“3 Body Problem” starts on Netflix
The next “Game of Thrones”?
“Baby Driver” star Eiza González stars in “3 Body Problem.”
© Netflix
Netflix has secured the services of the series creators of “Game of Thrones”. What can their new sci-fi series “3 Body Problem” do?
With “3 Body Problem,” the new series from the “Game of Thrones” makers will be released on March 21st Netflix. David Benioff (53) and DB Weiss (52) have sought support from Chinese-American third series creator Alexander Woo (“True Blood”, “The Terror”) for the Trisolaris trilogy by Chinese writer Liu Cixin, which was published between 2006 and 2010 (60) to adapt.
In contrast to the legendary fantasy series “Game of Thrones”, viewers can expect an epic sci-fi story that tells of humanity’s first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization and the consequences. Despite all the strengths of the adaptation, “3 Body Problem” will probably find fewer fans than the famous previous series by Benioff and Weiss.
That’s what “3 Body Problem” is about
Netflix’s new sci-fi series begins in the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The young, disillusioned physicist Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng, 30) witnesses how her beloved father is cruelly murdered by Red Guards. Later she sends a message out into the depths of space – and, to her great astonishment, actually receives an answer.
Decades later, scientists and scholars around the world are baffled as the laws of nature appear to be changing inexplicably, and more and more researchers are committing suicide. The five friends Saul (Jovan Adepo, 35), Jin (Jess Hong, 27), Auggie (Eiza González, 34), Jack (John Bradley, 35) and Will (Alex Sharp, 35) met while studying science at Oxford met. They try to get to the bottom of the strange and increasingly frightening events. The hardened police officer Clarence (Benedict Wong, 52) actively supports them.
Careful adaptation of the novel
The makers of “3 Body Problem” faced two problems for their series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novels: The events of the first book take place almost exclusively in China. In addition, many of the main characters don’t even cross paths and therefore never meet.
For a global Netflix audience, the setting and characters were – with the blessing of author Liu – carefully adapted so that a significant part of the action now takes place in Great Britain. Here, the five Oxford scientists mentioned above form the core of the ensemble of characters in “3 Body Problem”. They were also reinvented by the series creators Benioff, Weiss and Woo and do not appear in the original novel.
Three “Game of Thrones” stars and one Marvel fan favorite
The Netflix series features a reunion with a number of well-known cast members from “Game of Thrones.” For example, fan favorite John Bradley is back in the game. In the HBO series he played Jon Snow’s sidekick Samwell Tarly. Here he embodies the slightly arrogant entrepreneur Jack Rooney, who decided against a scientific career and instead became rich with the knowledge he acquired at Oxford. Another well-known face from the five-member Oxford group of friends is Eiza González, who some of the audience might already know from Edgar Wright’s (49) spectacular heist film “Baby Driver”.
The “Game of Thrones” stars Liam Cunningham (played Jon Snow’s advisor Davos Seaworth, 62) and Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow, 76) also take on central roles in “3 Body Problem”, but it’s better not to tell the audience too much before the series starts should know a lot. The impressive acting ensemble is completed by Marvel star Benedict Wong, who became known, among other things, for the “Doctor Strange” films and who has already appeared as the lovable character Wong in a total of six Marvel works. Here he plays a tough, chain-smoking cop.
Is “3 Body Problem” worth it?
The new Netflix series “3 Body Problem” has numerous similarities, but also some significant differences to “Game of Thrones”. Here as there, viewers are presented with an imaginative, fully developed world thanks to the rich novel. In addition, the new sci-fi series, which falls into the realm of scientifically based “hard sci-fi”, offers many scenes and sequences that have probably never been seen before – for example when the nanofibers developed by the character Auggie be given a completely new, warlike purpose, or the characters Jin and Jack try to solve an astrophysical problem in a fascinating virtual reality game.
However, the series will probably better understand those who have a basic understanding of physics. Because quantum theory, orbital mechanics, astrophysics and nanotechnology all play a central role in the plot. Novelist Liu Cixin was naturally able to take more time in his books to present and partially explain the phenomena described. In the Netflix series, which is mostly told quickly and at a fast pace, this is exactly what is occasionally neglected, which is why some viewers may be less able to follow the scientific part of the plot.
Unfortunately, the biggest weakness of “3 Body Problem” lies in the completely reinvented characters, hardly any of which are completely captivating. The five college friends from Oxford often come across as one-dimensional characters, and their clichéd private problems in particular leave you increasingly cold as a viewer.
Still, “3 Body Problem” offers plenty of never-before-seen content, high production standards and a truly innovative alien invasion story. The novels by original author Liu Cixin also get better with each book. The same could also apply to the Netflix adaptation by the “Game of Thrones” makers, if the series makes it past the mixed premiere season and is extended by the Californian streaming service.