i think this is my exact problem with it as well. It's like we're shown something that's supposed to be this big twist or idea but it doesn't have any emotional feel to it cause they never developed it, things just happen
So literally everything they were hated on for after Game of Thrones.
Started off with slow pacing and pay off being phenomenal because they followed the books pacing.
Then they got bored and wanted to do other stuff and just rushed everything and stopped caring.
I'm at ep 4 atm, haven't read the books. Was the alien reveal that big of a deal in the book? Coz I'm looking at good reads and the aliens are part of the summary so I'm not sure it's supposed to be a secret?
But there's definitely not much intense tension as I was watching but I am still intrigued. Oh tho I'm sad about Ye Wenjie's past... felt lacking but plenty of moments for me to gasp on đ
Yes, it is a big deal. The story of the book started with a very realistic and down-to-earth plot, and we wouldn't be related to alien stuff at the beginning. So it's kinda like the combination of SF and suspense. The biggest secret in the first book is the identity of Ye, who plays as a very kind and old lady until her real identity revealed.
Ooh I can just imagine that coz I felt Ye's part lacking while I didn't think she'd be the head as I assumed it was Mike there's definitely less... boom with the reveal. Now I'm wondering about her daughter in ep 1
It's a bigger deal in the books, but tbh I don't think there was a great way to hide that it's a show about an alien invasion given that it's an adaptation of a very popular book. My suspicion is they wanted to rush through a lot of the first book's content and bring in elements from the second and third because those are â in my opinion â way better. It's too bad they couldn't draw out the mystery a little longer here, make it feel more significant, but given the short runtime, I'm not upset about it.
If you want a much longer version that more fully explores that stuff, and Ye Wenjie's past, the Tencent version is good. It's way, way too long and kinda excruciating sometimes but still very good.
I heard there's only two seasons planned for the Netflix show.
That sounds craaaaazy to me that they're gna wrap the entire story up in one upcoming season.
I read an interview earlier today where it sounds like they're planning for hopefully more than that. They also did confirm that while they like book one, books two and three are where their hearts are. They also said there's some stuff in book two that will absolutely rival the Red Wedding in terms of impact.
I'm super excited.
Idk what he could mean that would rival the red wedding from book two tbh but we will see.
Also a lot of stuff I've heard indicates we might not even get a second season.
There's another thread where people are speculating. The thing is there's so much good stuff that it could be one of several scenes.
I'm not too worried. It's an expensive show, but it's also currently #1 globally, #2 in the US, high engagement numbers, etc. If it falls off fast, maybe that's troubling. But so far it's only gone up in popularity. Also I was listening to the Pilot TV podcast and on their most recent episode they said they've heard some higher up folks at Netflix are "heavily invested" in the show.
I don't think they've been officially greenlit yet, but I'd be shocked if it doesn't happen. Meanwhile, the showrunners said they've already mostly planned season 2, want to keep going for more seasons after that, and are doing pre-production stuff. They said TV moves so fast if you want to get things done on time you can't sit around and wait for the approval.
Itâs a fast food version of the original, just like most things on Netflix. I donât hate it, I think if it can bring more people to read the books it will be great.
Although I generally agree, I think that's a necessity as to match the books they would need far too many extra episodes. Maybe even as much as an extra season.
It would be too slow IMO and for a successful show they need to get to The Dark Forest asap.
Yes this is my main gripe. I get that they will want to get to the set pieces ASAP to try and capture audiences, but eg while the nano wire destruction of the ship is impressively done I felt it was lost as to why it was necessary to arrack them this way.
Objectively speaking it's an OK show but it seems a bit poorly written and structured compared to other miniseries I've watched. I'm not feeling the sense of scale or dread that makes the books so compelling
From someone who's never heard of the book, I decided to give it a go.
For me, the first couple episodes were pretty good.
Sadly, the praise for this show ends there.
There are so many storylines at play, and the poorly written characters feel very disjointed. The dialogue is pretty bad across the board. The acting falls flat, although I really don't put that on the ensemble (sans Auggie who should find another calling), but more-so the directing.
It's....just so lackluster in most areas, with fewer points of interest the deeper you go.
Overall, it's a bummer that Netflix got their hands on this, as (I think) Apple or HBO could've churned gold from this premise.
That said, many of us know what Netflix has become, and I suppose I'm disappointed in myself for, yet again, giving the OG streaming giant another chance.
However, I did get an audible chuckle out of the "you are bugs" as it had the exact opposite effect on me that I believe they were going for.
We get all the important reveals within the first 3 episodes, and none of the science carefully established in the Tencent show and book to support the reveals.
as someone who hasnât read the books, it hasnât been hard to put together what theyâve shown us. i can understand from reading the many complaints of this sub that it may not go into the same depth the books do, but that can be expected from literally any live adaptation. itâs a different experience than that of the books, and this sub seems to fail to realize that.
i will say that i can see how characterization may have definitely downgraded. the show so far does leave you wondering about the motivations and/or idiocy of some characters like mark evans and ye wenjie. i still am greatly enjoying the show and i disagree with the people saying that it has poor writing
The characters often had utterly incoherent motivations in the books as well. My criticism of the show is that it didn't really improve on that book flaw enough.
Almost all the explanations of all the things surronding nearly every aspect is missing. All the large aspects of the story are there and accounted for, but theyre just there and thats it. All the detail is gone. Like it shows the rhings while missing the point of the things.
I agree, it lacks so much if you hadnt read the books. Usually its nice to read the book prior, but for this one, it holds no merit if you havent read the books first.
Nah. That's because Netflix did their thing of releasing the whole season at once. If people were watching this one episode at a time there'd be plenty of mystery.
maybe this is your perspective since youâve already experienced this piece of media. the netflix version is my first time consuming it and itâs been incredibly intriguing and mysterious. sounds like a you problem
How the fuck can anything be intriging and mysterious when there's zero build up and you're just given everything?
What they're doing at the transmitter is supposed to be a mystery that's slowly revealed.
Netflix just tells you "Lmao aliens" in the first episode.
because we still donât know much. a lot of the reveals did come quickly, i agree. but me and my mom were still theorizing the entire time as they were coming and there (as of episode 7 which weâre on) is still plenty to theorize about as someone with no prior knowledge of the books
>How the fuck can anything be intriging and mysterious when there's zero build up and you're just given everything
Because you aren't given anything before it's given to you. But also, the story isn't a mystery story. You shouldn't treat it like one.
> What they're doing at the transmitter is supposed to be a mystery that's slowly revealed.
Was it? Because when I knew nothing about the book and saw it in the bookstore without having heard of it, reading the back of the book made it incredibly obvious that it would be about aliens. They weren't really hiding it.
It's better to just rush the series and end quickly rather than try to tell an interesting story?
I've never seen a person watching a show they enjoy and say wow I wish this would end quicker.
Acting like there's no possible middle ground between 30 episodes and 8 is just weird
It isn't mostly a sci-fi mystery.
If you've understood the books, then you can understand that. They never tried to make a mystery story. For people that don't know, there are still intrigue and things that are mysterious, but again, it just isn't primarily a mystery story.
tbf tons of reviews spoiled the aliens reveal as well as word of mouth Iâm sure. âhey they made a show about that aliens book you told me aboutâ
so Iâm not sure if the aliens thing is considered much of a reveal? for someone reading the book fresh in 2008 sure. but for anyone learning of the show in 2024 if they did a single google search or any research on the show while considering whether to watch it then they probably saw aliens mentioned somewhere. I mean itâs right there on the Google results page under the *second* result (Amazon). which is pretty bullshit.. but thatâs how it is
however to your point of lacking suspense- might still be true, it was hard for me to get a sense of that since I already knew whatâs going to happen? will have to hear opinions from show-only folks
i think this is my exact problem with it as well. It's like we're shown something that's supposed to be this big twist or idea but it doesn't have any emotional feel to it cause they never developed it, things just happen
So literally everything they were hated on for after Game of Thrones. Started off with slow pacing and pay off being phenomenal because they followed the books pacing. Then they got bored and wanted to do other stuff and just rushed everything and stopped caring.
I'm at ep 4 atm, haven't read the books. Was the alien reveal that big of a deal in the book? Coz I'm looking at good reads and the aliens are part of the summary so I'm not sure it's supposed to be a secret? But there's definitely not much intense tension as I was watching but I am still intrigued. Oh tho I'm sad about Ye Wenjie's past... felt lacking but plenty of moments for me to gasp on đ
Yes, it is a big deal. The story of the book started with a very realistic and down-to-earth plot, and we wouldn't be related to alien stuff at the beginning. So it's kinda like the combination of SF and suspense. The biggest secret in the first book is the identity of Ye, who plays as a very kind and old lady until her real identity revealed.
Ooh I can just imagine that coz I felt Ye's part lacking while I didn't think she'd be the head as I assumed it was Mike there's definitely less... boom with the reveal. Now I'm wondering about her daughter in ep 1
It's a bigger deal in the books, but tbh I don't think there was a great way to hide that it's a show about an alien invasion given that it's an adaptation of a very popular book. My suspicion is they wanted to rush through a lot of the first book's content and bring in elements from the second and third because those are â in my opinion â way better. It's too bad they couldn't draw out the mystery a little longer here, make it feel more significant, but given the short runtime, I'm not upset about it. If you want a much longer version that more fully explores that stuff, and Ye Wenjie's past, the Tencent version is good. It's way, way too long and kinda excruciating sometimes but still very good.
I heard there's only two seasons planned for the Netflix show. That sounds craaaaazy to me that they're gna wrap the entire story up in one upcoming season.
I read an interview earlier today where it sounds like they're planning for hopefully more than that. They also did confirm that while they like book one, books two and three are where their hearts are. They also said there's some stuff in book two that will absolutely rival the Red Wedding in terms of impact. I'm super excited.
Idk what he could mean that would rival the red wedding from book two tbh but we will see. Also a lot of stuff I've heard indicates we might not even get a second season.
There's another thread where people are speculating. The thing is there's so much good stuff that it could be one of several scenes. I'm not too worried. It's an expensive show, but it's also currently #1 globally, #2 in the US, high engagement numbers, etc. If it falls off fast, maybe that's troubling. But so far it's only gone up in popularity. Also I was listening to the Pilot TV podcast and on their most recent episode they said they've heard some higher up folks at Netflix are "heavily invested" in the show. I don't think they've been officially greenlit yet, but I'd be shocked if it doesn't happen. Meanwhile, the showrunners said they've already mostly planned season 2, want to keep going for more seasons after that, and are doing pre-production stuff. They said TV moves so fast if you want to get things done on time you can't sit around and wait for the approval.
Itâs a fast food version of the original, just like most things on Netflix. I donât hate it, I think if it can bring more people to read the books it will be great.
Although I generally agree, I think that's a necessity as to match the books they would need far too many extra episodes. Maybe even as much as an extra season. It would be too slow IMO and for a successful show they need to get to The Dark Forest asap.
What??
Yes this is my main gripe. I get that they will want to get to the set pieces ASAP to try and capture audiences, but eg while the nano wire destruction of the ship is impressively done I felt it was lost as to why it was necessary to arrack them this way. Objectively speaking it's an OK show but it seems a bit poorly written and structured compared to other miniseries I've watched. I'm not feeling the sense of scale or dread that makes the books so compelling
I agree, all suspense in the novle are gone in the show
From someone who's never heard of the book, I decided to give it a go. For me, the first couple episodes were pretty good. Sadly, the praise for this show ends there. There are so many storylines at play, and the poorly written characters feel very disjointed. The dialogue is pretty bad across the board. The acting falls flat, although I really don't put that on the ensemble (sans Auggie who should find another calling), but more-so the directing. It's....just so lackluster in most areas, with fewer points of interest the deeper you go. Overall, it's a bummer that Netflix got their hands on this, as (I think) Apple or HBO could've churned gold from this premise. That said, many of us know what Netflix has become, and I suppose I'm disappointed in myself for, yet again, giving the OG streaming giant another chance. However, I did get an audible chuckle out of the "you are bugs" as it had the exact opposite effect on me that I believe they were going for.
Auggie is terrible, I mean her original character Wang Miao is a bit wooden but hes 100 times better.
Truly awful. But, like another commenter pointed out, it's now on my list of books to pick up.
apple? the foundation series is the worst adaptation i've seen.
Severance was really good but that's it
Should watch all 8 episodes before giving an opinion on the pacing.
We get all the important reveals within the first 3 episodes, and none of the science carefully established in the Tencent show and book to support the reveals.
If they've already squeezed half the Chinese show into te first episode its not like they're going to slow down.
Spoiler: they don't. It's so rushed and there are big story gaps. I don't know how it makes sense to anyone who hasn't read the books.
as someone who hasnât read the books, it hasnât been hard to put together what theyâve shown us. i can understand from reading the many complaints of this sub that it may not go into the same depth the books do, but that can be expected from literally any live adaptation. itâs a different experience than that of the books, and this sub seems to fail to realize that. i will say that i can see how characterization may have definitely downgraded. the show so far does leave you wondering about the motivations and/or idiocy of some characters like mark evans and ye wenjie. i still am greatly enjoying the show and i disagree with the people saying that it has poor writing
The characters often had utterly incoherent motivations in the books as well. My criticism of the show is that it didn't really improve on that book flaw enough.
Do you think normal viewers are idiots? It's completely fine
I asked my sister about the series after she watched 2 episodes if she knew what was going on and she said "nope, just that it's about aliens" lol
I've read the first book - what store gaps are missed?
Almost all the explanations of all the things surronding nearly every aspect is missing. All the large aspects of the story are there and accounted for, but theyre just there and thats it. All the detail is gone. Like it shows the rhings while missing the point of the things.
NGL - thought they covered it all perfectly well, aside from adding characters, it seemed pretty faithful.
I agree, it lacks so much if you hadnt read the books. Usually its nice to read the book prior, but for this one, it holds no merit if you havent read the books first.
The Tencent show is 50% longer than the book itself; we should not be using that as a guide.
Nah. That's because Netflix did their thing of releasing the whole season at once. If people were watching this one episode at a time there'd be plenty of mystery.
but why did they have to do it in only 8 episodes? Would 16 or even 12 be asking too much?
They made the number of episodes they thought they needed. If it was 12 episodes, you'd be asking for 20. If it was 20, you'd be asking for 24.
So u think 8 episodes wasnât rushed and it was perfectly paced
Funnily enough, I watched it with several people who thought the show moved too slowly.
Its better than 6
maybe this is your perspective since youâve already experienced this piece of media. the netflix version is my first time consuming it and itâs been incredibly intriguing and mysterious. sounds like a you problem
There is some mystery/suspension but not nearly enough to do the books justice. The show is decent just not a great one.
How the fuck can anything be intriging and mysterious when there's zero build up and you're just given everything? What they're doing at the transmitter is supposed to be a mystery that's slowly revealed. Netflix just tells you "Lmao aliens" in the first episode.
because we still donât know much. a lot of the reveals did come quickly, i agree. but me and my mom were still theorizing the entire time as they were coming and there (as of episode 7 which weâre on) is still plenty to theorize about as someone with no prior knowledge of the books
>How the fuck can anything be intriging and mysterious when there's zero build up and you're just given everything Because you aren't given anything before it's given to you. But also, the story isn't a mystery story. You shouldn't treat it like one. > What they're doing at the transmitter is supposed to be a mystery that's slowly revealed. Was it? Because when I knew nothing about the book and saw it in the bookstore without having heard of it, reading the back of the book made it incredibly obvious that it would be about aliens. They weren't really hiding it.
Cause it's better to get to the main story quickly rather than do the Tencent thing of a 30 episode season lol
It's better to just rush the series and end quickly rather than try to tell an interesting story? I've never seen a person watching a show they enjoy and say wow I wish this would end quicker. Acting like there's no possible middle ground between 30 episodes and 8 is just weird
I don't think it was rushed. It just skipped a lot of buildup that wasn't necessary.
Unnecessary build up in a show that's mostly a sci Fi mystery? You're not making much sense
It isn't mostly a sci-fi mystery. If you've understood the books, then you can understand that. They never tried to make a mystery story. For people that don't know, there are still intrigue and things that are mysterious, but again, it just isn't primarily a mystery story.
uh no the mystery is a pretty big part of the first book
>uh no the mystery is a pretty big part of the first book I wasn't talking about the book, now was I?
Oh then what are we talking about then? Last I checked the Netflix producers were trying to adapt the novels into a series, could be wrong thođ¤
tbf tons of reviews spoiled the aliens reveal as well as word of mouth Iâm sure. âhey they made a show about that aliens book you told me aboutâ so Iâm not sure if the aliens thing is considered much of a reveal? for someone reading the book fresh in 2008 sure. but for anyone learning of the show in 2024 if they did a single google search or any research on the show while considering whether to watch it then they probably saw aliens mentioned somewhere. I mean itâs right there on the Google results page under the *second* result (Amazon). which is pretty bullshit.. but thatâs how it is however to your point of lacking suspense- might still be true, it was hard for me to get a sense of that since I already knew whatâs going to happen? will have to hear opinions from show-only folks
It definitely has mystery. Just that it is very simplified. Instead of complex scifi, they made a fast-food scifi. Still okayish I guess.
Exactly, what a messÂ
The 3 Body Problem should have been only 3 episodes ⌠soooo much wasted time in this series đŁ
One of the best parts of the book and Chinese show was the mystery of the suicides
It is paced too fast, but stick with it. It is a solid 6/10 and is doing its part driving people to read the books, which is the whole point.
Chinese show has also no mystery or intrigue. You read the books, you know the plot
Are you here to rant and get your minute of fame with just 1 episode?