse” is new to me, and it replaces “The Last Kingdom” as the best series on any television platform (no disrespect to “The Witcher” or any other series that is deserving of its hype. This show is based on a series of novels by James S. A. Corey (apparently a pen name for a pair of brilliant writers) and it is so good that I want to read these books. It has action, drama, romance; and even small things that seem insignificant fire at a high-speed burn into a future view of our solar system that is epic.

Here is the basic layout, without spoilers. Earth and Luna are the United Nations (U.N.). Mars has been colonized, and its peoples have gained their independence through conflict. Their state is known as the Martian Colonial Republic (M.C.R.). Both of those states have operations and interests in the asteroid belt, which both try to control by way of water and oxygen supplies to its peoples, known as belters, who supply resources as virtual slaves to Earthers and Martians. Belters endure the yoke, but wish to cast it off, many looking to the Outer Planets Alliance (O.P.A.), which is viewed as a terrorist organization by Earth and Mars (often referred to as inners, by outers of the belt). Tensions are high throughout the solar system.

An ice freighter in the belt picks up a distress call and moves to investigate, despite the risk of a pirate lure. They find something much bigger than they anticipate. Whatever it is, powerful people are willing to kill for it, to control it. Those who seek to change the balance of the system ignite passions and prejudices through which a tremendous cast of characters must fight to find peace and order amidst threats of war and chaos.

This show is spectacular. Characters have depths they do not reveal willingly, but as the series unfolds, they become clearer, naturally. The acting is outstanding, and visuals are both real and fantastic, at the same time. The first time through, it was absolutely mind blowing, so that I could not wait to watch it again. Writing, production, directing, acting, sets and effects... there is no weakness in this series. Congratulations to everyone who has had a part in it. Be sure to check it out on Amazon Prime. 

 “The Haunting of Bly Manor?”

After all the excitement I felt for a new haunting, following the “perfectly splendid” series we all know and love as “The Haunting of Hill House”, I still, three days after finishing the series, find myself scratching my head, with a wtf screaming from the primal part of my brain. Was the series bad? No. Absolutely not! It was well written, acted, directed and produced. In fact, it is quite an interesting story. I am simply hung up on the “haunting” part of its title.

Was there ghostly, chilly, spine-tingling entertainment in the series? Yes. What there was of actual haunting was quite well done. Jump scares and shivers existed in this work; there simply were not enough of those elements to reconcile the collective with its title. I am not sure if too much was explained or hinted at too quickly, or if, perhaps, someone forgot that this was supposed to be a haunting. In the end, it is a nice story, but it is too many parts love story to meet my expectations of a good, creepy haunting. For that reason, I gave it a thumbs-down mark. With a stars rating, I might have given it three out of five, because I did like it; it simply failed to shiver me until the end, as I had hoped and expected it would do.