OK, so I finished 3 Body Problem last night. I stick with what I said below about the primary problem of trying to tell this story in 8 episodes — that was an utterly shot yourself in the foot (or the extremity of your choice) decision. You just can't use whizz-bang SFX to make up for a butchered and disjointed narrative that doesn't give the viewer the information they need to really get into the story.
The "five friends" conceit was just sort of grafted in and didn't really do anything to help the narrative. As or the Raj Varma (Seamer Usmani) character, though I'm sure many found him nice to look at, why?
The main cast all did a workmanlike job with really inadequate story and character development but their motivational arcs were crippled by the butcher-job done by the script on the source material.Eiza González was probably victimized the most here. She's a good and talented actress but all they gave her to do was be angry, mope and whine. I'm not sure Kate Winslett (or pick any great actress) could have done any better with the toilet paper that served as a script.
The only survivor here is Benedict Wong, who's always great but the character he was given was the most intact of all of the characters in the books and even in the Chinese adaptation, Three-Body.
Maybe those dudes should just stick to dragons and nekkid ladies?
I'm glad to hear Shogun is holding up; my parents and I are waiting until near the end so we can watch it on our preferred cadence -- one or two episodes per night, just like an old-school miniseries. Currently we're making our way through Poirot (a rewatch for me, a first-time watch for them) and we have 25 episodes left, but they're all movie-length, so it's going to be awhile.
I’ve watched the first 5 episodes of “The 3 body problem” so far (I had read the first book) and I am lukewarm about it. I was impressed by the way they adapted the story making it clearer and less maths-heavy than the book., and it is spectacular in the way they managed to create the reality of the videogame in a convincing way: how the characters dehydrate and rehydrate was very cool. I loved the “slicing of the cargo ship” (1.05). The more sci-fi special effects parts are impressive.
At the same time it has an air of formulaic investigation show that tones it down, despite my liking of the actor who plays the lead investigator, and it lacks something, the soul you mention probably, that doesn’t make me enthusiastic about it.
The original Chinese adaptation of The Three Body Problem is streaming on Amazon Prime, so I watched the first episode before checking out the Netflix version, and it's better than the first episode of the Netflix version. I still haven't finished that first Netflix episode. Biggest problem with the Chinese version is they talk so fast the subtitles can't keep up. It also appears to be ignoring the Cultural Revolution part, which is not really a surprise if disappointing
I started 3 Body but fell asleep which is not necessarily an indication of the quality of a show. I'm going through some heavy stuff in my life right now and well, wine, and I'm out. But I intend to revisit. I'm loving Shogun, already weighed in on The Gentlemen (but with so many really liking it, perhaps I was too hard on it). Halfway through The Signal, so well done, very well-acted, but like you Tim, I share your concerns how they'll stick the landing. I really liked The Brothers Sun, I think I wrote about it in a previous post. House of Ninja is high on the list now!
We often get into the mode of having a couple/few shows and alternating nights for them unless they're really good (Gentlemen has been most every night since we're caught up on most of what we've watched). In support of your weekly watch plan: It has been nice to savor Tokyo Vice with one episode a week.
Future plans are to (now that we're at the same place) blast through ST Discovery before the new season of that and Ripley drop.
Anyone else watching "Palm Royale"? I watched the first episode last night (it's on Apple TV+) and while it wasn't totally satisfying plot-wise, the set design and costumes (it takes place in the late 60s) are absolutely stunning. I'm constantly buying vintage Lilly Pulitzer clothing on Poshmark, so I'm envying all of those fabulous prints. Carol Burnett is in it, but so far, her character is in a coma. As my husband said, it's Carol Burnett, so we she's going to wake up eventually, right?!
I will randomly add that I watched Road House and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't think Jake Gyllenhaal had it in him and boy was I wrong. Despite the violence it was delightful. Connor McGregor is a natural and frequently au natural.
Really appreciate the House of Ninjas and A Shop for Killers recommendations. I must regretfully say that Monsieur Spade gets pretty bad by the end, and I had such high hopes for it.
Super interesting! I paused watching "The Gentlemen" to finish "3 Body Problem" - it grabbed me differently than you and I got pretty deep into Reddit/YouTube on the whole book series and universe.
I'll have to check out Monsieur Spade and I'm not checking out The Signal or A Nearly Normal Family. 3 Body Problem I'm not hating but your right, I really don't care what happens to any of the characters or even the human race at this point in the series. My favorites from your list in order: House of Ninjas, The Brothers Sun, The Gentlemen I have finished and enjoyed them all. Waiting patiently for the next episode of Shogun.
I have also started 3 Body Problem and am really enjoying it! I see it’s gotten mixed reviews and I feel like this is one more instance of this disparity. The thing is I agree with you that that one actress isn’t great. But for me that’s a quibble. It’s still an interesting show.
I also have one advantage: my Dad has read the book (2 out of 3) and has spoiled me on a few points which actually is helpful. I now understand the point of the video game. It’s to solve the “3 body problem” which I won’t say what it is but you might want to find out. I have only seen 2 episodes so I don’t know if they explain more later on. I am with you that the earlier timeline in China is very compelling. I just think the show is cool!
I think binge watching for the most part makes TV watching less enjoyable. There are exceptions of course but generally TV isn’t like a book and slowing down and savoring a show is better. Case in point: I was catching up on Hacks Season 2 since Season 3 is right around the corner. I was really into it and last night finished the last 3 episodes. Now I regret it! It was a good season but now it’s over. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had slowed down. All of this to say it’s good to juggle a bunch of shows at the same time. No one should feel bad about that!
I started watching House of Ninjas and three minutes in I already loved it
OK, so I finished 3 Body Problem last night. I stick with what I said below about the primary problem of trying to tell this story in 8 episodes — that was an utterly shot yourself in the foot (or the extremity of your choice) decision. You just can't use whizz-bang SFX to make up for a butchered and disjointed narrative that doesn't give the viewer the information they need to really get into the story.
The "five friends" conceit was just sort of grafted in and didn't really do anything to help the narrative. As or the Raj Varma (Seamer Usmani) character, though I'm sure many found him nice to look at, why?
The main cast all did a workmanlike job with really inadequate story and character development but their motivational arcs were crippled by the butcher-job done by the script on the source material.Eiza González was probably victimized the most here. She's a good and talented actress but all they gave her to do was be angry, mope and whine. I'm not sure Kate Winslett (or pick any great actress) could have done any better with the toilet paper that served as a script.
The only survivor here is Benedict Wong, who's always great but the character he was given was the most intact of all of the characters in the books and even in the Chinese adaptation, Three-Body.
Maybe those dudes should just stick to dragons and nekkid ladies?
I'm glad to hear Shogun is holding up; my parents and I are waiting until near the end so we can watch it on our preferred cadence -- one or two episodes per night, just like an old-school miniseries. Currently we're making our way through Poirot (a rewatch for me, a first-time watch for them) and we have 25 episodes left, but they're all movie-length, so it's going to be awhile.
I’ve watched the first 5 episodes of “The 3 body problem” so far (I had read the first book) and I am lukewarm about it. I was impressed by the way they adapted the story making it clearer and less maths-heavy than the book., and it is spectacular in the way they managed to create the reality of the videogame in a convincing way: how the characters dehydrate and rehydrate was very cool. I loved the “slicing of the cargo ship” (1.05). The more sci-fi special effects parts are impressive.
At the same time it has an air of formulaic investigation show that tones it down, despite my liking of the actor who plays the lead investigator, and it lacks something, the soul you mention probably, that doesn’t make me enthusiastic about it.
The original Chinese adaptation of The Three Body Problem is streaming on Amazon Prime, so I watched the first episode before checking out the Netflix version, and it's better than the first episode of the Netflix version. I still haven't finished that first Netflix episode. Biggest problem with the Chinese version is they talk so fast the subtitles can't keep up. It also appears to be ignoring the Cultural Revolution part, which is not really a surprise if disappointing
I started 3 Body but fell asleep which is not necessarily an indication of the quality of a show. I'm going through some heavy stuff in my life right now and well, wine, and I'm out. But I intend to revisit. I'm loving Shogun, already weighed in on The Gentlemen (but with so many really liking it, perhaps I was too hard on it). Halfway through The Signal, so well done, very well-acted, but like you Tim, I share your concerns how they'll stick the landing. I really liked The Brothers Sun, I think I wrote about it in a previous post. House of Ninja is high on the list now!
We often get into the mode of having a couple/few shows and alternating nights for them unless they're really good (Gentlemen has been most every night since we're caught up on most of what we've watched). In support of your weekly watch plan: It has been nice to savor Tokyo Vice with one episode a week.
Future plans are to (now that we're at the same place) blast through ST Discovery before the new season of that and Ripley drop.
Anyone else watching "Palm Royale"? I watched the first episode last night (it's on Apple TV+) and while it wasn't totally satisfying plot-wise, the set design and costumes (it takes place in the late 60s) are absolutely stunning. I'm constantly buying vintage Lilly Pulitzer clothing on Poshmark, so I'm envying all of those fabulous prints. Carol Burnett is in it, but so far, her character is in a coma. As my husband said, it's Carol Burnett, so we she's going to wake up eventually, right?!
I will randomly add that I watched Road House and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't think Jake Gyllenhaal had it in him and boy was I wrong. Despite the violence it was delightful. Connor McGregor is a natural and frequently au natural.
Really appreciate the House of Ninjas and A Shop for Killers recommendations. I must regretfully say that Monsieur Spade gets pretty bad by the end, and I had such high hopes for it.
Super interesting! I paused watching "The Gentlemen" to finish "3 Body Problem" - it grabbed me differently than you and I got pretty deep into Reddit/YouTube on the whole book series and universe.
I'll have to check out Monsieur Spade and I'm not checking out The Signal or A Nearly Normal Family. 3 Body Problem I'm not hating but your right, I really don't care what happens to any of the characters or even the human race at this point in the series. My favorites from your list in order: House of Ninjas, The Brothers Sun, The Gentlemen I have finished and enjoyed them all. Waiting patiently for the next episode of Shogun.
I have also started 3 Body Problem and am really enjoying it! I see it’s gotten mixed reviews and I feel like this is one more instance of this disparity. The thing is I agree with you that that one actress isn’t great. But for me that’s a quibble. It’s still an interesting show.
I also have one advantage: my Dad has read the book (2 out of 3) and has spoiled me on a few points which actually is helpful. I now understand the point of the video game. It’s to solve the “3 body problem” which I won’t say what it is but you might want to find out. I have only seen 2 episodes so I don’t know if they explain more later on. I am with you that the earlier timeline in China is very compelling. I just think the show is cool!
I think binge watching for the most part makes TV watching less enjoyable. There are exceptions of course but generally TV isn’t like a book and slowing down and savoring a show is better. Case in point: I was catching up on Hacks Season 2 since Season 3 is right around the corner. I was really into it and last night finished the last 3 episodes. Now I regret it! It was a good season but now it’s over. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had slowed down. All of this to say it’s good to juggle a bunch of shows at the same time. No one should feel bad about that!