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Well I not read the books or seen the show ,but it does look interesting to say the least .And from China is where the writer ,as the story is suppose to be .So I guess China is going doh their version of the book ,at alike some point no doubt .Since would consider a little white washing in this one .Since the source is form China .
@@jonathanbarker1016They did already by Tencent Streaming services in 2023. That version is 30 episodes long for book one and said the Season 2 for book 2 is in the make. Due to the series volume (hours) it can go into more details and avoided some sudden move of the plot. However, the Culture Revolution part has to be censored and totally rewritten, making Ye’s motivation a little weak.
@jonathanbarker1016, As a fan of the books, Im not as concerned with racial whitewashing as much as cultural washing and dumbing everything down. They completely erased a lot of the core Chinese cultural and sociopolitical themes and elements that were important to the books. Imagine if someone decided to remake Squid Game but instead of Korea with significant wealth inequalities, they put the setting in a Norway where everybody is unionized, people are all paid decent wages, and have universal healthcare. That just ruins the key messages and themes of the work. And the show assumes American audiences are all clueless and dont understand basic analogies explaining how scientific ideas work.
Left out the #1 difference. The book was amazing and the show sucks because of its typical leftist changes made to the story create a diverse cast of shit characters. The Chinese show was far superior, mainly because it was made by people not racist towards Asians.
It's interesting to read all the comments here. Honestly I think the netflix show did a great job introducing the story. Maybe for some it's a simplified version but to me it's a good thing I mean it introduces the audience to this universe and if they want to they can go read the book for more. I certainly really want to read them now. And making people want to read Sci-Fi books about physics is a win in my opinion. (Or read books at all let's face it.)
For the ones that read the books, keep in mind, it’s “Based on” not an “adaptation of”…. Even so, as someone that totally fell in love with the books (and author), I really enjoyed Netflix’s take on this amazing story and looking forward to it continuation.
@@sophonblock76 Based on is literally in the opening credits and what is it a remake of? The Chinese adaptation which followed the books more closely? Your argument isn’t making much sense.
@@ShirleyTimple Semantics are definitely needed as the subject is “It’s not following the book exactly (or even mostly 😋). You, mixing up personal opinion with fact and using it as a counter, is very entertaining on its own lol
@@rafaelsomething5880there are haters I loved the series, this is a complete story in 8 episodes, but it could continue in seasons 2 and 3 and I wish it will happen!
Agreed 100%. I was concerned at first, but I quickly realized that the "Oxford 5" were just the main characters from books 2 and 3 introduced a little bit early. Sure, the names and ethnicities are changed, but the characters are essentially the same, and they go through a lot of the same events. The Wallfacer stuff and the Project Staircase stuff in particular is almost 1:1 from the books. Ye Wenjie is almost completely intact from the books. They put a lot of care and attention to detail when making the tv series.
I hope not. Cheng Xin is the most annoying character. She makes dumb decisions over and over again and gets a pass for it. I hope they keep most everything the same except for her character.
My favorite book to date, I LOVE how they explored the 4th dimension topic and expanded even more on the Dark Forest Theory from the second book. Love how super sci-fi it got.
the general consensus seems to be that people who read the book think the show is trash because they changed it up a bit. but anyone who hasnt read the books think the show is amazing. i think people need to get over the fact that not everything has to be a 1 to 1 adaption. that would make things boring.
The thing is they made the right choices (I read the books) they are trying their best to tell a linear storyline and make it as cohesive as possible. Yes things mentioned in the 3rd book was shown in the first season but they had to do that otherwise the plot on the show would look ridiculous. I still think most pol who read the books love the adaptation so far (I know I have for sure) and so had Quinn and if Quinn says it's good it's good (Quinn is literally the foremost guy on UA-cam when it comes to sci-fi series like Dune and The 3 Body Problem series)
The show is fantastic fr Never read the book, but I was mesmerized by the plot. I migth buy the darling forest instead of waiting for possible season 2
I think the problem with the series is the oversimplification of characters. Taking Ye Wenjie as example. She and her experience are the highlights of book one. Her desperation, her hope (example when almost dying giving birth to Yang Dong, then saved and kindly treated by the villagers), her regret (for starting the ETO and lost control, just like another mad culture revolution), her redemption (inspiring LuoJi). While now she becomes just a flat character filled with hatred. This book series has so much more to dig, that if they did it justice, it could hit a much higher level rather than now being just average, because they wanted to swallow too much in one go.
What are you talking about? She still gets her redemption by inspiring Saul. And we don't get all the details, but we can see both her hatred and eventual regret.
@@hanslehnardt7230 the problem is, after removing the experience of kindness in her life, that her redemption and regret seems to lack motivation. As a product of that era, Ye’s background colour is desperate and numb ash grey with sparkling of tiny hopes, hatred has faded away from her a long time ago. I just feel that she is really one of the characters that they should devote more time into. And that’s just one aspect I think need improvement
@@hanslehnardt7230 But the reason she inspires Saul is more like a collapse of faith rather than save humanity; in the book Ye Wenjie sees the Trisolaran as a tool to make human society better, but the TV series treats it more like Ye Wenjie believes in a san-ti religion. i don't know which one is better, but for me, I prefer Ye to act like an idealist rather than a religious leader, btw 3 body problem is a good show overalls. But within eight episodes in a season it seems hard to portray a character as complex as Ye Wenjie. In the book, this character is as popular as Thomas Wade. Apparently she didn't get the same treatment as Thomas Wade
💯 agree. The show suffers from oversimplification. Unfortunately that's what the masses demand, they need action and things happening or they will get bored... They don't want to suffer through Ye's backstory so in a way I get what Netflix and the producers are doing... This is what "entertainment" is today - action and shallow humor 🤷♂️
I feel the opposite. In the book only Ye Wenjie and to a less extend TIanmien, are somewhat developed characters, the other ones are just mere tools for an objective. In the series they all got more substance an meaning. Also the book is really glaciar on all the horrible things that happen, no one really reacts emotionally.
as a reader of the books, I think everything is moving waaay too fast and the tone is nothing like the story should be, but I am just glad that the story is still respected. Hopefully season 2 slows things down and isn't afraid to take risks because, season 1 was the most "netflix-ified" example I've seen in a long time.
I was reminded of the BBC/HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials that also had to fill three dense books into three 8-episode-long seasons. I think in both cases it works well. Although I only read the first book of Liu Cixin‘s trilogy so far so the staircase and the Wallfacer parts came as a surprise to me.
They are in the constant risk of being cancelled, and they planned for 4 seasons. I don't think is that fast, It looks that way because they are explaining the 3 books at the same time. 4 seasons for 3 books means 1 + 1/3 of book per season. And is exactly what they did on this first one. Of courser they have to remove things, but I think that similarly to what they did in Lord Of the Rings, the did it in a very clever way.
@@framegrace1 your math is backwards. 4 seasons for 3 books means 2 thirds of a book per season. But your supposition concerning the threat of cancelling is spot on. They had to take some of the juicier bits from wherever it makes sense to keep the audience entertained. As this isn't a documentary, or non-fiction, it isn't allowed to be boring, and the book, while very well written and amazing in and of itself, was clearly not written with an adaptation in mind. As an avid fan of the book, I feel the soul of Liu Cixin's work is there and the new perspective makes it interesting even for people who have the book memorized.
@@AshtonCoolman it amazing how many people actually believe the lies that China censor history. if China censor history, this book wouldn't exist in the first place to be translated, wouldn't it? the show do censor is death and smoking since they want broadcast right, it a running joke in the show were the cop keep wanting to smoke but is always interrupted... xD I was surprise they got away with showing people get sliced up, but i guess the character was out of focus so the censor didn't mind or caught it.
@@AshtonCoolman It may be different from what some people imagine，the Cultural Revolution is not a completely taboo topic on chinese Internet. The Chinese version’s description of this part of the Cultural Revolution is not as straightforward as the Netflix version, but with more than thirty episodes, there is more time to deepen it. It perfectly explains why Ye Wenjie fell into despair for human civilization
Loved the show. I immediately got online after finishing the last episode and read what happens in book 2 and 3 and holy shit does the story get absolutely fucking bonkers.
When i read the three books i had to think about it for like 4 weeks, it was definetely the most impressive impression any book (series) ever had on me, sometimes still thinking about it
With all the adding, cutting, shifting, shuffling, etc. all the characters and events, I think the show is more appropriate to be labeled as "inspired by", not adaptation.
This show is a lot better than Game of Thrones. I watched all the episodes, it was fun at times, but inconsequential to anybody's life. 3 Body Problem actually serves as a good story base for international cooperation (or our lack thereof)
For people who liked the books or thought the tv went too fast or changed too much, try the Chinese series adaptation. It was much closer to the books and season 1 is 30 hours covering just the first book.
@@InAHandBasket they used to be available on UA-cam at MiGu official channel, but now only the first two are still available. You could check streaming services, maybe Hulu
I recommend watching the Chinese movie series (San Ti / Three Body) with 30 episodes, covering the 1st book. It's much more detailed than the Netflix series, with many scientific explanations, and the events follow the original book, I think this is the new king of sci-fi! It's a pity Netflix provided money for only 8 episodes, this was not enough to tell the story properly, it was just scratching the surface, they could not go into details, depths of the phenomenal story.
I was skeptical about the 3 body problem, but fortunately my daughter recommended it to me. I am a big fan of science fiction, not science fantasy or even worse pure fantasy passed off as Sci-fi. This series impressed me! (Something that has not happened in a very long time.) They did not go light with the science part...when I had to explain the 3 body problem (Newton's problem) and what the WOW signal is, to my wife, that was a good thing. Now I hope that Netflix will continue with the series. I will read the book after that.
This garbage impressed you? All the brilliance of the story was removed and was dumbed down. The Chinese version actually stuck to the award winning novel.
I personally think this movie is made for people like me, and my friends, who can't really understand all the science part. My sister and I, for example, couldn't really understand what happened in Auggie's scene when she shut down the lab, what was nanofiber, etc. We only understood it in episode 5. Maybe it became more difficult since English isn't our mother tongue. But for ppl like us, despite our limited understanding, we enjoyed the plot. I personally looked up for more explanation online and it didn't take away my initial enjoyment of the show.
Overall, I thought it was a decent adaptation. I was hoping to get a Sophon zoom meeting between old Ye and the original San Ti who tried to warn her. I really thought that would have been an amazing opportunity for a mountain top swan song conversation. Far better than just Tatiana. I really thought Tatiana was going to say "before you go, there is someone who wants to talk to you...."
I think re-imagining the characters was a good move so there is some continuity and characters to follow throughout the whole story. In the books almost none of the characters except for a handful (Wade, Lou Ji, Ye Wenjie, Cheng Xin, Yun Tianming) are really developed. A lot of characters appear for a bit and then vanish from the story never to be seen again. This would make for very confusing TV
You appear to have never read a remotely decent novel. A story should have a few set established characters it revolves around. This shit series gutted the story so they can have a larger more diverse cast which removed the focus from the actual story itself.
I watched the series and haven’t read the book. This is one of the most intriguing stories I have come across in this genre and a fascinating one. Although the last few episodes a bit slow in my opinion compared to the scintillating initial episodes, i binge watched it. I am all set to read the triology
The story is intriguing because the author have written a good book, got nothing to do with the series. if you able to watch the chinese tv version, that will blow your mind even more.
I read the OG chinese version. The author struggled with storytelling and character development until the third book. Considering it was his debut work, I can forgive this, especially since his strength lies in explaining physics, which I love. Although Netflix excelled in storytelling, but fell short in explaining most of the concepts behind alien technology, which the book delves into with great detail.
Fair take. I miss that physics stuff too, but I can accept that the average viewer would want no part. Curious how they will handle the 4th dimensional scenes. 😆
Is it possible Cixin Liu wrote the story from a Chinese point view, so that cultural difference is playing a role here? If so, maybe it is a good chance to learn from it and enjoy. People cannot assume all fictions or literatures must follow the same pattern that westerners are familiar with.
@@aroonsubway2079 he absolutely wrote it from a Chinese cultural view. There are parts in the books where characters have conversations that, they just don't feel normal from an American perspective. It's pretty interesting as a reader from the states to enhabit that space, I thought. For a studio though, it would be a gamble. Even if they used a more Asian cast, it would be with western dialog.
Im currently watching and reading Deaths End. I have a bit of a mixed opinion on these character changes but don't find them much of a problem. Still I prefer the books than the show
I find it interesting of the alterations Ken Liu made in translations. For example, the title of the 3rd book was translated as "Death's End", but the direct translation of the original title is "God of Death Lives Forever". The meaning is vastly different, and I think the original title fits the story better.
To me it seems they really only made three significant changes but that did cause some ripple effects: i) they "UKified" the characters and location, ii) reorganised the story so it's mostly chronological and iii) made some minor changes to help the audience with some of the physics and political explanations. Better than a lot of book adaptations and in some ways a definite improvement for a wider audience.
@@Lesdrasill What do you mean? The cultural revolution scene is how it is depicted in the english translation book. From what I gathered it was also true to history. Intellectuals were abused and shamed in the Cultural revolution.
I am halfway through the 2nd book and it truly is a difficult text to adapt. There are long dissertations about science, military strategies, mathematics or even love (Luo Ji and the writer), to summarize everything to turn it into film/tv language must have been hard. I don't like some changes that have been done, but I think it's a dynamic ans well crafted show. I still haven't seen the Chinese version.
The Chinese version is more closely to the 1st book and they even added things/characters who are not in the book. But the pace is so slow and I feel boring when watching it…. Not really interesting to watch honestly..,
@@thomasjones4570 Also falls under the "so what". I appreciated how they tried to adapt a very complex set of novels into a single series. You seem to have a bad case of intellectual snobbishness. Get over it.
@@michaeltrumper Ahh yes the ol' high school drop-out "tried". "I will just accept this dumbed down version they felt I needed, just because" you DO have a bad case of spending your little time on low value content.
The mediums of episodic tv on screen and published novels are very different and require ‘adaptation’. I always use the example of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Yes, they are different and the film made changes to the book. But as a result, they are each superior stories, within their own mediums.
I hated Netflix depiction how the Universe flickered, they actually went and flickered all the stars what human eye can see in our skies, like it was some lightbulb turning on and off, that is really a dumbed down version. However the tencent chinese version, the flickering of the universe was depicted by measuring cosmic waves fluctuations, that is a much more scientific way of showing it.
Cosmic background microwave radiation, but your point stands. Every change they made was for the dumb. When all screens showed the bugs message and the sky became a mirror (though with sunshine still going through I guess), I thought, OMG things are gonna go down now. Then in the episode everything is business as usual. If the sophons could do that, I was wondering why not keep doing it? And then I read the book, and it makes way more sense.
IMO, In the TV show, some characters are too fragmented, the pace of storytelling is too fast that some scenes needs more emotional build up. And some details I think it’s not necessary. Break up Wang Miao into couple of different scientists is a cool idea. But the downside is, it’s really hard for the audience to memorize and relate to so many different characters all at once. Another character I think it’s not adapted well is Yang Weining, Ye Wenjie’s husband. In the book, he loves Ye, and he is probably one of the few people who truly cared about Ye and remind her of the good side of humanity. Thus, when Ye killed him, you can tell there is a struggle and conflict in her action. Which made both characters deeper and gives more dimensions. However, in the TV show, Yang seems to be another person who betrayed Ye by stealing her discovery about the sun. Which in my opinion made the character much more boring and cliche. I also don’t like they added that little NPC girl in the VR game. She keeps screaming “save me” that at some point it becomes annoying. I guess the Show is trying to tell us how cruel the three sun problem is, but I think everyone gets it, and keeps repeating that girl is just not necessary. Another detail I noticed is, in the scene when the universe winks at you, the show took it quite literally, by just flicking the stars. Which seems a little cheap as if you are playing a PPT slides. While in the book and Chinese TV show, the so-called universe winks is actually a wave or radiation that only can be detected by using scientific methods and equipment. Which I think it’s much clever and also will shock scientists even more.
I highly recommend reading the books, they are deeper and make more sense. To be honest, the Netflix adaptation of the Three Body Problem seems very simplified to me, with flat characters and atrocious dialogue. Everyone who says it's just a few changes hasn't read the books at all.
It’s really annoying that this wasn’t well researched enough to include the fact that Jack is absolutely a character in the books. Tianming has a friend from college that owns the beverage company. Y’all need to watch Quinn’s ideas … the differences between the show in the bucks cannot be pointed out in 13 minutes. There also is multiplayer mode in the game , what are you talking about ?! my biggest issue with the show is that the cop isn’t playing the game like he is in the book. Tatiana is shen yufei
The quality of the episodes drops off around 4-5. It feels like it was suddenly directed, edited, and written by a completely different group of people. One scene in particular had insane microphone peaking on one character.
This series is an incredible storytelling achievement. It takes you on an amazing journey that stays true to its original story. More than just an adaptation, it deeply explores what the future could hold, including the chance of meeting beings from other planets. It asks big questions about whether we should try to contact aliens and what we need to think about if we do. The series also brings a unique kind of fear, not from scary things but from the huge, mysterious universe around us. This fear, mixed with wonder and the unknown, makes the show more than just entertaining-it's a thought-provoking look at what lies beyond our world and how we fit into the vastness of space.
You have to believe that there are aliens in the first place to think it is a scenario against the dangers of extra-terrestrials to earth. I think the series shows that we are the danger. The religious fanaticism for one thing. The fanatics of capitalism etc. science that is used to kill etc.
In my university we have Chinese exchange students and I talked to some of them about this. They do not like the Netflix version and told me in china they made their own version and it is better
The Chinese version is better. Totally agree. I’m not Chinese and I’ve not read the books, but the Chinese version is deeper, philosophical and intellectual. It’s not perfect, but what is
I've read the books with great passion and watched the Chinese version before the Netflix one but I could not finish it, it was super boring. It's very, very litteral and lacks rythm.
@@helenedastana Then you are not a real fan of the books, as the chinese version was 99% true to the book and had more character development than the books even.
Love the show. Its pretty damn accurate to the books all things considered, not a 1-1 direct translation but all the story beats are there. Damn im glad they didnt fuck it up. DnD may be shit at writing completely new stuff (game of thrones late seasons) but they can adapt books pretty damn well.
@@brodull1142 you realise PRC is not the one veto supporting Israel in committing genocide right? let be real here, China is not the evil government in this world.
As a bug, I just had to read the trilogy first...then I watched the Netflix series. The books are so much more detailed and demanding, keeping my curiosity at a fever pitch. The screen version changes lots (grrr) and spoon feeds the narrative (but I still liked watched season one).
I just finished watching the series yesterday. I went blind. I have not read the books, I'm not even much of a sci-fin fan but I really liked this series. I totally understand and respect that some book readers may have found this a little too fast-paced. But honestly, with me having issues with very short attention span, I really liked its pacing. It's no bullsh*t straight to the point. As a regular audience, I don't care about the deep diving tidbits, that will surely make me bored. Hope this gets Season 2 and get to the end.
I've read the first book and watched the show. I do like the show brought in additional characters in the show. Making the show true to the book with only 2 people would not have made for a very good show in my opinion. I really didn't like jumping all over in the timeline in the book, i think the linear in order way works much better. The additions Netflix has added is what makes the show more entertaining for me.
Having read books; I think show is amazing. No movie/show can be an exact copy of a book, and nor should it be! A great job in aligning timeline and consolidating story lines & characters, but essence & magic remain! Brilliant!
Just be warned the first book is mad boring or just alot of nothing happening and the second book is good but there is alot of just the main character fucking about. Just let me know what you think.
My reminder(all you need to know) Read all three books Remember Chinese names don’t try to associate the plots and settings with the show, the show is adaption() Chinese ideas and thoughts need to be comprehended differently sometimes, this will not be a big problem🤓
Personally as someone who didn't know about the original book, I really like the way how they changed and directed it. It was a lot of fun to watch and some characters were entertaining. Only downside for me was the last episode that had almost no story or meaning at all. I understand that they should keep story for the other seasons but it felt quite pointless.
Tldr - the book has important philosophical ideas, big thinking and almost reads like a sci-fi horror unlike any other. The author takes some liberty with fringe science but has put alot of thought into how things might play out like a 'what if' sci-fi scenario and the answers tend to be logical and terrifying. The TV series is more like a good action sci-fi interspersed with drama. It removes alot of the philosophical aspects and simplifies the hard science. It is a different experience altogether. I would say the TV series simplifies the books alot let's say from a level of 10/10 down to a level of 3/10. This is why book readers feel the show is not good. It also gives it a Hollywood feel which removes a sense of realism the book delivers. This is unfortunately just a safe play on what Netflix viewers want. Big actors big explosions and CGI. It's entertainment for TV and not meant to be fan service anyway. Takeaway: if you like big ideas, esp sci-fi please read the book first. If not, the TV show is good enough to explore core concepts from the book. (but you'll need to pay attention as core concepts are sometimes mentioned or explained very briefly - eg. My wife missed a min of dialogue and completely misinterpreted the rest of the episode. Even the important events happening to important characters sometimes aren't acted out in a scene but just mentioned in dialogue between other characters so it's easy to miss.) I think if the TV series started of as a thriller mystery, evolving into horror and then the struggle against hopelessness and dread... That would better convey the book. The best style would be that of Hannibal, contact, and Chernobyl series. Maybe a little bit of that xfiles vibe at the start when it was still a mystery before the antagonists were revealed.
I'll say that the series is not that faithful to the books in terms of a few things but the ideas and I think they did a good job at recreating it. I would like to describe the show as terrifyingly beautiful!
Both are good. Actually like the show more. My only gripe is how localised all the characters are. Would have preferred to see the story spread across the globe.
I read the first book and now still reading the 2nd book, I also watched the Chinese version of adapted series… and I think this Netflix show is great in covering the whole storyline with rearranging storylines and characters… so it’s more interesting to watch especially for global and international audiences. I like this series and can’t wait for the second season
I liked the adaptation of Tianming into Will, the connection with Jin and Jack's testament. It makes more sense than the book version, which feels very forced.
Jack Rooney’s character is related to a character from Death’s End where Yun Tianming (Will’s character) ends up getting money from Jack’s counterpart character as a token of appreciation for helping them come up with a new product idea.
I loved the books because they took on amazing scientific ideas and really made me think about them as I read. The shortcoming of the novels is that they had poor character development. The Netflix show fixed that.
I wouldnt say that the book characters are poorly developed. The concept of the series tackles gargantuan ideas that it dwarves the characters. And yes, I agree that the Netflix show gave the characters a bit of a boost to make it more palatable for the new comers to the story.
I think to tell a good adapted story, we need to move away from 8 episodes a season! The least should be 10 and maximum 12 or 13. Packing too much in too few episodes is usually a series killer😢
Having read the books and not knowing any of the science, I have to say the tv series is super enjoyable. Im not into details and explanations, which the book had a lot of. I did get confused on trying to match the characters to the ones in the book though. Great adaption for americans!
The worst thing about this is that most people are going to only know THIS story and not the actual best selling story....a fucked up Hollywood toned down piece of shit story. The Chinese series released 2 years ago was leagues above this version.
i've read the books and as you said there are lots of differences but for the show i liked the adaptation. it was a hard work to do and they've done it. Producers did well. Second season will be much much harder imo. i hope they can complete it.
I think this show was a cool way to adapt the books. I love them, but this difference take is a great way to make the show fresh for readers, while keeping the ideas in tact.
You missed out the single most important point: the inane and contorted “joke” that Saul is told at the end. That was most avoidable. I does not capture the nuance of the axioms used in the books which are based on game theory and the Fermi paradox: humanity’s need for survival in the backdrop of a chain of suspicion, and technological explosion coupled with a need to expand within a universe with finite resources. Together they form the basis for cosmological sociology and set the groundwork for guessing at the nature of the dark forest. The joke is stupid and contains only one aspect of the problem: if you make yourself known then you will be attacked. Retrofitting it to what later happens in the books is like trying to desperately fit a square peg into a round hole. One must ask the question: why do show runners and wannabe writers think they can write better than an award-winning author?
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when Netflix producers take another brilliant book series and transform it into a visually stunning but intellectually stunted TV series. Fortunately, we have a growing art form that provides an alternative: the audiobook as performed by talented voice actors. Faithful to the book, yet providing an extra dimension that complements one’s own reading of the books. The recording (and translation) of the Tri-Solaris books by Macmillan Books is brilliant in every way that the Netflix version is disappointing.
Both and no, I don't think it's trash. Because unlike the wheel of time the people involved did everything they could to make it as truly the book is possible. The main problem people don't get is transferring a book or books onto TV and to hook an audience and hasn't read it. You can't be as cold and unattached to characters. To make up for the lack of narration and knowing what's going on before the characters do as you do. You read, they have to bring it parts of the storyline from the next book or the third for it to make sense cuz you don't have the all-knowing viewpoint of a reader
It was great and looking forward to season 2. Even the Chinese version had this problem but the show taking place all in one country and few locations is the part I notice most 😂
The books were much better!! The randomness of human thoughts and loneliness is what defined the books for me. The whole journey is lonely, it is hard science fiction not soft. You cant give a five minute monologue instead of 100s of pages of detailed writing. Why are they rushing? Why are all characters friends from the start? Are they the chosen ones? Lisan al Gaib? Not even 1 time jump has happened in the series and yet we have all heroes already. We arent supposed to stick with most characters in the books, they are just there to explore ideas. The books are very long, but the ideas are explored much better there. Rest is as they say, your wish... what you wanna consume. I am just very glad I read the books first, imagination is 100% times better for this sort of stuff, IMO And China is barely explored here. The chick who calls aliens doesnt even understand her own feelings in the books, that worked so well. Here she had a sudden 180.
I like how they’ve split the key characters from the novel series into the Oxford 5 and makes the adaptation such that I think they can keep these characters in future series. Whereas the books introduce new charatcers for different things since the timescales in it are large. And I love da shis dry humour which is similar to the books
The fact that the show barely touched on the human computer, omitted the formation of the moon and the creation of the Sophons is just bizarre. These were incredibly cinematic moments that I assume were left out because the creators thought the audience was “too dumb”.
I have one question still lingering in my mind after finishing the Netflix series... What REALLY happens when the "countdown" reaches zero? Does the affected people die or gets killed? Auggie stopped at 1 minute, but when she restated the nanofibre project, the countdown disappears. And the final scene with Wade in the plane hints at torture, but death?
Or ETO is going to kill her. The countdown is caused by a proton sent by Trisolarians, which is very small with no weight, hardly cause physical harm to humans. it can travel in light speed and induce hallucinations on the retina, or send messages to ETO to do the dirty job
I think the first season is meant to be a hook to get people interested before throwing complex explanations on them. Kinda like what Dark did. The first season was more of a mystery-thriller than an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. Establish the world and the characters first and tell the story through their perspectives and explain things after. I haven't read the books but i think Saul would be the one making sense of things for audience. He didn't have a big role in the first season but his character was setup pretty nicely for things to come.
i liked all the changes and combinations. Cleaner and easier. I did, however, really disagree with changing Vera's father and the fact that her mom killed her dad, kind of. it adds true meaning to the scene at the end where she's going to throw herself off the same cliff.
@@thorjansen If someone is speaking chinglish, I bet you are the first one to giggle, but triggered when it happens in reverse, easily entertained indeed lol
The Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" has left me with a sense of unfulfilled potential. The original novel, while not brimming with characters of profound depth, offers a canvas ripe for exploration. These figures, primarily serving as narrative devices within the intricate plot, present a golden opportunity for the series to delve into their complexities and enrich the viewing experience. Regrettably, the adaptation opts for a path of least resistance, focusing on superficial drama and romantic entanglements rather than the nuanced character development that could truly captivate an audience. The series' portrayal of Ye Wenjie, for instance, simplifies her into a caricature of evil, ignoring the chance to unravel the multifaceted motivations and historical context that could make her a compelling character. This one-dimensional depiction is symptomatic of a broader issue: the adaptation's reluctance to delve beneath the surface and explore the rich character arcs that could reflect the novel's deeper themes. The missed opportunity is palpable. With more thoughtful storytelling, the series could have transformed these narrative tools into fully realized characters, each with their own struggles and growth, mirroring the broader existential questions posed by the novel. Instead, the focus on easy character tropes and melodramatic subplots feels like a letdown, especially for fans who were hoping for a more profound exploration of humanity's challenges and choices when faced with cosmic-scale threats. In its current form, the series trades the novel's intellectual curiosity and grand ideas for a more conventional, albeit less impactful, narrative. It's a stark contrast to the original work's invitation to ponder our place in the universe. The adaptation, in trying to make the story more accessible, has perhaps inadvertently stripped away the very elements that made "The Three-Body Problem" such a thought-provoking and groundbreaking piece of science fiction.
As currently China has issues with espionage, cyber attacks and mass spying It’s hard to swallow a Chinese military leader as 1 of 3. Also the space effort without either Russia, or NASA/ JPL makes it a hard swallow. I was hoping that risking Cho would stay. Her character was refreshing and strong.
In the Netflix adaptation, they definitely added key roles that made the story way more interesting and engaging to the audience. Without them, I believe staying true to the book would feel too fast and shallow on so many aspects of the story.
I'm a fan of the books but really like the changes and direction of the show. Whereas the books have no real character depth or development - they only stand to act as a common thread between all the disparate but brilliant ideas - Netflix has made the characters actual identities with relationships. This is pretty important for people that haven't read the books. The people I watched the show are not science buffs and have no interest in reading the books, but they love the characters and what is happening. ...I told them to hold on!
After reading book 1 and now book 2 I prefer the netflix series and the changes. At this point I'm reading the books just in case it's cancelled so I can see the concllusion
For the adaption to the screen viewer, the VR headset, quoted by the scientist on the shows, is 100 yrs ahead. It's super contradict to the books that the SenTi refused to give tech/knowledge to the cult (quite logical, don't you think?). In the books, the Senti have very clear agenda to kill all the human. with the power of sophon in the shows, it's easily to wipe human on earth easily just now. IDK, maybe the aliens in the shows would be different.
Even in the books it's more complicated than that. The books talk about how there are different factions on Trisolaris arguing for different plans with what to do with humans, including plans to coexist.
The books were amazing and in my top ten best reads. Another series that is in my favorites list is "Wheel of time". While 3 Body Problem isn't the perfect adaptation, it also is not the mess that was made out of WoT. It only takes seconds to come up with ways they could have wrecked this series... Be happy that Ye Wenjie's didn't reply to the aliens because of some silly western made-up problem. Be happy we got the Oxford five instead of the OnlyFans five.
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you should do the differences between the Netflix and AmazonPrimeVideo versions.
Well I not read the books or seen the show ,but it does look interesting to say the least .And from China is where the writer ,as the story is suppose to be .So I guess China is going doh their version of the book ,at alike some point no doubt .Since would consider a little white washing in this one .Since the source is form China .
@@jonathanbarker1016They did already by Tencent Streaming services in 2023. That version is 30 episodes long for book one and said the Season 2 for book 2 is in the make. Due to the series volume (hours) it can go into more details and avoided some sudden move of the plot. However, the Culture Revolution part has to be censored and totally rewritten, making Ye’s motivation a little weak.
@jonathanbarker1016, As a fan of the books, Im not as concerned with racial whitewashing as much as cultural washing and dumbing everything down. They completely erased a lot of the core Chinese cultural and sociopolitical themes and elements that were important to the books. Imagine if someone decided to remake Squid Game but instead of Korea with significant wealth inequalities, they put the setting in a Norway where everybody is unionized, people are all paid decent wages, and have universal healthcare. That just ruins the key messages and themes of the work. And the show assumes American audiences are all clueless and dont understand basic analogies explaining how scientific ideas work.
Left out the #1 difference.
The book was amazing and the show sucks because of its typical leftist changes made to the story create a diverse cast of shit characters. The Chinese show was far superior, mainly because it was made by people not racist towards Asians.
It's interesting to read all the comments here. Honestly I think the netflix show did a great job introducing the story. Maybe for some it's a simplified version but to me it's a good thing I mean it introduces the audience to this universe and if they want to they can go read the book for more. I certainly really want to read them now. And making people want to read Sci-Fi books about physics is a win in my opinion. (Or read books at all let's face it.)
For the ones that read the books, keep in mind, it’s “Based on” not an “adaptation of”….
Even so, as someone that totally fell in love with the books (and author), I really enjoyed Netflix’s take on this amazing story and looking forward to it continuation.
Completely agree. Especially Saul. I cannot wait for him to turn into the Luo Ji much later.
It was advertised as an adaptation, but this is just a remake not even based on.
Semantics don't make the show good lol
@@sophonblock76 Based on is literally in the opening credits and what is it a remake of? The Chinese adaptation which followed the books more closely? Your argument isn’t making much sense.
@@ShirleyTimple Semantics are definitely needed as the subject is “It’s not following the book exactly (or even mostly 😋).
You, mixing up personal opinion with fact and using it as a counter, is very entertaining on its own lol
As a fan of the books, I appreciate how the series captures the essence while offering fresh perspectives.
you are kidding ,right?
@@taaareee3570 why?
@@rafaelsomething5880there are haters
I loved the series, this is a complete story in 8 episodes, but it could continue in seasons 2 and 3 and I wish it will happen!
@@taaareee3570 because someone having an opinion unlike our own is unacceptable, right?
Agreed 100%. I was concerned at first, but I quickly realized that the "Oxford 5" were just the main characters from books 2 and 3 introduced a little bit early. Sure, the names and ethnicities are changed, but the characters are essentially the same, and they go through a lot of the same events. The Wallfacer stuff and the Project Staircase stuff in particular is almost 1:1 from the books. Ye Wenjie is almost completely intact from the books.
They put a lot of care and attention to detail when making the tv series.
Death's end is so mind bending. I hope they end the show the way the book ends.
I hope not. Cheng Xin is the most annoying character. She makes dumb decisions over and over again and gets a pass for it. I hope they keep most everything the same except for her character.
My favorite book to date, I LOVE how they explored the 4th dimension topic and expanded even more on the Dark Forest Theory from the second book. Love how super sci-fi it got.
@@drew284 But that's just reality. Just like how escapism got banned and why light-speed spacecrafts were also banned.
the general consensus seems to be that people who read the book think the show is trash because they changed it up a bit. but anyone who hasnt read the books think the show is amazing. i think people need to get over the fact that not everything has to be a 1 to 1 adaption. that would make things boring.
The thing is they made the right choices (I read the books) they are trying their best to tell a linear storyline and make it as cohesive as possible. Yes things mentioned in the 3rd book was shown in the first season but they had to do that otherwise the plot on the show would look ridiculous. I still think most pol who read the books love the adaptation so far (I know I have for sure) and so had Quinn and if Quinn says it's good it's good (Quinn is literally the foremost guy on UA-cam when it comes to sci-fi series like Dune and The 3 Body Problem series)
I read the book and I think the show is great. I think it’s a vocal minority that are complaining about it not being a 1:1 adaptation.
@@1ncredulous exactly, I feel the same way 👍🏾
The show is fantastic fr
Never read the book, but I was mesmerized by the plot. I migth buy the darling forest instead of waiting for possible season 2
People are entitled to their opinions
I think the problem with the series is the oversimplification of characters. Taking Ye Wenjie as example. She and her experience are the highlights of book one. Her desperation, her hope (example when almost dying giving birth to Yang Dong, then saved and kindly treated by the villagers), her regret (for starting the ETO and lost control, just like another mad culture revolution), her redemption (inspiring LuoJi). While now she becomes just a flat character filled with hatred. This book series has so much more to dig, that if they did it justice, it could hit a much higher level rather than now being just average, because they wanted to swallow too much in one go.
What are you talking about? She still gets her redemption by inspiring Saul. And we don't get all the details, but we can see both her hatred and eventual regret.
@@hanslehnardt7230 the problem is, after removing the experience of kindness in her life, that her redemption and regret seems to lack motivation. As a product of that era, Ye’s background colour is desperate and numb ash grey with sparkling of tiny hopes, hatred has faded away from her a long time ago. I just feel that she is really one of the characters that they should devote more time into. And that’s just one aspect I think need improvement
@@hanslehnardt7230 But the reason she inspires Saul is more like a collapse of faith rather than save humanity; in the book Ye Wenjie sees the Trisolaran as a tool to make human society better, but the TV series treats it more like Ye Wenjie believes in a san-ti religion. i don't know which one is better, but for me, I prefer Ye to act like an idealist rather than a religious leader, btw 3 body problem is a good show overalls. But within eight episodes in a season it seems hard to portray a character as complex as Ye Wenjie. In the book, this character is as popular as Thomas Wade. Apparently she didn't get the same treatment as Thomas Wade
💯 agree. The show suffers from oversimplification. Unfortunately that's what the masses demand, they need action and things happening or they will get bored... They don't want to suffer through Ye's backstory so in a way I get what Netflix and the producers are doing... This is what "entertainment" is today - action and shallow humor 🤷♂️
I feel the opposite. In the book only Ye Wenjie and to a less extend TIanmien, are somewhat developed characters, the other ones are just mere tools for an objective. In the series they all got more substance an meaning. Also the book is really glaciar on all the horrible things that happen, no one really reacts emotionally.
as a reader of the books, I think everything is moving waaay too fast and the tone is nothing like the story should be, but I am just glad that the story is still respected. Hopefully season 2 slows things down and isn't afraid to take risks because, season 1 was the most "netflix-ified" example I've seen in a long time.
I was reminded of the BBC/HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials that also had to fill three dense books into three 8-episode-long seasons.
I think in both cases it works well. Although I only read the first book of Liu Cixin‘s trilogy so far so the staircase and the Wallfacer parts came as a surprise to me.
They are in the constant risk of being cancelled, and they planned for 4 seasons. I don't think is that fast, It looks that way because they are explaining the 3 books at the same time.
4 seasons for 3 books means 1 + 1/3 of book per season. And is exactly what they did on this first one.
Of courser they have to remove things, but I think that similarly to what they did in Lord Of the Rings, the did it in a very clever way.
@@framegrace1 your math is backwards. 4 seasons for 3 books means 2 thirds of a book per season. But your supposition concerning the threat of cancelling is spot on. They had to take some of the juicier bits from wherever it makes sense to keep the audience entertained. As this isn't a documentary, or non-fiction, it isn't allowed to be boring, and the book, while very well written and amazing in and of itself, was clearly not written with an adaptation in mind. As an avid fan of the book, I feel the soul of Liu Cixin's work is there and the new perspective makes it interesting even for people who have the book memorized.
@@stevenwojtysiak6392no, their math is fine. 1+1/3 book per season. Your math falls short
@@EricMcD15 1 1/3 books per season times four seasons would be 5 + 1/3 books. I think the trilogy is only 3 books in length not 5 and a third books.
You can compare Netflix version with Chinese TV version which was more closely related to the original book.
Did the Chinese version show The Great Leap Forward era?
@@AshtonCoolmanyes, and more real
@@AshtonCoolman it amazing how many people actually believe the lies that China censor history. if China censor history, this book wouldn't exist in the first place to be translated, wouldn't it? the show do censor is death and smoking since they want broadcast right, it a running joke in the show were the cop keep wanting to smoke but is always interrupted... xD I was surprise they got away with showing people get sliced up, but i guess the character was out of focus so the censor didn't mind or caught it.
@@AshtonCoolman It may be different from what some people imagine，the Cultural Revolution is not a completely taboo topic on chinese Internet. The Chinese version’s description of this part of the Cultural Revolution is not as straightforward as the Netflix version, but with more than thirty episodes, there is more time to deepen it. It perfectly explains why Ye Wenjie fell into despair for human civilization
@@AshtonCoolman Will you even understand what’s happening anyway?
Loved the show. I immediately got online after finishing the last episode and read what happens in book 2 and 3 and holy shit does the story get absolutely fucking bonkers.
When i read the three books i had to think about it for like 4 weeks, it was definetely the most impressive impression any book (series) ever had on me, sometimes still thinking about it
Hated the ending of the books, but loved the journey.
@@KennethWuAU why you telling that to us?!?!?? Why you ruined our Christmas?
@@bigotutbigotescu4723don’t listen lol the ending of the book is WILD but satisfying, it was literally the best ending anyone could ever written.
@@amberhan6524 also the ONLY ending that could wrap up what was started tbh
With all the adding, cutting, shifting, shuffling, etc. all the characters and events, I think the show is more appropriate to be labeled as "inspired by", not adaptation.
This show is a lot better than Game of Thrones. I watched all the episodes, it was fun at times, but inconsequential to anybody's life. 3 Body Problem actually serves as a good story base for international cooperation (or our lack thereof)
In case you don't know.. you can also watch Chinese Version of 3 Body Problem... It's more detailed and focused on the MC..
And it’s also heavily censored regarding ye wenjies backstory to make china/communism look better
What's the name of the Chinese version, because some of the characters in this just pisses me off
@@amoebaslatoe7925search in UA-cam ： three-body Tencent video. The Chinese show with English subtitles, 45 episodes.
@@amoebaslatoe7925 three-body 2023
@@amoebaslatoe7925 probably 3 body problem...
For people who liked the books or thought the tv went too fast or changed too much, try the Chinese series adaptation. It was much closer to the books and season 1 is 30 hours covering just the first book.
Is is translated via close-caption? Where can we find it?
@@InAHandBasket they used to be available on UA-cam at MiGu official channel, but now only the first two are still available. You could check streaming services, maybe Hulu
I recommend watching the Chinese movie series
(San Ti / Three Body)
with 30 episodes, covering the 1st book.
It's much more detailed than the Netflix series,
with many scientific explanations,
and the events follow the original book,
I think this is
the new king of sci-fi!
It's a pity Netflix provided money for only 8 episodes,
this was not enough to tell the story properly, it was just scratching the surface, they could not go into details, depths of the phenomenal story.
I was skeptical about the 3 body problem, but fortunately my daughter recommended it to me. I am a big fan of science fiction, not science fantasy or even worse pure fantasy passed off as Sci-fi. This series impressed me! (Something that has not happened in a very long time.) They did not go light with the science part...when I had to explain the 3 body problem (Newton's problem) and what the WOW signal is, to my wife, that was a good thing. Now I hope that Netflix will continue with the series. I will read the book after that.
This garbage impressed you? All the brilliance of the story was removed and was dumbed down. The Chinese version actually stuck to the award winning novel.
I personally think this movie is made for people like me, and my friends, who can't really understand all the science part. My sister and I, for example, couldn't really understand what happened in Auggie's scene when she shut down the lab, what was nanofiber, etc. We only understood it in episode 5. Maybe it became more difficult since English isn't our mother tongue. But for ppl like us, despite our limited understanding, we enjoyed the plot. I personally looked up for more explanation online and it didn't take away my initial enjoyment of the show.
Overall, I thought it was a decent adaptation. I was hoping to get a Sophon zoom meeting between old Ye and the original San Ti who tried to warn her. I really thought that would have been an amazing opportunity for a mountain top swan song conversation. Far better than just Tatiana. I really thought Tatiana was going to say "before you go, there is someone who wants to talk to you...."
I think re-imagining the characters was a good move so there is some continuity and characters to follow throughout the whole story. In the books almost none of the characters except for a handful (Wade, Lou Ji, Ye Wenjie, Cheng Xin, Yun Tianming) are really developed. A lot of characters appear for a bit and then vanish from the story never to be seen again. This would make for very confusing TV
it seems they did just like World war Z
You appear to have never read a remotely decent novel. A story should have a few set established characters it revolves around. This shit series gutted the story so they can have a larger more diverse cast which removed the focus from the actual story itself.
I watched the series and haven’t read the book. This is one of the most intriguing stories I have come across in this genre and a fascinating one. Although the last few episodes a bit slow in my opinion compared to the scintillating initial episodes, i binge watched it. I am all set to read the triology
Hope they do a second season because they reached the point in the books where the story really starts to speed up
It's gonna get WAY crazier
The story is intriguing because the author have written a good book, got nothing to do with the series. if you able to watch the chinese tv version, that will blow your mind even more.
Trust me, the book is way better than the show
I loved it
I read the OG chinese version. The author struggled with storytelling and character development until the third book. Considering it was his debut work, I can forgive this, especially since his strength lies in explaining physics, which I love. Although Netflix excelled in storytelling, but fell short in explaining most of the concepts behind alien technology, which the book delves into with great detail.
Fair take. I miss that physics stuff too, but I can accept that the average viewer would want no part. Curious how they will handle the 4th dimensional scenes. 😆
It wasn't his debut work, and the characters + storytelling was much better than Netflix.
Is it possible Cixin Liu wrote the story from a Chinese point view, so that cultural difference is playing a role here? If so, maybe it is a good chance to learn from it and enjoy. People cannot assume all fictions or literatures must follow the same pattern that westerners are familiar with.
@@aroonsubway2079 he absolutely wrote it from a Chinese cultural view. There are parts in the books where characters have conversations that, they just don't feel normal from an American perspective. It's pretty interesting as a reader from the states to enhabit that space, I thought. For a studio though, it would be a gamble. Even if they used a more Asian cast, it would be with western dialog.
cannot agree more.
Im currently watching and reading Deaths End. I have a bit of a mixed opinion on these character changes but don't find them much of a problem. Still I prefer the books than the show
I find it interesting of the alterations Ken Liu made in translations. For example, the title of the 3rd book was translated as "Death's End", but the direct translation of the original title is "God of Death Lives Forever". The meaning is vastly different, and I think the original title fits the story better.
To me it seems they really only made three significant changes but that did cause some ripple effects: i) they "UKified" the characters and location, ii) reorganised the story so it's mostly chronological and iii) made some minor changes to help the audience with some of the physics and political explanations. Better than a lot of book adaptations and in some ways a definite improvement for a wider audience.
They should have also replaced Ye Wenjie with some "UKified" character to be consistent.
Dafuq is "UKified"
Not a lot of choice given how rights and law in China could certainly derail the story. Especially how China was portrayed in the beginning.
@@Lesdrasill What do you mean? The cultural revolution scene is how it is depicted in the english translation book. From what I gathered it was also true to history. Intellectuals were abused and shamed in the Cultural revolution.
@@Lesdrasill the reality is racism still exist in netflix and US.
I am halfway through the 2nd book and it truly is a difficult text to adapt. There are long dissertations about science, military strategies, mathematics or even love (Luo Ji and the writer), to summarize everything to turn it into film/tv language must have been hard. I don't like some changes that have been done, but I think it's a dynamic ans well crafted show. I still haven't seen the Chinese version.
The Chinese version is more closely to the 1st book and they even added things/characters who are not in the book. But the pace is so slow and I feel boring when watching it…. Not really interesting to watch honestly..,
Having read the novels and watched the shows I think they did a good job of transforming it into a watchable TV series.
You clearly have not seen the Chinese version that was not dumbed down for stupid people, it actually stuck to the books.
@@thomasjones4570 Unfortunately, my chinese is a bout as good as my Swahili so never bothered.
@@thomasjones4570 Also falls under the "so what". I appreciated how they tried to adapt a very complex set of novels into a single series. You seem to have a bad case of intellectual snobbishness. Get over it.
@@michaeltrumper Ahh, that is what the subtitled version is for!
@@michaeltrumper Ahh yes the ol' high school drop-out "tried". "I will just accept this dumbed down version they felt I needed, just because" you DO have a bad case of spending your little time on low value content.
The mediums of episodic tv on screen and published novels are very different and require ‘adaptation’.
I always use the example of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Yes, they are different and the film made changes to the book. But as a result, they are each superior stories, within their own mediums.
Yes.
I hated Netflix depiction how the Universe flickered, they actually went and flickered all the stars what human eye can see in our skies, like it was some lightbulb turning on and off, that is really a dumbed down version. However the tencent chinese version, the flickering of the universe was depicted by measuring cosmic waves fluctuations, that is a much more scientific way of showing it.
Cosmic background microwave radiation, but your point stands.
Every change they made was for the dumb. When all screens showed the bugs message and the sky became a mirror (though with sunshine still going through I guess), I thought, OMG things are gonna go down now. Then in the episode everything is business as usual. If the sophons could do that, I was wondering why not keep doing it?
And then I read the book, and it makes way more sense.
I had to force myself to watch the entire first episode. They trashed the entire story.
Rooney such an awesome addition. The only 1 of the Oxford 5 to drop-out but is nonetheless successful. Probably the happiest one too.
He is the deadest
@@bobhawke7373 careful with the spoilers. Appreciate if you could withdraw that response.
@@G1Arduo
He dies early as.
IMO, In the TV show, some characters are too fragmented, the pace of storytelling is too fast that some scenes needs more emotional build up. And some details I think it’s not necessary.
Break up Wang Miao into couple of different scientists is a cool idea. But the downside is, it’s really hard for the audience to memorize and relate to so many different characters all at once.
Another character I think it’s not adapted well is Yang Weining, Ye Wenjie’s husband. In the book, he loves Ye, and he is probably one of the few people who truly cared about Ye and remind her of the good side of humanity. Thus, when Ye killed him, you can tell there is a struggle and conflict in her action. Which made both characters deeper and gives more dimensions. However, in the TV show, Yang seems to be another person who betrayed Ye by stealing her discovery about the sun. Which in my opinion made the character much more boring and cliche.
I also don’t like they added that little NPC girl in the VR game. She keeps screaming “save me” that at some point it becomes annoying. I guess the Show is trying to tell us how cruel the three sun problem is, but I think everyone gets it, and keeps repeating that girl is just not necessary.
Another detail I noticed is, in the scene when the universe winks at you, the show took it quite literally, by just flicking the stars. Which seems a little cheap as if you are playing a PPT slides. While in the book and Chinese TV show, the so-called universe winks is actually a wave or radiation that only can be detected by using scientific methods and equipment. Which I think it’s much clever and also will shock scientists even more.
I highly recommend reading the books, they are deeper and make more sense. To be honest, the Netflix adaptation of the Three Body Problem seems very simplified to me, with flat characters and atrocious dialogue. Everyone who says it's just a few changes hasn't read the books at all.
Could not put it better
It’s really annoying that this wasn’t well researched enough to include the fact that Jack is absolutely a character in the books. Tianming has a friend from college that owns the beverage company. Y’all need to watch Quinn’s ideas … the differences between the show in the bucks cannot be pointed out in 13 minutes.
There also is multiplayer mode in the game , what are you talking about ?! my biggest issue with the show is that the cop isn’t playing the game like he is in the book.
Tatiana is shen yufei
Tatiana is not Shen yufei. She’s a made up character who mostly suits the woman who killed pan Han in the book and then later blows herself up.
The quality of the episodes drops off around 4-5. It feels like it was suddenly directed, edited, and written by a completely different group of people. One scene in particular had insane microphone peaking on one character.
This series is an incredible storytelling achievement. It takes you on an amazing journey that stays true to its original story. More than just an adaptation, it deeply explores what the future could hold, including the chance of meeting beings from other planets. It asks big questions about whether we should try to contact aliens and what we need to think about if we do. The series also brings a unique kind of fear, not from scary things but from the huge, mysterious universe around us. This fear, mixed with wonder and the unknown, makes the show more than just entertaining-it's a thought-provoking look at what lies beyond our world and how we fit into the vastness of space.
You have to believe that there are aliens in the first place to think it is a scenario against the dangers of extra-terrestrials to earth. I think the series shows that we are the danger. The religious fanaticism for one thing. The fanatics of capitalism etc. science that is used to kill etc.
In my university we have Chinese exchange students and I talked to some of them about this.
They do not like the Netflix version and told me in china they made their own version and it is better
The Chinese version is better. Totally agree. I’m not Chinese and I’ve not read the books, but the Chinese version is deeper, philosophical and intellectual. It’s not perfect, but what is
I'm not Chinese and I watched the Chinese version on UA-cam with English subtitles.
That’s going to be a mixed bag, but if you’re a fan of Scifi/existential horror what’s the harm.
I've read the books with great passion and watched the Chinese version before the Netflix one but I could not finish it, it was super boring. It's very, very litteral and lacks rythm.
@@helenedastana Then you are not a real fan of the books, as the chinese version was 99% true to the book and had more character development than the books even.
Love the show. Its pretty damn accurate to the books all things considered, not a 1-1 direct translation but all the story beats are there. Damn im glad they didnt fuck it up. DnD may be shit at writing completely new stuff (game of thrones late seasons) but they can adapt books pretty damn well.
Read the books when they first became available. I perfer the Chinese Version over the Netflix one.
As tv show I prefer Netflix version，but as the adaptation of the book，I prefer Tencent version.
@@JackChen1of course yoy do. since they make the PRC not an evil government
@@brodull1142Dum**ss😂
@@brodull1142 you realise PRC is not the one veto supporting Israel in committing genocide right? let be real here, China is not the evil government in this world.
@@brodull1142 😅Dum***s
As a bug, I just had to read the trilogy first...then I watched the Netflix series. The books are so much more detailed and demanding, keeping my curiosity at a fever pitch. The screen version changes lots (grrr) and spoon feeds the narrative (but I still liked watched season one).
I just finished watching the series yesterday. I went blind. I have not read the books, I'm not even much of a sci-fin fan but I really liked this series. I totally understand and respect that some book readers may have found this a little too fast-paced. But honestly, with me having issues with very short attention span, I really liked its pacing. It's no bullsh*t straight to the point. As a regular audience, I don't care about the deep diving tidbits, that will surely make me bored. Hope this gets Season 2 and get to the end.
The description of the original work is far more shocking and reasonable than Netflix series.
I've read the first book and watched the show. I do like the show brought in additional characters in the show. Making the show true to the book with only 2 people would not have made for a very good show in my opinion. I really didn't like jumping all over in the timeline in the book, i think the linear in order way works much better. The additions Netflix has added is what makes the show more entertaining for me.
Having read books; I think show is amazing. No movie/show can be an exact copy of a book, and nor should it be! A great job in aligning timeline and consolidating story lines & characters, but essence & magic remain! Brilliant!
I love the show. And now it makes me wanna read the book.
Just be warned the first book is mad boring or just alot of nothing happening and the second book is good but there is alot of just the main character fucking about. Just let me know what you think.
@@williewillie5622 Did the aliens in the book also explain their plan of attack to the heroes in great detail?
@@welliamd2463 the alien don't start messing with earth until the second book
Most of the first two books is man fight man and the third book is ABSOLUTE CHAOS
My reminder(all you need to know)
Read all three books
Remember Chinese names
don’t try to associate the plots and settings with the show, the show is adaption()
Chinese ideas and thoughts need to be comprehended differently sometimes, this will not be a big problem🤓
Personally as someone who didn't know about the original book, I really like the way how they changed and directed it. It was a lot of fun to watch and some characters were entertaining. Only downside for me was the last episode that had almost no story or meaning at all. I understand that they should keep story for the other seasons but it felt quite pointless.
Tldr - the book has important philosophical ideas, big thinking and almost reads like a sci-fi horror unlike any other. The author takes some liberty with fringe science but has put alot of thought into how things might play out like a 'what if' sci-fi scenario and the answers tend to be logical and terrifying.
The TV series is more like a good action sci-fi interspersed with drama. It removes alot of the philosophical aspects and simplifies the hard science. It is a different experience altogether. I would say the TV series simplifies the books alot let's say from a level of 10/10 down to a level of 3/10. This is why book readers feel the show is not good. It also gives it a Hollywood feel which removes a sense of realism the book delivers. This is unfortunately just a safe play on what Netflix viewers want. Big actors big explosions and CGI. It's entertainment for TV and not meant to be fan service anyway.
Takeaway: if you like big ideas, esp sci-fi please read the book first.
If not, the TV show is good enough to explore core concepts from the book.
(but you'll need to pay attention as core concepts are sometimes mentioned or explained very briefly - eg. My wife missed a min of dialogue and completely misinterpreted the rest of the episode. Even the important events happening to important characters sometimes aren't acted out in a scene but just mentioned in dialogue between other characters so it's easy to miss.)
I think if the TV series started of as a thriller mystery, evolving into horror and then the struggle against hopelessness and dread... That would better convey the book. The best style would be that of Hannibal, contact, and Chernobyl series. Maybe a little bit of that xfiles vibe at the start when it was still a mystery before the antagonists were revealed.
I'll say that the series is not that faithful to the books in terms of a few things but the ideas and I think they did a good job at recreating it.
I would like to describe the show as terrifyingly beautiful!
I 100% agree with the changed made in the Show, this makes it easier to relate and also more coherent.
Both are good. Actually like the show more. My only gripe is how localised all the characters are. Would have preferred to see the story spread across the globe.
I read the first book and now still reading the 2nd book, I also watched the Chinese version of adapted series… and I think this Netflix show is great in covering the whole storyline with rearranging storylines and characters… so it’s more interesting to watch especially for global and international audiences. I like this series and can’t wait for the second season
As a Chinese, I now understand how the French felt when they saw the movie Napoleon.
Lmaoo
说得太贴切了
😂
This is a not a re-creation but a re-imagining . It's still good in my books.
@@wilkinlow they should've put that in the title
I liked the adaptation of Tianming into Will, the connection with Jin and Jack's testament. It makes more sense than the book version, which feels very forced.
Jack Rooney’s character is related to a character from Death’s End where Yun Tianming (Will’s character) ends up getting money from Jack’s counterpart character as a token of appreciation for helping them come up with a new product idea.
I see you, Samwell Tarly!!
As a long time book fan, I loved the show
It does everything I could ever hope for in a tv adaptation❤
If the book had black or latino characters, their race would not be changed. But Asians are fair game...
I loved the books because they took on amazing scientific ideas and really made me think about them as I read. The shortcoming of the novels is that they had poor character development. The Netflix show fixed that.
could you tell the reason why the book had poor character development?
I wouldnt say that the book characters are poorly developed. The concept of the series tackles gargantuan ideas that it dwarves the characters. And yes, I agree that the Netflix show gave the characters a bit of a boost to make it more palatable for the new comers to the story.
@@pengzhang-sy6zwit's what we call hard sci-fi most hard sci-fi focuses more on the science and the characters become secondary.
@@ameer781 nonono，i mean, name a character which you think he is poor development,and tell the reason which way he is poor development
@@pengzhang-sy6zw the character are flat af. I feel like the only characters that stand out are Da Shi and Ye Wenjie.
I think to tell a good adapted story, we need to move away from 8 episodes a season! The least should be 10 and maximum 12 or 13. Packing too much in too few episodes is usually a series killer😢
I know, I know... budget concerns. But still!
Having read the books and not knowing any of the science, I have to say the tv series is super enjoyable. Im not into details and explanations, which the book had a lot of. I did get confused on trying to match the characters to the ones in the book though. Great adaption for americans!
The worst thing about this is that most people are going to only know THIS story and not the actual best selling story....a fucked up Hollywood toned down piece of shit story. The Chinese series released 2 years ago was leagues above this version.
Can’t wait to start watching it after the series wraps up.
Watched the 1st episode, ended up binging the whole season. Really incredible concept
Likewise. Huge fan
Sophon is my favorite character, her voice makes me to relax.
i've read the books and as you said there are lots of differences but for the show i liked the adaptation. it was a hard work to do and they've done it. Producers did well. Second season will be much much harder imo. i hope they can complete it.
Let me guess, you´re the one who loves Games of Thrones Season 8 too, lol.
@@Film_Sushi i didnt watch game of thrones at all (:
I think this show was a cool way to adapt the books. I love them, but this difference take is a great way to make the show fresh for readers, while keeping the ideas in tact.
You missed out the single most important point: the inane and contorted “joke” that Saul is told at the end. That was most avoidable. I does not capture the nuance of the axioms used in the books which are based on game theory and the Fermi paradox: humanity’s need for survival in the backdrop of a chain of suspicion, and technological explosion coupled with a need to expand within a universe with finite resources. Together they form the basis for cosmological sociology and set the groundwork for guessing at the nature of the dark forest. The joke is stupid and contains only one aspect of the problem: if you make yourself known then you will be attacked. Retrofitting it to what later happens in the books is like trying to desperately fit a square peg into a round hole. One must ask the question: why do show runners and wannabe writers think they can write better than an award-winning author?
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when Netflix producers take another brilliant book series and transform it into a visually stunning but intellectually stunted TV series. Fortunately, we have a growing art form that provides an alternative: the audiobook as performed by talented voice actors. Faithful to the book, yet providing an extra dimension that complements one’s own reading of the books. The recording (and translation) of the Tri-Solaris books by Macmillan Books is brilliant in every way that the Netflix version is disappointing.
D&D had award winning book series as a base for a show and they desided rewrite it into a fan fiction. I am disapointed
Both and no, I don't think it's trash. Because unlike the wheel of time the people involved did everything they could to make it as truly the book is possible. The main problem people don't get is transferring a book or books onto TV and to hook an audience and hasn't read it. You can't be as cold and unattached to characters. To make up for the lack of narration and knowing what's going on before the characters do as you do. You read, they have to bring it parts of the storyline from the next book or the third for it to make sense cuz you don't have the all-knowing viewpoint of a reader
It was great and looking forward to season 2. Even the Chinese version had this problem but the show taking place all in one country and few locations is the part I notice most 😂
ugh, I knew they were going to take it out of China. That was my biggest reservation to this show. I knew they were going to make it more western.
Honestly, Netflix did really well. Liked this show.
The books were much better!! The randomness of human thoughts and loneliness is what defined the books for me. The whole journey is lonely, it is hard science fiction not soft. You cant give a five minute monologue instead of 100s of pages of detailed writing. Why are they rushing? Why are all characters friends from the start? Are they the chosen ones? Lisan al Gaib? Not even 1 time jump has happened in the series and yet we have all heroes already. We arent supposed to stick with most characters in the books, they are just there to explore ideas. The books are very long, but the ideas are explored much better there. Rest is as they say, your wish... what you wanna consume. I am just very glad I read the books first, imagination is 100% times better for this sort of stuff, IMO
And China is barely explored here. The chick who calls aliens doesnt even understand her own feelings in the books, that worked so well. Here she had a sudden 180.
I refuse to watch because D and D will just screw it up like they do everything else. I don't want to be disappointed.
they did screw it up and even with a source material that was already written out, they still screw it up Smh
The book is simply mind blowing and one of a kind. I use the TV series as visual images which I think NF has done a good job of.
I like how they’ve split the key characters from the novel series into the Oxford 5 and makes the adaptation such that I think they can keep these characters in future series. Whereas the books introduce new charatcers for different things since the timescales in it are large. And I love da shis dry humour which is similar to the books
Have not read the books, but watched the story on Netflix. I can hardly wait for the second season. I may read the books after the last season.
I JUST SAW ONLY NETFLIX SHOW. IT WAS WONDERFUL AND I LOVED IT. ❤❤I HOPE NETFLIX WILL NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW😢
Jack is the stand in for Yun tian Ming’s successful businessman friend that gave him enough money to buy Chang Xe a star which comes into play later
Simply mind blowing...
The fact that the show barely touched on the human computer, omitted the formation of the moon and the creation of the Sophons is just bizarre. These were incredibly cinematic moments that I assume were left out because the creators thought the audience was “too dumb”.
I have one question still lingering in my mind after finishing the Netflix series...
What REALLY happens when the "countdown" reaches zero? Does the affected people die or gets killed? Auggie stopped at 1 minute, but when she restated the nanofibre project, the countdown disappears. And the final scene with Wade in the plane hints at torture, but death?
Nothing. It's just a trick by the alien
Or ETO is going to kill her. The countdown is caused by a proton sent by Trisolarians, which is very small with no weight, hardly cause physical harm to humans. it can travel in light speed and induce hallucinations on the retina, or send messages to ETO to do the dirty job
I think the first season is meant to be a hook to get people interested before throwing complex explanations on them. Kinda like what Dark did. The first season was more of a mystery-thriller than an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. Establish the world and the characters first and tell the story through their perspectives and explain things after.
I haven't read the books but i think Saul would be the one making sense of things for audience. He didn't have a big role in the first season but his character was setup pretty nicely for things to come.
Dark is awesome
i liked all the changes and combinations. Cleaner and easier. I did, however, really disagree with changing Vera's father and the fact that her mom killed her dad, kind of. it adds true meaning to the scene at the end where she's going to throw herself off the same cliff.
In the book the flicker of universe is not in visible wavelength, but only observable in frequencies. Here they made it flickering to human eyes LOL
Loved the books and the show. The changes were necessary for the adaptation to screen.
chinese version which is free to see on youtube, is 99% true to the books, didn't needed to change anything and was still enjoyable.
its got a fair rating now but I'm sure it'll go down soon to 60s or 50s. the book was hard to get into, but I tried.
I like listening to how all you English-speaking people struggle to pronounce the X sound in Chinese
You are easily entertained then, I take it.
Yeh it's hilarious because it's halfway between sh and s
@@thorjansen If someone is speaking chinglish, I bet you are the first one to giggle, but triggered when it happens in reverse, easily entertained indeed lol
Would’ve liked the non linear storytelling, adds flavour imo
Too much of that crap around. It's why I ultimately stopped watching Westworld.
I LOVED THIS SHOW SO MUCH!!!!! I´m definitively going to get the books! 😍😍😍
The Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" has left me with a sense of unfulfilled potential. The original novel, while not brimming with characters of profound depth, offers a canvas ripe for exploration. These figures, primarily serving as narrative devices within the intricate plot, present a golden opportunity for the series to delve into their complexities and enrich the viewing experience. Regrettably, the adaptation opts for a path of least resistance, focusing on superficial drama and romantic entanglements rather than the nuanced character development that could truly captivate an audience.
The series' portrayal of Ye Wenjie, for instance, simplifies her into a caricature of evil, ignoring the chance to unravel the multifaceted motivations and historical context that could make her a compelling character. This one-dimensional depiction is symptomatic of a broader issue: the adaptation's reluctance to delve beneath the surface and explore the rich character arcs that could reflect the novel's deeper themes.
The missed opportunity is palpable. With more thoughtful storytelling, the series could have transformed these narrative tools into fully realized characters, each with their own struggles and growth, mirroring the broader existential questions posed by the novel. Instead, the focus on easy character tropes and melodramatic subplots feels like a letdown, especially for fans who were hoping for a more profound exploration of humanity's challenges and choices when faced with cosmic-scale threats.
In its current form, the series trades the novel's intellectual curiosity and grand ideas for a more conventional, albeit less impactful, narrative. It's a stark contrast to the original work's invitation to ponder our place in the universe. The adaptation, in trying to make the story more accessible, has perhaps inadvertently stripped away the very elements that made "The Three-Body Problem" such a thought-provoking and groundbreaking piece of science fiction.
I can’t wait to read the book !
the books is 100 times better, I am sorry you watched the show first, because spoiled alot.
As currently China has issues with espionage, cyber attacks and mass spying It’s hard to swallow a Chinese military leader as 1 of 3. Also the space effort without either Russia, or NASA/ JPL makes it a hard swallow. I was hoping that risking Cho would stay. Her character was refreshing and strong.
In the Netflix adaptation, they definitely added key roles that made the story way more interesting and engaging to the audience. Without them, I believe staying true to the book would feel too fast and shallow on so many aspects of the story.
I loved the book. I quite like the show. I recommend both to everyone. Not one or the other. But both. :)
I'm a fan of the books but really like the changes and direction of the show. Whereas the books have no real character depth or development - they only stand to act as a common thread between all the disparate but brilliant ideas - Netflix has made the characters actual identities with relationships. This is pretty important for people that haven't read the books. The people I watched the show are not science buffs and have no interest in reading the books, but they love the characters and what is happening. ...I told them to hold on!
After reading book 1 and now book 2 I prefer the netflix series and the changes. At this point I'm reading the books just in case it's cancelled so I can see the concllusion
Yeah book two is a snoozefest until more than halfway in.
If dont like it. Read the book . Its an adaptation . Hello 😊
For the adaption to the screen viewer, the VR headset, quoted by the scientist on the shows, is 100 yrs ahead. It's super contradict to the books that the SenTi refused to give tech/knowledge to the cult (quite logical, don't you think?).
In the books, the Senti have very clear agenda to kill all the human. with the power of sophon in the shows, it's easily to wipe human on earth easily just now. IDK, maybe the aliens in the shows would be different.
Even in the books it's more complicated than that. The books talk about how there are different factions on Trisolaris arguing for different plans with what to do with humans, including plans to coexist.
I just hope they don’t change the way the wallfacer meets his with cause in loved how he described her in the book so the detective could finde her.
They’ll probably just make her a real character from the start
The books were amazing and in my top ten best reads. Another series that is in my favorites list is "Wheel of time". While 3 Body Problem isn't the perfect adaptation, it also is not the mess that was made out of WoT. It only takes seconds to come up with ways they could have wrecked this series... Be happy that Ye Wenjie's didn't reply to the aliens because of some silly western made-up problem. Be happy we got the Oxford five instead of the OnlyFans five.