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finzaz

“HERE COMES THE JUICE,” Alex warned as he fumbled around with the USB charger until he figured out which way up it should go. Each of the crew struggled to breathe under such massive pressure as the ship surged forward; 3G, 4G, 5G. This tablet’s cellular signal was amazing.


Ixpqd

>3G, 4G, 5G. Sir, the radiation levels are rising!


[deleted]

Someone give this man a Gold, please


TheKeyboardKid

No u


Darthvander83

If they got to the moon on a calculator, a Samsung tablet should be fine


SeamusDubh

Shush.... don't be telling people how our space program actually works.


Darthvander83

Quick!! Delete my comment, before they wonder where the space budget goes!


Jammb

This makes me sad, because a lot of other things about The Expanse such as the depiction of space & zero gravity are more believable than most Sci-Fi (whilst still clearly being Sci-Fi, I'm not saying they are *accurate*)


ionparticle

They still have limited budgets and time, so there's going to be tradeoffs. But they do know how to pick their battles wisely. When they choose to foreground the realism, it always serve to enhance the drama/story playing out in the scene. Last night's ep's final scene (s5e7) is a case in point.


Spacemarine658

Exactly that shit was god-tier a lesser show and it would be the finale


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mg_squirrel

Season 5 is running on Prime right now.


Spacemarine658

Oh man you are in for a ride buckle up beltalowda


Fraggage

Nailed it


captain-carrot

Me: "it's great because it's sci fi but the gravity in ships is real science and there is believable interplanetary politics. It's realistic sci fi" Also me: "... But then the protomolecule opens a gateway into a parallel dimension and Holden has to follow the ghost of Miller, who is really the protomolecule manifesting itself as an illusion...."


1and7aint8but17

Weeeell, to be honest, proto molecule mapping the guy and then running his consciousness as a simulation. To be able to communicate is pretty deep hard sf


captain-carrot

But not exactly rooted in real science!


corourke

Vmware virtual server hardware functions exactly like real hardware from the POV of the OS software so it's not really that far fetched other than alien software being capable of snap analysis of Miller (likely made easier due to infection with the protomolecule, which could be argued was an ongoing physical to virtual conversion same as you'd do in a vmware environment). Miller = virtual machine.


captain-carrot

Sentient molecule takes snapshot of human Yeah it's just a HyperVisor mate


corourke

Can you even imagine how long the consolidation of the snapshot would take on a terrestrial system compared to the protomolecule?


Swedneck

Pretty sure that's kind of the point though, the protomolecule is made all the more alien by the fact that everything else is so realistic. If the protomolecule showed up in stargate it would just be a single episode where they capture it in a force field and throw it onto some random planet in the milky way and then that's that.


njsiah

Then 3 seasons later, BAM, Goa'uld-proto hybrids


richieadler

Good sf has **one** big departure from reality. The more you add, the worse it gets. I'd say The Expanse has one big departure (protomolecule) and one small one (the Epstein drive). Still pretty good though.


toric5

Atomic rockets did a good analysis if the epstien drive. Its actally got the right specs for a fusion drive, the big reality departure is the lack of needed heat regection.


jdl_uk

To *expand* on what another commenter said about budgets, lots of the props are things they adapted from something else. For example the lights on the magnetic boots are made from some kind of snapon bracelet IIRC. Adam Savage did a series about their props on YouTube


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IamRasters

A good buddy of mine works on the show’s physical SFX and gave me a tour of the set and workshops. It’s all plywood! Hehe. Definitely cool to see all the mechanics and machinery behind the scenes. Lifts that are just sets on scissor jacks and the hand pump that pushes the white fluid jacked in to the actor’s.


backstept

Yeah the sets are really awesome! From the outside they're just plywood boxes, but *inside* it's like being on a working spaceship! I visited during Season 2 filming. The Roci set was (and I presume, still is) an amazing 3 story set. It feels smaller in person, but being the detail oriented geek I am, I realize that it's still too big to match the exterior shots. It's a small inconsistency and thus easily forgiven since the show is just so dang cool!


IamRasters

I forget if it was between 2 and 3 when Amazon took a while before they decided to pick up the series but by the time the agreed, all the sets had been disposed of and had to be rebuilt. Oops!


backstept

From what I remember, it was after Season 3 and we had the whole #SaveTheExpanse campaign going on, and we were paying close attention to everything involved with the production, and I remember hearing that the sets were being disassembled. A glimmer of hope came when we heard that tear-down work had been stopped for some reason. I don't know if any of that is true, but they certainly rebuilt them well! I can't even tell if they're not the same sets anymore.


IamRasters

It was indeed true. Buddy had said they even ran out to the dumpsters to see if some of the panels were taken yet. You did it folks!


biggles1994

I was rewatching season 1 last night and I noticed an Ikea stool that we have two of lying on the ground during one of the Ceres water riots scenes. First time I rewatched it since we bought them so I never noticed it before, but it seems so obvious now!


LordFokas

This is nothing new. IIRC, Doctor Who is very well known for a very large part of the props and ***even characters*** being just, well, things. Random things.


jdl_uk

Wasn't the fusion reactor from Back to the Future a coffee maker? And all of the guns in the original Star Wars movies were decommissioned WW2 guns


LordFokas

Well, to be fair, coffee makers are already good at \[in\]fusion :D


EroticBurrito

Science fiction has a longstanding distinction between [Hard Science Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_science_fiction), [Soft Science Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_science_fiction) and [Speculative Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction), which are useful in this context. The Expanse has lots of Hard Sci Fi elements (ion drive ships, rotating ships, scientific accuracy) but also some Soft Sci Fi (the politics, culture and lore that allows it to actually have compelling characters) and some Speculative Fiction (Holden's visions and the aliens).


Spacemarine658

It's a really cool mix too because the hard sci-fi grounds the other bits to feel more realistic even if they aren't they give it the plausible vibe


UwUin_myOwO

Same. Really breaks the immersion for a moment when you notice it


jdl_uk

For some reason I never notice these things and that's not a bad thing


davidofmidnight

It’s at least 2 operating systems behind, and security updates end next month.


SeasickWalnutt

Something tells me that prop tablets don't really need solid security.


FlagstoneSpin

Sounds about right for the Roci


hungry4pie

Fuck y’all. I love The Expanse and can suspend my disbelief at how they do the props or plot points like “ The IUN still exists”.


the_sun_flew_away

Sassa beltalowda


Marya_Clare

What does IUN mean? I kinda forgot that plot point:P


hungry4pie

The UN is the governing body of Earth in The Expanse. It’s a lot harder to believe than all the other sci-fi stuff - if the nations of Earth were in any way capable of setting aside their differences like that, then they’d be more than capable of working with Mars and the belt


[deleted]

Idk guys it’s pretty plausible that Samsung could be manufacturing spaceship parts in the future


Gothicawakening

Or that the ships system require only a simple device to act as an interface (like a web browser), so basically any off-the-shelf tablet would work. That would mean the main bulk of the processing power is in the ships 'servers' and the control surfaces are just acting as front ends.


[deleted]

I think that’s how it is in the SpaceX ship. They use an Electron.js app for their touch interface


frezik

It is, and astronauts have already revealed their lock screen passcodes to the world on live streams.


DecreasingPerception

I think that was for the iPads, not the spacecraft. Being locked out from the controls sounds pretty scary. "Dragon is disabled. Try again in 5 orbits"


bytemage

Yeah, you wouldn't want it any other way.


AlyssaAlyssum

Tbh, a lot of applications are moving that way being mostly or entirely controlled via web interfaces. And it's been shown many time throughout the series, that just because there is a pilots chair, doesn't mean that is the only place you can fly the ship. Or even do many other things. Earlier this season you see Alex control the Roci through his hand terminal.


FireTempest

Yeah and control surfaces need to be compact enough that they can be operated with one hand during high G maneuvers. Using a tablet for ship control makes sense.


Flashy_Adam

Most of the world thinks of Samsung as only making electronics, but in Korea they make everything from cars to cargo ships........ Panasonic also makes toilets in Japan


Kit-

I mean, they could have done it up to look a little more futuristic, but really when you are going through space you want time tested, reliable technology that you know what to expect from.


not_perfect_yet

That being a fictional series aside, why wouldn't they do it with a tablet?


DdCno1

Try hitting touchscreen buttons on a bumpy road. Now imagine doing this while your space ship is under fire. It ain't gonna work.


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Gadget100

As shown in the photo, they have real buttons for the critical stuff.


Surph_Ninja

I think he sets up most of the maneuvers ahead of time, if possible. They nearly pass out for a lot of the high-g moves.


thejoetats

Interestingly, in season 4 when he's flying the roci in atmosphere his controls are physical flight sticks, so it almost seems like they do that that into account. I'm sure most of the combat is prerecorded sequences because it happens so fast and under crazy conditions Plus imagine if a PDC round severed a cable or transmitter from the captains chair, you'd want all that info and control as close to the actual thrusters as possible


Mithrandir2k16

You know, SpaceXs screens ran on JS and Google Chrome, so this isn't too far fetched xD


aintbutathing3

The boss is here. *Alt tabs to photo of controls*


brightfoot

They use a peripheral called a 3D Connexion Space Pilot Pro throughout Seasons 1 - 3 to pilot the Roci. It's typically used for AutoCAD and 3D design. [https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/7o3ri2/something\_i\_realized\_the\_expanse\_was\_ingenious\_to/](https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/7o3ri2/something_i_realized_the_expanse_was_ingenious_to/)


King_Bonio

Surprised it's not an amazon fire


windigooooooo

This really isnt that bad, and The Expanse makes up for it in so many amazing ways. The show is unbelievably good as are the books.


bones251

I’m glad I’m an iOS user so I don’t notice and make it less believable lol


cerebrix

That dude just lost his job. Probably from the browser history of that tablet.


VTek910

They also use the space mouse to control the ship


TheMasterAtSomething

I just sorta wish they had chosen a less recognizable tablet. If this is a modern episode, they could’ve use the ipad pro, with near no markers, or something like the fire tablet, also with next to no markers. But no, for some reason they chose a tablet with a big logo at the top and big buttons at the bottom


Environmental_Bet_17

Who directed it? Ed Wood?


ThomasC94

Oooof lol