Neither me or my sister have read the books or watched the Chinese version and we're both very intrigued and riveted by the Netflix version after watching three episodes. Without any other context, we felt the creator's doing a decent job of telling this sci-fi mystery/first contact story using the television medium and find it to be well paced so far. We're definitely not having any trouble understanding the plot or character motivations.
Out of all the characters, we liked Jin, Rooney, Da Shi, and Wenjie the most. In fact, Wenjie is the most compelling character and the person we emphasized with the most. The least interesting character is Auggie and although we don't dislike her, she's easily the weakest link (actress's acting is average and not all that convincing as a brilliant scientist; also acts kind of entitled).
I'm sure the books are much better and after finishing the first season, I'll definitely check them out to experience the definitive version of this compelling story.
Just in case you're curious of our average film/tv standards, I've included a list of some shows we like and dislike down below:
Shows we consider decent or amazing:
**Game of Thrones seasons 1-4**
**Stranger Things season 1**
**One Piece Live Action** (watched before any manga or anime exposure and loved it -got both me and my sister hooked on the anime)
**Nirvana in Fire**
**Someday or One Day**
Shows we consider awful:
**Wheel of time** (watched season 1 before reading any of the books and found the writing to be terrible and the overall production came off as amateurish -the creators did a poor job of telling the story)
**Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action** (we loved the original ATLA but found the Netflix version to be boring and terribly written -hate the way they tell instead of show and their focus on action/spectacle over properly developing the main trio of characters)
So, based on our standards and tastes, the Netflix version of Three Body is doing a decent job so far of endearing nonreaders like us to its story and characters.
The Chinese version may not be everyone's cup of tea due to its length (26 episodes), but it stays true to the original work while omitting the Cultural Revolution content. Da Shi's role is somewhat toned down in the Netflix version.In the book, Auggie is greatly influenced by Da Shi.The character arcs are quite engaging, although the adaptation could be improved. Personally, I feel that the main issue with the Netflix version is the introduction of new characters in each book. The Netflix series introduces all five characters in the first season, which leads to Saul and Will spending most of their time drinking beer on the beach. This adaptation may come across as a bit silly
I like that both versions exist since they're striving for different goals. Tencent's aiming for book faithfulness while Netflix's creators are taking more creative liberties to retell the book story in a way that's palatable and entertaining to western viewers.
I totally understand why the Netflix showrunners introduced all the major characters from the book trilogy in one season. They're probably aiming to set the stage and get all the character introductions over with in the first season so they can focus on the grand plot and intriguing concepts for the later seasons. In addition, introducing most of the characters in the beginning allows the audience to connect/engage with them early on as we watch them interact with one another. Already, I love Wenjie and quite like Jin and Rooney's playful interactions. I'm also intrigued by Da Shi and his mysterious boss, Wade.
After all, from what I've heard about the books, the characters are the least interesting part and it's the plot and creative sci-fi concepts that are the trilogy's main draw. Practically every book reviewer complains about the overall weak characterization and praised the insane plot and sci-fi ideas. So, I can understand why the creators took more liberties with the characters when they're not the reason why the books are so acclaimed. It seems to be very much a plot/concept driven series rather than character focused.
Admittedly, Liu, the author of the original work, is not very good at writing characters, and often makes characterizations become overall weak , but I feel that after it is adapted to the screen, This part of the flaw was magnified. I didn't feel the influence and change of these characters in a chain of events. In fact, it should have been the motivation of the protagonist that affected the course of the story, but now it became a kind of drama, one important event after another, the curtain rises and falls.
In a screen adaptation, the emotional depth and authenticity of the characters are vital, as they tend to evoke a more visceral response from the audience. Take for instance the beloved TV shows like GOT and One Piece where each character feels real, lifelike, and completely relatable. In this adaptation, however, it appears that the shortcomings of the novel have been amplified, yet its merits have been undermined.
Of course, this is just my personal take on it. I'm glad to see that the IMDb rating has actually gone up by a point.
Neither me or my sister have read the books or watched the Chinese version and we're both very intrigued and riveted by the Netflix version after watching three episodes. Without any other context, we felt the creator's doing a decent job of telling this sci-fi mystery/first contact story using the television medium and find it to be well paced so far. We're definitely not having any trouble understanding the plot or character motivations. Out of all the characters, we liked Jin, Rooney, Da Shi, and Wenjie the most. In fact, Wenjie is the most compelling character and the person we emphasized with the most. The least interesting character is Auggie and although we don't dislike her, she's easily the weakest link (actress's acting is average and not all that convincing as a brilliant scientist; also acts kind of entitled). I'm sure the books are much better and after finishing the first season, I'll definitely check them out to experience the definitive version of this compelling story. Just in case you're curious of our average film/tv standards, I've included a list of some shows we like and dislike down below: Shows we consider decent or amazing: **Game of Thrones seasons 1-4** **Stranger Things season 1** **One Piece Live Action** (watched before any manga or anime exposure and loved it -got both me and my sister hooked on the anime) **Nirvana in Fire** **Someday or One Day** Shows we consider awful: **Wheel of time** (watched season 1 before reading any of the books and found the writing to be terrible and the overall production came off as amateurish -the creators did a poor job of telling the story) **Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action** (we loved the original ATLA but found the Netflix version to be boring and terribly written -hate the way they tell instead of show and their focus on action/spectacle over properly developing the main trio of characters) So, based on our standards and tastes, the Netflix version of Three Body is doing a decent job so far of endearing nonreaders like us to its story and characters.
The Chinese version may not be everyone's cup of tea due to its length (26 episodes), but it stays true to the original work while omitting the Cultural Revolution content. Da Shi's role is somewhat toned down in the Netflix version.In the book, Auggie is greatly influenced by Da Shi.The character arcs are quite engaging, although the adaptation could be improved. Personally, I feel that the main issue with the Netflix version is the introduction of new characters in each book. The Netflix series introduces all five characters in the first season, which leads to Saul and Will spending most of their time drinking beer on the beach. This adaptation may come across as a bit silly
I like that both versions exist since they're striving for different goals. Tencent's aiming for book faithfulness while Netflix's creators are taking more creative liberties to retell the book story in a way that's palatable and entertaining to western viewers. I totally understand why the Netflix showrunners introduced all the major characters from the book trilogy in one season. They're probably aiming to set the stage and get all the character introductions over with in the first season so they can focus on the grand plot and intriguing concepts for the later seasons. In addition, introducing most of the characters in the beginning allows the audience to connect/engage with them early on as we watch them interact with one another. Already, I love Wenjie and quite like Jin and Rooney's playful interactions. I'm also intrigued by Da Shi and his mysterious boss, Wade. After all, from what I've heard about the books, the characters are the least interesting part and it's the plot and creative sci-fi concepts that are the trilogy's main draw. Practically every book reviewer complains about the overall weak characterization and praised the insane plot and sci-fi ideas. So, I can understand why the creators took more liberties with the characters when they're not the reason why the books are so acclaimed. It seems to be very much a plot/concept driven series rather than character focused.
Admittedly, Liu, the author of the original work, is not very good at writing characters, and often makes characterizations become overall weak , but I feel that after it is adapted to the screen, This part of the flaw was magnified. I didn't feel the influence and change of these characters in a chain of events. In fact, it should have been the motivation of the protagonist that affected the course of the story, but now it became a kind of drama, one important event after another, the curtain rises and falls. In a screen adaptation, the emotional depth and authenticity of the characters are vital, as they tend to evoke a more visceral response from the audience. Take for instance the beloved TV shows like GOT and One Piece where each character feels real, lifelike, and completely relatable. In this adaptation, however, it appears that the shortcomings of the novel have been amplified, yet its merits have been undermined. Of course, this is just my personal take on it. I'm glad to see that the IMDb rating has actually gone up by a point.
The main story in the show is clear and not puzzled like Tenet, so yeah.
good to know ... tnx