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Yes. I noticed yesterday that the first (season of?) 8 episodes has dropped on Netflix. I'll be taking a look sometime later this week. Will let you know my reaction.
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I’ve watched the first three episodes. No sense critiquing at this point. Overall, I’m enjoying it. I’m guessing it’s more accessible than the book.
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I hope I can get someone here to watch with me. I seem to remember reading that they tried to smooth out some of the cultural difficulties for Western viewers. It is, however, not so easy for me to see how they will handle the whole trilogy…..
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I've only watched the first episode so far and liked it well enough to continue. Kind of pleased I've only read the first book.
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Finished the season tonight. It was….mixed. Who doesn’t enjoy a good “the aliens are coming” yarn? Nothing really new here, but I was interested and will watch the next season when it comes out.
The acting was fine, not stellar but decent. The problem was that it was hard to really connect on an emotional level with the characters. I connected to the plot line, but the characters not so much. And there was not a single memorable conversation between two people during the whole 8 episodes. These are the show runners who made Game of Thrones, a show full of brilliant incisive conversations. I suppose the credit there must go to GRRM. In 3 Body then, I have to fault the writing. Which is unfortunate. I couldn’t get through the first book either because the writing felt inaccessible and a chore.
So I liked it well enough, but I would never tell someone they had to see this. There are great shows with terrific writing well executed: GoT, Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica come to mind. Few shows achieve that.
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starexplorer wrote:
Finished the season tonight. It was….mixed. Who doesn’t enjoy a good “the aliens are coming” yarn? Nothing really new here, but I was interested and will watch the next season when it comes out.
The acting was fine, not stellar but decent. The problem was that it was hard to really connect on an emotional level with the characters. I connected to the plot line, but the characters not so much. And there was not a single memorable conversation between two people during the whole 8 episodes. These are the show runners who made Game of Thrones, a show full of brilliant incisive conversations. I suppose the credit there must go to GRRM. In 3 Body then, I have to fault the writing. Which is unfortunate. I couldn’t get through the first book either because the writing felt inaccessible and a chore.
So I liked it well enough, but I would never tell someone they had to see this. There are great shows with terrific writing well executed: GoT, Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica come to mind. Few shows achieve that.
I haven't yet finished it. It's next up on my list.
I got distracted / interrupted and compelled somehow into a complete re-watch of The Expanse in its entirety, and I should be able to finish the last episodes of that later this evening local time.
I think The Expanse is another show that would sit well on your list of terrific writing well executed shows. My rewatch has been quite the revelation - I had forgotten just how well it was written and acted. Other shows I would consider for that list, along with all your examples, would be Justified and Slow Horses.
As it happens, Eldest Daughter has just completed a rewatch of GoT. I'm tempted to do the same after I finish 3 Body Problem.
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Surtac wrote:
starexplorer wrote:
I haven't yet finished it. It's next up on my list.
I got distracted / interrupted and compelled somehow into a complete re-watch of The Expanse in its entirety, and I should be able to finish the last episodes of that later this evening local time.
I think The Expanse is another show that would sit well on your list of terrific writing well executed shows. My rewatch has been quite the revelation - I had forgotten just how well it was written and acted. Other shows I would consider for that list, along with all your examples, would be Justified and Slow Horses.
As it happens, Eldest Daughter has just completed a rewatch of GoT. I'm tempted to do the same after I finish 3 Body Problem.
You are quite right. While I wasn’t aiming at a comprehensive list, I loved The Expanse and it belongs on any list of the great series. I loved being in that world, and - perhaps characteristic of great fictional worlds - I was deeply disappointed when there was no more.
A good thread might be a discussion of people’s all time most beloved series, or whatever adjective you might choose-
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Totally agree re Slow Horses!
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I finished Season 1 of the 3 Body Problem tv adaptation last night, and find myself in general agreement with Star's assessment as given up-thread. I thought it was a decent story so far, reasonably well-acted by most of the cast, and quite faithful in part to segments of the first book of the trilogy, which remains the only one I have read. It is of course very divergent from other parts of that book and I have no idea of what parts of books 2 and 3 have been incorporated.
I am happy to wait for more of the tv adaptation, but I have a question for Kokipy who has read the whole trilogy: do I need to read the subsequent books while I wait, or does the first one alone give the gist of the overall storyline?
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My sense is that the second and third books move way beyond the scope of the first and involve a whole lot more political and ethical stuff that may be anticipated by the first book but that you don’t really see coming. Lots and lots more sci fi ideas brought to flesh- LOTS AND LOTS.
But I wasn’t wild about the books, as you know, so if you are enjoying the TV adaptation well enough, possibly it would suffice just to watch the show and dispense with the books? I feel that Star’s critique of the show is applicable to the books- no characters that really moved me, no writing that moved or thrilled me.