“3 Body Problem” is TV now, and TV needs a compact set of interdependent actors akin to a workplace or a family unit. By the finale, cryogenic freezing and nuclear-powered space travel have been casually introduced to the equation before we get there, we situate ourselves in Jack’s boyish hedonism, Saul’s cynical streak and Will’s unrequited crush on Jin. In exchange for some slight raising of the eyebrows, “3 Body Problem” gets a core cast who act as anchors to a quite literally high-flying tale of humanity’s survival. It does strain credulity that a conflict with these stakes would happen to rest on a small group of friends - but as “3 Body Problem” unfolds, that’s one of the least unbelievable aspects of an increasingly outlandish plot. Many of these characters are invented, blended together or substantially altered for the sake of a streamlined narrative. An older Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) is there, too, though it’s initially unclear how she arrived in the U.K. The funeral of one Oxford scholar reunites five former classmates who will go on to play an outsized role in what turns out to be a slow-motion global catastrophe: physicists Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo) materials scientist Auggie Salazar (Eiza Gonzalez) wealthy entrepreneur Jack Rooney (John Bradley) and the ailing Will Downing (Alex Sharp). Most of “3 Body Problem” takes place in the present day, when investigator Da Shi (Benedict Wong) looks into a string of apparent suicides by high-profile researchers across the globe. Ye’s radicalization, which takes root at a mysterious military base, is interspersed as flashbacks throughout the eight-part season’s early episodes. The scene sets up one of the saga’s most powerful ideas: that a brilliant mind could grow so disillusioned with humankind they might turn their allegiance elsewhere, convinced our species is beyond hope of guiding its own destiny. As the Cultural Revolution tears through China, young scientist Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) watches a mob beat her father to death in an anti-intellectual frenzy. “The Three Body Problem” and “ 3 Body Problem” - the title of Liu’s first volume altered enough to differentiate book from show, though not enough to avoid confusion - start in the same time and place. Benioff and Weiss remain master adaptors, and together with Woo, they’ve opened an accessible entry point into a deeply esoteric story while rendering the action in a suitably epic scope. The result shows some of the strain of this Herculean task, but also proves the early seasons of “Thrones” were neither a fluke nor a testament to Martin alone. This adaptation demands re-conceiving large chunks of plot from the ground-up while retaining Liu’s themes, not to mention visualizing concepts with less precedent onscreen than the fantasy tropes Martin deployed and subverted. To turn writer Cixin Liu’s creation into a Netflix series, the team would have to do more than marshal resources or re-earn the trust of those burnt by how “Game of Thrones” limped across the finish line. The Chinese science fiction trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” spans hundreds of years, mostly unconnected characters and several multi-page exegeses on the ABCs of particle physics. Before “Game of Thrones” was a juggernaut and, eventually, a disappointment, it was a smart, considered, and palpably affectionate take on its source material.įor their next big swing, the producers have teamed up with “True Blood” alumnus Alexander Woo to take on an even steeper challenge. Aided by a stellar cast and strong support from HBO, Benioff and Weiss nonetheless did exceptional work translating Martin’s vision into a nuanced drama with a deep bench of antiheroes and competing points of view. The book series kicked off in 1996, just a few years before the rise of premium cable culture drivers would make television more friendly to artistic ambition and less subject to the FCC. Martin had written “A Song of Ice and Fire” as a partial response to the strictures of TV, crafting a story with the sprawling ensemble, major battles, sex, violence and abrupt demises he couldn’t work into scripts for the likes of NBC and CBS. Weiss, the duo had rightfully earned acclaim for wrangling a seemingly unadaptable series of books into a damn good adaptation. Here are some free printable Among Us coloring pages.Before a rushed ending soured the “Game of Thrones” fanbase on showrunners David Benioff and D.B.
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