{"id":18502,"date":"2018-05-25T17:09:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T09:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/the-expanse-is-saved-jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-pick-up-sci-fi-tv-saga-and-the-crowd-goes-wild\/"},"modified":"2018-05-25T17:09:28","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T09:09:28","slug":"the-expanse-is-saved-jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-pick-up-sci-fi-tv-saga-and-the-crowd-goes-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/the-expanse-is-saved-jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-pick-up-sci-fi-tv-saga-and-the-crowd-goes-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Expanse\u2019 is saved: Jeff Bezos says Amazon will pick up sci-fi TV saga, and the crowd goes wild"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_422624\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-422624\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-422624\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle-630x525.jpg\" alt=\"Jeff Bezos and Alan Boyle\" width=\"630\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle-630x525.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle-768x641.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-bezos-boyle-1260x1051.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-422624\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, gestures to the crowd at a National Space Society awards banquet during a fireside chat with GeekWire\u2019s Alan Boyle. (Keith Zacharski \/ In The Barrel Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>LOS ANGELES&nbsp;\u2014 I wanted to start out talking with Jeff Bezos tonight about his vision for settling outer space, but the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin had other plans.<\/p>\n<p>When I asked my first question at a fireside chat, set up during an awards banquet here at the National Space Society\u2019s International Space Development Conference, Bezos stopped me short.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore I answer that question, I want to do one small thing,\u201d he told me. \u201cDoes anybody here in this audience watch a TV show called \u2018The Expanse\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wild applause followed&nbsp;\u2014 in part because the science-fiction TV series is tailor-made for the space crowd, and in part because cast members and the show runner for \u201cThe Expanse\u201d were sitting out in the audience. They came to the dinner after doing their own panel presentation about the science behind the show.<\/p>\n<p>When NBC Universal\u2019s Syfy network announced this month that the show would be canceled after the current third season, that set off a worldwide fan campaign to #SaveTheExpanse. It also set off speculation that Amazon Studios might pick up the show.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos ended that speculation tonight, on the stage that I shared with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was talking to the cast \u2026 right before dinner started,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cI was telling them we were working hard at Amazon to save \u2018The Expanse,\u2019 but it wasn\u2019t a done deal yet. And during dinner, 10 minutes ago, I just got word that \u2018The Expanse\u2019 is saved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even wilder applause followed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Rocinante is safe,\u201d Bezos added, referring to the fictional spaceship that\u2019s as much a focus of the series as the Starship Enterprise is the focus for \u201cStar Trek.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1000234595680505856&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fexpanse-safe-jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-pick-sci-fi-tv-saga-crowd-goes-wild%2F&amp;sessionId=f576c037e9643c2305faa9866b28853fb1864f2c&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1000234595680505856\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782803174723920167=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&#8217;ll just let him say it\u2026#TheExpanse#RocinanteIsSafe#BreakingNews<\/p>\n<p>Thank you @JeffBezos pic.twitter.com\/wxHN31zgJs<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cas Anvar (@Casanvar) May 26, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/geoffnotkin\/status\/1000227491384971265<\/p>\n<p>Bezos said that Season 4 will be an Amazon Prime Original series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe show is extraordinary, and these guys are unbelievably talented, so I\u2019m glad you\u2019re going to get to continue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe love you, Jeff,\u201d someone in the audience called back.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos told me he was \u201cabsolutely\u201d a fan of \u201cThe Expanse\u201d and the book series on which the TV show is based, which was penned by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for the books\u2019 co-authors,&nbsp;Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).<\/p>\n<p>The saga traces the course of interplanetary conflicts involving Earth, Mars and the downtrodden \u201cBelters\u201d who live and work in the solar system\u2019s main asteroid belt and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos said his yen for science fiction goes back to the summers he spent in a small South Texas town called Cotulla during his childhood. One local resident donated hundreds of sci-fi classics to the town\u2019s library, and the young Bezos spent several years working his way through the collection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday I continue with my science-fiction reading habit, and find it very mind-expanding,\u201d he said. \u201cIt always makes me think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That may be one reason for Amazon Studios\u2019 involvement in a broad range of science-fiction adaptations, including Philip K. Dick\u2019s \u201cThe Man in the High Castle\u201d and an anthology series called \u201cPhilip K. Dick\u2019s Electric Dreams\u201d; Iain M. Banks\u2019 Culture series; Neal Stephenson\u2019s \u201cSnow Crash\u201d; and Larry Niven\u2019s Ringworld series.<\/p>\n<p>And now \u201cThe Expanse.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_422586\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-422586\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-422586\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-table-630x423.jpg\" alt=\"Jeff Bezos' table\" width=\"630\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-table-630x423.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-table-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/180526-table-1260x845.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-422586\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">High-powered guests sit at the head table at an awards banquet at the International Space Development Conference. Jeff Bezos is seated at far left. His tablemates include physicist Freeman Dyson and his wife, Imme; Tasha O\u2019Neill, the widow of physicist Gerard O\u2019Neill; and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After making his surprise announcement, Bezos went on to more space-minded subjects&nbsp;\u2014 including the inspiration he drew from physicist and space settlement advocate Gerard O\u2019Neill, who taught at Princeton University during Bezos\u2019 college days there.<\/p>\n<p>The main reason for Bezos\u2019 appearance at the conference was to pick up the National Space Society\u2019s Gerard K. O\u2019Neill Memorial Award for Space Settlement Advocacy, which was given to him by the physicist\u2019s widow, Tasha O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos has fully embraced Gerard O\u2019Neill\u2019s vision of having millions of people living and working in space. That\u2019s what led the Amazon founder to start up his Blue Origin space venture in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin is now testing a suborbital rocket ship known as New Shepard, and getting ready to build an orbital-class rocket called New Glenn.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight Bezos revealed that Blue Origin already has purchased the oceangoing ship that will serve as a floating landing pad for New Glenn boosters. \u201cWe\u2019re retrofitting it now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos also voiced support for the Trump administration\u2019s plan to establish an outpost on the moon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a big fan,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t like to skip steps, and I\u2019ve always thought that this idea of going to Mars without building a permanent base on the moon \u2026 I believe it would end the same way Apollo did, where we would do it, there\u2019d be a ticker-tape parade, and then 50 years of nothing. I hate that idea. \u2026 We\u2019ve got to go back to the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1000232281938714624&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fexpanse-safe-jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-pick-sci-fi-tv-saga-crowd-goes-wild%2F&amp;sessionId=f576c037e9643c2305faa9866b28853fb1864f2c&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1000232281938714624\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782803174723920167=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What a moment! With @TheRealBuzz in the room, @JeffBezos tells @b0yle \u201cWe must go back to the moon!\u201d #ISDC2018 #space #Apollo #NSS \ud83c\udf16 pic.twitter.com\/7LkSyXlZdi<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 National Space Society (@nss) May 26, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin is already planning to build a lander that\u2019ll be capable of landing 5 tons of payload on the lunar surface. \u201cWe\u2019ll do that, even if NASA doesn\u2019t do it. We\u2019ll do it eventually, but we could do it a lot faster if we\u2019re in a partnership,\u201d Bezos said.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, there\u2019ll also be a rocket even bigger than New Glenn, called New Armstrong, which will be optimized for deep-space missions.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, Bezos laid out a vision for space settlement that\u2019s grand enough for more than one fireside chat. But afterward, the news of the moment about \u201cThe Expanse\u201d was what everyone wanted to talk about.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was so dramatic! \u2026 I thought I was looking for a job when I sat down here,\u201d Cara Gee, the actress who plays the role of a Belter leader named Drummer on the show, told me when I headed over to the cast\u2019s dinner table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s so much more story to tell,\u201d she said. \u201cWe know where the books are going, but as we know from these first three seasons, anything can shift.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wes Chatham, who portrays a steely-eyed mechanic named Amos Burton&nbsp;on the show, said he\u2019s become a fan of space meetings like the National Space Society\u2019s annual gathering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing a part of the show has really awakened me to this,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight\u2019s announcement was just as sweet to Vincent Buyssens, a Belgian fan who helped organize the #SaveTheExpanse campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can say the mission is accomplished,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>That sentiment was seconded by Alcon Entertainment, which produced the show and will now be moving it from Syfy to Amazon Prime. In a statement, Alcon\u2019s co-founders and co-CEOs,&nbsp;&nbsp;Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, said they \u201ccouldn\u2019t be more excited\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe are deeply grateful that Jeff Bezos, Jen Salke, and their team at Amazon have shown such faith in our show. &nbsp;We also want to thank Laura Lancaster, head of Alcon Television for her tireless efforts. We are fully aware that this wouldn\u2019t have been possible if it wasn\u2019t for the staggering outpouring of support from the most creative, hardest-working sci-fi fans around the world. From reddit campaigns to airplanes, we say thank you. It worked!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, gestures to the crowd at a National Space Society awards banquet during a fireside chat with GeekWire\u2019s Alan Boyle. (Keith Zacharski \/ In The Barrel Photo) LOS ANGELES&nbsp;\u2014 I wanted to start out talking with Jeff Bezos tonight about his vision for settling outer space, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[275,5219,1046,625,4482,5215,4551,4489],"class_list":["post-18502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-amazon-studios","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-moon","tag-science-fiction","tag-syfy","tag-television","tag-the-expanse"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}