3 Body Problem

Die Autoren haben großes Glück, dass die Vorlage voller guter Ideen und aufschlussreicher Gedanken ist, die auch in der banalisierenden Serie gut sind. Das heißt aber nicht, dass es einen Grund zum Jubeln gibt. Die reichhaltigen und fesselnden Paradoxe/Theorien/Diskussionen, die in der chinesischen Fassung so treu bewahrt wurden, sind verschwunden. Übrig geblieben sind ein paar Illustrationen, hinzu kamen ein paar nichtssagende Phrasen, die cool klingen sollen. Die Verlegung aus China führt zu einem gewissen seltsamen Unrealismus. Während die autoritäre Führung der Gesellschaft in einem kommunistischen Regime verständlich ist, wirkt die Figur des zynischen Dandys, der wie ein alternder James Bond alles beherrscht, in einem westlichen Kontext zwangsläufig wie ein B-Movie. Und es gibt noch mehr B-Elemente. Statt einer Adaption einer Hard-Science-Fiction wirkt das Ganze wie eine zweitklassige Serie mit ein paar originellen Ideen, mit denen sich die Serie aber nicht einmal auseinandersetzen kann. Die Variationen der Buchcharaktere sind ebenfalls sehr problematisch – insbesondere der Nerd John Bradley alias Simon Pegg von Wish und die schrecklich übertreibende Eiza González als sensible Prophetin der angewandten Physik sind unendlich nervig. Benedict Wong als chinesischer Polizist aus Manchester kann wenigstens gut rüberkommen, obwohl auch seine Figur zweitklassig wirkt. Diese Serie hat die Probleme vieler Netflix-Projekte. Es gibt eine Menge utilitaristisches Denken, um einen möglichst großen Kreis von Abonnenten anzusprechen. Man vergisst ein wenig, dass in einer guten Adaption die Änderungen das dramatische/psychologische Gefühl des Ganzen verstärken und konzeptionell und logisch zusammenpassen sollten. In dieser Hinsicht gleicht die Serienversion eher verwirrten Notizen eines nicht besonders begabten Studenten, der zu viele Katastrophen-Blockbuster gesehen hat. (25.03.2024)

Of course, the book is in a different league altogether, and if Game of Thrones had stuck to it would been better. I was honestly worried that we'd miss out on the awesome scenes of the floating army or the slicing of the ship, but no, they just ruined the characters we love from the books, and worse still they made them all buddies, so the theme of outcasts and weirdos went out the window. Not only are they multinational, babbling about morality and always consoling themselves, they're multiple characters in one. I can see why it's easier to go in that direction, but then they all behave illogically when they're projecting several different perspectives on the problem at hand. The acting is weak. Some are almost fine (Benedict Wong), but it's still not the same. There's a lot of missing from Beijing, China in general, and how the problem is solved. P.S: I was surprised that there are already important pieces from the second and third books, and I'm afraid it dilutes the story arcs. Hopefully the next season will be more faithful and that the future will be worth it. (03.04.2024)

I considered quitting the series during the first two episodes, I wasn't enjoying, and the two main mystery themes dealt with didn't hook me at all. The countdown to whatever and the mystery video game were getting on my nerves. And it wasn't helped by the characters either, I didn't find any of them to be endearing in any way. It wasn't until the last few minutes with an interesting cliffhanger that always made me turn on the next episode. Well from episode three onwards, in which it becomes fully apparent what is actually going on in the grand scheme of things, I started to enjoy 3 Body Problem. The premise is fascinating, but I feel like they had to cut significantly from the book. There are a number of things that raise questions, but are they unexplained nonsense, or just unexplained details that the book may present better? If Benioff and Weiss have succeeded in anything, it is in making me want to read the book trilogy. (25.03.2024)

The book already makes it clear that the author is into hard sci-fi, problems, questions, disputations, proceduralism, analytical procedures, etc., which makes it interesting, distinguishing it from genre peers, but he can't wrap it up in plot (the outline works, the details don't), construction (he repeatedly plays on "now I'll explain my convoluted plans in incomplete detail"), build vivid characters (they're more vehicles for ideas, traits or actions than flesh-and-blood characters). It's undeniably interesting, but not fun. It's closest to Ted Chiang, but the latter doesn't lack some literary talent. So when you map 3 Body Problem in a way that forecloses disputation over issues, that doesn't revel in procedural procedures and bureaucracy, that "postpones it," it's a wonder it didn't fall apart like a house of cards. Yes, it's obtuse, naive and one-dimensional in places (which is also true of the book), not saved by thought-provoking reflections and solutions to the big problems of yesterday, today & tomorrow (as in the book), but the "big narrative science fiction" veil manages to cover it up deftly. So much so that despite the slow pace and all the above, it doesn't bore for a moment. And in the best moments (the big revelations of "We See All the People", the slicing of the tankers, etc.), which are not so few after all, it can even excite. | S1: 4/5 | (25.03.2024)