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Posted in: Review, TV | Tagged: 3 Body Problem, Alexander Woo, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, Liu Cixin, netflix, science fiction, The Terror, true blood
3 Body Problem: Netflix Adaptation Flawed But Surprisingly Emotional
Netflix's adaptation of 3 Body Problem makes major changes to the book's characters & rushes the story but proves to be surprisingly moving.
The Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin's epic Science Fiction saga 3 Body Problem has finally premiered. To say it was eagerly and nervously anticipated is an understatement. For starters, the book is the Eastern equivalent of Dune, often considered impossible to adapt. For another thing, China premiered its own TV adaptation a year ago with thirty episodes that covered the entire first book, and that has been streaming for free worldwide ever since. And thirdly, the showrunners are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, the first of whom were accused of running the final two seasons of Game of Thrones to the ground, so knives are out for them and how faithful their version would be. And guess what? It's not perfect, but it's pretty good.
"3 Body Problem" Kicks Off With a Bang
3 Body Problem begins like the book did – young astrophysicist Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) witnesses her father's persecution and death at the hands of fanatical Red Army cadres during the Cultural Revolution in China. In contemporary London, detective Clarence Shi (Benedict Wong) investigates the latest mysterious suicide of a leading scientist who was apparently seeing a countdown before he violently killed himself. Shortly after, physicist Vivian Ye (Vedette Lim) despairs over every particle accelerator on the planet throwing up nonsensical data, effectively crippling all future advanced scientific research, and jumps to her death. Her five most gifted students gather for her funeral, mystified by her death. One of them, Augustina Salazar (Eiza González), starts to see a creepy countdown in her eyes that implies either a hallucination from a mental health crisis or, worse, the same type of countdown that ended with the death of several scientists across the world. Ye's mother turns out to be Ye Wenjie (the older version played by Rosalind Chao), who tells her other student Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) about a VR video game Vivian played before she died. Now Da Shi has to uncover a web of paranoia, murder, conspiracy, and a signal from space received decades ago.
"3 Body Problem" for Newbies
This version of 3 Body Problem is designed for viewers who never read the book, which means Weiss, Benioff, and Woo (a veteran writer on True Blood and The Terror) have broken the books into pieces and put the story together again in a faster, more emotionally intense version that captures the book without losing its ideas and major events. This also means a lot of creative decisions to change several main characters from Chinese citizens into a more diverse cast since it doesn't just take place in China. They still retain as many of the Chinese elements as possible since those parts are integral to the story.
The biggest flaw in this adaptation is that they rush through the story and leave not enough room for it and several major characters to breathe and let the viewers get to know them better and invest in them. Some of the best and most faithful parts of this series are the scenes set in Cultural Revolution China, where Ye Wenjie has to navigate a repressive regime, and the trauma and her despair with the evils of humanity drive her to make the decision that causes everything to happen in the series.
The First Half of the Series Rushes the Story
The first four episodes rush through the major parts of the story and the relationships of the five friends from Cambridge. This is one rare instance where ten episodes might have benefited the series instead of the usual "eight per season" that streamers favour now. Then in the second half of the series, 3 Body Problem slows down and finally finds its feet. The first half of the series was already breathless and heady, rushing from one plot point to another as if terrified of boring the viewer, then the second four episodes quietly sneak up on you, and the emotional gut punches start to land in ways the book never did. Weiss and Benioff are not phoning it in – they love the book, and they want to create characters you love. Whether you love them and which ones you do is up to you, but the showrunners know that a movie or TV series needs to translate abstract themes and ideas into emotional experiences for it to matter. Most viewers will be coming to this series cold without having read the books or seen the Chinese TV version. The emotions and heartbreak of the latter part of the series are for them.
Books vs. Chinese TV Series vs. Netflix Version
I've read the books at least once and watched the Chinese TV series, so I already knew the answers to all the mysteries. I was willing to watch this version of 3 Body Problem with an open mind, and after finding the too-fast pace of the first four episodes iffy, I liked the series overall, with caveats. This version is a different animal from the thirty-episode Chinese version and the book, but they share the same DNA. If you're open to the vibe, you might enjoy 3 Body Problem. The original book can be a bit obtuse to some readers, and the Netflix version does a good job of condensing and summarizing the most abstract scientific ideas that drive the story. For anyone with patience or obsessiveness, the most complete experience might be to read the books, all three of them, then watch the Chinese TV series, then the Netflix version. The differences between the Chinese TV series and the Netflix version are worth discussing since the changes Weiss, Benioff, and Woo made were done with a lot of thought and justification, even if you might not like them. It's impossible to write just one review of the series because of that, so guess what? There will be more coming about the differences and ideas in 3 Body Problem. Otherwise, this is the headiest Science Fiction show of the year. It's highly unlikely there will be another like it.
You don't have to read the books if you don't want to, but if the series makes you want to, then it's more than done its job. The Three-Body Problem books are already sold out.
3 Body Problem is streaming on Netflix.
3 Body Problem
8/10
An adaptation of a complex and sometimes obtuse Science Fiction trilogy, the former showrunners of Game of Thrones makes major changes to the characters that might put off hardcore fans of the books, and rushes through the story without giving it room to breathe, but amps up the emotional intensity, and when it settles down in the second half of the series, it becomes surprisingly moving and heartbreaking, and makes it a worthwhile adaptation. Netflix and showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss & Alexander Woo's 3 Body Problem is the most unique and heady Science Fiction TV series of the year.
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