Three-Body (2023)

Right or wrong is only a matter of perspective.

I love a show that makes me engaged. That makes me think and question presented topics. That makes me want to think how I would react if I was presented with the same ideas, what would be my questions and doubts, and who would I side with. That makes me analyze the statements of the characters trying to figure out what flaws they might have, and in what aspects they are correct. Three-Body is all that.

I saw quite a number of people say that you need to be patient with this show to enjoy it. I would honestly disagree. Being patient means you need to tolerate something negative, and I see no such a thing in the show. Slow pace? For me it added to the charm of it. The even pacing, how each time they dropped a new hint, they added a few more questions, the mystery of it all, the lack of answers - for me, these are exactly the things I loved about it. So if someone finds these annoying, I don’t think any level of patience will make them like Three-Body in the end.

My favorite aspect of the drama was how it exposed the limits of human’s perception and cognition. How limited we are by our beliefs, hopes, motives, experiences and even biological aspects. We are painfully biased towards our own species. But it also shows how normal that is and that it can be, at least to some extent, overcome.

Not to mention the diversity of the characters in terms of their personalities, motivations, moralities. It’s truly an art how they slowly showed all the layers of the characters, their perspectives and plans. It was a perfectly crafted journey. They knew exactly when to disclose different information to keep the interest of the viewers.

How hard is it to understand the show? I’m not gonna lie, it’s not an easy watch, but that comes from someone who knows exactly nothing about physics. I had to rewatch a few scenes to understand the theories, some google searches also helped. All that is not needed to get the big picture, but it adds to the viewing experience.

Were there any things that bothered me or could potentially bother others? Yes. Since the drama invites you to analyze everything and pay attention to all the details, it’s also easier to pick up some inconsistencies. That said, a lot of them can be excused by the unreliable narrator at any given moment and their own goals in sharing some, but not all information, and at times even distorting it.

What’s more - we don’t get clear cut answers for a lot of questions asked. Some of it might be the result of the drama being based on just the first book in the trilogy, but some seem to be left vague with no hope for solid answers even in next installments. I can clearly see how this could piss off many people, me being weird, I actually enjoyed it. The fact that I had to form my own theories on why some things happened based on the hints and bits of information was an additional entertainment for me.

There were two moments in the drama that made me go: okay, that’s dumb. That said, two scenes in 30 episodes is a ration of dumbness I can easily ignore.

Last criticism I have is the whole existence of Mu Xing - she did not bring anything new or important to the table. She did not offer an interesting perspective nor a unique take on the events happening. She was there as a plot device and I find it a bit disappointing.

For the performances - some were better than others, but all were great. Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen did an amazing job portraying the same characters in different moments of her life. You can see the changes in her, but she still seems like the same person. I loved Yu He Wei as Shi Qiang and he easily became my favorite character. I loved his bond with Wang Miao, and even though they could not exist in more different worlds, they formed a perfect partnership.

One performance that seemed a bit flat was Li Xiao Ran as Shen Yu Fei - she was supposed to be this driven woman with a mission, but she overall just seemed numb and detached.

The production value was perfection. I truly have zero complaints. I loved the small animation bits explaining the Farmer and Shooter theories, I loved the game graphics, I loved the set designs. I especially loved everything about how the past story was presented. So many aesthetically beautiful moments.

Talking about Three-Body, I need to mention the soundtrack. I was in awe from the first seconds of any of the songs and even just the ambient sounds used for many scenes. It added so much to the storytelling and perfectly built the atmosphere.

Overall, I could not recommend it more if you like complex stories that require full attention and some additional brainpower for theory making, since they don’t really spoon feed you all the answers. How much you can enjoy the show depends on how much you are motivated to figure out the mystery and story behind the characters.

Ps. Can it be viewed as stand alone? Kind of. Depends on how much of a closure you are expecting.
Ps 2. I need 2nd season yesterday.

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Underneath the science and math, it's about human frailties destroying mankind or Earth or both

Plot Summary:
(In chronological order, as opposed to the sequence of events in the drama)
During the Cultural Revolution in China, a budding astrophysicist witnessed a horrific incident that made her lose hope in humanity. Armed with research data and basic math, she was able to figure out that the Sun may be used to amplify radio signals from Earth to the vast space of the universe. She sent a signal through the Sun that was picked up years later by a pacifist alien who advised her not to answer otherwise his less peace-loving colleagues would conquer her planet. Had she regained enough hope in humanity to heed the warning, thus stop exposing Earth's location to the aliens, or did she still think earth couldn't sort its problems out itself and needs to be saved by an alien civilization?

Several years later, top scientists in China are committing suicide, seemingly due to frustration over failed experiments and the dread that physical laws known to man don't apply to the whole universe after all, thus making their life's work pointless. Might the shooter theory supposing that seemingly universal patterns apply only to limited areas and not the whole universe, actually be true? Might physics really not exist?

A nanomatter expert suddenly starts seeing a number in his line of vision and realizes it's a countdown. Countdown to what? He witnesses the universe seemingly blinking. He is invited to participate in a virtual reality game simulating a planet ravaged by a three-body problem causing its civilizations to get obliterated every now and then, haphazardly, with no pattern in the intervals between chaotic and stable eras. The object of the game is to find the pattern, i.e. solve the 3-body problem.

The failed experiments, the countdown and the winking universe are actually caused by photons sent to earth by an alien civilization, Trisolaris, whose inhabitants have given up on their fight against their 3-body problem and are currently on their 400+ years trek to Earth. The photons are monitoring earthlings' progress, making sure, with the help of humans who have joined Trisolarians' impending invasion, that human technology does not advance far enough to rival or even surpass that of Trisolaris by the time they reach Earth. Thus, they are driving scientists suicidal with frustration by tampering with their experiments. When a scientist agrees to stop his experiments, his countdown stops.

What happens when the countdown goes to zero? Is this when murders that look like suicides happen? Would humans, called bugs by Trisolarians, be able to ward off this threat of an alien invasion? Would they be able to help solve the 3-body problem thus obviate the need for Trisolarians to leave their home planet and invade Earth? Would Trisolarians, who cannot abide lies, be able to work with lying humans?

These and other questions may or may not be answered in this drama but they drive the narrative. It will be noted that this drama is based on the first book, "The Three-Body Problem", of a trilogy written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. So, sequels are likely to follow.

Review:
This is the most engrossing Chinese drama I've watched. It's much better than the Netflix version. Aside from the scientific and mathematical discussions, the issues covered - humans treating other humans and the environment despicably to a point that would raise the question of whether man deserves to continue living in this beautiful planet or not - are presented in such a thought-provoking manner that powerfully draws the viewer in. The production, acting and music create a haunting, mysterious and sinister mood that fits the subject matter.

The story emphasizes the fallacy in the conventional belief that more advanced civilizations are likely to be friendly. In fact, history has shown that advanced civilizations tend to subjugate more primitive ones. This drama made me pray that those searching for extraterrestrial life would be circumspect about letting aliens know Earth's position in the universe, much less invite them in.

This drama also revived my awe at how blessed we are to have such a beautiful planet to live in. In this violent universe, planets are more likely to have uninhabitable conditions similar to Trisolaris than Earth. Yet, how are we handling this blessing? By acting like only certain humans have a right to be here, disregarding how our actions affect other occupants of this planet like humans who look different, other animals, plants, land masses and bodies of water.

Three-body is such a drama that can make viewers feel strongly about our beautiful planet as well as human moral frailties such as cruelty, selfishness, pride and dishonesty that could spell our doom.

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The bugs will inherit the earth.

Three-Body is Tencent's adaptation of the first book of Liu Cixin's award winning sci-fi trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past. It is an immense, mind-bending and terrifying book that explores the dark corners of humanity and our place in the universe. The narrative is concept-driven and lacking in terms of both characters and plot. This drama adaptation fleshes out the characters and plot while staying largely true to the original works.

An alarming number of leading scientists around the world die mysteriously. One of them, Yang Dong is a friend of nano-scientist Wang Miao. This seems oddly linked to an ominous countdown that only he can see and a virtual reality Three-Body game developed by ETO, a secret organisation. He gets roped into the murder investigation by an irreverent cop Shi Qiang. With the help of Yang Dong's mother Ye Wenjie, they start to pull at the threads that go back to the Cultural Revolution to reveal a conspiracy with existential implications. Rather abruptly, Shi Qiang gloatingly blurts out what is coming before we are are even half-way through the drama! This monumental conclusion is so matter-of-factly accepted without debate that it adds to a sense of anti-climax. Then we get an extended flashback to a brutal, frank and scathing depiction of the Cultural Revolution that unflinchingly exposes the loss of common humanity, the utter despair and loneliness of the period and the rage that must lurk beneath the surface.

The drama does a fantastic job bringing Wang Miao, Shi Qiang and Ye Wenjie to life. They are far better fleshed out in the drama than the book and all three anchor roles are deftly articulated by veteran actors who can convincingly navigate difficult transitions over time periods and into virtual reality. Yu Hewei's sarcastic and badass Shi Qiang is by far the most engaging and hilarious character. I didn't love Zhang Luyi's Wang Miao at first but he grew on me as his rapport with Shi Qiang grew. Unfortunately the other roles are not well written and made worst by vapid (Shen Yufei, Pan Han) or annoying (Mu Xing) performances by mediocre actors whose shortcomings are glaring up against the seasoned main cast. I wouldn't have minded if they got little screen time but unfortunately they featured prominently in extended largely drama-invented sub-plots that were barely touched upon in the book. I had to grit my teeth through the coma inducing preaching with the nationalistic subtext on monotheistic religion and environmental extremism.

High concept hard science fiction stories like this are difficult to adapt because the plot is driven by exposition and there is a lot of that in this drama. These concepts are conveyed creatively in a visually engaging manner to be easily accessible to layman. I enjoyed many of the analogies such as the Turkey/Farmer and the Shooter. However, the production tends to over-explain and tediously repeat the sci-fi aspects. Some judicious editing and higher confidence in audience intelligence would have gone a long way toward making this drama less draggy.

Even though this is shot in movie aspect ratio and a lot of care went into the props and the staging and lighting very artistically captures the bleak and portentous tone of the story, the production values overall are only of average quality. The background music is simply dreadful - jarringly loud and tries too hard to conjure a sense of dread or suspense that is at odds with the dry sci-fi plot points. The use of a difficult to understand and cliched artificial voice over an entire episode made my head throb. But what I was most dismayed by was the virtual world of the Three-Body game. While there is quite a bit of cool stuff like the dehydration and rehydration process, the overall effect is like stepping into a cartoon-like animation. It is just not at all scary. There is no sense of chaos or the searing intensity of the huge atmospheric variations and that gripping fear of what comes next that is described in the book.

The penultimate episode if you can make it that far is the best and only truly thrilling and epic episode in the entire drama. The wrap up is good in the sense that it is faithful to the novel even though the main antagonist is a bit whitewashed and not remorseless enough. This narrative takes over twenty hours to tell you something you already know; that the bugs will inherit the earth! The book covers it in about five hours and there is hope that the movie will be able to do it in under three. This is a good watch if you are in a contemplative mood and wish to indulge in a bit of history, philosophy, math, physics, speculative hard sci-fi and ponder the future of humanity. And if you have time and patience. I only rate this 7.5 because I feel the story could have been much more compellingly told in about half the episodes and not in a way that was a chore to watch.

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Highly recommended!

Awesome series!

If you are familiar with physics, astronomy, mathematics, theories, you will recognise a lot of stuff used in this show. I'm not sure about the novel, so I'm only referring to the show.

* Some were asked before.
* Some are still being debated.
* Some still being proven.
* Some already possible mathematically.
* Some observed in real life.

The philosophical questions are also relevant, and many have been asked before, and many were recently asked.

I can't believe they were able to combine these different school of thoughts into one cohesive story. I haven't seen a story like this before. Usually, sci-fi authors would only focus, at most, 5 to keep it simpler for the audience, but in this show, it's out-of-this-world.

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The animation part was also great. They combined two types of art, and that was amazing. Also, some would probably critic how the movement of the animated characters are not fluid, but that's the whole point, it was intentional. It captured the 'game feel'.

Overall, from episodes 1 to 16, each episode felt like watching a 45-minute movie. They spent a lot. It wasn't half-baked. They were consistent in quality every episode.

Highly recommended!

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Its going to be wonderful - but only if you can be very patient

I have just watched the first episode. On the barrage everybody was saying that it is so like the novel it is as if the novel was itself the screen script.
So I really liked it and if it is faithful to the books that is really a plus. I am also a Dune fan and read that when I was about 15 and it had just come out. They said it was not really a novel that could ever be filmed . It was just too involved with so much explanation required that it couldn't be contained in 90 or so minutes. Anecdotally Dino De Laurentiis was literally tearing up pages of the script when filming the first film in an effort to bring it down to an acceptable length. As the latest Dune film , due for release in 2023, shows at least two films with Part I and Part II are required.
The Three-Body problem is like that. The books were wonderful in their scope but they were not easy going. This series is going to be 30 episodes and will need all of that. Personally I like to binge watch series as I can't easily bear the wait between episodes or even perhaps the emotional energy involved in that wait. I am going to be in agony watching this episode by episode - even though I think I understand correctly that it is being broadcast 5/6 nights a week.
However I will try my best at what should be well worth the effort judging by this first episode. Barack Obama said that Liu Cixin's novel was a sci-fi must read as forever after your perspective will be changed. It certainly did that to me. "There is no more physics".
A lot of money and effort has gone into this Chinese production. Netflix are also supposed to be having their version out as a series later this year. It will be interesting to see how they compare.
Anyway its a change from watching PP Krit's music videos!
PS
Now watched up to episode 12! Still impressed, episodes are varying a lot in lenght for over an hour to just 30 minutes. They are taking the story quite slowly so I am even beginning to wonder if they can do the book in 30 episodes - I will keep faith to the end.

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Fantastic, no scifi fan should miss this!

I have read the book & partly because of that I found the early episodes very repetitive and slow, I'm convinced that the book delivered those concepts far more smoothly! This is pretty much the only big negative of the entire show. I mean sure I could nitpick a lot if I wanted to about some silly TV innovations near the final episodes, but I enjoyed those too I suppose. If memory serves the fake science in the book was far more digestible, they have made some things a WEE BIT crazy in the show, but even those were quite fun, adding some action scenes to liven up the experience a little is acceptable to me. ("After a long time, life and civilization will begin again" Right!)

Everything else is pretty great. This is the best scifi show I have watched in a very long time. I have kind of given up on Scifi television, because Hollywood stopped making quality content & no one else had the budget to even try, but somehow China did it & it even passed censorship, which is a miracle in itself. Honestly though, the production values are VERY GOOD. The fact that most CG happens in the game world helps a lot with the magic. The OST is fantastic & so are the non CGI visuals. The main actors also did a more than commendable job.

So while this is obviously not even close to a perfect adaptation, I think it's more faithful to the original than the Lord of the Rings films, just to put things in perspective..

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If I really wanted to attack it from a political perspective, there are some very legitimate points others have brought up, but if you care too much about those things, would it be even possible to peacefully watch ANY scifi show?

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Great adaption but patience required

I have read the entire Remembrance of Earth's Past series. I suspect most watchers would have at least read the first book, which this show is based on. The show is now just past the halfway point.

As an adaptation, this show is great. It is close to being "Lord of the Rings trilogy movies" great. It is very faithful to the original book and where changes are made (which are quite minimal), you can see why they are necessary. I especially appreciate the shuffling of the chapters from the book - one can see why going by the original novel would be problematic in a TV series. The figurative layman's explanations of the physics concepts are also very useful to viewers not that well-schooled in the sciences.

That said, for people completely new to the book and show, some patience is needed. The first 10 episodes or so are fairly slow and mostly spent in world-building and setting. Things begin to pick up pace in the middle 1/3 of the show where some of the mysteries are revealed and people know the stakes involved.

The actors are also great. All are well-established character actors. There are not many pretty faces in this show, as you can imagine. That is to be expected.

Nonetheless, there are a few minor negatives.
1. The OST is generally terrible and unmemorable.
2. The sound production needs work. In some scenes, the voices are hard to hear. For instance, Wang Miao's baritone is especially boomy and unclear in many scenes and I was forced to adjust the sound settings frequently whenever he is talking (and this is a very talky show).
3. The video production also needs work. The CGI parts (where the characters are in the VR game) are amazing and generally the cinematography is suitably dark and gloomy. What bothers me is the frequent appearance of visible artifacts, especially in moving dark scenes. I am not sure whether it is due to noise or compression or both. I have a high-speed connection and watch at the highest possible resolution on an OLED TV. Given the obvious investment in the best recording and CGI capabilities in this show, is it too much to ask that they don't ruin that with substandard post-processing?

I am kind of hoping for Netflix/Disney+ quality video/audio in such a high production value show. So it is somewhat disappointing that the video is still 1080p and the audio is stereo (not even 5.1, much less Dolby Atmos). That said, this is common on all Chinese dramas at the moment and I don't really take that many points off for that.

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Thought provoking and really makes one think......

The longest I've spent on 30 episodes, but and this is a huge 'but'.. A very GOOD reason for it!!

Brilliant series and right out need to say that I wished that I waited for season 2 to also be available...... Can't imagine waiting for another year or two.......

The reason for taking longer than usual is because of the complexity in the story. I really needed to concentrate to keep track of everything that was happening and spent lot of time on Google. Topics such as 'the three body problem' (what it was all about) and if it existed outside of sci-fi as well as certain things surrounding astrophysics, gravity, radiation, migration patterns of birds, etc etc. All of this helped me in a way to better 'take in' some of what was happening in the story. Thought provoking and really make one think about what we, humans are doing to our planet and where it will end. The writer of the Three Body books is superb in drawing you in and the screenwriters and producers of this series did a great job in my humble opinion.

The actors really did an amazing job at portraying their respective characters. I absolutely loved Shi Qiang's character and Yu He Wei did an excellent job!! Edward Zhang portraying Wang Miao also did a great job. The others also did well but these two kept me engaged throughout the series. The foreign actors weren't that great but I read that this series was done during Covid so that's ok I guess.

Production and Visual FX was top notch for me. I also read in an article that money was running out and that it was necessary to use personal funds at some point. So taking this into account they really did well. The gaming interface was a great addition and it was a necessary part to bring everything together.

OST was amazing, I loved all the soundtracks and audio which were included at just the right time.

Overall really enjoyed this and can't wait for season 2 and 3, unless book 2 and 3 are combined in season 2.

Highly recommended!

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Thought-provoking with good storytelling

Very much in awe after watching the series across the span of 3 days. The sci-fi element was very thought-provoking, especially with its inclusion of real science theories and books. I am also in love with how the story unfolded. Every episode left me with questions which was all answered by the end of the series and it always gave me goosebumps. These questions also included my own personal reflection about environmental problems and science theories (no spoilers haha).

I saw several comments about the show being draggy towards the end, but I find that it was okay as it sets the atmosphere for the big reveal of each episode. We could also follow each of the characters properly to fully understand why certain choices were made by them eventually, especially Ye Wenjie. The bad VFX may bother some people but I think the story is the main selling point of the show so it should be fine if you can overlook the effects.

Very eye-opening show...

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A word-for-word adaptation

I read "Three Body Problem" earlier this year in preparation for the Netflix adaptation being released (though I haven't seen it yet since I'm waiting for my dad). I discovered that there was already a Chinese drama based on it and decided to check it out, though Chinese dramas aren't usually my favorite. I really wanted to like this drama since it got such good reviews on here... but the last five episodes almost killed me from boredom.

What I didn't like:
1) The drama is essentially a word-for-word adaptation of the book. While I appreciate the production sticking close to the book, it got boring pretty quick once I realized that I was just *watching* the book this time lol.
2) The character of Mu Xing was added for the production and was just a plot device. They stuck so close to the book that they had a hard time actually adding anything new.
3) They removed the *MOST* pivotal scene from the book, probably because of censors. This is unfortunate as I think it justifies Wen Jie's actions a bit more, though thankfully doesn't mess with it too much.
4) The editing is strange like most Chinese dramas. It has to be shot almost like a movie so the episodes are kind of cut weird, particularly in the episodes where characters are telling long stories. The sound editing was also not up to par

What I did like:
1) The characters are given more personality than in the book. I've read others say that Liu Ci Xin's characters are a bit bland and I'm inclined to think the same. This drama thankfully gives more insight into characters like Wang Miao, Ding Yi, and Yang Dong.
2) The acting by everyone is fairly competent though Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen deserve extreme praise for their role as Ye Wen Jie. They made me look forward to the backstory episodes even if the story became somewhat meandering.
3) I really liked the two scenes that set up the next season featuring "The Dark Forest" protagonist Luo Jie. I'm really looking forward to it since I think that book is a lot better than the first one.
4) The music was surprisingly really good and perfectly set the tone of the drama.

I recommend this drama to those who love sci-fi but have not read the book. Those who have read the book will not get much out of this sadly. I will watch the sequel if and when it is released. I think it has better potential than this one. I'm giving it a 7.5 because I did think it was worth watching for me personally and it was able to get across the ideas in the novel with simplicity.

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One of the best sci-fi

Science fiction is not an easy genre to write or show. Some filmmakers tend to flatten the topics covered in order to entertain the masses who don't want to think. "Three Bodies" does not do that. Brilliantly handling images and sound, it creates a somewhat dark and very mysterious atmosphere combining the solving of a great mystery with a story about the human condition and humanity. It does this in an intriguing and interesting way. From the very first episode, the viewer is made curious about the story and the fate of the main character - a somewhat cowardly, shy middle-aged scientist through no fault of his own embroiled in a great mystery that threatens his life and that of all humanity. Wang Miao was brilliantly played. His character does not have great emotional scenes, nevertheless Edward Zhang's acting artistry is evident. The series builds tension brilliantly and keeps it where it belongs, but also gives moments of respite. The Panama Canal scene, although I had seen it before in the American version and knew what it was about, sent shivers down my spine. One of the best sci-fi I've seen, and I've seen a lot of them, because I love the genre. Definitely 10/10.

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Perfection

I am done seeing all 30 episodes and I have to praise its absolute perfection. Never had I imagined that I would sit at the edge of my seat to watch a ship pass through a channel in slow motion, as it happened in episode 29. All the production team was superb, and I was very glad to recognize actors Yu He Wei (here policeman Shi Qiang) and Edward Zhang (here scientist Wang Miao), whom I have seen before.
I first saw both of them in two outstanding epic movies dealing with Chinese history.
I saw Yu Hu Wei as Liu Bei, in the 2010 masterpiece production of "Three Kingdoms", and Edward Zhang, as Ying Zheng or the first emperor of all China, in the 2020 production of "Qin Dinasty Epic".
So, it is quite a leap from history renditions to the SciFi genre, but boy, what a leap both actors have made! Cudos!

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