I've never read the book, and I did know that about the same time that this show was being produced, China was also creating their own adaptation of the story. I am yet to start that version of it though, and part of me already feels like I should be watching that one instead of this western version. Yep, you probably already know what I mean by that. And this is a show that speaks on the problem of an alien race that is far more developed than the human race, forced to leave its home in space in search of a more safer planet and star system. To which Earth appears to be the best nearby option. There's an interesting story here about how an alien race could essentially outsmart and wipe us out, and with the ways in which an advanced society may still face existential threats that require it to break beyond the stars in search of a new home as things grow unsafe. We have often thrown around the question of what should be done if Earth was in a state of near death. Would we push ourselves to ascend and go beyond the stars in search of a new home, or accept our fate? Chances are, we'd push ourselves to create with the time we had left on Earth, search for new creations and scientific discoveries as we face an existential threat.
3 Body Problem looks into the ways in which a planet may already be home to a civilisation, however. Could these two races share a planet? Could they find peace together and share their advancements? Or would humanity manage to somehow fuck things up? Ultimately, it is the latter that unfolds. The show takes place mostly in England, making it the forefront of Earth's struggles for survival against impending doom. The premise is incredibly interesting and with lots of fun turns and twists, but the show is riddled with problems that leave you wanting more from it and hoping it drops the stupid side of things. I have been enjoying the show a lot, but I can't deny that it holds a lot of frustration with a group of characters that are insufferable, with writing that is just incredibly poor alongside performances that feel numb and void of identity. We take the idea of an alien invasion as something incredibly serious, something that would lead to the end of all we know, yet that is something rarely considered in the show. Each episode ends up feeling a bit empty with no true reactions to the events taking place. But we get some fun moments here and there that make viewing more worth the time investment, sometimes. I feel this first impressions post will be a bit more of a rant than anything else, though I'll try my best to avoid that.
Keep in mind that there may be spoilers in this post regarding the first season and its earlier episodes. So read on at your own discretion.
3 Body Problem
Think of what Netflix is typically known for doing to television series. I think that line alone tends to share what you can expect from a show, and you'd be right to make the same assumptions over 3 Body Problem. The show holds a really interesting idea in which a group of people in scientific fields, a recent death of a friend leads to conspiracies and discoveries as each of them begin to encounter a strange VR type of headset that their friend was found using frequently before their death. It leads to a lot of curiosity in one of them, which leads to them trying the headset out themselves. This VR headset produces an entire world to them, a space that creates a new reality that is indistinguishable from their own, they can taste and feel blood. The environment beneath their feet, and have total control of their movements. This game gives them a series of challenges that aims to test their skills: solve the problem, advance to the next level. A few too many episodes have been this way, a bit repetitive even. But the more I watched the more the narrative revealed what was going on: this was a test from an alien civilisation. Find the right group of humans to help them with their arrival. The 3 Body Problem aims to display a world that cannot survive with a triangle of star systems around it, leading to an unstable planet that is constantly at a natural threat. Inevitable death.
There are episodes which feature flashbacks to a 60s communist China. A Chinese scientist that is tired of the insanity of humanity, tasked with trying to beat the west in sending out signals deep into space. Discovering that the sun could be used to amplify a signal, she goes out of her way to aim the satellite dish directly at the sun without permission, knowing it'd give them an edge over all others in the world, despite the idiocy of the communist party which stated it cannot be done for political reasons. There's this question of self-destruction made in the show, the realisation of how stupid humanity really is, how its own attempts to govern itself lead to crippling its own potential. Very much present in reality. The signal leads to a reply, to which the aliens announce initial contact, met with the invitation from the Chineses scientist over the argument that humanity can't even save itself. These existential questions are quite frequent within 3 Body Problem, and they appear to be the most interesting parts of the show. The true problem however doesn't appear to be three star systems, but the awful acting, and awful writing.
I'm really not a fan of the main characters. A group that are about 35 but incapable of seeming like actual adults with real reactions to the world around them. They have the typical western Netflix television appeal of their personal lives being the forefront of their character, and it adds nothing to the development of them and doesn't give us anything to care for. Primarily as things grow more intense for them and harsher decisions are to be made. Their best friend just got killed and they're in the apartment joking about where his sex toys are. The universe just flickered before the world's eyes and the show just glances over this event like it's nothing, rarely mentioned by anyone, with no real reactions that adds to the world-building. The alien invasion is something that is known by the world, yet everything seems painfully normal. Nobody really cares, there's no mass hysteria as a giant eye appears in the sky. The show just has a few characters here and there mention it: did you see that the sky flickered last night? Weird, huh? It's like I'm playing Skyrim all over again with these reactions from characters. Void of all emotion.
Too much of the show feels flat and performed in a jokingly manner, it really pulls out the immersion that we are supposed to have with such a lingering threat. It's a bit disappointing given the scenes that show us the past with the initial contact are really interesting. And some of the episodes have a lot of cool eeriness to them. The world-building just falls completely flat. It plays out in a way that feels like the screenplay was written by someone that has never written for science fiction before, and instead comedy. There's no drama to heighten the tensions, very little development. So when things go south for the characters, we feel nothing for them, instead starting to care more for the alien race that was stupid enough to initially trust humanity, to which it soon learns it can't. The threat of what's to come is the only real reason to continue watching, and I guess that's enough for now. In terms of the cinematography, it's pretty good. Looks like it's shot on anamorphics with a decent budget, especially in one episode where the alien race goes a bit on the offensive. Some really creative stuff. A shame it's generally wasted.
I'll continue watching, but I don't expect a whole lot from this anymore. I'll see where things go and hopefully the characters mature a bit more. With some real weight to the story and their interactions with the world. For now, it's like nobody cares at all.
