Dulcinea
A colonized solar system teeters on the brink of war.
The Expanse’s first episode, “Dulcinea,” debuted on Syfy in December 2015. Based on the start of James S. A. Corey’s novel Leviathan Wakes, it was written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and directed by Terry McDonough. The story presents a solar system fully settled by humans and follows three key figures: detective Joe Miller, ship officer Jim Holden, and UN politician Chrisjen Avasarala.
Quick Facts
- Series
- The Expanse
- Season
- 1
- Director
- Terry McDonough
- Writer
- Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
- Photographer
- Jeremy Benning
- Air date
- 23 November 2015 (online); 14 December 2015 (Syfy)
- Length
- 45 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Two hundred years in the future, humanity has fully colonized the solar system, divided into three factions: Earth under the United Nations, an independent military Mars, and the Asteroid Belt, whose Belters provide resources under harsh conditions. Tensions among them threaten a system-wide civil war. The episode opens with a frightened young woman in a spacesuit breaking out of a room on a ship, finding an engineering bay glowing with blue material and a human being sucked into a vortex. On Ceres, a vital Belt port, Belter detective Joe Miller works for Earth-based Star Helix Security and is called a "welwala" by his people. Meanwhile, executive officer Jim Holden of the spaceship Canterbury faces a moral dilemma after responding to a distress signal near Saturn, and UN politician Chrisjen Avasarala interrogates a potential terrorist.
Production
The pilot episode was written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who served as showrunners alongside Naren Shankar, and directed by Terry McDonough. Principal photography began on October 29, 2014, in Toronto, and the episode screened at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2015.
Reception
"Dulcinea" was watched by 1.19 million American viewers on its initial airing, with a 0.33 rating in the 18–49 demographic, and remains the most watched episode of the series through the tenth episode of season five. Critics praised the episode's visuals, narrative, realism, and world-building. Lauren Davis of io9, who saw an early screening at San Diego Comic-Con, called it "blown away" by its sense of scale and deeply thought-out future world. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it an A−, calling its focus on world-building and complex politics refreshing. Chris Carabott of IGN rated it 8.5 out of 10, calling it a promising start to a rich science fiction series. Michael Ahr of Den of Geek rated it 4.5 out of 5, stating The Expanse is "a force to be reckoned with" and praising its characterization and Shohreh Aghdashloo's portrayal of Avasarala.
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