SummaryThe decision by Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao/Zine Tseng) during the 1960s Chinese Cultural Revolution is connected to the deaths of scientists in the present in this adaptation of Cixin Liu's book trilogy by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo.
SummaryThe decision by Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao/Zine Tseng) during the 1960s Chinese Cultural Revolution is connected to the deaths of scientists in the present in this adaptation of Cixin Liu's book trilogy by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo.
We’ve seen intelligent approaches to first contact (Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” and Robert Zemeckis’ “Contact” come to mind), but wrapped in this thriller genre, with these mysteries, these characters and this interesting structure, “3 Body” feels unique.
Ultimately, “3 Body Problem” works on a few levels. It’s a detective story, it’s a mystery box, it’s a grand visual spectacle, it’s a friendship drama, and, most of all, it’s an imagination-prodding piece of sci-fi. I’m not sure where it will go, if it is renewed, but the first season stands as a challenging and rewarding set of episodes. I’m on board for the next phase of this provocative intergalactic trip.
TL;DR: Visually stunning, great music, honors the original source material and is great entertainment.
While there have clearly been adaptations from the source material to allow presenting the complex topic on screen, this has been the most source-accurate series I’ve seen in a while. I‘ve started re-listening the audiobooks because I can‘t wait for the rest of the series, and let me tell you: the amount of scenes and dialogue taken either verbatim from the books, or modified in completely understandable ways is a refreshing change. In comparison to Foundation which butchered the source material making it a laughing stock, this series (so far) is very true to the original spirit and story of the original books, if you can see over the change in location and general changes to fabricate character stories that are presentable on screen.
In so far as the changes go, to me it looks very much like they have been made with great consideration, and although some new elements have been added to facilitate the complexities, to me it‘s always logical why they had to be done. If you‘re like me, and your brain points out all differences you see, you‘ll probably going to be able to live quite well with what has been done.
With stunning visuals and music by Ramin Djawadi completing this, I find very little left to be desired by this Series.
Jess Hong is really great in this and the show adapting such a tough novel in a way thatis suitable for the medium but also keeping the core of the book intact is really commendable. Very excited for S2. Bring it on!
Viewers new to the story should find it exciting on its own. (You do not need to have read the books first; you should never need to read the books to watch a TV series.) But the book trilogy does go to some weird, grim — and presumably challenging to film — places, and it will be interesting to see if and how future seasons follow. For now, there’s flair, ambition and galaxy-brain twists aplenty.
3 Body Problem actually benefits from being binge-watched. There is so much going on that a week-to-week release is likely to leave viewers scratching their heads if they aren't fully giving the show their complete attention. The multiple storylines that intersect with each other at different points in time also make the series incredibly rewatchable.
3 Body Problem may fail to inspire true awe, but there’s enough fun, shock, and horror to keep sci-fi fans engaged. It is a completely competent season of television.
Where Liu’s books repeatedly deepen and complicate our understanding of the aliens’ motives—and even whether, if they do plan to annihilate humanity to make room for themselves, that would be such a bad thing—the series is unequivocal in its depiction of them as an invasive threat, which makes the analogy to real-life migrants incoherent at best. Good thing the show seems to forget about it as soon as it’s established.
Not read the books, I can safely judge the series. It's really intelligent si-fi, unconventional, original. PROS: Original, well told story, not bad acting. Decent action. Good visuals. Great look on chinese Cultural Revolution. CONS: 1) The main characters, "Oxford five", (except Jin Cheng): flat, one-dimensional, boring, even unnecessary... 2) Pacing problems: it starts out as good "sci-fi thriller", then we have a boring and lame drama, then an episode that could have been the season finale, and 3 more episodes to justify that these characters are not useless. 3) Instead of "hard sci-fi" we get wikipedia-level science... I'm looking forward to season two anyway, starting to read the books. PS In fact, the series is average, but a few original concepts are appealing and eye-catching.
The 3 Body Problem seems like a series made in the early 2000s that satisfies those who enjoy hypotheses and theories related to space but uses its premise rather weakly. The pacing problem is, unfortunately, the series’ most significant issue. If they had only focused on the first book and delved more seriously into the reactions of the characters and society, we might be having a different conversation. The series, conceptually, is fantastic. But for that, we must thank Cixin Liu. Adapting his written work directly was, of course, impossible. A polished and simplified version would have sufficed. However, unfortunately, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss fall short in this regard. I can’t call it a bad series, but I can easily say that it falls short of its promises.
YAWN! this is SLOW, OVERLY-CEREBRAL (but the logic is obviously FLAWED) & BORING (**** seein' several of my heroes from GAME of **** the 2 jackwagons that RUINED GoT with lazy writing are out in charge of this as well. NO WONDER IT ****!!! (IMHO) DON'T BOTHER WITH SEASON 2!
I feel like the authors have never met a scientist, much less spent even half a day with one. Insults the audience with oversimplified explanations. Also, EVERY character smoking in the first few episodes is unrealistic, disgusting and annoying to no end. People do not smoke that much anymore, especially not doctors and scientists. I think writers may still think it's 'edgy' but it's just lame and out of touch. If you think you need it for the plot somehow, find another way.