The Big Empty (The Expanse)

Last updated
"The Big Empty"
The Expanse episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed by Terry McDonough
Written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Featured musicClinton Shorter
Cinematography byJeremy Benning
Original air dateDecember 15, 2015 (2015-12-15)
Running time42 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Dulcinea"		Next →
"Remember the Cant"
List of episodes

"The Big Empty" is the second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The Expanse . It originally premiered on Syfy in the United States on December 15, 2015, a day after its series premiere aired. The episode was written by creators Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, and directed by Terry McDonough.

Contents

"The Big Empty" continues the events of the previous episode, through the point-of-view of the show's initial three main characters: After the explosion of the Canterbury, former executive officer Jim Holden and his crew on the badly damaged space shuttle Knight try to survive with scarce air and supplies; Detective Miller continues his investigation of Julie Mao and deals with water rationing problems in Ceres Station; Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala continues her interrogation of imprisoned Outer Planets Alliance (OPA) member Heikki Sabong.

The episode received 854,000 viewers in its initial viewing, and received positive reviews from critics, with critics praising its world-building and characterization.

Plot

The Knight

The space shuttle Knight is badly damaged by debris from the exploded Canterbury. Jim Holden (Steven Strait), the shuttle's commander, orders pilot Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar) to pursue the unidentified ship responsible, but engineer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper) shuts down the engine to preserve fuel and to prevent Holden from doing anything rash. Along with medic Shed Garvey (Paulo Costanzo) and mechanic Amos Burton (Wes Chatham), they are stranded with four hours of oxygen and insufficient fuel to reach the nearest space station.

Because the Knight's airlock has been breached by debris, the crew must wear space suits and vent the ship's remaining atmosphere in order to investigate the outer antenna. Holden and Burton build an improvised antenna to send a distress call, which is answered by Martian Navy flagship MCRN Donnager. Nagata identifies Martian naval technology in the distress transponder from the Scopuli (the ship that the Canterbury was lured to). As insurance against their captors killing them, Holden sends a message that reveals what they know, but does not know if it transmitted. The Knight is pulled into the Donnager, where the five are apprehended by Martian soldiers at gunpoint.

Ceres Station

Detective Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) sneaks into the apartment of pilot and activist Julie Mao (Florence Faivre) to investigate her disappearance. Recent transmissions reveal a strained relationship with her wealthy father, who threatened to sell her racing ship. Miller and his partner Dimitri Havelock (Jay Hernandez) are sent to catch local Belter gangsters and recover stolen water. Although Miller catches them, he lets them go after coming to admire their survivalist defiance, but tells them to stay away from the water. He then resumes his search for Julie, and learns from Ceres Station's dock master that she had boarded the Scopuli.

UN Headquarters

Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is reprimanded by UN Undersecretary Sadavir Errinwright (Shawn Doyle) for using banned torture techniques on OPA member Heikki Sabong (Joe Delfin). Avasarala believes that contraband stealth tech Sabong smuggled could cause a rift in the delicate balance between Earth and Mars. She sends Sabong to Luna for further interrogation, but is told he killed himself en route.

Production

The episode, entitled "The Big Empty", was written by show creators Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the first book of the novel series, Leviathan Wakes , and directed by Terry McDonough. It is the second overall episode of the series.

Reception

Ratings

"The Big Empty" was watched by 854,000 American viewers on its initial viewing, and also acquired a 0.27 rating in the 18–49 demographic. [1]

Critical response

The episode has received positive reviews from critics, who mostly lauded the show's continuing focus on world-building and its increasing characterization, especially the storyline involving Holden and his crew stranded in space. Chris Carabott of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.5 out of 10, saying it "builds upon the exceptional world building that started in the first episode", and referred the storyline of Holden and his crew stranded in space as "fantastically executed", even though he felt the storyline on Earth "doesn't feel fully developed just yet." [2]

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a rating of B+, saying it "moves the story forward a few inches, and gets some thrills out of the Knight's predicament", even though "the awe and mystery of [the series premiere] are in shorter supply here", and considered it a bit inferior to the pilot episode. [3] Michael Ahr of Den of Geek gave the episode of 4.5 out of 5, praising the episode's ability to give off "a sense that the delicate balance is about to shift dramatically keeps viewers leaning in towards their screens", and also mentioned the show's strengthened focus on great storytelling, especially commending on Holden's storyline. [4]

Related Research Articles

"Coming of Age" is the nineteenth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It first aired in broadcast syndication on March 14, 1988. Sandy Fries originally wrote the episode, but Hannah Louise Shearer performed an uncredited re-write. It is the only episode of the series directed by Mike Vejar, who went on to direct episodes of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shohreh Aghdashloo</span> Iranian actress

Shohreh Aghdashloo is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award.

"In the Cards" is the penultimate episode of the fifth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode marks the directorial debut of Michael Dorn, who also played the character Worf on the show.

"Sons and Daughters" is the third episode in the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the 127th episode overall.

Justice League (<i>Smallville</i>) Fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville

The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until three seasons later. As the team continued to appear in the series, new characters were introduced and subsequently joined the team. The original Justice League first appeared in the DC comic book The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960), and consisted of members Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. In Smallville, the team did not make its first official appearance until the season six episode "Justice", although each member had been previously introduced individually on various episodes since season four. In the series, the team never formalized a name for themselves, although the cast and crew officially recognized the team as the "Justice League".

<i>Leviathan Wakes</i> 2011 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey

Leviathan Wakes is a science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of American writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. It is the first book in the Expanse series, followed by Caliban's War (2012), Abaddon's Gate (2013) and six other novels. Leviathan Wakes was nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. The novel was adapted for television in 2015 as the first season-and-a-half of The Expanse by Syfy. Five short stories that take place before, during, or after Leviathan Wakes were published between 2011 and 2019.

"Viva Mars Vegas" is the twelfth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 126th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 22, 2012. The episode was written by Josh Weinstein and directed by Frank Marino. Its opening sequence is constructed from plastic, cardboard, and model ships that "fly" on wires and rods.

<i>Calibans War</i> 2012 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey

Caliban's War is a 2012 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey. It is about a conflict in the Solar System that involves the polities Earth, Mars, the Asteroid Belt and the outer planets, and a powerful extraterrestrial biological von Neumann probe. The second book in The Expanse series, it was preceded by Leviathan Wakes. The third book, Abaddon's Gate, was released on June 4, 2013. One of eight short stories and novellas published by James S. A. Corey, entitled "Gods of Risk", takes place directly after the events of Caliban's War.

<i>Abaddons Gate</i> 2013 novel by James S. A. Corey

Abaddon's Gate is a science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey. It is about a conflict in the Solar System that involves the polities of Earth, Mars, the Asteroid Belt and the outer planets, and a mysterious self-replicating alien technology of immense power. It is the third title of The Expanse series and is preceded by Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War. The series is continued in Cibola Burn. The book was released on 4 June 2013, as well released as an audiobook by Audible, narrated by Jefferson Mays.

Stranded is a 2013 American paranormal investigation reality television series that premiered on the Syfy network February 27, 2013 and is hosted by Josh Gates of Destination Truth. The show is produced by executive producers Brad Kuhlman, Casey Brumels and Josh Gates for Ping Pong Productions, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, the latter best known for the Paranormal Activity film franchise. The show has been compared to MTV's paranormal competition show Fear.

<i>Cibola Burn</i> 2014 novel by James S. A. Corey

Cibola Burn is a 2014 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey and the fourth book in The Expanse series. It follows the crew of the Rocinante as they join the flood of humanity out into the galaxy, using the gates built by the ancient civilization which also produced the protomolecule. At the release of Cibola Burn, Orbit Books announced that James S. A. Corey would write three additional books in the series to bring the series to nine novels and various short stories. Cibola Burn serves as the basis for the fourth season of the television series The Expanse, which was released by Amazon Video December 13, 2019.

The Expanse is an American science fiction television series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby for the Syfy network, and is based on the series of novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey. The series is set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. It follows a disparate band of protagonists—United Nations Security Council member Chrisjen Avasarala, police detective Josephus Miller, ship's officer James Holden and his crew—as they unwittingly unravel and place themselves at the center of a conspiracy that threatens the system's fragile state of cold war, while dealing with existential crises brought forth by newly discovered alien technology.

The Expanse is a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey, the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The first novel, Leviathan Wakes, was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012. The complete series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2017. It later won, following its second nomination for the same award in 2020.

<i>Nemesis Games</i> 2015 novel by James S. A. Corey

Nemesis Games is a 2015 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the fifth book in their The Expanse series. It is the sequel to Cibola Burn. The cover art is by Daniel Dociu. Nemesis Games received has positive reviews. The novel has been referred to as "Corey’s 'Empire Strikes Back'".

<i>Babylons Ashes</i> 2015 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey

Babylon's Ashes is a Science Fiction Novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the sixth book in their The Expanse series. The title of the novel was announced in early July 2015, and the cover and brief synopsis were revealed on September 14, 2015. It won the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

"Dulcinea" is the series premiere of the American science fiction television series The Expanse. It originally aired on Syfy in the United States on December 14, 2015. The episode was written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and directed by Terry McDonough, and is based on the first chapters of James S. A. Corey's novel Leviathan Wakes, the first novel in The Expanse novel series.

"Babylon's Ashes" is the sixth episode of the sixth and final season of the American science fiction television series The Expanse. It originally premiered on Amazon Prime in the United States on January 14, 2022, written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck, and Naren Shankar, and directed by Breck Eisner. The episode title draws its name from the sixth The Expanse novel of the same name written by James S. A. Corey, the joint pen name of Abraham and Franck.

"Remember the Cant" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The Expanse. It initially aired on Syfy in the United States on December 22, 2015, a week after the previous episode, and was watched by 676,000 viewers in its initial viewing. The episode was written by Robin Veith and directed by Jeff Woolnough.

"CQB" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The Expanse. It initially aired on Syfy in the United States on December 29, 2015, a week after the previous episode, and was watched by 633,000 viewers in its initial viewing. The episode was written by Naren Shankar and directed by Jeff Woolnough.

References

  1. ↑ "The Expanse TV show on Syfy: ratings (cancel or renew?)". canceled TV shows - TV Series Finale. 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  2. ↑ Carabott, Chris (2015-12-16). "The Expanse: "The Big Empty" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  3. ↑ Handlen, Zack. "In its second episode, The Expanse inches forward". TV Club. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  4. ↑ "The Expanse: The Big Empty Review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.