Will Netflix's Three Body Problem Show be Any Good? (Trailer Reaction)

This is a very belated video, but better late than never, I always say.
Interview with Liu Cixin:
/ liu_cixin_interprets_t...
Music:
Tango de Manzana Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...
#sciencefiction #threebody

[@puzzlelovers529]

waiting for your update.

[@exp-channel0]

Sophon being introduced on the first season of the show (presumably inside the three body game) is probably the thing i am most worried about

[@genericallyentertaining]

I agree, that's a major change! Sophon was designed to be a sort of ambassador between Trisolaris and Earth, and it doesn't make sense for her to be introduced at at time when there are no diplomatic relations between the two planets. Not to mention that in the book she's a highly-advanced robot that couldn't have been constructed with earlier technology.

[@exp-channel0]

@@genericallyentertaining Definitely going to watch it anyway... fingers crossed 🤞. Huge fan of the books and glad to have found your channel :) Cheers

[@roastpork5437]

@@genericallyentertaining Sophon in her eventual android human form is obviously only going to show up in the VR game as a game avatar in season 1. In TV production, you want to get your major cast members locked down for the show starting with season 1. I suspect they will introduce all major characters as soon as possible and will progress the story based on time period because this will save money on sets production, location shoots, etc. For example Liam Cunningham is cast as Thomas Wade! I expect Luo ji and Cheng Xin are all going to show up and will likely have English names and are not Chinese ethnicity. That's fine as long they still play the same character and serve the similar function as their respective characters from the novels.

[@zrienkersh1475]

I do not at all like the idea of Netflix meddling with this series and changing a bunch of stuff. Whyyyyy?! Why would they do that? Anyway, we shall see.

[@monophthalmus3254]

Also, that actress is nothing like the Sophon in the book. There is supposed to be a delicate nature to her/it. This actress has none.

[@tklos9666]

The Tencent show was so faithful to the plot and themes of the book, while simultaneously fleshing out the characters, that I think it's inevitable the Netflix show will be a disappointment. Plus I worry they're going to try to sensationalize Chinese history and subtly villainize the Chinese characters in the story

[@genericallyentertaining]

Yeah, it will be interesting to see how the new show will portray the Cultural Revolution and other aspects of Chinese history. And I also loved how much the characters were fleshed out in the original show; in the books, a lot of them were mostly just there to advance the plot, but that show made them all feel quite three-dimensional.

[@tklos9666]

@@genericallyentertaining Yeah in the book Ye Wenjie felt like the only 3D character, while Wang Miao, Shen Yufei, and Da Shi really helped carry the show

[@DTTaTa]

Chinese history sensationalizes itself😂

[@Rabarbarzynca]

Ye Wenjie - Cercei 2.0? 😂 I dunno, I feel Netflix just would not be itself if they did not go for westernization of the story, plus extra action to „keep audience interested”. Tencent, with all its faults, it is such a gem. No one makes 30 episodes show that is mostly people talking anymore...

[@Rabarbarzynca]

@@tklos9666 Only 3D? Such pre-Trisolarian contact thing to say. ;) But yeah, Tencent show brought much needed depth to many of the other characters. I wonder if any western world characters can be saved as well, it is mosty for the Dark Forest part, where there are somehow more relevant.

[@koulmemaybe]

Fu Xi is in the first book - he tries to hypnotize the sun god in one of the first chapters in the Three Body game

[@davadh]

If the Netflix version is good, people will seek out the Tencent version to see the longer version of the show. If the Netflix version sucks, people will seek out the Tencent version to see the better version of the show. The Tencent version wins either way.

[@maximusminimus8050]

Personally I dislike the Tencent version, I gave it up in the middle of it, if it's not good you are not going to finish it whatever others say, it's more of a mystery genre than sci-fi, not being faithful to the original work which has so many fantastic ideas.

[@0wlet290]

@@maximusminimus8050 It's being pretty faithful to the original work, the changes it does aren't THAT huge - it simply adds a lot more depths and nuances to characters, which makes it way longer while still being true to the original story. I highly doubt netflix could ever achieve something like this, you can already see multiple huge changes to story and characters in their short trailers.

[@cubeofcuriosities]

The original book *is* a mystery-drama piece...@@maximusminimus8050

[@TucoBenedicto]

@@maximusminimus8050 Eh. You gave up in the middle of it which also means you missed out arguably the best part of it.

[@LonelyLoreley]

but how do we get them to read the books?

[@ShinigamiNoS]

Regarding the cultural revolution part: Actually, it's because the Chinese tv series follows the original Chinese book. In the original Chinese book, that happens at the end, while in the translated international version of the book, they move it to the very beginning. Also it's not about censorship but more of a touchy subject because most people who lived through that time are still well alive today. They're all from the grandparents, parents or uncles/aunts generation. If it gets portrayed extensively, it can't be "softened" because there will be outrage. So it's better to just reference or minimize screen time of it (also there are many many Chinese tv series about this time in history))

[@genericallyentertaining]

That makes a lot of sense, and I figured the fact that most of that show's audience was already familiar with the Cultural Revolution played a big role in its being cut. However, it is notable that the scene was originally filmed before getting cut; one of the episodes in that show is ten minutes shorter than all the other episodes because that sequence seemingly got entirely scrapped.

[@tsukasa1608]

​@@genericallyentertaining In the end credits for the last episode, they added in a deleted scene which only lasted a second, showing Ye Wenjie's younger sister Ye Wenxue with a group Red Guard rushing into Ye Zhetai's home while Ye Wenjie trying to block the door.

[@peaceofcrap]

Wake up babe, new Generic Entertainment video just dropped

[@AnthonyLETSPARTY]

I think the "machine in space" is the scene where they fail a few times at unfolding the extra dimensions inside of the protons

[@MrLilleblomst]

It corresponds well to both the description in the novel and also the original Chinese adaptation.

[@skwamwan6112]

Tencent just updated 1st Anniversary memorial edition of The Three-body problem, this edition was cut into 26 episodes so the pacing would be better.

[@SystemUnderSiege]

Is that on KZbin or how can I find it?

[@neutral_narr]

Really where?

[@MM-qt2pc]

@@SystemUnderSiege It's on the WETV website. I think they don't have English subtitles yet though, so I'll hold off until they get those done. I expect they should all be available to watch for free in the coming weeks/month

[@readingwithrebeccanicole]

Your video was recommended to me after I watched the Netflix trailer. I'm currently reading Three Body Problem, and I'm interested in seeing both adaptations. I haven't paid much attention to the Netflix adaptation, so I didn't realize what characters will be in the series or not. After seeing your analysis I'm a little more skeptical of it. I will try to read the rest of the series before watching the show

[@genericallyentertaining]

The books keep getting better as they go along, so I hope you enjoy!

[@ergohash2517]

i started watching the chineese adaptation after watching your review (i am at about 9 episodes in and really like it), but i already have extreme worries about the american adaptation due to how short it will be. Tencent series is 30 eps while american will be 8. 8 episodes, thats insanely short. On top of that i feel that they are going to place a lot of american actors in this supposedlly chineese setting, so this may also become a mess in terms of immersion. But again my main problem is with the episode count. of yeah, and the apparent lack of the main character Wang Miao is odd UPD. I watched the Neflix version and binged it in a day, was really invested, liked the characters, overall - loved it

[@ryankwon8785]

I think there will be more seasons to cover the first book.

[@sidensvans67]

Tencent version , all day . Excellent .

[@Maisonier]

I'm still waiting for your review of the netflix adaptation ... oh boy ... I'm so mad.

[@electricminecrafter]

i read this series 3 times and this was and still is my favorite book series ever

[@daa6677]

Your review made watch the chinese tv adaptation, a little slow but i was not dissapointed Hard sci fi centered on ideas rather than characters 👍👍 Great show 8/10

[@tsukasa1608]

Be honest I'm just gonna keep my expectation real low for the Netflix series, especially after seeing that Collider interview. I don't expect they gonna depict the characters from the book and establish their emotion as complex and as deep as the Tencent series, because many of them have strong ties to the Chinese culture, my guess is Ye Wenjie's plot will definitely getting simplified, focusing mostly on the major events such as "The Madness Years", "Silent Spring", and "Red Coast Base", part like "No One Repend" and probably even "Evans" will be simplified or completely left out, only enough for general audience to understand her motive but not enough to develop strong empathy to her character like the Tencent version did, kudos to Wang Ziwen and Chen Jin for their outstanding performance👏 But hey it couldn't be as bad as that Bilibili animated show, right? Even if D&D ended up ruining it like what they did to GoT season 8, we still have the books and the Tencent series. But if the Netflix series turns out actually good then it's Christmas

[@parziii6395]

didnt know it was called "The Madness Years" in English. The translation is so bad. I guess there is no perfect treanslation for this.

[@BlancheCooperCooper]

​@@parziii6395 everyone become madness , why you think "the madness years" not good?

[@parziii6395]

I read the origional books, the direct translation is "chaotic era"， the opposite to it is more like a "constant era". I agree that everyone becomes mad, but the chaos is the cause. So i would prefer the origional more. @@BlancheCooperCooper

[@knightsofthepagelesslibrar6320]

Glad you are addressing this one. (I am still trying to finish the Tencent series and want to do a review of it as well) I am still skeptical about the Netflix series. As we discussed on the podcast too, if the Netflix series is not good, at least we have the Tencent series to go back to! I also listened to The Redemption Of Time... I will be putting out a review of it at some point (Once I finish the original trilogy reviews) I might bug you to come back on the podcast to discuss the new Netflix series, as well as maybe discuss The Redemption Of Time! Keep up the good work buddy! Glad to see your channel doing so well. You were the original reason I started watching the Tencent adaptation!

[@genericallyentertaining]

I look forward to seeing your thoughts on Redemption of Time! I haven't read it myself, mainly because I hear such conflicting things about it.

[@BlancheCooperCooper]

​@@genericallyentertaining same with you, cixin liu don't like that , so I don't like that

[@that1guy375]

The blood on the wall is telling me the subtlety is gone lol. I have no faith personally.

[@SystemUnderSiege]

Samwell Tarly enters the VR game and starts punching scientists. Yeah.

[@Roachh2877]

​@@SystemUnderSiege Nothing wrong with it. Y'all just wanna hate it for the sake of hating it.

[@SystemUnderSiege]

@@Roachh2877 L M A O

[@donnadong5837]

It also worries me that none of the crew on netflix adaptation read the book, already a red flag for a book fan...

[@AnarchoCatBoyEthan]

i’m 3 episodes in! Excited to hear what you think about it. it’s still far too early to tell BUT i went into it very pessimistically and have been happily surprised with most of the changes so far. It’s less of a bastardization than I expected, I really hated the end of GoT lmao.

[@LeLouisLafontaine]

2:38 "If they are not adapting the books, so much as inventing their own loose story [...] - then that might be where we run into some problems" Just watch the Netflix show. You were right indeed, right to be worried that is. It's "watcheable", but by no mean up to par with what you'd hope is a good adaptation to me. A lot of what is going on and the best parts are too simplified / completely glossed over, which makes a lot of the book events seem like they are magical / "oh they wanted a cool scene". Where as in the books, they feel more appropriate, justified. 10:58 general audience were underestimated after all, it's a bit sad, but anyway.

[@Wouldyoukindly4545]

Having read the books and watched the first season (no spoilers). It is clear that D&D are wanting to make this their come back tour. And I think they have made it clear that they can do fantastic work when given a full and finished series to adapt. I do not like all the changes the writers made to Westernize and dramatize the material, they focused on their own plots between the characters that they basically rewrote to the detriment of the plot of the books and made it more romance meets Adventures in Spaaaace meets horror. Which was pretty much exactly what you had feared. And while they generally improved the pacing of the books, they still had some major issues. I don't mind all the changes they made either, and D&D succeeded in making me feel tension, even if some of the attempts at horror were a little cheesy. It was different enough from the books that it didn't change my view of the characters in the books, something that the Wheel of Time adaption did. Overall, I enjoyed watching it. I think it could have been better, I think it could have been worse. I'll continue watching as long as the next season is at least as good. Just to be clear. I think they did a good job creating new characters, I just missed some of the finer points of the hard science fiction. Parts that could be *gasp* lost on general audiences. I knew they would need to Westernize the characters to get the funding for the project in the States at this time of risk adverse studios. I was reaching for criticisms because I don't like the system that created the need for such changes, not because of any failing of D&D. Even the pacing must have been nightmarish to improve from the books and balance with a Western audience's need for high drama scenes.

[@camilocetina2508]

The shot in the neutrino detector (4:12 in your video) could be Yang Dong's suicide after realizing that "physics doesn't exist anymore" (may be it's a recreation of the particle accelerator (if they somehow stick to the plot of the book).

[@genericallyentertaining]

I hadn't thought of this, but I really like this theory!

[@SystemUnderSiege]

She works at a particle accelerator but kills herself in a neutrino detector. This is a "mistake" by the directors, or more accurately, they didn't care and thought it looked cool. And while it's maybe a minor thing, it's representative of how they do not care at all about science or portraying it with nuance, which is basically the whole appeal of the series.

[@larllarfleton]

Ay you were right!

[@Roshfps]

We need to hear your review of the netflix show. Personally, I enjoyed it massively. If anything I feel like the advancement of time is going to be a big hurdle in the coming seasons.

[@Qun_Ideas]

Fu Xi appeared in first book of the series in the Three Body game, right when Hairen(Wang Miao) and King Wen of Zhou arrived at the imperial court. He was boiled in the couldron by King Zhou because he gave false predictions on the sun's movement.

[@linxili9085]

just watched, tbh it’s hurting my eyes… I really want my Luo Ji to be back

[@阿等adeng]

Terrible videoBy netfilxThreeBodyProblem

[@IkarusTelevision]

I think there is a lot of love for the book series. For me personally, the books really made me question reality and gave me that feeling of being a small dust particle in the grand universe. Its a masterpiece of a book series. So obviously I want the show to suceed! But I got a little bored with the chinese show because of the slower pacing, so I'm hoping the netflix adaptation will make it a bit more exciting. Also I already wish there was a season 2, because I feel like thats when the story in the books really picked up and hooked me in more and more :D

[@vincentbouchard8205]

im a big fan of these books and im very happy they get adapted on screen

[@luningchen4743]

Fu Xi is a historical NPC from the three-body game, the guy tried to make the sun falls asleep. At least that's in the Chinese version

[@agenerichuman]

I have some of the same fears as you. I think this will certainly be better than the animated adaptation of the second book, which was very action focused and everything was hyper exaggerated. But I still would have preferred a more cerebral sci-fi story that preserved some more of the Chinese characters, especially since there's not much Chinese representation in western media. I also think one of the reasons they're changing things is to give the first part of the story a bit more action. Though personally I would have just told the story in a nonlinear fashion so some of the action and mystery started appearing a bit sooner. But I'm cautiously optimistic. My best case scenario is that the show will do enough of its own thing well enough that I won't focus on how dissimilar it is to the books. I just hope it doesn't undermine the message and themes of them though. That's my biggest worry.

[@braxxian]

Benioff and Weis may not be great at creating original stories but they are very good at adapting books for TV. With Three Body they have a complete story to work with unlike GOT. I think their series will be very good.

[@CurtisStorm]

I haven’t finished the book series yet, still working on DE, but the Netflix show IMO had certain constraints that necessitated certain changes. The friend group which is essentially a stand in for many of the main characters throughout the entire book series, allows them to have a single main cast for the duration of the show and since Netflix loves those short seasons, it may have been necessary, to a degree, in order to tell as much of the story as possible as efficiently as possible. Bits of plot lines from both the 2nd and 3rd books were included in the 1st season, but largely they are there to set up the future of the show. I started reading the books because of the Netflix show and I really believe that in order to concisely tell this story in 8 episode seasons a lot was going to have to give. All in all, it felt like an adaptation that honored much of the story and spirit of the novel, at least at this point. It’s been green lit through 3 seasons, so we’ll see what happens next.

[@e4electron-lh4vn]

My first contact was the Netflix Trailer.... Then after seeing the 30 episodes of the subtitled Chinese TV series I share the same concern on character buildup, pacing and soundtrack. The tv series is slow but like poetry, like a meandering river or a blooming flower. This raises expectations and hence concerns. Currently in process of reading the translated versions of the trilogy. Nice Reaction/Review. Thanks.

[@chrislin4128]

wanna do a review on the netflix series? I just watched it and haven't watched the tencent show or read the book. would appreciate your take on it!

[@EnkiSvohden]

Yeah, I'm pretty worried the Netflix version isn't going to be faithful at all. D&D had everything they really needed to finish GoT properly, including secret info directly from Martin himself, and they still blew it. They literally said they were tired of making the show and just wanted to end it. That doesn't sound like a good attitude to have when you're going to tackle a series like this. I just hope I'm wrong. What I've learned of the Netflix version is that it'll likely be a stand-alone mini series, which could mean they're condensing the living heck out of the books or not really following them much at all.

[@Yith]

There's a reason why Martin has not finished the books... I think it's because he's not happy with the way he can end it either... I think it's the flaw in GoT..

[@eto1842]

"any" is a strong word, I would say Netflix version has its highlights, like the line with Yun Tianming. However, I'm very disappointed they got some fundamental things like the motivation of Ye Wenjie or the purpose of the Tri-Solarian totally wrong.

[@dementedp]

I just finished reading the first book today. While I was reading it I thought that it would be so good to have a movie adaptation directed by Christopher Nolan himself. Kinda worried it’s Netflix along side the GoT showrunners who’s got this masterpiece in their hands.

[@ryankwon8785]

I think most of the changes are made because Netflix is trying to distance itself from the Tencent version of the Three-Body Problem (avoid copy and paste). Also, I believe there will be more seasons to cover the first book and build up the conflict. It is favorable that the Tencent version's faithful adaption of the Three-Body Problem was already made, so let's just see how Netflix makes its own story. The only good outcome of Netflix's Three-Body Problem is that it will attract more new fans to read the novels.

[@iamsheep]

It is unfortunate that the Tencent version was 30 episodes, because it was due to the producers forcing the creative team to re-edit the show into a longer version to sell more episodes. It is pretty obvious from all the repeated scenes, redundant musical montages and endless flashbacks. I hope someone does a 25 episode edit (as originally intended) so we can see what the original vision for the show.

[@tsukasa1608]

The director did mentioned in one of his interview that he's working on the director's cut, which will mainly fixing the pacing of the earlier episodes, but don't expect to see any of the deleted scenes getting included cuz they're never gonna pass censorship. Hopefully we'll get to see it soon.

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

I loved it.

[@kashe747]

First of all, it is common that chinese tv series have huge amount of episodes, 30 is already short, usually 40 episodes is not frowned upon. Second is that I actually like how chinese tv shows flesh out their characters, after 30 to 40 episodes, the characters grow on you and in the last episode you genuinely feel sad the show ended.

[@iamsheep]

@@kashe747 I worked in Chinese tv for more than a decade. Having a long series is mostly due to the pursuit of more profit, not quality. This is also based on a book and making the show longer than it needs is an added detriment to the story. When I worked on TV shows the creatives were always angry at making more episodes out of the footage because the quality just got worse each time. So I’m. Ot sure what your point is? An example of this also exists in Hollywood movies where The Hobbit was expanded so much that it lost not only the pacing, its soul.

[@kashe747]

@@iamsheep Eventhough it was 30 episodes, it was not longer than it needed, in fact the Tencent version was true to the novel, almost word for word. Might I remind you that the novels are probably content worth more episodes than the tv series, so 30 episodes is actually not alot to cover all the topics from the book. Either way, the tencent series even added elements that enhanced the story telling and character development.

[@thatguyiknow1]

These books are completely unsuited to direct adaptation to film. They need to be drastically reimagined in order to work as a show. The characters in the books lack depth, with most characters having no personality at all, and the main characters being largely two dimensional and vanish from the series to be replaced by new two dimensional characters. The show needs to flesh out a cast that audiences will care about. Furthermore, much of the action in the books takes place solely in the minds of individual characters and there is no good way of conveying their completely internal thoughts to the audience. For these reasons I believe that the show will both combine, and then split the main characters into an ensemble of characters who can explain to one another, and therefore to the audience what they are thinking, and solve their issues as a group. These characters will likely be present throughout the series run, with perhaps some getting killed off. This is necessary to make the three body series watchable.

[@talisa222]

They could've done that and a) cast Asian American actors b) just done a variation of what the Tencent series did. I don't understand this philosophy of being forced to split a stale narrator into multiple non-Chinese characters who work together in a group. It is the ultimate inelegant solution, and perpetuates the problem of Asians not being represented in Hollywood. Even in shows where the source material is in an East Asian language.

[@thatguyiknow1]

​@@talisa222 I would say the Tencent series is a perfect example of what the showrunners are trying to avoid, and why direct translations from the page to the screen are not watchable. It's weird, awkward, has bad pacing and is not at all suited to a wide American or international audience. For instance, the part where Miao is seeing the numbers in his photographs and trying to decipher them by himself during a montage is a pretty awful and incoherent. The tencent series suffers from the same problems the books have with flat characters and inorganic, forced plot development. I think it's very much a positive change to split up the boring characters from the book so that we can inject characterizing interactions, discuss ideas for the benefit of the audience, and motivate plot developments. The netflix series needs to appeal to a wide international audience. The story itself demands an international cast and setting. While I support keeping a strong Asian component to the story, and the casting seems to confirm that Asians will be well represented with over 1/3 of the billed cast being of East Asian descent, this is a story for and about the entire international community, and the book's over focus on Chinese characters and institutions was a flaw.

[@corneliareutner8359]

Looking forward to your review

[@genericallyentertaining]

Yeah, sorry I'm so late on it, but I've finally gotten a chance to watch the show, so it should be coming out soon!

[@kimjiro4591]

Fuxi is in the book. That's the first guy we see get cooked, you know, the one who built the pendulums in the game.

[@bongandbeer]

So how can we find the „second season“ dark forest? Is there any information about it? I’m talking about the Chinese series.

[@tsukasa1608]

It's still in pre-production, they just done writing the screenplay, casting not yet started. Filming expected to begin later next year, estimate the show will took 3-4 years to complete from start to finish, means we might get to see it by 2026 at the earliest.

[@bongandbeer]

Thanks for the qualified answer.

[@nazimelmardi]

This seems to be way more… action? series as it should. Let’s be clear that this book is about themes and theories and not about character. Even the characters are symbols of decisions. So Netflix is in trouble.

[@jairo9ramalho]

D. D will make Three Body to look like Matrix 3... who is that bearded british accent guy?!

[@parziii6395]

Having a lose adaptation is the right way to go since the team is not Chinese and they will never understand the culture and the language as the tensent version. Culture and language is a really big part in TV shows and books because thats how you make connections with audience. As a Chinese i read the origional book and Im not liking this new version at all so far. Wang Miao is the person connecting most of the characters and timeline. Without him I cant imagine how the show would find a way to replace him. And I suppose everything will be in English? This is not good. ppl should learn to read sub

[@cesarvasquez9572]

Well, I only just finished reading the first book but I'm not as worried about some of these scenes as you are. I recognized most of the scenes and the ones I didn't could easily be worked into things that happened in between chapters. For instance, when Da Shi sees the numbers in blood on the wall, I'd just assume that it was some background of how he knew other scientists had died so maybe he visited the scene of where a previous scientist had committed suicide after being driven mad by the countdown. The image of the woman falling down what appears to be a nuclear reactor could easily be an alternate take on Yang Dong's suicide. The giant space mechanism, I took as being a representation of the creation of the first sophon. I was also kind of assuming Wang Miao was being gender swapped so would be the woman putting on the VR headset. I don't know who Sophon as a character is as I haven't gotten there yet, but given the name I'd assume it's a representation of one of the sophons which have their own intelligence so maybe it's just a virtual representation of the character. Actually, I was thinking that maybe that scene where she seems to strike at the camera with her sword, is a representation of what people experiencing the countdown see at the end as the sophon moves in to kill them or finally drive them mad. I only just started the second book so that's just a guess based on what I know so far, and of course I may be way off.

[@talisa222]

I have no expectations for the Netflix series after seeing the latest trailer. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. I didn't expect DD to faithfully or even respectfully adapt a Chinese title. I'm not even sure why they signed onto this project, and all I hope now is that this series will at least bring a bit of international attention to the Tencent show and the books.

[@aroonsubway2079]

The comments give people an impression that "Cultural Revolution" is the only important thing that is worth mention in this book LOL But I bet no one here is really willing to spend time on doing deeper research on this topic.

[@steelenutz1]

The only reason i could see for sophon being there in season one us to have flashy anime girl in there I fear d and d are going for style over substance (like they did in later seasons of got), and that terrifies me more than a dual fold strike

[@CuttingEdges]

I didn’t like Sophon’s humanoid manifestation being revealed this early either. But I didn’t like the concept in general in the third book because it felt like it was pulled out of thin air. If we’re able to get familiarised with her appearance now, without revealing anything about sophons, it will make the third book reveal less jarring.

[@Betielix]

I am reading the begging of the book and FuXi does appears in the book

[@robinbanks1993]

*** spoiler warnings for the unread **** move along. @generic entertainment @4:15 but that shot you said you were unsure of, its probably one of the physicist seeing the sophon and going crazy because they are realizing physics are broken and killing themselves, just a new way to visualize that, could be one of many shots that demonstrate how scientist react to the events in book one. @4:45 this machine is probably the trisolarans "LHC" when they used it in their atmospheric orbit to split dimensionality and create the sophons. @6:30 thats most likely Shen Yufei. Probably not replacing anybody. @8:00 I agree with you about sophon. when i saw the trailer, i thought maybe this isnt neccessarily a season 1 trailer so much as a series trailer? i know thats unlikely but maybe its not somebody they will introduce season 1. idk wishful thinking. but you are right theyll probably have her in due to simplifying arc and she will interact with the people in the frontier and VR. going off of how you are saying they will simplify things, and some of my speculations about what is being shown in the trailer, it seems like they may be taking events that are depicted in book 2 and characters from 3 and putting them in season 1 to make things easier to understand to tv audiences. i think this is a mistake and spoils the pace and intrigue of the books. so lets hope were wrong and DB dont do it again.

[@poisonapleproduction]

I’ll probably just wait for season 2 of the tencent adaptation even if it takes them another 5 years to release

[@jasolnf0079]

Is Netflix doing all 3 books at once? Or 3 seasons with each season being a book?

[@Draugo]

I didn't even know that Three Body Problem was a series. I have to try going through it again at some point but last time I lost interest during the pool table.

[@karinaoktriastra1378]

just searching more about the book after watching first episode of three body problem and want to know more about the book/the author. lol

[@jlangfitt1]

Thanks for recommending the Chinese version. I would prebably never run upon it had you not mentioned it. I've got a contrarian view from yours in that I've only read this first book and found it slow going but the imaginative science fiction and the unique take on first contact propelled me forward. I was a big fan of GOT and I would agree that the last episodes were not to my liking but I thought this was kind of inevitable. Anyway I'm looking forward to the Netflicks version The one thing that I'm interested in to see is how they present the crisis in physics. I think they are going to have to pick some very specific advancements like perhaps fusion to illustrate the issue. I found the original "Physics does exist" to be meaningless

[@atohms]

The neutrino detector scene is about many scientists killing themselves because of the interference of the Trisolarions.

[@kevincardenas6629]

11:00 Well you were right. Literally 99% of what you said turned out to be true. Based on your review, the series does seem to be simply an interpretation of the books. Now I haven't read the books but the series itself has some plot holes and at least half of the story is simply a drama between 5 physicists.

[@D00kerT]

I'd at least say the 3BP isn't an easy series to adapt to the screen.

[@davidktd]

I can only hope they have Sophon in 3 Body game only during S01

[@farisj]

FU XI was in the first book

[@barrborrah]

i AM very scared. excited nut extremely scared

[@TeleologicalConsistency]

The answer is no. Netflix has a 0% success rate with adaptations.

[@bobhawke7373]

I've watched all the Netflix teasers and trailers. The only difference I can see for sure in the trailers is that the character from the book, Wang Miao, has been replaced by a female character. Now I believe there is a reason for this. I've read the book series twice. It does read misogynistically All the heroes are men and all the people that destroy humanity and the solar system are women. It's like that through the entire book. Even in the deterrence era when humans relaxed and we were able to be easily deceived, it could only happen because 'real' men basically disappeared. So don't be surprised if that ledger is evened up a bit for western audience. I'm a dude and even I was a bit wow Cixin Liu, not a fan of lady folk is he.

[@manuam98]

Do you think the show may contain spoilers for books 2 and 3? I've only read book 1 so far

[@duncancameron6342]

Seems like a safe bet that the unrecognized scene at 4:11 is a scientist's suicide.

[@crashalmahdi512]

Fan from saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 👏

[@DkGaston]

The casting for Da Shuh in the Tencent series really annoyed me and is largely why I didn't finish it. Wong is SO much better.

[@ivy4360]

hype baby

[@wolfpacksix]

Using Netflix's track record as a guide, no, it won't be any good.

[@Zidbits]

I don't like the casting for Sophon. The actress looks classy, sharp, deadly, and even sexy. However, in the books, she was modeled after a Japanese porn star. If anyone has seen "real" Japanese porn (porn made in Japan, by Japanese, for Japan), you'll note that their female porn stars are cute rather than sexy. They look more like the girl next door than an actual porn star. I think that's the entire point of sophon, to not look threatening, to look cuddly and approachable. Netflix's actress playing sophon does not give off that atmosphere, quite the opposite.

[@tsukasa1608]

That whole Japanese porn star setting was from Redemption of Time, which is not considered as canon since it's a fanfiction. In Death's End Sophon android was describe as extremely feminine and traditional looking Japanese female in full Kimono, so Koyuki would be what I depict how she would resembled.

[@ladyethyme]

❤❤

[@damienbradley32]

With regret, I feel confident in saying, The Netflix adaptation will be trash. Loaded with “the message”, and dumbed down for normies. It’s. Netflix.

[@damienbradley32]

Looking back a month ago, I’m reading this comment I made. I still stand by it, and I really hope I’m wrong. These books are outstanding, and I understand some things will change. And are also subject to different interpretations. But even “5kg” can change a whole universe. Hopefully they don’t change too much. The show runners have spoken to the author, so I hope they do him and all the fans justice with fantastic storytelling and imaginative writing, brilliant characters, the monumental, existential experience we can talk about for.. well, I don’t want to spoil it, a long time.

[@kashe747]

Tencent is more faithfull to the book, the Netflix one is your typical hollywood version, but loses the soul what made the novel popular.

[@novakai6668]

Just started the trilogy before I heard of the this series.

[@johnmarkvalencia-te4vw]

Its very interesting. I watch the series version on netflix. I was just curious, if the SanTI whatsoever is about to arrive 400 years, meaning no one from their race has ever reached earth, but only the so called proton thing with its only function of spying, the question is, where did they get game helmet where no one from earth can produce such equipment cause it is 100 year advance. Hehehehe

[@minaret1230]

I soooo loved the Netflix version. The actors were exceptional and it was a delight to see some familiar GOT actors. Cant wait to read the books and watch Chinese version 🎉❤

[@assarstromblad3280]

I have read the books and it is clear that it is different but 2 episodes in and I must say I enjoy it. People shouldn't expect to be watching an exact version of the books in this case, but the overall theme is the same and I like what I see so far.

[@GLydia-kq3ik]

Waiting for your review of NF adaptation...... The CG is funny....... Operation Guzheng...... The plots are..... OMG....my eyes..... The Chinese adaptation is better....is epic......

[@Juanroojas_]

I honestly think Wang Miao's caracter is just gender swapped, and the rest of them will just be occidentalized if that makes sense (there's not enough chinese representation as I see It) But still, I'm really excited

[@AwesomeTingle]

TBH the characters were easily the weakest part of the three-body series. If they can still express the awesome sci-fi ideas, but tell that story with actually good characters, i would be happy.

[@talisa222]

Because the characters were never the point. And at any rate, the Tencent series was able to expound on the characters without sacrificing the tone and messaging of the original books. If you want a story with "actually good characters" you could easily either watch that show--or read literary fiction, and not 3BP.

[@chunraylea9580]

When you read the original, it's hard to think that the Netflix version of the three-body problem will be a good one.

[@bravadita]

the neutrino detector scene has to do with the su**ides

[@veritasinvicta8128]

I have no faith in Dumb and Dumber.

[@fredherbert2739]

These clowns messed up ASOIAF. Their charlatan nature at HBO is detailed in excruciating detail on the Dragon Demands channel.

[@niodix]

It was dehydration in game

[@Patrick77487]

90 % of Netflix productions are garbage because viewing public appears satisfied with easy to digest predictable trash content. The trailers released offer a hint of what series may be--bits of original content / context, smothered with Western violent easy to consume entertainment. A disservice to author. Why watch series when it will only contaminate original content.

[@puzzlelovers529]

The budget for one episode of Netflix is the same as the whole budget for the tecent version. I'm sure they are gonna put soooooo much on Cultural Revolution, so people can make fun of it.

[@aroonsubway2079]

"Cultural Revolution" is a complex movement, but now most people just treat it as a symbol.

[@joshabrogena1240]

generic action alien sci-fi instead of the thought-provoking kind UGH JUST KILL ME 😭

[@jockeb2651]

So it's more like "loosely based" on the story like everything nowadays :/

[@ttttypes]

I loved the first book until the ending. I found the answer to the mystery of the ticking clock so underwhelming that it broke the story for me. Then on the merits of the first book I tried reading the second book and didn't like it at all. The romantic relationship at the center of the second book was a twisted misogynistic fantasy imo

[@sigmapath1935]

Zero faith in Netflix.

[@maximusminimus8050]

I would hate this adaptation to be an action-adventure genre, that would diminish the greatness of the book. The tencent adaptation and the animation version are both disappointing that I stopped watching at around the 10th episode for both. The contemporary Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot adaptations have all become action movies too which is simply ridiculous. I am also surprised you know some Chinese and its historic figures too, good job!

[@ikissdogs3684]

just started the Tencent show on youtube and on episode 6 and it's excellent. Probably won't bother with Netflix. You just know they'll mess it up

[@bobspldbckwrds]

Let's be honest, the real reason that the netflix version is going to be worse than the chinese version is the lack of knock off Van Halen

[@gosnooky]

It seems like all franchises are walking on eggshells these days. So much shit gets cancelled, I feel anyone producing shows is really not afforded the freedom that they once were due to how fickle streamers and audiences have become in the last decade. Anyone undertaking an ambitious project like RoEP has to tread between certain lines very carefully. Keep it more faithful and get deep into the science? That could bore lots of everyday viewers and drive down the numbers - people will leave bad reviews, rant about it online, and the show would get cancelled. OK, so change some things up a bit, add more character building, switch some things around? That will piss off the book-faithful, but will appeal more to a wide audience, and the show gets seen through. So the question is which audience to alienate and which to cater to. After watching the show, it's clear which they chose - and I'm OK with it. The books will always exist, as will the Tencent series. Adaptation is NOT easy even for the simplest of books, and I think they're doing it justice so far. Merging the book's timelines made sense as it tied into the characters. Is it perfect? Of course not, but I kept watching, and I enjoyed it. Some people will hate it - I respect that position, you can't please everybody.

[@Yesica1993]

I can't believe people are still paying for Netflix after the child p**n that was, "Cuties." Which is still playing as of the time of this comment.

[@mordakie3805]

God shut up

[@jairo9ramalho]

It looks dreadful! I can't believe D. and D. will trash this work as they did with game of thrones.

[@Yith]

I'm not sure that what you're seeing is new characters... I think they're westernised versions of the existing ones. I must admit that the biggest issue I had when listening to the audio books of the series was keeping track of all the Chinese names. Characters blurred into each-other apart from some of them. Even occasionally the main characters were confusing. By changing them to be Western characters in some cases and still leaving the really important Chinese ones will make this a lot more understandable for a Western audience. The "Giant Machine in Space" is probably a Sophon unfolding. The "Neutrino Detector" looks like a suicide scene to me. Which makes loads of sense. Benedict Wong will be great as always I'm sure... Sophon appearing early in the VR game, looks like an odd decision to me...

[@GraceCounsellors]

I've seen things you people won't believe

[@tsukasa1608]

Hello, my friend out of space! We are human race!