My favorite hard sci-fi show, THE EXPANSE delivers a realistically rendered future of space colonization, political and class struggles, and plenty of action as James Holden and the crew of the gunship Rocinante navigate the rival powers to stop the destructive proto-molecule, a powerful form of alien life. The show was canceled at the end of Season 3, though thankfully Amazon picked it up for a fourth season. While season 4 wasn’t as exciting as previous seasons, Amazon didn’t skimp or mess with the show too much, resulting in a fantastic continuation of an epic story of humanity’s ascent to galactic domination, if only it doesn’t destroy itself first.

In season 4, the Ring is blockaded by the three power blocs Earth, Mars, and the Belt, as the governing powers have decided to cautiously explore the worlds on the other side before allowing colonization. When an energy company sends a research mission to a planet called Ilus, they find refugees from Ganymede, who ran the blockade to establish a new home and mining claims. Fearing another human interaction with the proto-molecule, United Nations chief Avasarala dispatches Holden and his crew to investigate. They find themselves caught not only in the middle of a conflict between the Earthers and the Belters, but something much bigger, as it appears the planet may be alive.

While this is going on, we see the struggles of other characters still in the Sol system, as Mars loses its drive to terraform and militarize, the politics of an overpopulated Earth fall into turmoil over the decision to hold off on a landrush to colonize the new planets, and the Belters split between those who want to play as equals to the other powers and those who see terrorism as the only solution to the Belters being the runt power.

Overall, the season isn’t as strong as the first three, with plenty of monologues that provide nice reveals but long stretches of talking heads, and not as much action. When the action arrives and builds towards the climax, however, THE EXPANSE feels very much like the old show. In short, I loved it, and I’m hoping Amazon continues it and THE BOYS so they can keep getting my monthly subscription.

Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, OCCUPIED is a nail-biting political thriller about a Russian occupation of Norway after the country announces it will shut down oil production due to the climate crisis. I just finished the third and final season of the Netflix series, and while it’s the weakest of the three seasons, it delivers a taut, suspenseful story I thoroughly enjoyed and brings the overall story to a strong conclusion.

In the first season, Russia enacts a “silk glove” occupation of Norway, ruling through threats of force, while Norway stands alone without support from the US (which has achieved energy independence) or the European Union (which wants the oil to keep flowing). This story is told through a broad cast, including the prime minister, Russian ambassador, a security officer and his wife who is a judge, and others. At the beginning of season 3, Jesper Berg, the prime minister, who went into hiding, is back in charge with a peace treaty forcing the Russians to leave, though with a whole new set of problems. The European Union is now occupying the country until the oil gets flowing again, the Russians are still working to pull the strings behind the scenes, and angry Norwegians, some of whom fought in the resistance, now want all Russians who emigrated to Norway to leave, and to punish collaborators.

The third season focuses mostly on Jesper Berg as he tries to navigate these problems, while rediscovering his original commitment to not only converting to renewable energy but becoming Europe’s leading exporter of it. In his story line, he tries to achieve his grand goals for the world and for Norway, though the price will be every last shred of morality he has left. In the end, he will discover another, more direct way he can make a difference. Meanwhile, the other characters from season 2 suffer their own trials, mostly involving the Russians using blackmail to influence European elections and try to get their thumb on Norway. All of these story lines end more or less tragically as each character must pay the price for their commitments, with a bundle of loose threads, suggesting the story will continue without us. Overall, the major story arc completes in a satisfactory way, and I don’t think the show needed a fourth season, as at times in season 3 it felt like they were stretching it.

I absolutely loved this show, which starts with an engaging premise and then delivers a nail-biting roller coaster ride.

HBO’s explosive WATCHMEN series (2019) is an amazing chronological and thematic continuation of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel, a bizarre mishmash of odd events and odder characters that all fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle to expose the complete picture. I fell in love with its audacity, larger than life characters, action, mundane weirdness, and commentary on masked heroes.

It’s about 35 years after the events of WATCHMEN. In Tulsa, OK, the police have been fighting a white supremacist group called the Seventh Cavalry, a terrorist organization inspired by Rorschach’s journal. In the original WATCHMEN, Rorschach embodied the inherently fascist tendency of the superhero, a creature unflinching in his devotion to an absolute moral code with only one right and wrong, but also trapped and tortured by it. Opposing them are the police, which after a devastating terrorist attack have been forced to wear masks to hide their identities, with the detectives taking on full costumes and personas. One of these detectives is Sister Knight, who leads a double life until the arrival of her grandfather, which changes everything and becomes part of multiple story lines converging on the city.

This is a bold continuation of the WATCHMEN universe, hitting all the right notes. First, there are hard-hitting ideas about race relations without being preachy, starting with the horrific Tulsa Massacre of the 1920s, a real event that isn’t taught in American History at school. Second is pulling in just enough elements of the original comic, such as Rorschach masks, America winning the Vietnam War, the return of several characters (now older), and numerous quirks and Easter eggs. Third is a mosaic story that could be interpreted as multiple characters being the main hero. And lastly, this being WATCHMEN, there’s a philosophical take on superheroes: how the mask hides a deep trauma driving the hero to fight (and in some cases is used as a vehicle for narcissism), how the mask means you can’t tell who the good and the bad guys are, and how the masks and persona don’t do much more than average policing than mythologize vigilantes.

In short, I loved it, from its grand vision neatly tying together a huge number of plot elements to its constant weirdness that is always later revealed to make perfect sense. No word yet as far as I can tell on a second season, which I’d definitely watch. Highly recommended.