3-Body Problem (Netflix show)- Book spoilers may be discussed

[Monahammer]

Anyone else watching the 3-body problem adaptation on Netflix?

It is a very, very strange blend of ultra-detailed faith to source literature and massive departure from source material all in one. But, I am enjoying it so far.

The only big question I have is the pacing. I am through 5 episodes and they're already done 1/3 books. I don't see how they will go past 3 seasons with the pace they're ripping through the source material. They've done some really intriguing things with pulling the main characters closer together than they are in the books; it does make the character development much more interesting (a big critique of the books) but also contracts the world dramatically.

One of the most appealing elements of the books, IMO, is how seemingly normal, average people could rise to impact the fate of all humans. I feel like we are losing this in favor of "these characters are all tied to the source of power".

The boat scene will be talked about for a while I think. That was loyal to the source material and almost exactly as I had envisioned. Totally barbaric and gruesome.

[photon]

For some reason I haven't been able to get through the first book, so I was planning on watching this so then I could go back and read the books.

[Monahammer]

The 2nd book is the best by far, and a totally different vibe.

The 1st is kind of like a mystery for the first 75% and then dives into a total horror. The 2nd is much more a political thriller about what happens to human civilization/ the earth with this new knowledge and impending doom. The 3rd is a love story that yanks the carpet out from under you any chance it gets. They're all being played out simultaneously in the show.

[Muta]

I watched the entire series last week; I thought it was decent! Very interesting concept; I do love the near-future extraterrestrial stuff. Definitely not my fave Netflix series (it has its warts), but looking forward to the next season for sure. Maybe I'll give the books a shot too.

[Monahammer]

Highly recommend the books. As mentioned above by photon, the first is sometimes seen as hard to get through. I was engrossed by the mystery elements which really helped.

I am having a lot of fun figuring out who the characters in the show are meant to be in the books. They have really altered some of the main characters, but you can tell pretty quickly who they're each supposed to be.

Book 2 is fantastic, great pay out for getting through book 1 and the universe that it builds is extremely intriguing. Book 3 fleshes out the universal elements a bit more.

I am assuming that the plan is to get to mid book 2 source material by end of this 1st season. That would leave next season to mop up the contents of book 2 and then you could really turn on the jets and create new stories within the universe. There's a lot of room to do that in.

[Ozy_Flame]

I think if they followed they actually followed the books to a tee, most of the viewer's heads would explode.

[blankall]

Watched the first episode. Really liked it. Definitely a slow pace. Lots of pretty heavy science in there.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by photon

For some reason I haven't been able to get through the first book, so I was planning on watching this so then I could go back and read the books.

The first book is the weakest by far. It's like 98% setup.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Anyone else watching the 3-body problem adaptation on Netflix?

It is a very, very strange blend of ultra-detailed faith to source literature and massive departure from source material all in one. But, I am enjoying it so far.

The only big question I have is the pacing. I am through 5 episodes and they're already done 1/3 books. I don't see how they will go past 3 seasons with the pace they're ripping through the source material. They've done some really intriguing things with pulling the main characters closer together than they are in the books; it does make the character development much more interesting (a big critique of the books) but also contracts the world dramatically.

One of the most appealing elements of the books, IMO, is how seemingly normal, average people could rise to impact the fate of all humans. I feel like we are losing this in favor of "these characters are all tied to the source of power".

The boat scene will be talked about for a while I think. That was loyal to the source material and almost exactly as I had envisioned. Totally barbaric and gruesome.

The books are like Asimov's: The characters are there only for suffering along the ride.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Shazam

The first book is the weakest by far. It's like 98% setup.

And I LIKE a slow burn.

It's probably less a critique on the books themselves and more just me; I've been having problems finishing ANY new book lately.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Shazam

The books are like Asimov's: The characters are there only for suffering along the ride.

It's funny you say that, I have been comparing Cixin to Asimov among friends who also read Sci Fi with mixed results. Reading some of his other works are reminiscent of many of Asimov's one off tales- the wandering earth for example.

I also found Death's End to be extremely reminiscent of Foundation and earth.

[Johnny Makarov]

All book spoilers? That would like 4+ years before any nonreaders can join the discussion.

[Monahammer]

I am not contemplating dropping the overall plot of books 2 and 3 in this thread, Johnny. But how they've started the show essentially beginning the story threads of all books at once will leave it impossible to not actually discuss some future spoilers, IMO.

[calumniate]

I've read all three books and even watched the 30 episode grind of the chinese tencent version.
I was, kind of underwhelmed with the new one. The tencent version was so long though and adhered to the original text so rigidly that this was somewhat refreshing. (Tencent was 30 episodes for book 1 only.. this is 8 episodes for 1.5 books).
Have no idea how a non-book reader would react to the new series. My gut feeling though is that many of the most intense scenes of discovery lack some punch or context to be as impactful as they could be

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by calumniate

I've read all three books and even watched the 30 episode grind of the chinese tencent version.
I was, kind of underwhelmed with the new one. The tencent version was so long though and adhered to the original text so rigidly that this was somewhat refreshing. (Tencent was 30 episodes for book 1 only.. this is 8 episodes for 1.5 books).
Have no idea how a non-book reader would react to the new series. My gut feeling though is that many of the most intense scenes of discovery lack some punch or context to be as impactful as they could be

I am feeling this and think it's related to the pacing. But I hope that the strategy is to do this and get to

Spoiler!

the future state deterrence era, where they will have abundant amounts of new technology and myriad potential side stories to explore and flesh out.

But, I may be hoping for way too much. The pacing is so fast so far that it has been hard to really come around to the terror I was feeling having read book 1. They also haven't done a good enough job so far explaining what a Sophon is capable of and why it's such a big deal. My wife didn't get that at all.

[DownInFlames]

We got Dumb and Dumber producing this show. Of course the pacing sucks. I enjoyed the first season but it really left me wanting more. I might try the TenCent version to see if it holds up better.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

We got Dumb and Dumber producing this show. Of course the pacing sucks. I enjoyed the first season but it really left me wanting more. I might try the TenCent version to see if it holds up better.

I do recommend the tencent version. Many baseline things are explained in way more detail. Like why are the scientists killing themselves / why has science gone haywire. Funny enough the civilization sim scenes are somehow done better than in the high-budget Netflix one

I'm not sure the 'why' part of the wallfacer was sufficiently explained in the Netflix version, especially for newcomers

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by photon

And I LIKE a slow burn.

It's probably less a critique on the books themselves and more just me; I've been having problems finishing ANY new book lately.

I struggled getting through the first book (haven't attempted the others yet). Maybe it was partly cultural and partly translation-related, it had some great ideas but I didn't really connect with the characters and found the writing kind of stilted/awkward.

[#-3]

I don't really read narrative, because my brain just isn't wired for it. So I have not and will not read the books.

I do find the pace a bit slow, but don't mind it. This is exactly the type of Sci-Fi I like. Near Future, Hard/Speculative , and Suspenseful. In some way's it reminds me of the first half of season 1 of The Expanse, which I think is a good thing.

For me the characters have been the highlights, I am really enjoying the people as much as anything.

[#-3]

I finished the back half of the season last night.

I found the pace picked up, and I really enjoyed the characters / acting a lot throughout the season. It really feels like the type of show that could find it's legs and be great once stuff starts happening.