Zeit bites: Martian Kiwis rule
One of the most delightful things to come out of the hard sci-fi action series is a thread on Reddit debating why Martians have Kiwi accents. Hearing that good old Kiwi drawl just confuses the hell out of some viewers.
‘‘I lose immersion when hearing a heavy New Zealand accent,’’ wrote one struggling Reddit user.
‘‘Can this be explained by canon? Do some locations on Mars talk with a Kiwi accent?’’
They sure do! Martian soldier Bobbie Draper is played by Samoan Kiwi
Last year, she told me the show’s producers asked her to try three accents for the role.
‘‘They tried American, English and natural, which obviously, for me, was Kiwi. They said, ‘well, we never considered her to be Kiwi or her family migrating from New Zealand’, but they liked that it was a bit different. They figured that all different accents would be present in the future and they let me keep it, which is great, it makes my job easier.’’
Bobbie is one of my favourite characters on the show. A one-time Martian nationalist, she was forced to confront the truth about her beloved home planet and chose to stay true to her principles, rather than show blind loyalty.
Adams embodies the internal conflict, stoicism and power of a space marine who’s questioning her place in the galaxy beautifully.
Frankie Adams.
I’m stoked to see she’s back this season. Canned by Netflix late last year, fans of the show responded by starting a petition.
Amazon Prime listened and The Expanse is back this week, complete with Adams and the rest of the crew of the Rocinante, heading for a planet on the distant outer rim where political tensions are rising and alien artefacts are slowly, inexorably waking up.
Will it be another gooey, icky, alien-induced disease fest like the one they uncovered in season two, or is something even more sinister afoot at the edge of the galaxy?
For people who are new to the show, the first couple of seasons are available on Netflix, but check out Amazon Prime for the latest.